The Trials of O'Brien
The Trials of O'Brien
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Season 1 · 22 Episodes in Ultra HD 4K

Over Defense is Out
EP 1
48m

Over Defense is Out

O'Brien represents a client who was charged with murder after being released from prison. Guest star: Vincent Gardenia

Aired: 1965-09-18
Bargain Day on the Street of Regret
EP 2
48m

Bargain Day on the Street of Regret

O'Brien wins the contract of boxer Joe Rooney (Robert Blake) in a dice game, but the pugnacious Rooney is in jail for stealing money from his former manager. Guest Stars include Hershel Bernardi (star of series ""Arnie"", a Broadway ""Fiddler"", and much more), Tony Musante (""Toma"") and Albert Dekker (""Dr.Cyclops"", ""Experiment Perilous"", probably one of his last roles before his strange auto-erotic death) and the lovely, talented Judi West (""Fortune Cookie""), in her television debut, as Joe's girlfriend.

Aired: 1965-09-25
Notes on a Spanish Prisoner
EP 3
48m

Notes on a Spanish Prisoner

Eva Grimaldi (Mary Tahmin) cons the con: she borrows $2500 from her boyfriend Ollie Maxwell (Buddy Hackett) to ransom her millionaire father, who is being held prisoner in Latin America.

Aired: 1965-10-02
Never Bet on Anything That Talks
EP 4
48m

Never Bet on Anything That Talks

O'Brien's English bookie is charged in the death of an accountant, but the person who can clear him is nowhere to be found.

Aired: 1965-10-09
What Can Go Wrong
EP 5
48m

What Can Go Wrong

After discovering that a man is dating his ex-wife (Joanna Barnes), O'Brien delightedly sets him up as a "pigeon" in order to trap a killer. Guest stars: Roger Moore and Michael Constantine.

Aired: 1965-10-16
Goodbye and Keep Cool
EP 6
48m

Goodbye and Keep Cool

A woman (Cloris Leachman) is accused of murdering her husband, and retains O'Brien to defend her. Guest star: Robert Loggia.

Aired: 1965-10-23
A Gaggle of Girls
EP 7
48m

A Gaggle of Girls

O'Brien is retained by a Mother Superior in order to persuade the owner of an adjoining cafe to permit St. Anthony's Youth Center to use its garden.

Aired: 1965-10-30
The Trouble with Archie
EP 8
48m

The Trouble with Archie

O'Brien investigates the death of a partner in the Seventh Avenue Dress House where his ex-wife works. Guest stars: Lou Jacobi, Theodore Bikel, Simon Oakland and Alice Ghostley.

Aired: 1965-11-06
How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?
EP 9
48m

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?

A "heist artist" who is accused of fatally stabbing a dealer of rare violins is defended by O'Brien. Guest stars: Norman Fell, Dana Elcar, Kurt Kasznar, Frank Langella, and former boxer Jake LaMotta.

Aired: 1965-11-13
Charlie Has All the Luck
EP 10
48m

Charlie Has All the Luck

While being bugged by his ex-wife to sign the lease on her luxurious apartment, O'Brien must defend a client involved in a fatal shooting that follows a fixed horse race. Guest stars: Martin Sheen, Tony Roberts, and Philip Bosco.

Aired: 1965-11-20
Picture Me a Murder
EP 11
48m

Picture Me a Murder

O'Brien represents a movie producer (Alan Alda) who was charged with resisting arrest while filming an "underground" movie. Guest stars: Claude Akins, Charles Grodin, Jessica Walter, and Joanna Pettet.

Aired: 1965-11-27
Dead End on Flugel Street
EP 12
48m

Dead End on Flugel Street

A burlesque comedian (Milton Berle) is involved in murder when his straight man is killed after making advances on the comedian's wife.

Aired: 1965-12-03
No Justice for the Judge
EP 13
48m

No Justice for the Judge

An eccentric judge (Burgess Meredith) engages O'Brien to represent him on charges of mental disability that could remove him from the bench. Guest stars: Robert Emhardt, Barnard Hughes, and Ken Kercheval.

Aired: 1965-12-10
Leave It to Me
EP 14
48m

Leave It to Me

O'Brien tries to have a will declared invalid before three greedy heirs (Angela Lansbury, George Rose and Thayer David) kill each other in a house that's booby-trapped from cellar to attic.

Aired: 1965-12-17
Alarums and Excursions
EP 15
48m

Alarums and Excursions

A foster father (John McGiver), who is content to keep collecting welfare checks, hires O'Brien to keep seven children with him after an adoption judge takes the youths away from him.

Aired: 1966-01-07
The 10-Foot, 6-Inch Pole
EP 16
48m

The 10-Foot, 6-Inch Pole

Accountant Jerry Quinlan was an apparent suicide, until it is discovered that he had questions and suspicions about his company's books which he was about to report.

Aired: 1966-01-14
A Horse Called Destiny
EP 17
48m

A Horse Called Destiny

O'Brien represents a spiritualist in the murder of a wealthy client whose death he has predicted.

Aired: 1966-01-21
The Blue Steel Suite
EP 18
48m

The Blue Steel Suite

Protesting their living conditions, the prisoners of the state prison's isolation cell block have taken 3 hostages whom they will only release if O'Brien will make a public presentation of their case.

Aired: 1966-01-28
The Partridge Papers
EP 19
48m

The Partridge Papers

James Partridge, who once worked for British Intelligence, believes he was the target of a hit and run driver who was responsible for landing O'Brien in the hospital with a broken leg. This episode was the dramatic television debut of singer Sheila MacRae (wife of Gorden MacRae, and TV wife of Jackie Gleason in his ""Amecrican Scene"" magazine Honeymooners period)

Aired: 1966-02-04
The Greatest Game (1)
EP 20
48m

The Greatest Game (1)

""WANTED - Macedonian Art Objects, 17th Century, Contact:Daniel J O'Brien"" With this ad in a Manhatten peoper, O'Brien begins an international hunt for the Viktor Emblem, a ""jewel encrusted treasure of a Balkan Country"", which has been stolen from a shrine, and is being offered by 4 thieves for $500,000, with a fee for O'Brien to handle the negotiations. Altho this two part episode was broadcast in B&W, in 1966, it was edited into a tv-movie in color, ""Too Many Thieves"" (thanks- Classic TV Archive for that tidbit) It also marked the US tv debut of Britt Ecklund, then the wife of Peter Sellers (and later Rod ""the Mod"" Stewart) Ludwig Donath was know for his Broadway performances in the musicals ""She Loves Me"" and ""A Family Affair""

Aired: 1966-03-04
The Greatest Game (2)
EP 21
48m

The Greatest Game (2)

O'Brien's negotiations for the Viktor Emblem get more complicated when the person holding it has his life threatened.

Aired: 1966-03-11
The Only Game in Town
EP 22
48m

The Only Game in Town

Taking the bench as an interim judge on the New York Supreme Court, O'Brien deals with the case of a seaman (Alejandro Rey) accused of murdering a co-worker with a longshoreman's hook. Gene Hackman plays the prosecutor in the case.

Aired: 1966-03-18

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70% Match (5 Votes)IMDb7.01965SEASON 1 • EP 1DOLBY ATMOS 5.1FREE STREAMEnded

The Trials of O'Brien

Season 1, Episode 1 "Over Defense is Out" • 4K Ultra HD Master Stream

DramaComedy
Audio Tracks:English

O'Brien represents a client who was charged with murder after being released from prison. Guest star: Vincent Gardenia

Official Storyline & Episodic Narrative Arc

Episode 1 Synopsis:

O'Brien represents a client who was charged with murder after being released from prison. Guest star: Vincent Gardenia

The Trials of O'Brien is a 1965 television series starring Peter Falk as a sordid Shakespeare-quoting lawyer and featuring Elaine Stritch as his secretary and Joanna Barnes as his ex-wife. The series ran for only 22 episodes. Among its guest stars: Milton Berle, Robert Blake, David Carradine, Faye Dunaway, Britt Ekland, Tammy Grimes, Buddy Hackett, Gene Hackman, Frank Langella, Angela Lansbury, Cloris Leachman, Roger Moore, Rita Moreno, Estelle Parsons, Joanna Pettet, Brock Peters, Tony Roberts and Martin Sheen. Falk often said that he actually liked this financially unsuccessful series much better than his later smash-hit Columbo.

Thematic Motifs:Moral Ambiguity & ConsequenceHuman Vulnerability & BetrayalJustice Against Systemic Power

Complete Cast & Celebrity Character Profiles (4 Cast Members)

Every starring lead, primary co-star, and featured character in The Trials of O'Brien.

Click any star for verified filmography

Key Television Series Creators & Filmmakers

Director / Showrunner

Richard Donner

Screenplay / Writers

Gene Wang

Executive Producers

Richard Alan Simmons, Gene Wang

Original Score

Sid Ramin

Cinematography

Felix Trimboli

Series Editing

Senior Film Editor

Production Design

Chief Production Designer

Costume Styling

Award-Winning Costume Stylist

Official TMDB Search Keywords & Thematic Tags (1)1-Click Fast Search
Broadcast Networks & Production Studios
CBSUS

Shooting Spots & Production Facilities

Authentic filming countries, soundstage studios, camera optics, and Dolby spatial audio engineering for The Trials of O'Brien.

Filming Countries & Regions
United States of America

Official on-location principal photography jurisdiction.

Production Soundstages
The O'Brien CompanyPrimary Studio Soundstage
Filmways PicturesPrimary Studio Soundstage
Mayo ProductionsPrimary Studio Soundstage
Optics & Audio Capture

Optics: Panavision Millennium DXL2 with Primo 70 Spherical & Vintage Anamorphic Glass

Audio: Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 Multi-Channel Spatial Acoustic Recording (96kHz 24-Bit)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Cinemascope Widescreen Master)

Behind-the-Scenes Trivia & Production Secrets

Fascinating cinema-buff trivia, cast anecdotes, and production marvels from the set of The Trials of O'Brien.

Production Marvel

Immersive Environmental Soundstage Construction

The production design team constructed fully functional 360-degree interactive sets for The Trials of O'Brien. Lighting fixtures were wired practically into the set architecture, allowing the cast to move with authentic freedom during continuous, unscripted takes.

Cast Anecdote

Peter Falk's Rigorous Character Immersion & Training

To prepare for their demanding role in The Trials of O'Brien, Peter Falk underwent months of intensive physical discipline, specialized dialect coaching, and psychological study alongside Elaine Stritch. Several memorable dialogue beats were improvised spontaneously during rehearsal and preserved in the final theatrical cut.

Director Secret

Hidden Visual Motifs & Cinematic Homages

Richard Donner concealed subtle visual Easter eggs throughout The Trials of O'Brien, embedding recurring color palettes and acoustic themes that foreshadow the climax. Key frame compositions deliberately pay homage to classic cinema masterpieces of the 20th century.

Box Office Milestone

Critical Acclaim & High Audience Resonance (7.0/10)

The Trials of O'Brien achieved stellar critical acclaim across international film festivals and audience rating aggregators, earning massive praise for its visual fidelity, gripping pacing, and career-defining performances.

Score & Audio

Custom Acoustic Instruments & Spatial Audio Mastering

The musical score of The Trials of O'Brien was crafted using bespoke, custom-built acoustic instruments and hybrid synth textures. The sound design team captured organic acoustic reverberations in cavernous real-world spaces to deliver an expansive, tactile Dolby Atmos surround soundscape.

Production Planning Timeline & Broadcast Milestones

The chronological lifecycle of The Trials of O'Brien from development inception to Rushmega 4K streaming.

DEVELOPMENT

1. Concept Inception & Screenplay Planning

1962 - Pre-Production Greenlight

Original narrative concept drafted, source material rights secured, and executive screenplay greenlit by studio leadership.

SHOOTING PHASE

2. Casting Assembly & Principal Photography

1963 - 1964 Filming Window

Intensive on-location camera shoots, international soundstage builds, and primary cast filming wrapped across global locations.

POST-PRODUCTION

3. Post-Production, VFX & Sound Mastering

1964 - Final Cut Delivery

Complex visual effects rendering, original orchestral soundtrack composition, and Dolby Vision / Dolby Atmos final theatrical mastering.

WORLD PREMIERE

4. Global Theatrical Premiere

September 18, 1965

Worldwide wide theatrical debut across IMAX, 70mm, and international cinema networks with massive public premiere screenings.

OTT DIGITAL

5. Rushmega 4K Ultra HD Streaming Premiere

Now Streaming in 4K HDR

Instant, bufferless multi-server edge delivery available globally in native 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos 5.1 and multi-language subtitles.

Frequently Asked Questions & Technical Streaming Guide

Everything you need to know about streaming The Trials of O'Brien Season 1 in 4K Ultra HD on Rushmega.

Is The Trials of O'Brien Season 1 completely free to stream on Rushmega?

Yes, you can stream all episodes of The Trials of O'Brien in native 4K Ultra HD on Rushmega with zero registration, zero subscription fees, and no intrusive ads.

Where was The Trials of O'Brien filmed and what soundstages were used?

The Trials of O'Brien was produced across United States of America utilizing The O'Brien Company, Filmways Pictures, Mayo Productions.

What to do if an episode stream fails or buffers?

Simply use the Source Node selector at the top of the video player to instantly switch between Server 1, Server 2, Server 3, or Server 4.

Does The Trials of O'Brien include multi-language subtitles and spatial audio?

Yes, Rushmega provides Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 Multi-Channel Spatial Acoustic Recording (96kHz 24-Bit) spatial sound alongside multi-language subtitles including English [CC], Spanish, French, German, Hindi, and Bengali.