"Murder, She Wrote" Trial by Error (1986)

Director:

Seymour Robbie

Writers:

Peter S. Fischer (creator)
Richard Levinson (creator)

TV Series:

"Murder, She Wrote" (1984)

Original Air Date:

12 January 1986 (Season 2, Episode 13)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

After Mark Lee Reynolds's wife Stephanie has a car accident which at best leaves her cripple for life while he is wounded at the left shoulder...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Mystery Writer | Writing | Woman Detective | Amateur Detective

Cast

Angela Lansbury	...	Jessica Fletcher
David Ackroyd	...	Prosecutor Tom Casselli
Tony Bill	...	Mark Lee Reynolds
Macdonald Carey	...	Defense Atty. Oscar Ramsey
Jon Cypher	...	Defense Atty. Max Flynn
Gene Evans	...	Otto Fry
Tom Ewell	...	Josh Corbin
Gary Frank	...	Lee Callahan
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Fenton Harris (as Alan Hale)
Allan Miller	...	Frank Lord
Brock Peters	...	Thornton Bentley
Richard Sanders	...	Gerald Richards
Gregory Walcott	...	Willie Patchecki
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
R.J. Adams	...	Victor Assmussen
Norman Burton	...	Drew Narramore
Virginia Capers	...	Margo Webster
Robert Casper	...	Arthur Jasper
John Davis Chandler	...	John Detweiler (as John Chandler)
Doran Clark	...	Becky Anderson
Arlene Golonka	...	Sally Conover
Javier Grajeda	...	Paramedic
James Hampton	...	Jerry Blevins
Lenore Kasdorf	...	Ally Collins
Warren J. Kemmerling	...	Dr. Maurice Webster (as Warren Kemmerling)
Diane Lander	...	Stephanie Reynolds
Vicki Lawrence	...	Jackie MacKay
Walter Mathews	...	Judge Philo Walker
Michael Swan	...	Cliff Anderson

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Last acting performance of Tom Ewell.

"Nine to Two for Acquittal, and One Undecided..."

One of the finest episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" boasts a stellar cast of film and television veterans in a most witty exchange of dialogue....

"At the scene of a vehicular accident" Tony Bill as Mark Lee Reynolds Diane Lander as Stephanie Reynolds Javier Grajeda as Paramedic Warren J. Kemmerling as Dr. Maurice Webster

"At the Last Resort" Doran Clark as Becky Anderson James Hampton as Jerry Blevins John Davis Chandler as John Detweiler Gregory Walcott as Willie Patchecki Michael Swan as Cliff Anderson

"Inside Cabot Cove County Courthouse" Walter Mathews as Judge Philo Walker David Ackroyd as Prosecutor Tom Casselli Jon Cypher as Defense Atty. Max Flynn R.J. Adams as Ballistics expert Victor Assmussen Alan Hale Jr. as Motel owner Fenton Harris Robert Casper as Becky Anderson's neighbor Arthur Jasper Macdonald Carey as Defense Atty. Oscar Ramsey

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury" (Clockwise from lower left) Tom Ewell as Josh Corbin Virginia Capers as Margo Webster Arlene Golonka as Sally Conover Richard Sanders as Gerald Richards Lenore Kasdorf as Ally Collins Allan Miller as Frank Lord Gary Frank as Lee Callahan Gene Evans as Otto Fry Norman Burton as Drew Narramore Vicki Lawrence as Jackie MacKay Brock Peters as Thornton Bentley Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher

Synopsis... On the night of a one-vehicle accident, paramedics arrive to rescue a severely-injured Stephanie Reynolds from the compact automobile driven by husband, Mark, who refuses treatment for his arm and shoulder injury.

At the hospital, where Mark, again, refuses treatment, Dr. Webster informs him that although there is a good chance that Stephanie may recover, she may never walk again.

Mark immediately exits the hospital in despair, to arrive at The Last Resort tavern, at which he is greeted by Becky Anderson, who asks Jerry the Bartender for a cloth to tend to Mark's facial lacerations. By midnight, Becky tells Mark that she must leave, offering to fix him a cup of coffee to offset his drinking.

A concealed Johnny Detweiler witnesses the exchange and notifies Becky's estranged husband, Cliff Anderson, who stays with Willie Patchecki. An incensed Cliff reacts, "Trial separation, she says! I'm going to kill that woman!"

About seven weeks later, Judge Philo Walker pounds his gavel inside a Cabot Cove County courtroom: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you've heard the evidence. Now, you must decide whether the defendant...."

Some of the finest dialogue delivery of this series ensues around the chamber, as nine impatient jurors see this as a case which should never have come to trial, but as a bid by a politically ambitious District Attorney.

Two jurors, however, vote "Guilty as charged" as flashbacks of the proceedings are presented and witness testimony is re-examined by the "Undecided" Jury Chairperson, Mrs. Jessica Fletcher.

Three possible scenarios of "Fireplace Poker Flinging" are presented for Jessica and the unwilling jurors to re-examine.

Asks the edgy Radio Host Frank Lord of Jessica, "Oh, so you're the 'undecided' one?"

Answers an impatient Josh Corbin, "If she wasn't, do you think that we'd be sitting here all day, re-examining the evidence?"