They Call It Murder

They Call It Murder
Based on
The D.A. Draws a Circle and characters
by Erle Stanley Gardner
Written bySam Rolfe
Directed byWalter Grauman
StarringJim Hutton
Leslie Nielsen
Ed Asner
Jessica Walter
Jo Ann Pflug
Míriam Colón
Robert J. Wilke
William Elliott
Carmen Mathews
Music byRobert Drasnin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time95 minutes
Production companiesPaisano Productions
in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseDecember 17, 1971 (1971-12-17)

They Call It Murder is a 1971 American television film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Jim Hutton.

Production

They Call It Murder is a television film produced by Paisano Productions in association with 20th Century Fox. It was a pilot for a proposed TV movie series based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, who edited the script by Sam Rolfe. Walter Grauman directed; Cornwell Jackson was executive producer. The film is loosely based on Gardner's 1939 novel The D.A. Draws a Circle.

The film went into production in 1969 and was completed February 9, 1970. Jim Hutton stars as Doug Selby, district attorney of a small town outside Los Angeles.

They Call It Murder was first presented December 17, 1971, on NBC. Gardner had died by the time the film finally was given its world premiere. Paisano Productions had worked to launch a Doug Selby series for six years, while its series Perry Mason was in its prime. No series materialized, and this TV movie marks Selby's sole screen adaptation.

Cast

References

  1. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (August 20, 2025). "Not Quite Movie Stars: Jim Hutton". Filmink. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Hughes, Dorothy B.; Moore, Ruth (1978). "Bibliography of Erle Stanley Gardner". Erle Stanley Gardner: The Case of the Real Perry Mason. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. p. 340. ISBN 0-688-03282-6.
  3. 1 2 Shonk, Michael (February 6, 2012). "A TV Movie Review: They Call It Murder (1971)". MysteryFile. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  4. ↑ TV Scout (December 17, 1971). "Pick of the Programs". North Adams Transcript.
  5. ↑ Lowry, Cynthia (December 16, 1971). "Good Actors Make Holiday Fantasy on 'Night Gallery'". Alton Evening Telegraph. Associated Press.