The Lawless Years is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16, 1959, to September 22, 1961. The series is the first of its kind, set during the Roaring 20s, preceding The Untouchables by half a season.
Premise
The series depicts the activities of real-life police detective Barney Ruditsky as he fights organized crime in New York City. Its original title was Ruditsky.
The show has "a certain claim to authenticity . . . in its meticulous attention to period detail" and in depicting actual cases on which Ruditsky worked. Unlike other police dramas of its time, The Lawless Years focuses more on character studies than on action.
Cast
Main
James Gregory as Barney Ruditsky
Robert Karnes as Max
John Dennis as Dutch Schultz
Norman Alden as Lulu
Brad Trumbull as Brody
John Vivyan as Louis Buchalter
Stanley Adams as Gurrah
Carol Eve Rossen as Anna
Paul Richards as Louis 'Louy' Kassoff
Robert Ellenstein as Legs Diamond
Henry Corden as Wavey Gordon
Robert Sampson as Mad Dog Coll
Guest stars
Tige Andrews
Clegg Hoyt
Martin Landau
Ruta Lee
Vic Morrow
Warren Oates
Burt Reynolds
Harry Dean Stanton
Nita Talbot
Episodes
Season 1: Spring/Summer 1959
Season 2: Fall 1959
Season 3: Spring/Summer 1961
Production
Jack Chertok was the producer. The real Ruditsky served as technical advisor. California National Productions produced the series.
The series was broadcast initially from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursdays. In July 1959 it moved to 8:30-9 p.m. ET on Thursdays, and in October 1959 it moved to 10:30-11 p.m. ET on Thursdays. When it returned in May 1961, it was on from 9 to 9:30 p.m. ET on Fridays.
Seeking sponsors
Episodes' content made finding a sponsor difficult. The series began with no sponsor because the premiere episode had one gangster killing another criminal "by plunging an ice pick into a vital spot." Before that development, the trade publication Variety reported that Philip Morris was the "hottest prospect" to take on the series to advertise its Parliament and Marlboro cigarette brands. Variety added that cigarette company P. Lorillard was also "in there pitching for the story" as a potential co-sponsor with Whitehall Pharmacal.
A week after that article appeared, Variety reported that NBC was offering sponsorship of The Lawless Years for a "special introductory price". The $25,000-per-episode rate was "approximately $20,000 below the actual production cost of each episode." The reduced rate was to be good until the fall season began, at which time the network hoped to increase the per-episode charge to $45,000.
Midas Muffler Company became a sponsor in July 1959, "making its first major buy in network video" as it agreed to sponsor segments of The Lawless Years for July through September.
Critical response
Critic John Crosby praised the look of the program: "the series is beautifully filmed and the settings and costumes and all the outer trimmings are marvelously authentic . . . they comprise a large part of the charm of The Lawless Years." He added that the show's plots were secondary in importance to the 1920s-era settings.
Newspaper journalist Hal Humphrey wrote, "The opening chapters in Ruditsky's hoodlum-infested underworld made gripping drama."