Golden Age: Crime Busters - Six Stunning Tales from TV's Top Crime Shows

From 1955, Charles Bickford hosts THE MAN BEHIND THE BADGE, set in the deadly "hobo jungles" of Chicago. Classic character actor Frank Jenks has a field day as real-life officer John J. O'Mara, a veteran cop with a background in vaudeville who volunteers to go "underground" to seek out the notorious "psycho-hobo" stunningly portrayed by future world-famous producer Aaron Spelling.

Next up, from 1952, a rare teaming of Lee Marvin & Charles Bronson 15 years before they co-starred in The Dirty Dozen: BIFF BAKER USA. Series star Alan Hale Jr. and his wife are vacationing in the Alps when they run into a Commie plot to sabotage the "Voice of America" radio broadcasts. Bronson is a sinister hit-man; Marvin is a mysterious "fisherman" who appears out of nowhere and may or may not be a "good guy."

The Cold War is alive and well as we fast-forward to 1961 for LOCK-UP featuring guest star Mary Tyler Moore (less than four months away from TV stardom on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" which debuted later the same year). Moore is busted for passing space-program secrets on microfilm to the Commies! Series star MacDonald Carey, portraying real-life attorney Herbert Maris, digs deep to get to the truth of the matter.

From 1955, an extremely young Dennis Hopper in his 2nd screen appearance stars in "Mama's Boy," an episode of the series PUBLIC DEFENDER. Star Reed Hadley ("Racket Squad") steps in to defend Hopper when he is accused of murdering the "mama's boy" who attacked him with a lead pipe.

From 1959, another classic LOCK-UP showcasing a young Leonard Nimoy as a leather-jacketed, switchblade-wielding gang leader who may have framed ex-member turned cop James Drury ("The Virginian").

"The Human Touch" is a 1961 episode of the outstanding series CHECKMATE. Guest star Peter Lorre is a critical mastermind fresh out of prison who is obsessed with destroying series star Sebastian Cabot. Co-starring Anthony George, Doug McClure, and Richard Bakalyan.