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The Lawless Years: First Complete Season | 
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Directors: Allen H. Miner, James Neilson, Edward Dein
Actors: James Gregory, Robert Karnes, Burt Reynolds, Martin Landau, Robert Fuller
Studio: Timeless Media Group
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $19.99 (67%)
New (27) Used (10) from $7.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 24644
Format: Box Set, Black & White, Full Screen, Mono, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 3
Running Time: 720
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.5 x 1.6
MPN: D65203D
UPC: 011301652034
EAN: 0011301652034
ASIN: B000EHSVU0
Theatrical Release Date: April 16, 1959
Release Date: March 7, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This 1959-61 police series starred James Gregory in an authentic, action-packed re-creation of the incredible exploits of New York City Police Detective Sergeant Barney Ruditsky. This is the complete first season!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
THE LAWLESS YEARS April 28, 2008
I only vaguely remember this series and I do not think all the episodes were shown in England. I like the documentary style of it and I am enjoying the episodes.Not as good of course as THE UNTOUCHABLES but ok for its time.
This box contains BOTH seasons #1 and #2 March 8, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This DVD set actually contains all the episodes of THE LAWLESS YEARS that aired during its initial TWO season network run: nineteen episodes of season #1 and the eight that comprised season #2, which was suspended halfway through, probably due to poor ratings. Eighteen months after this enforced hiatus, "The Lawless Years" returned for a second go-round-- this time lasting 20 weeks, most of those during the summer of 1961.
THE LAWLESS YEARS was broadcast on the NBC-TV network at 8 pm, starting in April of 1959. Based on the memoirs of detective Barney Ruditsky (who was also the program's consultant), "The Lawless Years" is set in Prohibition-era America. Starring as Ruditsky is James Gregory with co-star Robert Karnes as Max Fields.
Just like ONE STEP BEYOND, which was surpassed by THE TWILIGHT ZONE (even though the former was first on the air), "The Lawless Years" was unable to turn a six-month head start on the similarly-themed Roaring Twenties crime show "The Untouchables" into anything more than a 47 episode TV stay.
THE LAWLESS YEARS: The Third Season completes your collection of this gangland/cops television series.
SEASON ONE--
The Nick Joseph Story (4/16/59) - Vic Morrow/Harry Dean Stanton/Stanley Adams
The Immigrant (4/23/59) - Clu Gulager/Virginia Christine/Shepherd Sanders
The Jane Cooper Story (4/30/59) - Rebecca Welles/Henry Corden/Paul Clarke
The Story of Cutie Jaffe (5/7/59) - Robert Fuller/Bobs Watson/Bill Giorgio
The Dutch Schultz Story (5/14/59) - John Dennis/Ken Lynch/Jack Kruschen
The Lion and The Mouse (5/21/59) - Richard Bakalyan/Katherine Squire/Norman Alden
No Fare (5/28/59) - Joan Vohs/Al Ruscio/Irene Seidner/Steve Peck
The Payoff (6/11/59) - Burt Reynolds/Ruta Lee/Paul Corni/Robert Bice
The Marie Walters Story (6/18/59) - Barbara Stuart/Alex Gerry/Marc Towers
The Maxie Gorman Story (6/25/59) - Robert H. Harris/Terence de Marney/Barbara Stuart
The Muddy Kasoff Story (7/2/59) - Jerry Oddo/Nita Talbot/Bill Giorgio
Framed (7/16/59) - Milton Frome/Paul George/Caroline Hughes/Norman Alden
Four The Hard Way (7/23/59) - John Vivyan/Jack Kruschen/Lou Herbert
The Tony Morelli Story (7/30/59) - Tige Andrews/Ken Lynch/Toni Gerry
The Ray Baker Story (8/6/59) - Stanley Adams/Robert Carricart/Theodore Newton
The Story of Lucky Silva (8/13/59) - Martin Landau/Al Ruscio/Charles Cooper
The Morrison Story (8/20/59) - Phillip Coolidge/Rebecca Welles/George Mitchell
The Poison Ivy Story (8/27/59) - Frank DeKova/Harry Dean Stanton/Selette Cole
The Prantera Story (9/3/59) - Robert Strauss/Ann Carroll/Bartlett Robinson
SEASON TWO--
The Al Brown Story (10/1/59) - Jack Weston/Robert Ellenstein/Wally Campo
The Big Greeny Story (10/8/59) - Jack Kruschen/John Vivyan/Peter Hornsby
The Art Harris Story (10/15/59) - Barry Kelley/John Beradino/John Eldridge
The Billy Boy Creel Story (11/5/59) - Johnny Seven/Val Avery/Barbara Stuart (uncredited: Jerry Paris)
The Big Man (11/12/59) - John Vivyan/Robert Osterloh/Harry Swoger
The Joe Angelo Story (11/19/59) - Arthur Batanides/Harry Brandon/Edward Platt
The Billy Grimes Story (12/3/59) - Walter Sande/Clancy Cooper/Harry Dean Stanton
The Sonny Rosen Story (12/17/59) - Peter Brocco/Dorothy Adams/John Gabriel
 poor quality July 17, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
the stories were entertaining.the problem was the quality of the tape. it got stuck at times and I could not finish a few episodes
 Untouchables Lite June 1, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
For those who are waiting for The Untouchables to come out on DVD (don't hold your breath!)here is something almost as satisfying--The Lawless Years. It's only a half hour show, and there's less 'violence', but this show definitely has the same flavor of the times as The Untouchables and James Gregory is superb as Gangster Squad detective, Barney Ruditsky. In fact, many of the best character actors of the early 60s who have appeared on The Untouchables also guest star on The Lawless Years. However, Robert Stack does NOT make an appearance as Eliot Ness. That would have been perfect since James Gregory has guest starred on The Untouchables, but the person who wrote that is mistaken.
I hope the second season of this show will soon be released, it's well worth it. You won't be disappointed with this one, they cover all the gangsters of the era, though some names have been changed, but you will be able to guess who they are.
Don't let the garish sepia tone (more burnt orange than sepia) keep you away from viewing this show. Perhaps they tinted it to distinguish it from the crisp black and white noir of The Untouchables. But you will get so absorbed in the show you will soon get used to the unusual color tint.
Enjoyable James Gregory crime series comes to DVD March 24, 2006
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
During the mid-1950s to early 1960s, California National Productions was the NBC television network's in-house production arm. According to IMDB.com, California National was responsible for the production of about a dozen television series, most of which lasted a season or two at best, and are now largely forgotten. Among those was "The Lawless Years," a crime series set in New York City during the prohibition years. James Gregory stars as real-life cop Barney Ruditsky, with the real Ruditsky serving as the series' technical adviser. Each episode (produced for a 30 minute time slot) featured the story of a different gangster. There are plenty of up and coming actors and familiar faces in the weekly stories. For example, the first episode features Vic Morrow, Jan Merlin, and Harry Dean Stanton. In addition to Gregory, Robert Karnes, as Ruditsky's associate Max Fields, is the only other regular in the series. Interestingly, this series debuted about six months prior to the similarly themed, but better known and more popular crime series "The Untouchables," which told the story of Eliot Ness' exploits in Chicago.
It's difficult to give this DVD release from the Timeless Media Group a full five star rating, but one has to give them credit for taking a chance on releasing this relatively obscure show that's been little seen since its original broadcasts. There are some issues with the visual quality of the presentation, chief of which is a yellow/sepia tint that was apparently added at some point after the series' prime-time run (in black & white). I can only assume that the producers must have felt that the tinting of the shows would help it later on in syndication as television transitioned from black & white to color in the mid-1960s. Regardless, the tinting is distracting but can easily be removed by adjusting the color on your television set. What you're left with are relatively clean and defect-free prints, though they are a little "soft" looking and don't have the crisp resolution often found on shows from the same era released by the major studios. But once you correct the tinting issue, the episodes are very watchable.
This series will very likely appeal to fans of "The Untouchables" (still "missing in action" on DVD as of this writing), as well as anyone interested in period crime dramas. My rating is closer to *** & 1/2 due to the good, but not great, visual presentation.
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