"You're a lawyer, not a detective!"
Those words were constantly mentioned by J. J. Devlin, senior partner at the law firm that employed Eddie Capra, a young lawyer who doesn't act like the typical attorney...in other words, he doesn't dress in a suit and tie, he doesn't carry a briefcase and go to court. In fact, his cases DON'T go to court, simply because he works to clear the client of murder charges. As the opening statement says, he behaves more like a detective than an attorney, and his clients should be damned glad of that fact.
Vincent Baggetta starred as Eddie, who was basically Ellery Queen with a New Jersey twist. He wasn't quite as polite and tactful as Jim Hutton's Ellery, but had a pesky streak in him more along the lines of Columbo. Eddie wasn't afraid to ask the tough, personal questions and offend people he considered to be suspects.
He also conducted experiments, used diagrams...any means at his disposal to solve the crime, and this meant the assistance of several other folks at his office: his fetching secretary/girlfriend Lacey (Wendy Phillips), leg man Harvey (Michael Horton) and high-strung boss Devlin (Ken Swofford, an expert at playing such roles, and also a vet from Ellery Queen, where he played blowhard Frank Flanagan).
Like Ellery Queen before, and Murder, She Wrote after, The Eddie Capra Mysteries boasted all-star casts and puzzling murders, overseen by Columbo vet Peter S. Fischer. It helps that the cast has great chemistry and likable actors and that the story moves along. Why the show failed, who knows? All I know is that if you enjoyed Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen and Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, you just might enjoy Vincent Baggetta as Eddie Capra.
