Perry Mason - General Discussion

[Fool to cry]

The season 6 opening credits is hilarious. Perry walks into an empty courtroom and he acts like he hears the theme music and is wondering where it's coming from!

Edited December 20, 2021 by Fool to cry

[Milburn Stone]

On 12/20/2021 at 3:49 PM, Fool to cry said:

The season 6 opening credits is hilarious. Perry walks into an empty courtroom and he acts like he hears the theme music and is wondering where it's coming from!

He smiles because he knows the theme music means he's going to win.

[Fool to cry]

Twenty minutes into "The Case of the Dodging Domino" I finally realized one of the guest stars is a young Ellen Burstyn(listed in closing credits as "Ellen McCrea".

Edited December 22, 2021 by Fool to cry

[chessiegal]

I find it fun to pick up on something like that. The pandemic has me watching these types of shows, and I can now identify a bunch of character actors that show up on so many shows.

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I find it fun to pick up on something like that. The pandemic has me watching these types of shows, and I can now identify a bunch of character actors that show up on so many shows.

I love Patricia Barry. She was on a few times.

[Fool to cry]

18 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I find it fun to pick up on something like that. The pandemic has me watching these types of shows, and I can now identify a bunch of character actors that show up on so many shows.

All through watching season 6's "The Case of the Hateful Hero" I kept thinking where have I seen that one guy before?" It finally hit me toward the end: He's Violet Beauregard's dad from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!

[GHScorpiosRule]

19 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I find it fun to pick up on something like that. The pandemic has me watching these types of shows, and I can now identify a bunch of character actors that show up on so many shows.

I do this all the time whenever I watch this show. And I've posted here how so many future daytime soap stars appeared on this show. Multiple times! And even Jock Ewing from Dallas!

[Milburn Stone]

23 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I love Patricia Barry. She was on a few times.

I love her too.

The casting on the show was pretty good. The one area they tended to fall down was if they needed a pretty face as the "Mary Sue" defendant. They found the pretty faces but the batting average of those pretty faces when it came acting talent was nothing to write home about. (With exceptions, of course.) 

[chessiegal]

IIRC, most of Perry's cars over the years were convertibles. I think it made for easier filming. If you get fetv, you can watch 4 hours of Perry weekdays and 2 hours on Sundays. MeTV has 2 hours of Perry - one in the morning and another at 11:30 pm.

[peacheslatour]

14 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

I love her too.

The casting on the show was pretty good. The one area they tended to fall down was if they needed a pretty face as the "Mary Sue" defendant. They found the pretty faces but the batting average of those pretty faces when it came acting talent was nothing to write home about. (With exceptions, of course.) 

Boy you are not kidding! The character actress's were always excellent as were the femme fatales but the ingenues? Empty headed, talentless idiots.

[Fool to cry]

On 12/24/2021 at 8:27 AM, peacheslatour said:

Boy you are not kidding! The character actress's were always excellent as were the femme fatales but the ingenues? Empty headed, talentless idiots.

Barbara Parkins, the ingenue in season 6's "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle" was okay. I thought she was cute and looking her up later starred on Payton Place.

The real find of the episode for me was halfway through I realized the bartender was played by Harvey Korman! So glad he appeared later in the witness stand!

Edited December 26, 2021 by Fool to cry

[peacheslatour]

5 minutes ago, Fool to cry said:

Barbara Faldon, the ingenue in season 6's "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle" was okay. I thought she was cute and looking her up  she would later star on Payton Place.

The real find of the episode was halfway through I realized the bartender was played by Harvey Korean! So glad he appeared later in the witness stand!

Did you mean Harvey Korman? 

[Fool to cry]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Did you mean Harvey Korman? 

Yes, damn autocorrect! Fixed it.

Y'know I get Hamilton Burger being irritated at always losing but you'd think he'd be more appreciative that Perry kept him from always putting an innocent person in jail while the real murderer walks the streets!

[Maverick]

 It's one of those things you have to overlook for the sake of it being a TV show.  At some point you'd think Berger and Traag would eventually hedge their bets and show a little humility when confronting Perry.  At some point Perry, Della and Paul should be snapping back when they get smug. 

 In reality, even if Perry is the only attorney he loses against, Berger would have long since been fired.  At best he'd be considered a bad prosecutor.  At worst he'd be considered inept and a liability opening the city up to all sorts of wrongful arrest/prosecution suits. 

[Fool to cry]

I think of Quincy ME how the police lieutenant never believes Quincy when the latter says the death was murder no matter how many times he's been proven wrong. They're relationship in the early years is antagonistic but then later becomes more friendly and they even play poker together. Of course this was also when Jack Klugman turned Quincy from being a coroner who solves murders to ba coroner who's also a crusading muckraker uncovering illegal and unsafe businesses and corruption.

[chessiegal]

As someone who worked in a forensic lab, I couldn't swallow Quincy. It seemed to me he solved everything by making an injection into a gas chromatograph. Totally bogus.

My husband loves Perry Mason - says it's why he became a lawyer. He worked his entire career as a federal prosecutor, and he laughs at the shenanigins Perry pulls off. 

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Fool to cry said:

I think of Quincy ME how the police lieutenant never believes Quincy when the latter says the death was murder no matter how many times he's been proven wrong. They're relationship in the early years is antagonistic but then later becomes more friendly and they even play poker together. Of course this was also when Jack Klugman turned Quincy from being a coroner who solves murders to ba coroner who's also a crusading muckraker uncovering illegal and unsafe businesses and corruption.

In my PHD courses in watching Law and Order, once the crime scene has been gone over, you never see the forensic investigators again. Quincy was pure fantasy.

[Fool to cry]

"The Unsuitable Uncle" and "The Stand-In Sister". Two episodes in a row that have the same plot point. Did the writers not catch that or did one inspire the other?

"The Case of the Weary Watchdog" guest stars Key Luke and a young James Hong. John Dall is at his absolute smarmiest. Della looks fantastic in a gown she wore at a fancy party.

Early in the episode a friend of Della who's being blackmailed needs $25,000. Della then goes to Perry who writes her a check without asking what's it for. That's friendship!

Edited December 28, 2021 by Fool to cry

[peacheslatour]

19 minutes ago, Fool to cry said:

"The Unsuitable Uncle" and "The Stand-In Sister". Two episodes in a row that have the same plot point. Did the writers not catch that or did one inspire the other?

"The Case of the Weary Watchdog" guest stars Key Luke and a young James Hong. John Dall is at his absolute smarmiest. Della looks fantastic in a gown she wore at a fancy party.

Early in the episode a friend of Della who's being blackmailed needs $25,000. Della then goes to Perry who writes her a check without asking what's it for. That's friendship!

Dare I say it? Can it be love?

[Milburn Stone]

15 hours ago, Fool to cry said:

"The Unsuitable Uncle" and "The Stand-In Sister". Two episodes in a row that have the same plot point. Did the writers not catch that or did one inspire the other?

I consulted my "bible," The Perry Mason Book by Jim Davidson. "Uncle" was shot in late July of '62, while "Sister" was shot in late September. It looks to me like at least 3 episodes were shot in-between those. It could be the airdates of "Uncle" and "Sister" were (as planned by the show runners) originally farther apart from each other, and then CBS changed things up by airing them successively.

[chessiegal]

Until recently, I didn't know that episodes of shows weren't shown in the order in which they were filmed. But then I'm naive when it comes to the ways of studios.

[Fool to cry]

1 hour ago, Milburn Stone said:

I consulted my "bible," The Perry Mason Book by Jim Davidson. "Uncle" was shot in late July of '62, while "Sister" was shot in late September. It looks to me like at least 3 episodes were shot in-between those. It could be the airdates of "Uncle" and "Sister" were (as planned by the show runners) originally farther apart from each other, and then CBS changed things up by airing them successively.

Does the book say whether there were two courtroom sets or did they just film from one side of the room in some episodes so the judge is on the right hand side and then in other episodes shoot from the other side so the judge is on the left? I always wondered.

[Milburn Stone]

34 minutes ago, Fool to cry said:

Does the book say whether there were two courtroom sets or did they just film from one side of the room in some episodes so the judge is on the right hand side and then in other episodes shoot from the other side so the judge is on the left? I always wondered.

I don't recall the book saying anything about that, but in my mind's eye, the only time the set changed was when Perry was in some California town other than Los Angeles, or the proceeding was a coroner's inquest rather than a pre-trial hearing. There's an excellent chance I'm wrong, though!

[chessiegal]

Pilot episode is on fetv right now (started at 4 pm ET.)

[Fool to cry]

The good thing about ingenues on the show is they bring out Perry's paternal side and Della's maternal side.

[Egg McMuffin]

You can always tell that they’re getting deeper into the 1960s episodes when Della’s hair starts to look like the same helmet that Donna Reed had on her show.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I had and still don’t have any problems with Della’s hairstyles over the course of the series. What makes me sad is the loss of Perry’s thick hair in the later seasons. It was cut shorter and looked thinner.

Whaaaat?

[chessiegal]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

What makes me sad is the loss of Perry’s thick hair in the later seasons. 

I just watched a season 9 episode. I see what you mean. I feel the same way about Robert Conrad's hair in later seasons of The Wild Wild West. How am I supposed to run my fingers through that flat combed hair?

[peacheslatour]

26 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I just watched a season 9 episode. I see what you mean. I feel the same way about Robert Conrad's hair in later seasons of The Wild Wild West. How am I supposed to run my fingers through that flat combed hair?

Columbo always had his thick, touseled locks. It just kept getting greyer.

[GHScorpiosRule]

30 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I just watched a season 9 episode. I see what you mean. I feel the same way about Robert Conrad's hair in later seasons of The Wild Wild West. How am I supposed to run my fingers through that flat combed hair?

EXACTLY!!!!!! I knew you’d understand!!

[Maverick]

 I think that's when the Caesar cut was becoming popular for men.  

[chessiegal]

14 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 I think that's when the Caesar cut was becoming popular for men.  

What the hell was it doing on Jim West in the 1870s? 🤣

[Maverick]

 With those pants, who was looking at his hair??

[Fool to cry]

The flat hair suited Raymond Burr more as Ironside and it was grey. Watching Ironside it's very clear in the early episodes they were trying to distinguish him from Perry Mason. He's very cantankerous and irascible, barking orders to his team like an old timey newspaper editor. By season 2 though he's back to that more thoughtful, professorial Perry demeanor. I like to think they sold Burr on the role by saying it's a cop show but he doesn't have to do any running!  Watching I also realize how more fake sets look in color than black and white back then!

[Milburn Stone]

6 hours ago, Fool to cry said:

I like to think they sold Burr on the role by saying it's a cop show but he doesn't have to do any running! 

I think you're absolutely right. I remember a couple of years ago seeing an S1 episode in which Perry actually was running, and I thought, "Oh, that's not a good idea at all."

[Egg McMuffin]

9 hours ago, Fool to cry said:

Watching I also realize how more fake sets look in color than black and white back then!

Oh yeah. See Gunsmoke for a great example of this. They got away with the fake outdoor Dodge City set in the black and white episodes. But in color - ugh.

[peacheslatour]

11 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

Oh yeah. See Gunsmoke for a great example of this. They got away with the fake outdoor Dodge City set in the black and white episodes. But in color - ugh.

Have you ever seen the Addams Family set in color? It's shocking.

 

[chessiegal]

Speaking of Della's hairstyle, watching a Season 1 episode aired in 1957, and Della is wearing her hair the same as my mother at that time. 💗

[dttruman]

Does anyone know who the actors or actresses were that were Triple Crown Winners? A Triple Crown Winner is a person that was a murder victim, the killer, and also the accused (or defendant) in different episodes of course.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, dttruman said:

Does anyone know who the actors or actresses were that were Triple Crown Winners? A Triple Crown Winner is a person that was a murder victim, the killer, and also the accused (or defendant) in different episodes of course.

Right off the bat, Denver Pyles comes to mind.

[dttruman]

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Right off the bat, Denver Pyles comes to mind.

I can remember him as a defendant and the murder, but I can't remember him as a victim. I remember him on so many episodes

Edited February 2, 2022 by dttruman

[chessiegal]

IMBd says Pyle was on 6 episodes of Perry Mason.

IMDb Denver Pyle

[Schnickelfritz]

21 hours ago, dttruman said:

Does anyone know who the actors or actresses were that were Triple Crown Winners? A Triple Crown Winner is a person that was a murder victim, the killer, and also the accused (or defendant) in different episodes of course.

According to

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/PerryMason

 

Eleven actors have played the defendant, the murderer, and the murder victim on the series: Robert Armstrong; John Conte; Robert H. Harris; Stacy Harris; Hugh Marlow; Mala Powers; Denver Pyle; Herbert Rudley; Vaughn Taylor; Bill Williams; and H. M. Wynant. Pyle appeared as a defendant and murder victim in the same episode, "The Case of the Final Fadeout."

[peacheslatour]

16 minutes ago, Schnickelfritz said:

According to

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/PerryMason

 

Eleven actors have played the defendant, the murderer, and the murder victim on the series: Robert Armstrong; John Conte; Robert H. Harris; Stacy Harris; Hugh Marlow; Mala Powers; Denver Pyle; Herbert Rudley; Vaughn Taylor; Bill Williams; and H. M. Wynant. Pyle appeared as a defendant and murder victim in the same episode, "The Case of the Final Fadeout."

I wish they had squeezed Patricia Barry in there somewhere. She was my favorite guest star.

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

"The Case of the Final Fadeout."

Thank you so much! I couldn't think of that episode!

I remember some of the Bill Williams episodes, because he was married to Della Street (Barbara Hale). He was on trial for murdering his partner when they were setting a trap with an oil well to catch a thief. He was the murder victim, when he tried to murder a woman who shows up at a town as the long lost daughter (and heiress) of a deceased rich resident.

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I wish they had squeezed Patricia Barry in there somewhere. She was my favorite guest star.

Yeah I remember her, she even did a couple of episodes of Murder She Wrote.

I can remember her as a murder and as a defendant. The last one was just on MEtv. She was accused of killing her husband, "Velvet Claw" or something like that. As for her being the murder, that where she framed a kid (who was in love with her) and his grandfather was wise to her. That kid became sort of a regular on Perry Mason for a while.

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, dttruman said:

Yeah I remember her, she even did a couple of episodes of Murder She Wrote.

I can remember her as a murder and as a defendant. The last one was just on MEtv. She was accused of killing her husband, "Velvet Claw" or something like that. As for her being the murder, that where she framed a kid (who was in love with her) and his grandfather was wise to her. That kid became sort of a regular on Perry Mason for a while.

I think it was The Case of the Frantic Flyer where she plays a compulsive liar whom Perry is kind of half in love with much to Della's amusement.

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I think it was The Case of the Frantic Flyer where she plays a compulsive liar whom Perry is kind of half in love with much to Della's amusement.

No it had "Velvet Claw" in the title and it was about a scandal magazine with the name of "Spicey Bits"

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, dttruman said:

No it had "Velvet Claw" in the title and it was about a scandal magazine with the name of "Spicey Bits"

That was it. “The Case of the Velvet Claws.”

[dttruman]

2 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

That was it. “The Case of the Velvet Claws.”

That's it! What also stood out  was that Barry lady gave Perry a decent slap, not one of those fake ones.