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Perry Mason - General Discussion


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Grew up watching the tv movies myself with my mom, she's a huge fan of the series. Just recently started watching the early Perry Masons. Like them so far, the only exception being some of the over acting that could happen every so often.

Just found this wonderful archive of magazine articles recently, and it's been pretty fun going through them. Well worth the time.

http://www.perrymasontvseries.com/justine/magazines.htm

Disclaimer: from perrymasontvseries.com

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And I had to wait over 40 years for that to happen!!

The chemistry between Barbara and Raymond was off.the.charts!

I can't remember which episode it was, but it was when Perry was sick, he was on his couch, with blankets covering him. Della came to his apartment, saw that there was no fire, started it, and made him tea or something...it was just...I don't have the words. And I understand that it was more explicit in the books that there was flirting, but the show just made it so ambiguous.

But really, I loved the chemistry between Barbara, Raymond and William Hopper. It was just amazing.

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And I had to wait over 40 years for that to happen!!

The chemistry between Barbara and Raymond was off.the.charts!

I can't remember which episode it was, but it was when Perry was sick, he was on his couch, with blankets covering him. Della came to his apartment, saw that there was no fire, started it, and made him tea or something...it was just...I don't have the words. And I understand that it was more explicit in the books that there was flirting, but the show just made it so ambiguous.

But really, I loved the chemistry between Barbara, Raymond and William Hopper. It was just amazing.

Yep. That ambiguity is what made it special in my opinion. Just saw one towards the end of the tv movies where Perry told her "Let's go home," after a case, as they were leaving the court. That said SO much. You just knew that they had to be at least dating/going out together by then.

Also, a couple of nice quotes from some interviews from the website I linked to earlier:

From a US  Magazine article -- 1990 (Raymond Burr)

It must have been a strange feeling working with Barbara Hale again.

It happened that the very first scene we shot was in the courtroom.  And we looked at each other and started to laugh, because there is no other way of wiping 25 years off of your life.  Suddenly all the terrible things that have happened are gone and you are doing all the lovely things you did long ago.

 

You and Hale have remained friends through the years, haven't you?

I have been very fortunate.  I don't have 25 friends, but the ones I have...

 

You keep.

Yes.  It's just that I'm brilliant about finding people who are patient with me.  Don Galloway of Ironside is still one of my closest friends.  And Barbara certainly.  When we started, if she wasn't married I'm sure we would have been married now. <-- this quote stood out to me. Talk about one heck of a complement, certainly didn't see this one coming at all. Aww, is all I could think in regards to it.

 

In real life?

In real life.  If you have a very close friend as attractive as Barbara Hale you try everything in the world to marry her.  But she was very happily married and still is. <-- same here in regards to this one.

 

From Tv Guide -- 1993 (Barbara Hale)

Burr refused to talk about his illness, even to Hale.  "We made a joke out of it," said Hale.  "I had broken my hip and had to be in a wheelchair. He told me to come on over to his wheelchair and we'd make it a wheelchair for two." (this one is just made of win, hands down, laughed my butt off at it... just priceless and can kind of see that one ;), so much innuendo...)  Hale last saw Burr when she wheeled him, in that chair, to his car on the last day of shooting.  "I hugged him and gave him a flower--a wilted rose.  I didn't want to be too sentimental."  But as she spoke, she broke into tears.  "It is possible to have two dear loves in your life.  I did.  My husband and Raymond Burr.  Raymond was one of the funniest, wittiest men I have ever met." <-- felt the same way about this quote. So beautiful and thoughtful.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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That is just beautiful.

And...I don't have anything to add as Barbara and Raymond said it all.

Ahem.

Another moment- which never fails to make me cry buckets is in Perry Mason Returns when Perry tells Della he got tired of writing opinions and that the best person to defend her was him and when she says "Oh Perry" and breaks down in his arms. *sniff*

Gets me every single time.

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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Sorry about that, wasn't trying to have it come across in that manner. If it did. It was meant to show how much the actors cared about one another and how the little moments showed that caring.

Good one. So nice.

I remember another one where (I think) Della was trying to surprise Perry for his birthday... and she kept on saying he had a secret admirer. Correct me if I was wrong on that one. It's been awhile since I've seen that episode. They mentioned one of the jokes he pulled on her (Raymond Burr did), that involved sending her stuff anonymously, in one of the interviews... and I figured that this was a nod to it in a way.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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No need to apologize. Though I'm confused about why and what you're apologizing for?

And actually, it was Perry sending Della gifts, not the other way around. And Perry was playing it as if he didn't know who the secret admirer could be.

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No need to apologize. Though I'm confused about why and what you're apologizing for?

And actually, it was Perry sending Della gifts, not the other way around. And Perry was playing it as if he didn't know who the secret admirer could be.

The Ahem you mentioned. Was a little confused by it.

Ah. I see. Forgot about that. Well it was cute of him.

Also, I have a question... do you know what episode it was when they left the courtroom together, and he said 'Let's go home...' to her? I think it was one from the 90's, but I can't think of the name of it.

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Thank god for MeTV! They show the tv movies every so often on there too. I try to catch the episodes when I can as well.

Speaking of which, they're showing one of the movies... from 1990, on Friday, April 11th, from 8pm-10pm (eastern standard time). The Case of the Desperate Deception.

Cool, I'm planning on getting the movies and then the series when I can. Any favorite episodes?

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Ohhhh, I see. The "Ahem" was me saying to get back on topic! I do that a lot. Sorry for confusing you.

Gosh, I don't recall. Let me think on this. I think it was the Las Vegas one. Or maybe the one where they had to go to New York?

One of the things I wish this show had done for the movies, was keep it in California. I didn't like that everything shifted to Colorado. Even though I LOVE Colorado.

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I wish I could say, hey, this is one of my top favorite episodes! But I can't, because they're all so very good.  What I liked about the series versus the movies, is that sometimes, you weren't sure whether Perry's client was innocent or not, even though you knew that they had to be innocent.  In the movies, you already knew they weren't guilty. And considering that with the movies they had an extra hour or so, I find the series episodes, so much more substantive.

I do like to squee when I see actors who became Hollywood movie stars--Robert Redford! Bette Davis! And of course all the actors that went on to become big soap opera stars in Days of Our Lives and General Hospital! Then there's Uncle Jesse from Dukes of Hazard, who showed up at least 7 times...Jock Ewing (Jim Best) from Dallas...about two or three times...I'm bummed that Larry Hagman never appeared. But Marion Ross did, as did Barbara Eden.

Edited to add just because:

But, watching the 13 movies I think it was, alongside with the classic television shows, I have to say the show comes out the winner. If only because, the movies had an extra hour, but both Paul, Junior and Ken, came off as buffoons to the AWESOMETACULAR that was the original Paul Drake, when it came to investigating and getting Perry the answers/information. Ken always seemed to fall for the killer or woman who wasn't available. But they always got bested except for the very end, when they, AHAH! got the one piece of evidence that Perry needed. Bah! I'll take Paul Senior over those two, and I LOVED Paul Junior, and barely tolerated Ken.

It's also interesting that most of the cases took place in Colorado, instead of Los Angeles, like the original did. With one (from the group I saw) in New York, and one in Vegas (Defiant Daughter).

I'll be honest--I fast forwarded every scene of Ken "investigating" and just soaked up all the Perry, Perry and Della scenes, heh.

Speaking of buffoons--why did the movies also have to make the cops buffoons as well? If not buffoons, than stupid or not as smart as they should have been. I mean, Tragg annoyed me with his smirkiness sometimes, but he was smart; the few cops they had and yes, even the recurring McCeachin, came off stupid sometimes. In the original, it was only Hamilton that came off dumb most times, but not because he was dumb, but because he let Perry play him or manipulate him so often.  But ultimately, they were both on the same side.

I wonder why David Ogden Stiers didn't remain as the recurring D.A. I really liked him.

I did giggle at how Don Galloway appeared in at least two of these movies--one as a General in the USAF and the other as a cop, if only for one scene.

I wonder if any of the original writers were around when the movies were being made, because if so, they totally should have tried to get them to write for the movies.

I really wish that the special that Bill Cosby did in late '93 after Raymond's passing had been on the collector's edition that has Perry Mason Returns. Sigh...

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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Ohhhh, I see. The "Ahem" was me saying to get back on topic! I do that a lot. Sorry for confusing you.

Gosh, I don't recall. Let me think on this. I think it was the Las Vegas one. Or maybe the one where they had to go to New York?

One of the things I wish this show had done for the movies, was keep it in California. I didn't like that everything shifted to Colorado. Even though I LOVE Colorado.

Ah. That's what I thought it was. I wasn't even on that much of a tangent :P. It was just meant to show how much they did care.

I think it might have been the Las Vegas one. I'll have to check on it.

Oh, I didn't mind the shift, it was kind of interesting to see them in different environments. I read in one of the interviews, that he wanted to do an episode in Russia. Now that would have been different, that's for sure.

Just double checked... I think it was the Case of the Defiant Daughter. Glad that MeTv is airing them in order. It would be really confusing if they didn't.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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Good point about the original series. I wish the movies would have been more like them in regards to the writing. Not in regards to the acting though. Glad that it was that much better (in my opinion). And the characters were more fleshed out. That's why I like the movies a little more than the series itself.

Agreed about David Ogden Stiers. He was pretty much the Hamilton Burger type D.A. in the movies. Really was a good nemesis/lawyer for Perry to face off against.

Ah, well I think it was kind of an 80's thing to be honest. To have all of that action adventure sleuthing. The best one I remember was from the Case of the Killer Kiss. Perry tripping the bad guy with his cane. Nice. Loved it.

Wish they could have had the cops not be stereotypes in it. Come on... the series didn't have it be that way. They were pretty much on the same level as Perry was. They didn't treat them as lesser than.

Come to think of that special, I found it on youtube recently. 

Here it is...

link to it

Disclaimer: from youtube.com, no copyright infringement intended.

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Sorry to double post -- was just over on IMDB's boards today and saw that they have a really active Perry Mason board there. Surprised the heck out of me. Kind of cool if you think about it :). It was mainly about the older series, but it's nice to see that there's still a sizable fan base for the series as a whole.

Just found the sweetest find today... a couple of Perry Mason books. They're still in print :). Got them for a little over a $1 a piece. Can't wait to start reading them. And I got a Nero Wolfe mystery as well.

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I remember the episode wherein they are returning to California via ship from Vancouver. She's wearing a lovely black dress.  They are on deck, staring out at the ocean and she begins to talk about the case.  He nudges her and points up the moon.  Not a word was said, but it was very effective.

I have the entire series and am about 1/2 way thru.

Edited by Patssy Stoned
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I remember the episode wherein they are returning to California via ship from Vancouver. She's wearing a lovely black dress.  They are on deck, staring out at the ocean and she begins to talk about the case.  He nudges her and points up the moon.  Not a word was said, but it was very effective.

I have the entire series and am about 1/2 way thru.

Aww, that is so romantic. :) God bless those two for making the most of the situation, considering... thank gosh that they had a chance to let the characters grow in the movies.

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I wasn't really clear where to put this. Been enjoying the chatter in the Perry Mason forum, it's one of my silent guilty pleasures. I watch it when no one in the house is awake so that I can enjoy with no back talk.

I was looking up something for my daughter the other day in regards to some of my favorite people that do impressions, and I found this:

Raymond Burr on KopyKats! OMG, does anyone remember the show KopyKats? What a pleasure it is to see him laugh!

Again, my apologies if this is in the wrong place, just getting familiar with the protocol here.

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No problem, any little moments will do. And man that one is a doozy XD. Thanks for sharing it, BizBuzz. The look on that guy's face is just priceless. He didn't see that one coming at all.

Just saw a good one last night from TCOT Lost Love, where Perry and Della were leaving the court room. 

Link to a nice fan vid...

At the end is the aforementioned clip. The way that she looks at him, with a big old smile on her lips and vice versa from him... there's no way that those two weren't romantically involved by then. You don't give someone that kind of look, if something didn't happen or wasn't already going on imo.

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ABS - that was just wonderful to watch. WOW, didn't even need the dialog to know what was going on. Thank you!

Same here, Biz and you're welcome. The woman who made that vid did a really good job on it. You just know that they had to have been dating or married by then. :)

How did you add in that video?

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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I just added the link and hit "Quick Reply" ... I was kind of shocked it showed up like that.

Cool. Sounds nice and simple. On a side note, guess he was the original (before internet) scare video person XD. I've seen those videos on America's Funniest Home Videos where people would be watching a nice calm video and then get scared out of their wits the next minute.

Got 3 more moments I just thought of... 2 are from TCOT Lost Love -- one scene was where Della asked him if he had his pills from his doctor for his leg and he said he did (on a side note, I tend to think it might have been a case of real life sneaking in there... meaning that maybe his leg really did bother him pain wise during filming and that's why the medicine was there... not that it makes any difference to be honest, since it actually adds to the show and the characters...), another where he took some later at the hotel and Della was checking up on him (and one funny part of that scene, he was at a typewriter typing, how cute :p, and it showed just how much time had passed in that regard in my opinion)... 

Both of these scenes show just how much she cared for him, and that to me, means much more than the woman that he had an affair with. She didn't give a damn about him and it showed.

And the last one was from TCOT Killer Kiss... him and his associates were going after a bad guy and he was able to catch up to him and trip him... the look on his face was just priceless XD. A big old grin.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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Just saw that MeTv will NOT be airing the Perry Mason movie on April 11th. Instead they're showing 2 Star Treks, a Twilight Zone episode and a regular episode of Perry Mason instead. Guess the movie was just a place holder. Which sucks, since the movies are hardly shown at all now. I sent in an email to the people at MeTv letting them know of my disappointment over this issue.

On a side note, I'm curious... were there any out and out flirting moments between those two (Perry and Della)? Not just ones from the series either, but from the movies? I can think of one (other than TCOT Tell Tale Talk Show Host where Perry kisses her) where Perry secretly buys her gifts for her birthday and keeps on telling her that she must have a secret admirer (sadly can't think of the name of that episode/movie).

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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God bless those two for making the most of the situation, considering... thank gosh that they had a chance to let the characters grow in the movies.

 

I can only shudder to think about how this show would be produced today: Perry would be like Dr. House, with all kinds of problems and Della would have an inflated chest, cleavage revealing uber tight clothes, a face filled with botox and fillers and the emphasis would be on their sex life rather than the case.

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I can only shudder to think about how this show would be produced today: Perry would be like Dr. House, with all kinds of problems and Della would have an inflated chest, cleavage revealing uber tight clothes, a face filled with botox and fillers and the emphasis would be on their sex life rather than the case.

OMG, that just cracked me up! XD It would be one BAD moment, that's for sure O_O. Tv is just sex saturated these days. Hinting is one thing, but going that far (sex life being more literal) just wouldn't fit. For one thing, the characters were part of a certain generation. Not that they didn't have sex, but it was just behind the scenes. We didn't need to know about it. Not that guessing wasn't fun. But it wasn't the main point. It was seeing the interactions between those two. That's what really mattered :).

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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I was inspired by Patsy Stoned's comment about what Perry Mason would be like now from the Little Moments thread XD.

 

1) You'd see Perry and Della making out (meaning something like you'd see on today's shows or some strange soap opera in the 80's O_O)...

2) Perry loses a case and then goes off on a bender.

3) Hamilton Burger wins. And then he goes and shows off his win in Perry's face.

 

How about you guys/gals?

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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Just thought of another one:

 

A song and dance number! :D Both Perry and Hamilton start their motions during a case and it turns into a big song and dance number...

 

And one that Raymond Burr did himself (thanks again for sharing that video, Bizbuzz):

 

Perry would be normally talking to his defendant, and then all of a sudden say... "Here comes da judge..." as the judge enters the courtroom. Chaos then ensues, as Hamilton and company think that someone has drugged Perry somehow...

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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A wish marathon... since in 3 years... he would have been 100 years old. 

 

What episodes would you like to see? What movies? Etc.?

 

My list:

 

TCOT Lost Love (87') -- It was a good, well acted episode/movie. Good interacting between Della and Perry too.

 

TCOT Tell Tale Talk Show Host (93') -- Good interaction between the two of them. And I'd love to see this episode overall.

 

 

 

 

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Awwww...that was great, thanks AntiBeeSpray!

You're welcome bizbuzz :). I was just watching an one of the movies on Youtube, when I came across it. I wasn't even looking... something just stood out there. Gotta love those two. And given the exchange, there was no way that they weren't at least dating by then.

 

Came across a couple of nice fan vids last night...

 

 

 

 

 

When I was watching these, I was struck by the chemistry in the earlier part of the show. Damn. What a shame that it was curbed during the later parts (movies aside -- at least in those, it was allowed to shine, thanks you two).

 

 

Also, was able to get a cap from one of them... was curious what episode it came from. Thought it was either from s1 or s2.

 

lookfamiliar.png

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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Well, since I have all the good seasons (just need to get 8 and 9, but they're airing on MeTV, so I can see them still), My wish is for all the movies with William Katt...because they were so much better and I love Paul, Junior. Can't stand, useless, buffoon Ken. Though of course, it is in the movies with him that we get Case of the Lost Love, Tell Tale Talk Show Host,. In addition, any that have Perry and Della moments.

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I just found out what the name of the episode where Della kept on getting gifts from a secret admirer! It's TCOT Reckless Romeo! :) Saw the mention in all places, a review of the episode/movie itself.

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Just found a couple of cute Della and Perry moments...

 

 

This one was a doozy. Loved it.

 

It was from s7. And hot damn. > : ) It's definitely full of meaning ;).

 

 

 

This one is where the screencap I posted before came from.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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Alright then, you're the boss.

 

::giggle::

::seconds that giggle::

 

Just got the 50th Anniversary dvd set... probably will be watching the movie and Raymond Burr's Charlie Rose interviews.

 

Edit: Just saw the interviews... 

And seeing both actors say that the characters may have been doing a little more than just hanky panky (in the interviews (one of Raymond Burr (a couple of Charlie Rose ones, which I wish were the whole ones, they were really good and he had one heck of a good sense of humor) and one of Barbara Hale) was dang cute =p XD. Win > : ). They both seemed to have fun in letting the characters spread their wings, so to speak. No more author standing in their way... And it was really interesting hearing more about behind the scenes from the both of them. Worth the money...not $50 though (glad I only paid $16 something for it). Wish they would have had another episode of the show or one of other movies instead of the conversation with the CBS exec., even if she helped out, it seemed a little random and out of place in a way...

 

In the middle of watching Perry Mason Returns... love it so far (the nostalgia and the feels =)). Those two are what give it the whole timeless feel. 80's ness aside, it's not overwhelming enough to make it feel dated. Can't wait to get the rest of the movies.

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OMG, look at that smile on Perry!  I about died, and even got goosebumps!  Totally awesome find!

Yea I know. Wish they would have kept the camera running, damn it :P. I wanted to cap it SO bad. Thanks. 

 

Found a couple of nice fics, one was based off of this scene. And we all know what Della wanted > : )... and the other is a good one, with HER in charge. It's nice to find one of those, since a lot of them have him in charge instead.

 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5102687/1/The-Case-of-the-Larcenous-Lady

 

by Michelle Weiner

 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10045628/1/The-Case-of-the-Missing-Fedora

 

by Jlk9506

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OMG, was just in the middle of watching TCOT Skin Deep Scandal, and I decided to go to the end of it to see what had happened in regards to Della...

 

Both Ken and Perry had tied her up so she couldn't fish, since she'd won the tournament. The little chit heads XD. She told them that once they'd get back to shore that they'd regret that.

 

Man I was in stitches after seeing that. First time I've ever seen an episode where he pulled a fast one on her :P. Aside from some teasing.

 

Was planning on getting the movies, but now I HAVE to. So priceless.

 

Also MeTv is supposed to be showing TCOT Fatal Framing on the 23rd of this month at 8pm to 10pm. Hopefully they won't cancel it this time around. I've missed seeing the tv movies on tv.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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