Synopsis
Includes:
Perry Mason: The Case of the Screaming Woman (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fiery Fingers (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Daughter (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lonely Heiress (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Rolling Bones (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Terrified Typist (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lazy Lover (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Long-Legged Models (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fugitive Nurse (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Gilded Lily (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the One-Eyed Witness (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Substitute Face (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Deadly Double (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Prodigal Parent (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Daring Decoy (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Empty Tin (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Hesitant Hostess (1958)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Screaming Woman
There's no shortage of suspects when vitriolic society columnist Mary K. Davis (Marian Seldes) is murdered. Even so, the police charge the dead woman's nurse Leona Walsh (Josephine Hutchinson) with the crime...mainly because Leona has given a full confession to DA Hamilton Burger (William Talman). Inasmuch as Leona's lawyer is Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), she is of course not guilty, but Perry has a tough time proving it--and to make matters worse, Burger intends to discredit Mason in court by calling his secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale) to the stand to testify that her boss has tampered with the evidence! This episode is based on a 1957 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fiery Fingers
A sweet but scatterbrained old lady named Nora Mae Quincy (Lenore Shanewise) comes to Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) with the slightly garbled story that her employer George Gordon (Edward Norris is a murderer--and will soon murder again. Nora is the nurse of Gordon's second wife Louise (Susan Dorn), whom Nora suspects is being poisoned by Gordon, offering as evidence the fact that man's first wife also died from an "accidental" poisoning. As it turns out, however, it is Nora who is accused of the second Mrs. Gordon's murder--but that doesn't necessarily mean that she's been framed by her boss. Based on a 1951 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode would be refilmed in 1964 as "The Case of the Woeful Widower". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Daughter
Claiming to be suffering from amnesia, an 18-year-old girl (Gigi Perreau) asks Perry (Raymond Burr) to find out who she is and help restore her memory. As it turns out, the girl has plenty to forget: Her name is Doris Bannister, and she is the daughter of Lisa Bannister (Osa Massen)--who herself is the daughter of the East German Communist party leader, and is living incognito in the U.S. When Stefan Riker (a pre-Hogan's Heroes Werner Klemperer) arrived in America threatening to expose Lisa, Doris pretended to fall in love with him to throw him off the track. Thus, when Riker turns up murdered, Doris is accused of the crime--and Perry really has his work cut out for him! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lonely Heiress
Paul Drake (William Hopper) is hired to keep an eye on a lonely-hearts classified ad placed by heiress Marilyn Cartwright (Kathleen Crowley). No, Marilyn isn't looking for love: she's looking for con artist "Country Boy" Barnaby (L.Q. Jones), the man who drove her sister to suicide. All Marilyn wants to do is trap Barnaby into exposing himself as a crook--but when he turns up murdered, she finds herself accused of the crime. Inevitably, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is brought in to prove the girl's innocence. This episode is based on a 1948 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Rolling Bones
The greedy relatives of wealthy Daniel Reed (Edgar Stehli) want to have him committed to a mental institution, using as evidence the fact that he has been issuing $20,000 checks to strangers. Perry is hired by Reed's girlfriend Millie Foster (Kitty Kelly) to prevent the old man from being put away. Before long, however, Perry is defending Reed on a murder charge--and the victim is the recipient of all those checks, a slimy blackmailer named Maury Lewis (King Calder). In the course of events, Perry is amazed that each and every one of his legal moves has been anticipated by DA Hamilton Burger (William Talman); can it be that Burger has ordered Mason's office to be bugged? This final episode of Perry Mason's first season is based on a 1939 novel by series creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde
Whitney Blake, who played the first client of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) in the series opener "The Case of the Restless Redhead", returns in this episode as blonde Diana Reynolds, who shows up in Perry's office clad in a bathrobe and sporting a black eye. As Perry and Della listen attentively, Diana weaves an incredible tale of being framed for a jewel theft. But this turns out to be the least of the girl's problems when she is charged with the murder of Marian Shaw (Judith Ames). A long-lost grandson also figures prominently in this episode, which is based on a 1944 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Terrified Typist
George Baxter (Jack Raine), a courier for the South African Diamond Company, arrives at his firm's California office to find the place in a state of disarray, with a strange girl (Joanna Moore) standing the middle of the room. Baxter concludes that the place has been robbed, but before he can say or do anything the girl has ducked into the nearby office of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), claiming to be a typist for a temp agency. Later on, Baxter is found murdered, and a man named Duane Jefferson (Alan Marshall) is charged. Perry wants to defend Jefferson, but the man refuses to identity the woman who could prove his innocence (and guess who that woman is?) Based on a 1956 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode offers a genuinely shocking twist just before the climax. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife
Perry (Raymond Burr) receives an urgent telegram from Frank Lawton (Stewart Bradley), an old Army buddy who apparently is in trouble. Not long afterward, Frank is charged with the murder of his boss, Scott Shelby (Tom Shelby). Offering to defend Frank, Perry is shocked to learn that his friend never sent that telegram, and was never in trouble...until now. This episode is based on a 1945 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lazy Lover
Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is intrigued when he receives a $2500 check from one Lucille Allred (Anna Lee), with no explanation why. Contacting Lucille's husband Bernard (Neil Hamilton), Perry is told that the woman has run off with another man. The situation becomes even more vexing when Bernard turns up murdered, not long after being in a highly suspicious car accident which also involved his business associate Bob Fleetwood (Harry Townes). Now Perry will be able to earn that $2500 as defense councel for Lucille Allred, who has been charged with her husband's murder. In an interesting bit of casting, Yvonne Craig appears as Bernard Allred's stepdaughter, some nine years before Ms. Craig and Neil Hamilton respectively played Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) and her dad Commissioner Gordon on TV's Batman. This episode is based on a 1947 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister
Harriet Bain (Virginia Vincent) is accused of murdering J.J. Stanley (James Bell), the man who had embezzled a huge sum of money from the Texas National Bank in collaboration with Harriet's father Ned (Carl Benton Reid). It seems that, just before his death, Stanley had approached Ned and threatened to expose him unless he was paid off. In preparing his defense of Harriet, Perry (Raymond Burr) surreptitiously erases a taped recording of the meeting between Stanley and Bain--one of the series' few overt examples of Perry actually destroying evidence! This episode is based on a 1953 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Long-Legged Models
After the mysterious death of her motel-owner father Glenn (Russell Thorson), Stephanie Falkner (Peggy McCay) is left with nothing but her dad's property and a huge pile of debts. Enter big-time gambler George Castle (Joe De Santis), who dearly covets Stephanie's land. Unbeknownst to the girl, George had killed her father over a gambling debt--or perhaps Stephanie has known this all along. Whatever the case, when George himself turns up murdered, Stephanie is charged with the crime...and that's when Perry Mason (Perry Mason) takes a hand in matters. This episode is based on a 1958 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fugitive Nurse
Perry's client Janet Morris (Bethel Leslie) is charged with poisoning her husband Dr. Morris (Sheppard Strudwick), who has been reported killed in a plane crash. As it turns out, however, the crash victim is not Dr. Norris but instead David Kirby (Dabbs Greer); Norris has faked his demise so he can run off to Mexico with his girlfriend (played by Maxine Cooper, best known for her work in the 1955 cult film favorite Kiss Me Deadly). No matter: Janet must now stand trial for Kirby's murder, meaning that Mason will have to dig up the elusive Dr. Morris to prove his client's innocence...but who exactly is guilty? Based on a 1954 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode would be remade in 1965 as "The Case of the Vanishing Victim". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Gilded Lily
Charles Brent (Grant Withers), owner of the building where Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) keeps his offices, is being blackmailed by Arthur Binney (Richard Erdman), who threatens to expose the sordid past of Brent's young wife Anne (Mari Aldon). When Binney turns up dead, Brent takes the rap, believing that Anne is the guilty party. Complicating the situation for Brent's attorney Perry is the fact that Brent's secretary Enid (Barbara Baxley) had earlier attempted suicide when Anne married her boss. This episode is based on a 1956 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the One-Eyed Witness
Perry (Raymond Burr) receives an envelope containing $500 from Marian Fargo (played by a redheaded Angie Dickinson), who wants him to exchange the money for documents pertaining to her brother, a fugitive from justice. Things get sticky when the "drop-off" point turns out to be a murder scene. Compelled to clear Marian of charges that she killed not only a blackmailer named Renault (Jan Arvan) but her own husband Arthur (Peter Adams), Perry must rely upon a witness (Dorothy Green) whose eyesight is very seriously impaired--and who may have a hidden agenda of her own. (In an unintentionally amusing scene, Perry complains that the coffee in an expensive French restaurant costs an outrageous one dollar per cup!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Substitute Face
While enjoying a leisurely ocean cruise in the company of secretary Della (Barbara Hale), Perry (Raymond Burr) is approached by passenger Anna Houser (Lurene Tuttle), who is worried about the wellbeing of her husband Carl (Theodore Newton). Not long afterward, Carl is seen jumping off the ship, an apparent suicide--but when the body is recovered, it turns out that he was shot. Accused of murder, Anna puts her fate in the hands of Perry, who in the course of piecing things together unearths the fact that Carl had once accepted a huge bribe while serving on a jury. And how does that mysterious wheelchair-bound passenger, whose face is completely wrapped in bandages, figure into the story? This episode is based on a 1938 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Deadly Double
The only person who can clear Perry's client Robert Crane (Denver Pyle) of a murder charge is his sister Helen (Constance Ford), the wife of the murder victim. But Helen suffers from schizophrenia: by day, she is "herself" and by night she is her wild-and-reckless alter ego Joyce Martel. Unfortunately, it was "Joyce" who witnessed the murder, so Perry (Perry Mason) must figure out a way to put "Joyce", rather than Helen, on the witness stand! Though not based on an Erle Stanley Gardner original, this episode would seem to have been inspired by such multiple personality-themed films as Three Faces of Eve and Lizzie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Prodigal Parent
Philip Larkin (Terry Becker) is murdered, and his stepfather Joseph Harrison (John Hoyt) is charged with the crime. A key piece of evidence for the prosecution is a home movie showing Larkin and Harrison quarrelling; could their argument have been about sexy Lorraine Stevens (Andra Martin), whom Philip had earlier tried to seduce? Fay Wray of King Kong fame makes the first of three Perry Mason appearances as Harrison's former wife Ethel, who hires Perry (Raymond Burr) to defend her ex-husband in court. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Daring Decoy
While enmeshed in a vicious proxy war with business rival Warner Griffith (played by former western star Johnny Mack Brown), Daniel Conway (H.M.Wynant) is charged with murdering Griffith's secretary Rose Calvert (Pamela Duncan), who'd been spying on him. Agreeing to defend Conway, Perry (Raymond Burr) first tries to prove that Griffith is the guilty party, only to find out that the man has an airtight alibi. When all is said and done, Conway's fate may rest with a curious witness who is able to identify people by memorizing their shoes! This episode is based on a 1957 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Empty Tin
Doris Hocksley (Toni Gerry, long-lost daughter of the late Adam Hocksley and sole heir to Hocksley's estate, arrives in Los Angeles and contacts Alan Neil (Warren Stevens), nephew of the estate's executor Elston Carr (Anthony Joachim). Later, Carr is found murdered in his home--and Doris is hiding in on the premises. With her fingerprints all over the murder weapon, Doris would seem to be caught red-handed, but Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) believes in her innocence. Problem is, the only other likely suspect is Alan Neil--and he turns up murdered as well. This episode is based on a 1941 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Perry Mason: The Case of the Hesitant Hostess
Feeling sorry for Albert Sanders (Fred Sherman), who has lost his entire family in a terrible accident, Perry agrees to defend the man pro-bono on a smuggling charge. The situation becomes a bit more serious when Sanders is accused of murdering cabdriver Kim Lane (Betty Utey). In order to clear his client, Mason and Paul Drake must expose a vicious smuggling ring operating from a tawdry dance hall. This episode is based on a 1958 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
