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Perry Mason (1957 - 1966)

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 4:49 pm    Post subject: Perry Mason (1957 - 1966) Reply with quote

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This is another show that Bulldogtrekker and I often share with synchronized DVDs and a little help from Facebook. When the plot gets too complex and we get mixed up on who murdered who with what weapon because of what motive, we start swapping info and straightening out those pesky plot twists.

Meanwhile we have fun spotting the actors we recognize from beloved 1950s sci-fi movies ("Oh, look! The judge is Morris Ankrum, the general who got his brain uploaded in Earth vs the Flying Saucers!")



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There's always at least one familiar sci-fi alumni among the guest stars in each episode, and sometimes there are three or four.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit that Perry Mason episodes are about as close as you can get to 1950s sci-fi without it being science fiction.

The defense rests.



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_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Dec 29, 2022 2:18 pm; edited 5 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Netflix only has seasons 1 and 2 of this series, and I've managed to download season 3 from Putlocker.

However, even though Putlocker has season 4, the picture quality is poor, and they don't have seasons 5 though 9.

And so, today I decided to buy the complete series on DVD from Amazon. Bulldogtrekker can get seasons 3 through 6 from his local library, and I told him he should ask them to acquire seasons 7 through 9 as well.

BDT frequently does this, and the friendly folks at the library often oblige. In fact, just last week they bought the DVD of Them! and Beast from 20,000 Fathoms at his request.

As I said in my post above, the great 1950s look of this show (along with the familiar faces from various sci-fi movies) makes watching Perry Mason a joy for fans of the Golden Age classics.

I'm especially looking forward to episode 25 from season 5, which aired on April 7th, 1962. The cast includes James Coburn from the Flint movies and Paula Raymond from Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

The title is The Case of the Angry Astronaut. Very Happy

Robert Bray is the accused man whom Perry defends, a test astronaut in the Human Factors division for the Moonstone project. I'm hoping the story's setting will provide a few NASA type scenes that will give the episode a sci-fi flavor.

And on that note, Robert Bray appeared in the last episode of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger in 1954 . . . which was called The Trial of Rocky Jones!

How's THAT for irony, guys! Wink



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud, I was reading online about Johnny Carson. Not such a nice guy as I once thought he was back in the day.

Raymond Burr stopped going on "The Tonight Show" due to Carson's unrelenting teasing Burr about his weight.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Imagine my surprise today when I noticed Truman Bradley's name in the cast of "The Case of the Madcap Modiste".

I checked my download of that episode and found Truman in the opening scene, sitting in a chair while addressing the audience, just like he does in Science Fiction Theatre!






And then he turns and begins to interview actress Marie Windsor, who appears on a large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall!





IMDB says this was the final appearance of Truman Bradley.

The cast also includes Les Tremanye as the prosecuting attorney (Les was in The Monolith Monsters, War of the Worlds, and the opening narrator in Forbidden Planet), and Morris Ankrum as the judge (the actor who appeared in more 50s sci-fi than any other actor).

Just another example of how this great series seems to dance around science fiction in delightful and unexpected ways. Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 01, 2017 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

The list of guest stars on Perry Mason who are well known to fans of classic sci-fi keeps growing, as I browse through the IMDB cast lists for the episodes.

For example, the episode called The Case of the Clumsy Clown stars Robert Clarke (star of The Hideous Sun Demon and Beyond the Time Barrier, etc.).



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And the Deputy Assistant District Attorney who goes up against Perry in the courtroom (in for the absent Hamilton Burger) is none other then Kenneth Toby (from The Thing from Another World and Beast from 20,000 Fathoms).





Robert Cornthwaite (another star from The Thing from Another World) has been in about six episodes I've seen so far.





Marguerite Chapman from Flight to Mars appeared in the The Case of the Wandering Widow.





Whit Bissell is a frequent guest star.


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Margaret Field (the lovely heroine in The Man From Planet X) was a guest star in The Case of the Nine Dolls.





Nelson Leigh starred in World Without End, and he's been a judge in nine episodes.





Richard Gaines was the humorless scientist in Flight to Mars, and he served on the bench in fourteen Perry Mason episode.





The list of familiar guest stars goes on and on, but the most familiar sci-fi alumni is Morris Ankrum, who appeared in fifteen sci-fi films, the largest number of any actor. But the number of cases he's judged on Perry Mason beats that number by seven, with a total of twenty-two total appearances as the judge!

Now, you'd think with all these veterans of science fiction films in this series, they'd have at least ONE story that qualified as science fiction! Shocked

Well by gum, they do! Cool

The Case of the Irate Inventor is about a brilliant engineer who develops a device which can prevent the mid-air collisions of aircraft. The small prototype of the device is a wacky little gizmo that resembles something Truman Bradley would show us in an opening scene of a Science Fiction Theatre episode.








It lights up and has little moving parts which go into action when something comes near it. The company is hoping to perfect a long-range version that somehow alerts pilots about approaching aircraft and other flying objects.

Admittedly this isn't a very complex science fiction concept, but between the claims about how the device will revolutionize air travel by eliminating midair collisions, and the grand references to the complexity of the little prototype, we finally get to see a Perry Mason episode that dips its toes into our favorite genre!
Very Happy
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Apr 21, 2020 8:53 am; edited 1 time in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Here's a few of the 39 trivia items for this series which are located on the main page for the show (rather than any of the of specific episodes).

When Raymond Burr missed several episodes due to illness, he was replaced by guest attorneys played by Bette Davis, Walter Pidgeon, Hugh O'Brian, Michael Rennie, and Mike Connors.

Note from me: I'm looking forward to seeing the episodes which feature guests attorneys who filled in for Perry . . . played by Klaatu and Dr. Edward Morbius!

And on the subject of ironic casting, this next trivia item conjures up some interesting mental images. How would Perry Mason look in a parallel universe where the main characters were played by different people than we're used to seeing?

Producer Gail Patrick initially had William Hopper playing Mason, but after Raymond Burr impressed her so much auditioning for Hamilton Burger, she cast Burr in the title role and demoted Hopper to the Paul Drake role.

Note from me: Just for fun, let's try to imagine William Talman (who played Hamilton Burger) being cast as Paul Drake!

So, in this parallel universe we'd see Hopper/Mason being assisted by P.I. Talman/Drake as they defend clients who are prosecuted by . . . District Attorney Burr/Burger! Laughing

However, one episode in season 7 certainly blurs the traditional lines between prosecutor Burger and law enforcement officer Tragg, who are pitted against defense attorney Mason and his supporting staff. This next IMDB trivia item has me eager to watch this one!

In the opening sequence for Perry Mason: The Case of the Tandem Target (1964) in Season 7, Perry, Paul and Della are shown at the table in the courtroom, along with Hamilton Burger and Lt. Tragg! This must have been a very interesting case, to have Mason and Burger on the same side.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Today I watched the wildest, most complex Perry Mason episode of the entire series!

The title is The Case of the Capricious Corpse, and even though it has no science fiction elements, it challenges the viewer's intellect in a manner that Albert Eisenstein and Leonardo da Vinci would approve of!

The story involves a well-meaning couple who think they're covering up a death by natural causes of a man who will inherit a fortune, in order to divert the fortune of a diseased philanthropic millionaire to an institution for disabled children.

But what they unintentionally do is muddle the investigation of the man's murder by other relatives, and they end up being charge for the crime!

This is an extremely well-written episode, the 2nd one from season 6 of the series. If you're a Perry Mason fan, this one is highly recommended! Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Today I practically fell off the couch laughing while watching a Perry Mason episode in which Michael Rennie filled in as the defense attorney, one of four episodes which were filmed while Raymond Burr recovered from surgery.

In the courtroom scene, Rennie asked a police detective who was on the witness stand to repeat a whimsical remark he'd made at the crime scene about a series of widely spaced bloody footprints on the carpet. The detective looked embarrassed for a moment and then stated that he'd only been joking. But Rennie insisted that he repeat his remark.

"Well . . . uh . . . I said that if they WERE footprints . . . they were made by a Martian nine-feet tall."

Hamilton Burger leaped up and said, "Councilor, don't tell me you plan to call a surprise extra-terrestrial witness!"

Rennie just smile and said, "I might just do that, Mr. Burger."






Later, when Rennie exposed the real killer, the solution to the crime depended on his explanation of the red stains on the carpet and Rennie referred to them several times as "those footprints made by the nine-foot Martian".

I have no doubt that the writers of this episode engineered the dialog to make this subtle "in joke" which referred to Michael Rennie's famous portrayal of an alien! Very Happy

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____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Season 5, episode 28 of this great series was like a class reunion of 1950s sci-fi stars!

The story premise was the prefect setting for these beloved science fiction alumni to present themselves. The plot involves a struggling troop of Shakespearean actors who are under the leadership of an authoritarian producer/director.

The following familiar faces make this episode a "who's who" of 50s sci-fi greats!

Donald Curtis for It Came from Beneath the Sea and Earth vs the Flying Sauces is one of the familiar faces in the cast.

Robert Cornthwaite from The Thing from Another World plays a major role among the acting troop and one of the witnesses who testifies concerning the murder.

Raymond Burr was, of course, a newspaper reporter in the Americanized version of Godzilla.

William Hopper was the star of 20 Million Miles to Earth and The Deadly Mantis.

The two main characters in this epic reunion of sci-fi luminaries were the reunited stars of This Island Earth! Very Happy

Jeff Morrow plays the tyrannical producer/director who browbeats his unhappy actors the same way Exeter cracks the whip on the human scientists he recruits to help Metaluna win it's interplanetary war!

Rex Reason is the handsome supporting actor of the production, "Romeo and Juliet", who must perform a climatic sword fight with Jeff Morrow as Romeo (a definite bit of miscasting, age-wise . . .).

But right there on stage it appears that Rex stabs Jeff in the side in the same spot where the Metaluna Mutant delivered the fatal wound to Exeter in This Island Earth! Shocked

The crucial task of finding out if Rex Reason or the Metaluna Mutant delivered the fatal blow to Exeter falls to Mr. Perry Mason or if was it somebody else in this Shakespearean rogues' gallery!

Watch The Case of the Ancient Romeo and find out for yourself! Cool

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2024 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I've been binge watching Perry Mason for several weeks, and I've noticed several amusing aspects of the show which occur fairly regularly. Here's what I mean.
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~ When talking on the phone, Perry always repeats any info he's told, or he restates the answer to any question he asks. Example: "So, Paul, you DID find out where the murdered man's wife went yesterday? . . . She went to a bar, eh? . . . Oh, and now she's back home."

~ Perry and Della do absolutely everything a husband and wife would do; travel together, go out to dinner, even cook meals at home! But they never kiss or hug or do anything involving physical intimacy!

~ Nobody on the show ever says goodbye when they finish talking on the phone. When they're through talking, they just hang up! This is actually true of all TV shows and movies!

~ Della obviously loves Perry, but she never shows the slightest trace of jealousy whenever lovely ladies flirt with him. In fact, she seems to enjoy telling him that attractive women are waiting to see him in the outer office. She even smiles and says things like, "She's blond and VERY attractive, Perry."

~ Perry has the amazing ability to coax the murderer into blurting out a confession. And it's always either, " I didn't MEAN to kill him! It was an accident!" or "I HAD to kill her! I loved her, but she was going to leave me!"

~ Both Perry and Paul Drake drive convertibles made by the Ford motor company. Paul's car is always the latest model Thunderbird . . . except for a few occasions when it's a Vette!

~ Lt. Arthur Tragg has the amazing ability to show up at a crime scene (or walk right in the door to Perry's office) at the most unexpected moments. It's plum spooky the way Tragg just suddenly appears out of nowhere! And doing this seems to delight the crafty old detective, because he's always smiling faintly as he pulls a warrant from his coat pocket and then gently escorts the accused off to headquarters.

~ Whenever Perry gets loud and aggressive with a witness on the stand and leans close while he shouts questions like, "Is that why you killed your husband, Mrs. Vanderbilt? Because you wanted his money?" He knows they'll violently deny it. That way he can spin around to face someone among the spectators and shout, "No, Mrs, Vanderbilt, you did NOT kill your husband! Because it was actually YOU, Rodney! The dead man's gambling-addicted brother!"

~ Paul Drake has a tiny notebook he carries around to write down large volumes of vital information for Perry's investigations. Despite the fact that the notebook is always packed with info, Paul can open it right to the page he needs whenever he reports to Perry.

~ Whenever a shocked person suddenly finds a body, they do NOT call the police or an ambulance — they call Perry! He rushes right over and studies the situation carefully, then he tells the witness to call the police. However, this often proves unnecessary, because Lt. Tragg will suddenly appear at the door . . . smiling faintly and ready with a warrant in this coat pocket.

~ When someone discovers a murder victim with a knife sticking out of their back or a gun lying on the floor, the horrified person will feel an irresistible compulsion to pull out the knife or pick up the gun. As a result, Hamilton Burger will proudly announce in court that the fingerprints of Perry's client were all over the murder weapon!

~ Absolutely every photograph presented as evidence which had to be faked up by the prop department to add a character from the episode, the studio's photographic fakery looks so phony it's completely unconvincing!

~ In most episodes, the judges do NOT use a gavel or even have one on the bench! When the judges need to call for order, they usually just tap on the bench with the end of a pen or pencil.

~ The Perry Mason Pause: Perry always puts at least one pause in every sentence. Example: Now, I have . . . one more question, Lt. Tragg. Did you find . . . any OTHER fingerprints on the murder weapon? If you didn't . . . that would seem . . . odd, don't you think?

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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