Creator:
Erle Stanley Gardner
Cast:
Raymond Burr….Perry Mason
Barbara Hale…..Della Street
William Hopper….Paul Drake
William Talman….Hamilton Burger
Ray Collins….Lt. Arthur Tragg
Paramount Home Entertainment presents Perry Mason: Season 2, Volume 2. Running time: 12 hours 54 minutes. Fifteen episodes on four DVDs. Unrated. Episodes aired: Feb. 7, 1959 to June 27, 1959. DVD release: November 13, 2007.
The Show
How did Hamilton Burger remain district attorney for so many years? You’d figure after getting his ass handed to him the first 50 times in a row by Perry Mason, the citizens of Los Angeles would vote for a new top prosecutor. At the mid-point in the second season, the producers took a little pity on Burger being Perry’s whipping boy. Burger must have had an ulcer the size of Raymond Burr. The writers allowed Burger to duck Perry Mason in the courtroom. They also took Perry on the road to crush the legal dreams of other prosecutors. Of the 15 cases in Perry Mason: Season Two, Volume Two, Burger only suffered through six gavel-to-gavel beatdowns.
“The Case of the Fraudulent Foto” has the District Attorney of Waring City blackmailed while investigating graft on a construction project. He pulls a favor from Perry to get out of the jam. The staged naughty photo is the least of his problems when one of the blackmail crew ends up dead. The D.A. needs Perry to keep him off death row. The moment of the blackmail photo being taken is hilarious. “The Case of the Caretaker’s Cat”? shows extreme loyalty between a servant and his rich boss. The servant burns down the boss’s house with the rich codger inside. The servant claims it was supposed to be a test to see which of the relatives truly deserved to inherit the fortune. The old man was faking his death. Perry has to prove that one of the relatives got wind of the rich man’s plan and screwed up the plan. Burger thinks he’s got an air tight conviction since the servant inherited most of the old man’s wealth.
“The Case of the Bedeviled Doctor”? reminds us to never confess our dark secrets to an audiotape. Mark Douglas owes a lot of money on bad gambling debts. Instead of getting a day job, Mark begs for a favor from his sister. She works as a secretary to Dr. David Craig, a psychoanalyst. Mark can clear his debt if she’ll let him steal audiotapes of Peter Heywood’s sessions with the doctor. Heywood confesses an affair during his sofa time. Heywood’s wife wants a divorce and the tape will get her a fat settlement. When Dr. Craig discovers the missing tape, he contacts Perry Mason to quietly clean this up. The silent work is spoiled by a gunshot. Now Perry has to represent a client charged with homicide. Michael Fox plays Dr. Hoxie. He’s the reason why Michael J. Fox had to add the middle initial to his name.
“The Case of the Stuttering Bishop”? sounds like it should involve a masturbation scandal. An Australian bishop informs Carole Delaney that her real grandfather is a multi-millionaire. There’s something fishy about the Holy man since early on he gets roughed up by a couple mobsters. The mobsters later visit Carole to let her know that it’s not a good idea to discover her roots. She and the bishop visit Perry Mason to see if this is on the level. Before she can confirm her identity as the real granddaughter, the millionaire is killed. The bishop vanishes and Carole becomes the prime suspect. Burger finally gets smart and sacrifices Assistant District Attorney (Herbert Ellis) to the Beast of the Bar.
“The Case of the Calendar Girl” has Perry shooting amateur photography on bikini models to clear his client. Raymond Burr looks extra creepy near the row of strobe lights. “The Case of the Petulant Partner” takes Perry to the High Desert. A rich old coot marries a gold-digger. His business partner is furious and wants to break up their deals. He hires Perry to perform the corporate divorce. The gold-digger gets gunned down so Perry’s client needs criminal attorney attention. It’s good that Perry’s a full-service lawyer. The fun of this episode is seeing the high desert D.A. think that he’s laying a legal beating on Perry. How naive can he be? “The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom”? reminds us why we need to make sure all the paperwork is done right on a divorce. Perry’s client is about to get a bigamy charge courtesy of his first wife. Things get weird as the client becomes a semi-widower and the prime suspect. “The Case of the Lame Canary”? wraps up the season with Perry bitchslapping Burger as a homicide case hinges on a bird’s injuries.
The end of the season found Perry and Della Street, his secretary still restrained from flirting. There are numerous clues that the duo are involved outside the law office. During “The Case of the Petulant Partner,” Della and Perry are staying at a hotel. They don’t emphasize that they have separate rooms. When a character jokes that Perry might have Della working overtime on non-legal issues, Perry doesn’t try to correct him.
What can be learned from Perry Mason: Season Two, Volume Two? If you contact Perry Mason for simple legal advice, you’ll eventually be charged with homicide. If you want to maintain your job as District Attorney, find a few other prosecutors for Perry to destroy.
The Episodes
“The Case of the Fraudulent Foto,” “The Case of the Romantic Rogue,” “The Case of the Jaded Joker,” “The Case of the Caretaker’s Cat,” “The Case of the Stuttering Bishop,” “The Case of the Lost Last Act,” “The Case of the Bedeviled Doctor,” “The Case of the Howling Dog,” “The Case of the Calendar Girl,” “The Case of the Petulant Partner,” “The Case of the Dangerous Dowager,” “The Case of the Deadly Toy,” “The Case of the Spanish Cross,” “The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom” and “The Case of the Lame Canary.”
The DVD
VIDEO:
The picture is 1.33:1. The black and white transfer is pristine with crisp details.
AUDIO:
The soundtrack is Dolby Digital Mono. There are no subtitles, but it’s closed captioned.
EXTRAS:
None.
Perry Mason: Season Two, Volume Two |
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