Have you noticed that there's no such thing as free and clear holiday time for Perry Mason? Whenever Perry goes on a hunting trip, fishing trip, ocean cruise or anything else to get away from the office, he still gets involved in a murder case. If Perry boarded a rocket and went to another planet, he would end up defending some extraterrestrial wrongly accused of blasting another with its ray gun.
shareSuch is the life of the greatest TV lawyer of all time.
shareI love the fact that no matter what time of day it is, Paul Drake can catch the next flight to....
Also, I love when a scene in Perry's office where the character says "my flight leaves in an hour". I can tell you living in Los Angeles all my life (im 64), the line "my flight leaves in an hour" wouldn't work in 1957, nor on 2017.
Ah, writers...
And as someone posted in another thread, it's like Lt Tragg goes on vacation with Perry. I think Tragg hears that Perry is going somewhere and gets ready bc he knows someone will be killed there.
I also would never use Perry for anything but a murder case. It seems like every time a client comes in and needs a will or some paper work done, they always end up getting charged with murder pretty soon after.
Also, as busy as Perry is, you notice his desk is clean and spotless with no papers, law books or personal momentos like pics of friends, family or celebrities.
shareThere was a saying that was kind of popular in the '80s: You don't want Perry Mason for your lawyer or Jessica Fletcher for your friend, because someone is going to die.
shareYes I remember something like that. At least Perry lives in LA with lots of people. Didn't Jessica live in some small town? I didn't watch the she show but it seems like half that town died lol
shareYou're forgetting one thing: if Perry Mason is your lawyer and someone else dies, you'll never be convicted of murdering them.
shareThat is true!!
shareYou're forgetting one thing: if Perry Mason is your lawyer and someone else dies, you'll never be convicted of murdering them.
In TCOT Baited Hook,
the person who hires Perry for her daughter was the murderer
You may cross-examine.
Terrified Typist. Confusion over the defendant's identity caused an acquittal, for which (we assume) the killer was subsequently rearrested
shareThat is true for both Perry and Jessica Fletcher, but you still have to go through the humiliation of being charged for murder, being put in jail, etc. etc.
And in 2016 just being arrested is enough to deprive you of certain human rights for the rest of your life.
As late as 1978 I flew out of LAX more than once by just showing up at the airport and buying a ticket. No security of any kind. Car drop-off to seat in plane--about half an hour.
shareAn unproduced script had Perry on holiday at a site that was free of crime. It was entitled "The Case of the Cancelled TV Series."
shareThen there are all the times when Perry pays a call on someone, the phone rings, and the call is for him.
shareThat's a strength of the show, fast-moving, no wasted time in someone trying to find Mason. It's remarkable how the writers stuffed ESG's novels into a 50-52 minute teleplay with some coherency.
shareI know if I ever went on vacation or a cruise and saw both Perry Mason and Columbo there, I would either run or stay close to them to watch what happens next. I wish those two had teamed up for a movie or show.
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