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Displaying records 1 through 10 of 19 |
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Price: $50.99
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Sale: $35.99
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Manufacturer: Paramount
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Number of Items: 4
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Description: Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.
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Price: $49.99
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Sale: $31.85
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Brand: Paramount
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Number of Items: 3
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Description: "You're that lawyer, aren’t you?" a reluctant material witness addresses the impeccably dressed man asking questions about her soon-to-be-murdered boyfriend. Yep, he's Perry Mason, and his reputation precedes him. In "The Case of the Lucky Legs," one of this three-disc set's twelve black-and-white episodes, a policeman who finds Mason at a crime scene greets him with an impressed, "Well." Mason inspires that kind of admiration with yet another heavy caseload of seemingly guilty clients on trial for murder. Episode after episode, one can only marvel at Mason's courtroom cunning that will allow him to identify the real culprit and make him or her squirm on the witness stand until they confess. The cleverly plotted episodes unfold with compelling twists and turns. In "The Case of the Spurious Sister," a husband is understandably confused that his no-good gambler wife, whose murder he ill-advisedly tried to cover up, should apparently turn up in Las Vegas and sue him for divorce. In "The Case of the Garrulous Gambler," a blackmail scam worthy of David Mamet takes a deadly turn. In only one memorable episode can viewers be absolutely certain of the innocence of Mason's client; it's private detective Paul Drake (William Hopper), who has been charged with the murder of a philandering married man who was involved in a hit and run. Through it all, Mason is characteristically cool and confident. In "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma," he jokes that his only concern about Paul is that he will be able to pay Mason's bill. Now and then, Mason will resort to unconventional methods to see that justice is done. In "The Case of the Blushing Pearls," he stages a little arson to roust a suspect from his hotel room. A Saturday night staple during its Emmy-winning nine season run, Perry Mason's pleasures are many, from Fred Steiner's indelible theme song, "Park Avenue Beat" to the character actors with the B-movie names (Lisabeth Hush in "Lucky Legs") and Mason's epilogue summations prompted by his befuddled staff ("Well, there's only thing I don't understand…."). This volume is a must for fans of Erle Stanley Gardner's iconic character who are compiling Mason's complete case history. --Donald Liebenson
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Price: $38.99
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Sale: $25.27
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Brand: Paramount
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Manufacturer: Paramount/CBS
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Number of Items: 5
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Description: There was a time when the defense attorney was a heroic everyman, not the butt of bad jokes; think Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and, of course, Raymond Burr's incomparable Perry Mason. The first season of Perry Mason, which launched in 1957 on CBS, shows just how dramatic a "law and order" show could be. Shot in lush black and white, on film, the episodes have been lovingly restored (including lost minutes hacked from reruns to accommodate commercials). The story arcs and atmosphere feel more like film noir (Perry Mason + Philip Marlowe = separated at birth?) than early TV. The cast was stellar, including Burr's Emmy-winning Perry Mason, the indefatigable lawyer who takes tough cases no one else will touch. Burr's chemistry crackles from episode 1 with his costars, including Barbara Hale as secretary Della, William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake, and William Talman as Hamilton Burger, the well-meaning but overmatched district attorney. While it's true that the last-minute witness-stand confessions strain some credulity, the case-cracking, character development, and dialogue set a high bar for the legal shows that followed. "The Case of the Negligent Nymph," for instance, involves a comely young woman--and murder suspect--fished out of the Pacific; Mason deadpans to Drake, "Call off the search, Paul; we've landed our mermaid." The shows unfold at a leisurely pace, and yet don't rely on the overly expositive dialogue that, say, Law & Order does; the viewer learns a lot about each case simply as it happens. The set contains the first 19 episodes of the first season and will hook you, even if you're not a procedural buff. --A.T. Hurley
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Price: $38.99
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Sale: $24.29
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Manufacturer: CBS Television
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Number of Items: 4
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Description: There's something about Perry! Perry Mason, as a canny 14-year-old remarks in the episode "The Case of the Pint-Sized Client," is "the best lawyer in town." Here's the evidence. In 15 chronological second-season episodes from the classic series by which all lawyer shows are judged, Los Angeles attorney Perry Mason successfully defends a host of clients so seemingly guilty that Nancy Grace would have had them incarcerated by the first commercial break. Created by Erle Stanley Gardner, Mason was already a popular character in books, films, and radio before coming to television in 1957, and Raymond Burr, usually typecast as a heavy in feature films, did Mason justice (Mason was ranked 28th on the Bravo network's list of television's 100 best characters). Punctuating his sentences with that dramatic intake of breath, Burr's Mason exudes gravitas and expertise. He gets capable support from Barbara Hale as his secretary, Della Street, and William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake. In what may be television's most thankless role, William Talman costars as district attorney Hamilton Burger, who nearly every week loses what looked to be an open-and-shut case, usually as the result of some dramatic surprise witness (in one episode, a parrot!), an unorthodox legal maneuver, or a cross-examination courtroom confession ("I didn't mean to kill him, your honor"). There is no delving into Mason's private life, although one episode hints at Mason being something of a ladies man. When Della suggestively tells him a new client is in his waiting room, he replies, "Blonde or brunette?" Cleverly plotted, and infused with a palpable noir sensibility , Perry Mason holds up as more than TV Land nostalgia, although it is fun to see such familiar faces as Jesse "the Maytag Repairman" White, Edgar Buchanan (Petticoat Junction), and Joseph Kearns and Herbert Anderson from Dennis the Menace. No extras, but these entertaining episodes will definitely please the court. --Donald Liebenson
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Price: $38.99
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Sale: $25.43
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Brand: Paramount
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Manufacturer: CBS Television
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Number of Items: 4
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Description: We strenuously object! Raymond Burr was conspicuously and criminally missing on Entertainment Weekly's list of the top 100 TV icons. This is a TV Land injustice, but this four-disc set of episodes that complete season 2 lays the groundwork for an appeal. Burr was honored with an Emmy for his commendable work this season as Los Angeles defense attorney Perry Mason, as was Barbara Hale, who portrayed his faithful secretary Della Street. Who knows how many impressionable viewers Burr inspired to become lawyers with his masterful portrayal of the unflappable, incorruptible Mason? No matter how much evidence district attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman) and Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) collect, and no matter how damning it is, it will usually collapse once Perry gets the real guilty party to break down on the witness stand or, in one case, in a beatnik hangout. In "The Case of the Lame Canary," a woman is discovered over her dead husband's body, gun in hand, and burning a stack of letters. "If she has any sense, she's at the airport waiting for the first plane out of the country," someone cattily remarks. Nope, she has better sense than that; she's at Perry's office. Filmed in black and white, Perry Mason has a seductive noir sensibility. Here in sunny California are convoluted cases involving corruption, blackmail, scandal, revenge, and greed. Perry, with the help of private detective Paul Drake (William Hopper), sorts it all out, and in the episode codas, further parses the evidence ("I still don't see what put you on the right track" is a typical query) in inscrutable ways that invite replay. Beyond the pleasure of watching an actor thoroughly embody his character, it's also fun to spot familiar character actors. "The Case of the Petulant Partner" stars Will Wright, who played mean old Ben Weaver on the early seasons of The Andy Griffith Show, and that's a rather fetching Marion "Mrs C." Ross from Happy Days in "The Case of the Romantic Rogue." The episodes crackle with some old-school, hard-boiled dialogue. Almost worth the price of the set is hearing Lt. Tragg make with the beat talk in "The Case of the Jaded Joker." "I'm one of the cool ones," he jokes with Della and Perry. "I don't dig slick chicks trying to goof me up, daddy-o." Once again, this set is guilty of providing no extra features, but we'll let them off with a warning. This time. --Donald Liebenson
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Price: $38.99
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Sale: $24.50
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Manufacturer: CBS Television
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Number of Items: 5
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Description: The second volume of season 1 of Perry Mason fleshes out the splendid entire first year of the show, a masterpiece of '50s film noir and crisp, savvy TV writing. Raymond Burr's unflappable defense attorney Perry Mason is equal parts P.I., father confessor, and yes, judge, jury, and executioner. The crimes include murder most foul, and lots of that sordid specter that haunted people pre-internet: blackmail. Everyone has a motive, and everyone in the harsh light of Los Angeles seems to have something to hide. The boxed set contains the remaining 21 episodes of the first season, with highlights like "The Case of the Lonely Heiress," in which detective and Mason sidekick Paul Drake tracks down a rich woman, who is then suddenly accused of the murder of the man who tried to find her. Some episodes haven't aged well (one involves Mason interviewing a "schizophrenic" woman on the witness stand, interviewing "both" her personalities). But overall, the writing and the assured ambience of the series, and Burr's commanding presence, make Perry Mason among TV's topnotch armchair crime series. --A.T. Hurley
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Price: $79.99
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Sale: $50.37
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Brand: Paramount
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Manufacturer: CBS Television
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Number of Items: 10
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Description: Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.
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Price:
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Sale: $51.69
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Manufacturer: Paramount
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Price:
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Sale: $28.41
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Manufacturer: MISC
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Price:
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Sale: $28.41
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Manufacturer: MISC
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Displaying records 1 through 10 of 19
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