Customer Reviews

Perry Mason: Season One, Vol. 2

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Perry Mason was certainly the finest courtroom drama ever on television. It was entertainment that kept viewers glued to their seats, waiting for that moment when Perry would nail the killer on the witness stand and free his client.

Raymond Burr had some good roles in films, but will always be remembered for the tough defense attorney you wanted on your side in the toughest jam. Barbara Hale was his pretty secretary, Della Street, who kept Perry human and was in love with him. William Hopper was the dapper detective, Paul Drake. He had a playful and flirtatious relationship with Della but every viewer knew that secretly her heart belonged to Perry.

William Talman as D.A. Hamilton Burger was the perfectly cast guy you almost felt sorry for, as just when he was ready to gloat over his victory in court, Perry would spring his client by revealing the real killer, once again defeating poor old Burger. The relationship of these four people made the mood and mystery of the often gripping conclusion fun to watch. There has never been anything close to it in genre on television since. Its mix of drama, noir, and humor, and its truly likable characters, made for terrific viewing.

Earle Stanley Gardner's original creation of Perry Mason was a bit more two-fisted pulp type reading, but slowly grew into something resembling the show when it became so popular. Gardner's Perry Mason novels, begun decades before the show and continuing for decades more, are still fun to read. The same can be said of every single show in the series.

The first season, unlike many shows, hit its stride immediately, and remained top-notch television for many years. Like the novels, the title of every episode began with "The Case of-" and each one had some wonderful moments, both in and out of the courtroom. Only the first 19 episodes were included on the first release, with the final batch from the first season included on this one. The episodes for season one, all 39 of them, beginning in the fall of 1957 and ending in 1958, are as follows:

THE CASE OF THE------- Restless Redhead -- Sleepwalker's Niece -- Nervous Accomplice -- Drowning Duck -- Sulky Girl -- Silent Partner -- Angry Mourner -- Crimson Kiss -- Vagabond Vixen -- Runaway Corpse -- Crooked Candle -- Negligent Nymph -- Moth-Eaten Mink -- Baited Hook -- Fan-Dancer's Horse -- Demure Defendant -- Sun Bather's Diary -- Cautious Coquette -- Haunted Husband -- Lonely Heiress -- Green-Eyed Sister -- Fugitive Nurse -- One-Eyed Witness -- Deadly Double -- Empty Tin -- Half-Wakened Wife -- Desperate Daughter -- Daring Decoy -- Hesitant Hostess -- Screaming Woman -- Fiery Fingers -- Substitute Face -- Long-Legged Models -- Gilded Lily -- Lazy Lover -- Prodigal Parent -- Black-Eyed Blonde -- Terrified Typist -- Rolling Bones

You can't beat this for entertainment, any more than Hamilton Burger could beat Perry Mason in court. There were great stories, often taking Perry out of the courtroom and his office, but always returning in those final moments of doom for the real murderer. This is one DVD release that everyone who loves great television will want to own. Just hearing that opening theme song will make you nostalgic. Don't pass this one up.

After watching volume 1, I could not wait for volume 2. The stories are even better than I remembered. The picture is wonderfully clear. This series is the grandfather of all courtroom dramas. Many have tried to imitate, but none have duplicated. Within the drama find humor, thrills and down right fun. You know he is going to solve the mystery, but can you figure out the secret? This is TV of classic proportions. The entire cast is merely excellent and the writing only fantastic. Watch this.

I am so happy to see these wonderful old shows being released on DVD. I do not watch the TV shows of today. I find them lacking talent, boring, cheap and a sad reflection of our times. In my opinion, wonderful shows like Perry Mason, represent TV at its finest. Great acting, great stars and wonderful writing. I recommend this set to anyone who loves vintage television. The transfers and sound are wonderful! Watching these great old shows bring back a time when life was simpler and we did not have to watch our fellow man eat bugs to get their 15 minutes of fame. I hope they release all seasons of Perry Mason. I also hope to see more of the wonderful old shows of the past.

I bought the first volume of season 1 of Perry Mason and cruised through it. You can't beat this show! Not a clinker in the entire run. I am thrilled that there's not a huge gap in between volumes. Now to hope that they take this show all the way to the end!

Just in time for the holidays, we get the final 19 episodes of the first and one of the best seasons of Perry Mason.

Raymond Burr imbues his performance with a sophistication and toughness that became the standard for future shows about lawyers. Along with a light touch of humor that is very refreshing in contrast to the more somber elements of his cases. It's these lighter scenes with his confidential secretary Della Street (the "Beautiful" Barbara Hale) and detective Paul Drake (the constantly smoking William Hopper) that make this series a joy to watch.

William Tallman is the decent, yet appropriately stuffy as the world's least successful DA Hamilton Burger along with the world's oldest police Lieutenant Tragg as played by Ray Collins who were akin to the Washington Generals of the show.

All episode titles begin with "The Case of..." and each show has its own merits. Although some can strain credulity like "The Case of the Deadly Double"; which relies on a key figure having a true split personality. But the show is at its best when combining desperate characters in a post-film noir like setting with Perry coming to save the day. Especially when there is enough room to let the natural chemistry of Burr, Hale, & Hopper play out.

Like the first volume, there are really no extras in this set unless you include previews of other DVD releases. The back of each DVD case promises that the episodes are shown in the order they were originally broadcast, yet we get no airdate for each show. At least the Menu screens have publicity photos taken during that time. There are mostly Raymond Burr looking somewhat bemused (and colorized) and holding either a paper with "Murder" in the title or an actual Perry Mason pulp novel.

Admittedly, this set is a bit pricey considering it's rather bare bones. However it's great to see these episodes in their original, uncut form. I heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoyed this series and seeing some fine actors at the top of their game.

Tidbits:

Look for a young and very sexy Angie Dickenson in "The Case of the One Eyed Witness".

Della's taste for fashion is usually conservative, although in "The Case of the Screaming Woman" the striped blouse she wears in the apartment scene matches her gloves perfectly.

In "The Case of the Fiery Fingers" has the client complimenting Della on being "quiet", which may be a subtle recognition of the fact that she often says little during an episode.

Future "Commissioner Gordon" Neil Hamilton and future "Batgirl" Yvonne Craig of the original "Batman" TV series can both be seen in "The Case of the Lazy Lover". Also in the same episode, the long shots of Perry and Paul driving up to the hotel room are clearly NOT Raymond Burr and William Hopper.

Having just completed PM season 1, volume 2, I must say that I was thoroughly happy with this purchase. (I powered through season 1, volume 1 in early April--and loved it.) The storylines are all good here--a few are excellent. The acting is top-notch by Burr, Hopper and Hale. And I think Ray Collins (as Lt. Tragg) and William Tallman (as Hamilton Burger) also turned in good performances. What I like most about this first season of Perry Mason is the feeling it brings to the viewer--it is almost like being transported back in time to 1957. I was too young to watch these episodes on broadcast TV--and experiencing them now immersed me in a seemingly simpler time--when judgments about people and their actions were more or less cast in black or white, not in shades of gray. The dialogue moves along at a crisp pace. The guest stars are interesting, some are excellent supporting actors. Raymond Burr's character nuances are amazing (he is very good at using his facial expressions and authoritarian voice to convey attitude), and the quality of the video and sound is very good. Thankfully, you get the entire episodes--with the scenes that were edited or cut to make room for TV commercials--restored. I only wish that Paramount / CBS would put together a well-produced documentary on the Making Of Perry Mason. Even without this missing bonus feature, my plan is to purchase the next DVD set on June 17th. Wouldn't it be cool if, somehow, the producers and CBS-TV had filmed a special 2-hour episode back in the day--and having kept it a secret all these years--could NOW release it as a 100% new product on DVD? Certainly, it could bring in plenty of money--but back then not many could justify the expense of such a plan when few could have predicted the massive DVD home theatre market of 2007.

This is a series of programs based a character in the writings of Erle Stanley Gardner. The CBS TV series stretched form 1957 through 1966.

Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is a defense lawyer who is always thought of after it is too late for him to save the defendant from being accused of murder. Supporting Perry is his trusty more than friendly but professional secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale). And their trusty and sneaky privat investigator Paul Drake (William DeWolf Hopper, Son of the actress-turned-gossip-columnist Hedda Hopper). On the other side of the courtroom is the district attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman) assisted by the not so neutral Homicide Lt. Arthur Tragg (Ray Collins).

You wonder how they get away with manufacturing evidence and the defendant usually has foot in mouth. Then there are the signature courtroom demonstrations.

Be sure to re-watch these programs as you can then see at even in TV programs they can sprinkle in subtle clues.

The was a mad magazine mock that had a boy scout immediately confess from the back of the courtroom upon seeing Perry mason.

Many of the subsequent programs allowed many TV actors of the time to become different characters and even replace the Burger and Tragg characters. You find yourself not only trying to outguess Mason but also saying "Hey I saw that actor in..."

Even though the characters are from Erle Stanley Gardner the actual programs are written by many different TV writers of the day.

I have on occasion read some of the Erle Stanly Gardner Mason's and they are closely related. The TV version has a few less characters and has to write in some of our favorites.

The DVD's themselves usually have four episodes with a glaring lack of the extras that are so popular nowadays. The plus is that there are no advertisements.

I mean, how could you go wrong? It's not real lawyering, it's not even logical or realistic most of the time, but it's romantic, dramatic, campy and fun. These are excellent transfers, and the occasional ones I've found to be a little grainy were, compared to tapes from TV showings, amazing. It also looks to me that everything originally shown is included, they're not chopped up from syndication, there are no "EH?" moments so far. So if you love Perry Mason, they're worth the money. (I've got Season 1 parts 1 and 2, and am champing at the bit for Season 2.)

Perry Mason Season 1 Volume 2

These TV films from 1958 are mostly the simplified and condensed versions of the original novels by Erle Stanley Gardner. The books are more complete and informative but the films still tell stories about life that is not experienced by most people. The books can tell you why certain things are done, the films only show you what happened. The books tell you about "ropers", rough or smooth shadows, and how to evade surveillance and avoid leaving a back trail. Some may question the legality and ethics of Perry Mason's tactics but most stories were written before the modern legal rules of the 1960s. The backgrounds tell about life in Los Angeles. It is difficult to film a scene at night but easy to describe it in a book.

Some of the stories and names were changed for TV [and added politics!]. The theme music is typical for the late 1950s. Note the style of clothing and culture; ladies wore white gloves. People seldom lock their doors. The prices date these films (35 cents for hamburger with fries). One advantage is seeing the many automobiles from that era (no Studebakers or Hudsons). How many can you identify? Note the slimness of people then, and the familiarity with pistols. Smoking was very common [a tobacco sponsor]. Watch how the actors express their emotions by their facial expressions. Don't blink or sneeze! The camera sharpness and quality is excellent on these films.. There is nothing like these entertaining and dramatic stories on today's broadcast TV. When was the last time you saw a trial lawyer as a hero? These stories often use the misinterpretation of circumstantial evidence to provide dramatic effects. The courtroom scenes are usually the Preliminary Hearings that are used in states west of the Mississippi [this saved the cost of extra actors]. Some of the stories were greatly modified from the novels.

This lists the titles of the 20 episodes with the date of publication of the novel. Note how many years of output were used in the first TV season. All titles begin with "The Case of the ".

Lonely Heiress (1948) 02/01/58; Green_Eyed Sister (1953) 02/08/58;
Fugitive Nurse (1954) 02/15/58; One_Eyed Witness (1951) 02/22/58.

Deadly Double *; Empty Tin (1941) 03/08/58;
Half_Wakened Wife (1945) 03/05/58; Desperate Daughter *.

Daring Decoy (1957) 03/29/58; Hesitant Hostess (1953) 04/05/58;
Screaming Woman (1957) 04/26/58; Fiery Fingers (1951) 05/03/58.

Substitute Face (1938) 05/10/58; Long_Legged Models (1958) 05/17/58;
Gilded Lily (1956) 05/24/58; Lazy Lover (1947) 05/31/58.

Prodigal Parent *; Black_Eyed Blonde (1944) 06/14/58;
Terrified Typist (1956) 06/21/58; Rolling Bones (1939) 06/28/58.

* These were not from a Gardner novel.

On a whim, I recently ordered the Perry Mason DVD set. I'm now an addict!
I DO live in the 21st century....note I am not a 50's throwback, unable to watch,
respect and enjoy contemporary (and far more scabrious) entertainments. I'm a
big Sopranos fan, for example, and a Scorsese fan as well. That said: the old
Perry Masons are often somewhat astonishing, all the same. The acting, a roster
of the cream of 1950s personalities (including an episode with the unforgettable
Constance Ford!), provides treasures-from-the-deep in nearly every episode.
The pacing, unlike most 1950s and 60s products (including, sadly, The Twilight
Zone, Thriller, and, too often, Alfred Hitchcock Presents) is quick, punchy,
smart, and to the point. These shows NEVER drag.....the puzzles are often
quirky, but are fair, and provide truly good mental workouts for the whodunit addict.

HIGHLY recommended ... and for those of us who are fascinated with the evolutionary
history of popular American culture, these black and white gems are not to be
missed.

By the way, although the chapter editing of these Perry Masons does leave a
little to be desired, because the original shows were shot on film, the
quality of the transfer is excellent.

I would love to see Season 2 on DVD as well!