Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter

This Perry Mason movie has a closed ring of suspects in who killed Robert Culp. All of them John Posey, Jere Burns, Kevin Tighe, Robert Vaughn, and Ken Kercheval have lots of reasons to kill Culp, he was blackmailing the lot of them.

Culp has a really clever scheme going, his victims meet in Las Vegas every year give him and $8000.00 check and declare it as gambling losses as he declares a gambling victory. It's made him a rich man, as rich as the rest of these guys, all of whom he has something on.

But when Posey breaks in waving a gun threatening to kill Culp, he's tailor made as a fall guy. One of them steals his gun and shoots Culp.

The perpetrator has an accomplice steer Posey away from the scene and then disappear so he has no alibi. It's William R. Moses's job to find that accomplice Michelle Scarabelli. In fact Scarabelli has quite a secret of her own.

In casting Burns, Tighe, Vaughn, and Kercheval they got four people who've done some pretty nasty things big screen and small in several movies and programs. You'll not figure out who the perpetrator is.

And that's the necessary ingredient for any Perry Mason story because Raymond Burr does not defend guilty clients.

Having had his career, ambitions and whole life destroyed as a result of actions by Richard Stuart, David Benson's brother kills himself. David gives his daughter a ticket to her mother's house and goes to Las Vegas to confront Stuart. However when he pulls a gun on Stuart, David's is unable to do it. David gets a call and later meets a mystery woman in the car park who says she has information to bring Stuart down, but while in the car park Stuart is killed with David's gun. Having sneaking to Las Vegas the daughter, Melanie, begs Perry Mason for help – Mason in town to witness a boxing match. Mason starts looking into who else had a motive to kill Stuart, while Ken Malansky tries to track down David's mystery alibi.

As I always say there are some things that are so made to formula that you pretty much know that if you like one then you'll like them all. Songs by Phil Collins are one example and Mason movies are another. They all have the same basic elements and all end the same way. The plot here is the normal, innocent person framed by unknown murderer is defended by top lawyer who will probably get them off with lots of shouting etc! The investigation is OK without being gripping. I think it is OK because it is interesting but it is impossible to be ahead of it because it all comes out of nowhere and couldn't be guessed. Usually the plot adds something new to the mix by having a sidekick for Drake or such like. Here the mix is the Defiant Daughter who gets in the way and does her own investigating. This is a little annoying at times but works maybe once.

The cast as all very good this time around. Usually there is one well-known face in the support cast but here there are plenty. Burr is Mason as easily as I am myself and is good. Moses does his usual business as Drake but Hale has more to do than usual. In one touching scene she draws information out of the dead guys' secretary by sharing the mutual bond for their boss that both have. It is good to see more character brought out of Street. Lewis is good and almost avoids being an annoying kid role. The suspects are all pretty big faces – Vaughn, Kercheval (Dallas), Culp and Burns. However they were clearly all attracted by being able to spend some time in Vegas during the shoot. Most have three scenes that must have been done in the same week. For example Vaughn has one scene at the card game, one with Mason and a headshot or two in the final courtroom scene. This is the same for Kercheval. It is done well enough to make you feel like they're still around but it's a shame that such a good cast (for the Mason TVM's) is not fully utilised. One upside was an early role for black actor Lennix as the prosecutor. He is not as good a foil for Mason as others have been but it was good to see a black actor given a prominent role.

Overall this is enjoyable, partly because of the Vegas location as well as a lively plot. It's no classic but it is a good Mason movie if you like that sort of thing!

Raymond Burr is in Vegas for a fight, and gets into a bigger one when John Posey goes on trial for murder and his daughter, Jenny Lewis guilts him into defending her father.

It's a pretty good entry into the TV Movie series that Burr starred in a quarter of a century after the TV series ended. Burr remains just as commanding, and his associates, Barbara Hale (still playing Della Street) and William Moses (playing his associate, available for footwork and getting punched in the nose) give the series continuity. There are plenty of well-remembered actors on tap, including Robert Culp and Robert Vaughn.

Will Perry's client turn out to be innocent? Will the murderer confess on the witness stand? Lawyers say you should never ask a question you don't know the answer to.

When his brother kills himself because his life was destroyed by Richard Stuart (Robert Culp), David Benson (John Posey) packs of his daughter Melanie (Jenny Lewis) to stay with her mother whilst he heads to Las Vegas to kill Stuart for what he did. But things don't go to plan as David can't bring himself to do it, a woman meets with him and says for the right money she can help and then Stuart ends up murdered with David's gun leading to the father's arrest. Having sneaked to Vegas Melanie knows her dad didn't do it, fortunately for her Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) happens to be in Vegas with Ken Malansky (William R. Moses) and takes on David's case, discovering that others had just as much of a motive to kill Richard Stuart.

An above average episode which finds Perry Mason help a teen girl defend her father accused of killing a blackmailing creep. Robert Culp plays the creep and is very good. Its got a good cast which includes Robert Vaughn, Ken Kercheval, Kevin Tighe, who play poker buddies of Culp - they all have a motive for the murder. It's a standard, yet enjoyable episode, mainly due to the light moments with Mason interacting with the teen, and having to deal with her while as she stays with him and Della in their suite.

The plot of the show involved a murder occurring in Las Vegas, Nevada and a trial being held there. The courtroom scenes were actually filmed in the Municipal Court building of the City of Aurora, Colorado. The exteriors of the court building were filmed there also. A huge wooden duplicate of the Seal of the State of Nevada was hung over the marble City of Aurora seal that was hanging in a stairwell. The jail scenes were filmed in the newly constructed Aurora City Jail, which was not completed and at that time had no prisoners. The suspect in this play was the very first person to be "held" in the jail. Numerous detectives and other police personnel on their lunch hours, observed the filming from a second floor balcony. The hotel scenes were filmed in downtown Denver.