The Case of the Black Cat

It should come as no surprise that Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the Perry Mason series, hated the way his hero was portrayed in the movies. Consider this: When he saw Raymond Burr walk in to audition for the part of Hamilton Burger, he told the casting people, "That's Perry Mason." One can just imagine, then, how fond he was of Warren William, Donald Woods and Ricardo Cortez.

It's not so much the actors, of course, as the emphasis of the films -Warren William, whom I like a lot more than one of the posters on this site, always had a little too much fun, and his character was loosely modeled on Nick in "The Thin Man." Woods was very lawyer-like but lacked spark; Cortez had spark but was more on the smooth, streetwise side than the actual Perry of the books, who was a very intense young man, given to big speeches.

In this film, Perry is asked to act as attorney for a caretaker's cat named Clicker who isn't black. That's because the title was decided upon after the film was made. The actual Gardner story is "The Case of the Caretaker's Cat," but black cats were hot in movie titles in the '30s. Peter Laxter's will states that the caretaker has his job for life, but one of the heirs wants the cat gone and is threatening to poison it. Laxter has died in a fire, but Perry soon surmises that he was murdered first and has the body exhumed. He also learns that Laxter cashed out a million dollars worth of stock and that a famous set of diamonds are missing. Two more murders follow. Clicker unknowingly provides an important clue to whodunit. The last few minutes of the film are done in flashback so that we can see how Perry put it all together.

Not bad, but none of these men will ever be Perry Mason after Burr did the role so long on television. It's best to just look at these films as mystery stories and ignore the old, unattractive Paul Drake and the pronunciation of Hamilton Burger as Hamilton Berjer (in the Woods version). And that's the way Erle Stanley Gardner would have wanted it.

Case of the Black Cat, The (1936)

*** (out of 4)

Fifth film in Warner's Parry Mason series now features Ricardo Cortez in the role of the attorney. This time out an old man calls Mason to his house so that he can change his will since he's worried someone in his family is about to kill him. A few days later the old man dies in a fire but after the autopsy it turns out he was dead hours before the fire. This is a pretty solid little crime picture from start to finish and I was surprised to see it didn't suffer any from not having Warren William in the lead. Cortez actually delivers a very strong performance as the attorney and manages to come off looking and sounding like a real detective and someone with a brain in their head. The supporting cast doesn't feature any huge stars but they all fill their roles nicely. One interesting note is that the cat from the title plays a big part in the film but it's a black and white cat. One has to wonder why Warner didn't use a black cat.

I admit that I am a hopeless Perry Mason fan. When I was a girl, our family gathered around the TV set every Friday to watch Raymond Burr outwit Hamilton Burger. So when I had a chance to buy the DVD for this movie from e-bay I did it thinking it would be a B movie and that was that. I was very agreeably surprised. Ricardo Cortez made a very, very charming Perry Mason. My first introduction to Mr. Cortez was in an old Bette Davis movie wherein he played a snaky villain. We forget that in those days they had such a thing as good acting so I just thought he was the quiet, sneaky type. But in this Perry Mason movie he is utterly adorable. And it has a pretty fair plot too with quite a neat surprise at the end. I agree with the other comment I too do not understand why they did not make other movies with Mr. Cortez in this role.

Personally, I am not fond of this film, although Cortez is fine as Mason. The 1930s hosted a brief Warner Brothers series, with three different men in the lead. This is the only movie I have seen from the period.

The plot is convoluted, with a few too many characters. I am assuming that all were in the original story - I would love to see the Burr television take that was apparently shot over twenty years later. Speaking of which, I am one of those who grew up on Burr's Mason, so it is strange to experience another actor in the role.

This film wastes Della and Drake, in my opinion.

Harry Davenport provides his usual supporting role professionalism, albeit in a B movie a few notches below what he was probably accustomed to.

Definitely worth a viewing.

Very entertaining entry in the Perry Mason series. This is due mainly to the appearance of Ricardo Cortez who brings a whole new persona to the role. Affable and good-natured and with a ready smile, Cortez makes Mason seem easy-going and not dependent on alcohol as was the Warren William interpretation. William almost seemed embarrassed but Cortez is like an old shoe, comfortable in the role. Time and again he manages to come off as sympathetic in thankless roles.

"The Case Of The Black Cat" also has a very imaginative script in its favor, so much so that you won't guess the surprise twist ending. Once you see it you might feel the movie doesn't play fair by introducing hitherto undivulged information, but you will agree it is extremely clever. The cast is comprised of some Hollywood backbenchers but they are a very capable group. This picture is as good as "The Case Of The Howling Dog" which starred Warren William, which I thought was the best of the series. So you could make a pun about cats and dogs - if only I could think of one.