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I'm thinking that Gail Patrick Jackson who produced the Perry Mason series must have thought let's give Erle Stanley Gardner's intrepid defense attorney the look of color. By 1966 CBS and ABC were converting to color which was previously the province only of NBC. It was not only a new look of color, but the whole tone of the episode was that of something that could have been from the Seventies, like Starsky&Hutch.

William Hopper as Paul Drake got in some action sequences as befit his role as Raymond Burr's personal private eye. The story was not so loosely based on Oliver Twist with Victor Buono running a ring of juvenile car thieves and being paid off in art objects for his collection. One of Buono's epicene villains and a good one, but not one you see in Perry Mason.

The villain really is Bill Sikes and if you remember Bill Sikes and Nancy meet a bad end in the Dickens novel. Here Scott Graham and Lisa Seagram also meet a bad end and it's the Oliver Twist character Kevin O'Neal that gets hung with the rap.

Burr, Hopper, and the ever present girl Friday Della Street save O'Neal's bacon. And in color too.

A rather routine melodrama from the bountiful Perry Mason filmography, probably below average for the series, but still above average for most 60s programs.

This episode gets knocked for its use of color, with such statements as: looks like it was colorized, the crew didn't have experience with color, etc. However, I disagree. I find it's use of color above average for TV of the period.

If one were to look at other color programs from the 1960s, one will see that, in general, colors were rather bright, use of contrast or shadows was not great, and there was not much concern over subtlety of shading. This was in particular due to the color TV sets of the time that lacked the significant details and color variations of film, and of what we see with modern TV. This was true until finally in the early 70s some thought was given to increase contrast and color variation in TV sets, as was done with black matrix and trinitron screens.

The idea of color on TV then was to show it bright and brightly lit, and to prompt sales of color sets, quite different from film production. Take a look at the original Star Trek for an example. In fact, for those like myself who can remember this period, TV and Film were entirely two different worlds, and they rarely met except when somebody was able to make the jump from TV to film. It's not like that today.

In regards to this episode, I'd suggest that in fact it used more shading than was common to other color programs of the time, and was actually a better example of good use of color in a medium that lacked such. To the one who thinks it looks colorized, I'd think that was more a product of your own bias that Perry Mason ought to be B&W and not in color, as you know the colorized films ought to be.

To the one who feels the crew lacked experience, well, that's just a big laugh for me because the one thing the Perry Mason crew did not lack was cinematography experience. That's like telling a veteran artist doing a charcoal that he or she probably can't do the same in color, basically an ignorant comment.

I learned of this episode last year, and have been watching for it since. The color production is the gift the doesn't stop giving. It's utter eye-candy for every moment: you can't stop absorbing the fabrics, the hair and makeup, Burger, the closeups, the backgrounds, the greenish interior courtroom, Perry's Lincoln, the courthouse... and on and on.

But the familiar tale of "Twice-Told Twist" sustains flat notes. An important character is unfortunately distracting: with piercing blue eyes and helmet hair, her wandering accent brings to mind Natasha from "The Bullwinkle Show" more than a Mexican woman running the family-named business. And Lennie comes back from Parris Island with as much hair as ever...? Sir! No, sir!

But it's Perry Mason. In color! Can't wait to watch it again.

....two notable items regarding this episode....

1. ....all the networks were gradually converting their series to color production; and this was kind of a swan song salute to the long- running series by CBS....

2. ...the role of Lennie Beale, the young car stripper gang member who elicits Perry's reformist zeal is played by Ryan O'Neal's kid brother, Kevin.,.

It's a shame that there were not more colour episodes or there was never a tenth season.

I really don't see the basis of any complaints for this, this was 1960s television, mid 1966 as a matter of fact. It actually looks a lot like Star Trek as well as Batman. And as such, it shows a remarkable teaser for something that should have been that CBS neglected to give us: a full 10th season of color Perry Mason episodes. This could've also been the precise focal point where Perry Mason transitioned from 1950s film noir television to mid 60s psychedelic color TV.

I finally found a good color print of this and the Soundtrack had been enhanced for surroundsound, so it's actually pretty wonderful. The DVD set I had only had this episode in black-and-white which was completely disappointing as I have always seen this particular episode in my daily Perry Mason binges in absolute full color. They used to show two solid hours of Perry Mason on San Diego XETV channel 6 in the early 90s and while I was recovering from an illness for a few months Perry Mason was my only solace. Even my father liked it and he would sit with me and watch it and we both enjoyed this particular episode very much we would point out things about it laugh about it etc. The appearance of "King Tut" (Victor Bono) gives it a connection to Batman, but the parent company CBS is more strictly connected to Star Trek today than 20th Century Fox was back in the 60s- which used to use all of the sets from Irwin Allen shows for all of their science fiction shows including Time Tunnel, Batman, Voyage to the bottom of the Sea, and Lost in Space.

But the very production crew for Perry Mason is more related to Star Trek in the fact that several people who worked on Perry Mason ended up working for the Star Trek franchise either during the original run or later during the Next Generation and Voyager, which included the script supervisor Cosmo Genovese, who they even named a character for in a second season voyager episode, "Non-Sequitur": "Cosimo". Who was a very Perry Mason-ish alien who was looking after Harry Kim, he had the same kind mannerisms that Perry Mason showed to his clients.

The story is not an Erle Stanley Gardner episode and as such doesn't match up to some of the classics, but it does however have a modern upbeat look and feel including the background music, and the vehicles being used are very upbeat for the year that this was made. Especially the Ford van being used which was the Ford version of the Dodge A100 compact cab that used to be seen delivering and retrieving all of Batman's accessories during that show. In this Perry Mason episode, it is used as a mobile Chop Shop.

I very much would have loved to see more color episodes but alas, this is the only one. Perhaps somebody who is creative with computer video can colourise some other episodes, for personal use, of course.

Recidivism or rehabilitation? The whitest, most clean-cut bunch of hoodlums L.A. has ever seen attacks Perry's Lincoln Continental for parts rather than just steal the thing (and car theft was easy in those days!). Perry won't press charges because, well, the boy is only 17, and cute besides (irony alert, Raymond Burr).

Considerable comic relief is provided by Victor Buono as the evil henchman Huggins (rotund and in a bathrobe) managing the 'clean-cut' boy gang. "How many pairs of bucket seats can you use?" he coos to his fetching Mexican fence, and pronounces "penchant" in the manner francais. Good thing the gang goes to an expensive prep school so they can understand things like that. Oh for the days when petty criminals wore jackets & neckties...

The exceptionally vivid color, the jazzy score and the silly 'Oliver Twist' theme separate this from most PM episodes. It's definitely not one of the strong, tight Perry Mason plots (see the early seasons for those), but it's fun and scenic.

The only color episode was probably due to the introduction of the 1965 Ford Mustang called the 19641/2. Ford Motor supplied the cars for the show at that time. The premise of the show was teenage car thieves working for a chop-shop.

Everyone in the episode was driving the Beautiful Mustang. Mustangs of every color were in many scenes, Especially inside the chop-shop.

I guess the Ford marketing was a little too subtle.

Yes, that was the NBC voice over with the peacock. I did enjoy the bright, vivid color in this one shot episode. What I thought about watching it was the photography. Over the years, Mason had a lot of location shooting. This show seemed nearly 100% studio bound. What is also very noticeable is the constant use (or overuse) of many very tight close-ups and few master shots and medium shots of people together. When people are having a conversation, the use of close-ups got me wondering if the actors were shot saying their lines solo at different times and it was all put together by the editors later. This may have been due to the lighting setups for color.

Giving this one two extra stars just for Victor Buono. He once told Johnny Carson that Batman allowed him to do the one thing actors are taught not to do - OVERACT. I'm thankful Buono didn't over-emote here; I am less than thankful that the rest of the cast seemed to be "phoning it in." Even Burr's performance was wooden (I've sen Al Gore look more animated than this) and the attempts to be forgiving and understanding toward juvies really are laughable, 50 years later. Ray Collins would have had a field day with the kid Perry keeps forgiving. Perry Mason á la 1965 doesn't cut it. This series was based on film noir, and the B&W treatment just accentuated that as the years went by and more and more shows went to color. Film noir became passé, and regrettably so Perry Mason had to do so as well. I am grateful Burr had the good judgment to end the series when he did - close to the top and on his own terms - rather than soldier on as a caricature of his earlier shows.

Watching this episode in color made no sense to me the first time around - I was only ten, but I liked the show back then - until I saw Ironside on TV three years later. Burr's increasing body mass over the years looked better in color. (I gotta admit, though, Barbara Hale in real color was a BABE.) This almost looked like a hidden pilot for Ironside. The plot was straight from Dickens's Oliver Twist; Buono played it straight and delightfully despicable. Too bad the rest of the cast thought they were in an episode of Mod Squad.

Three stars for the storyline, two extra stars for the late, lamented Victor Buono.

While many younger viewers can't stand B&W, I LUV being able to see the WONDERFUL colors & wardrobe from a different time & space.

Someone else mentioned Ford providing so MANY vehicles it made them obviously a Sponsor of THIS EPISODE? My little Brother was born the Year this episode airedSentimental to see almost 60yrs later. Producers probably appreciated the $$$ it took to make THIS Early IRONSIDE feeling here as well.

I purchased the 50th Anniversary release before seeing this color episode. I was ALREADY AWARE of the diff in set colors & decor for lighting purposes as other reviewers mentioned other Networks ALREADY filming🎥 in color... With SO MUCH SAID about Oliver Twist I almost expected to see the"rough character" Mr Burr played previously w/his English Accent straight out of Dickens.

Exposure to English literature unlocks the key to this episode with multiple parallel facts with the well-known Dickens novel Oliver Twist. The episode name, plot flow (young men trained/guided by old thieves). Fagin, beard and all, is Victor Buono, Bill Sykes is Bill Sykes (!)... and will left the viewer find the rest. The 2 mint 1966 Mustangs obviously have no parallel.

It truly was an enjoyable visual experience to view PM in color. But for the life of me I'll never understand why they chose to only produce this one color episode. The script was average but the visual effects were quite remarkable for 1966. I have to agree with other reviewers the depth of color scenes brought back memories of Batman and Star Trek.. which isn't a bad thing. I'd like to know the real reason there was no Season 10 but that may never be known. One item of interest.. this lone color episode offered the entire production crew an opportunity to appear on camera.

Had Perry Mason been picked up for another season, it would have been in color as all CBS programming went to color. It is actually interesting Perry Mason was not in color for its final season, since almost every other program went to color that year. A little history, NBC was the only color network until the mid-1960s.

I am a fan of the Perry Mason series. I've every episode, probably each one multiple times. I always felt, especially in the early seasons the show had a film noir aspect to it. While the show became more polished and lost some of that noir quality, the black and white gives it much character. Gunsmoke, Andy Griffith, Wagon Train, and other showsl seemed to lose something when they went to color. Perry Mason was made for b&w.

I am sure many will disagree, but this is one man's opinion.

The plot, guest cast, etc isn't horrible, but I'm happy it is the only one in color.

Does this remind you --just a bit -- of 77 SUNSET STRIP?

Ernest Frankel wrote this offbeat story, who handled 17 episodes for the series. In the 70s he produced the brief NEW PERRY MASON series.

What's so interesting here is it begins more like a cop show. Perry's new Lincoln is stripped for its parts. Of course, there's a murder thrown into the mix and that's what brings him into the case.

Behind the whole operation is noneother than smooth Victor Buono, playing Ben Huggins, who runs a very prosperous stolen car parts business on the sly, recruiting young hoods who want to grow up someday and be exactly like him? You have to admit, he's an inspiring individual, and has the bucks to hypnotize any one of these kids with stars in their eyes.

Yes, the 60s cars are pretty sleek. Comes the old cliche; "don't steal the hubcaps, steal the car!"

Two things to note. Although it begins like a cop show, there's a very good trial sequence and it's in color. Color tv sets were pricey in the mid 60s, so most audiences probably saw it in black and white. That said, I agree with reviewers, it may have been an "experiment" by CBS to see how future episodes would look had there been a 10th season. The restored and remastered color is quite good and the main characters, the sets, everything looks a bit different.

There's an error that has been circulating for years. Some tv historians have said the very last episode was filmed in color, tagging this as the final episode. That is incorrect. Depending on rerun packages and how they were re-released to tv, this episode may have been inserted as the last episode, but it actually isn't. Also the episode number represents that.

Neat footnote; Victor Buono's bad guy character may have lead to him being cast as a BATMAN villain around the same time.

Recommended. 10 STARS. If only the entire last season was in color!

SEASON 9 EPISODE 21 remastered CBS dvd box set. Volumes 1 and 2.

Firstly, Perry Mason simply doesn't work in color, and especially not those bright crisp sunny tones, where something muted and shadowy would have been closer to the mark. But the mark is still black and white!

This has a certain novelty value as a somewhat cheesy updated Oliver Twist, but can't exactly be called compelling. Victor Buono, of course, has the requisite panache for a modern Fagin, and that helps to hold the thing together-- somewhat. As an attempt at making Perry Mason a NOW show it was ill-advised. Guess they had to try.

I couldn't quite make sense out of casting Lisa Pera, a blonde blue-eyed Russian, as the shady Senorita. What, they couldn't find any real Latina actresses in LA? She did a decent job, but I wasn't quite convinced-- and boy, those blue eyes really popped! Sure, there are blue-eyed Mexicans-- but with that too- obvious black wig and dark foundation it was glaringly plain that this was an ethnic makeover.

Overall, the Twice-Told Twist made it clear that the show had outlived its era. In October the word went out: "CBS may bring back Perry Mason in color, and with a new star in the role. The network is holding discussions with Gail Patrick Jackson, producer of the original series. Raymond Burr says he has other things to occupy him and won't be available to make the new films." So Burr had had it with playing Perry. Have to wonder who was being considered to step into the role -- not that the fans would accept any replacement--, maybe another solid dramatic actor, not too much younger, or hey! A complete switch to a really NOW hip Mason with a snappy mod wardrobe and a new miniskirted Della Street. The mind boggles.

Great to see Perry in a blue shirt, drive a blue Lincoln ragtop, or have Paul in a dark blue sports coat. Color filming was the big star in this episode, and why I give it a high rating is because this was the only color episode--and that's it--it makes you appreciate this series in B & W. Victor Buono as mentor to high school boys will never have been larger--opposite the somewhat smaller appearing Perry--as I imagine the producers had given up having Burr lose some weight--so "we had better find some actors that can make him appear smaller." There is this scene where Victor sits down in the middle of couch--and you wonder how it gone done--or the couch was ever used again.

Sometimes the B&W makes you think the series was all made in the 50s--but I believe this episode brought the producers back to their senses--keep it the same so it can be success in syndication. Enjoyable viewing, if you can get past that Batman like dialog that make Perry into a super-human.