O Retorno de Perry Mason

Since William Talman, who played the game but always losing ADA in the original series died in 1966, a new ADA was needed for the first of 26 TV movies, and they settled on a woman. While only Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale survive from the original cast, you know as soon as Fred Steiner's memorable theme begins that Perry's client faces an unsinkable case, and that Perry will sink it.

And a good thing too, since his client is Barbara Hale. It seems that Perry has been spending some time as a judge -- he was probably appointed to give the Los Angeles DA's office a better win average -- but he resigns as soon as Della is arrested. With Della's son by investigator Paul Drake (played by Miss Hale's son, William Katt) we are treated to an investigation -- Katt providing some comedy -- in which there are more than half a dozen suspects, since we all know that Della didn't do the deed.

There are the usual trite "This Time It's Personal!" tropes, but it's a well-built and executed mystery. It's a pleasure to see Burr resume the signature role that changed him from a movie heavy to a TV star.

This film is interesting not for what it is, but its place in a the scheme of things. By itself, it is dreadful, every bit of it. Taken alone, there are inherited characters played by actors who were accidents. There is an attempt to play with a formula that got worn out, so there is a hipster detective and a couple car chases. The "77 Sunset Strip" model is followed here, I think because the original series competed with it (and its ilk). The formula that worked before was scrambled here, but in the later episodes of this second time around, they got better as they went back to basics.

The thing is worth considering because of the stage of evolution it represents.

The detective story was a great invention, a big step forward in narrative types. It was followed by the mystery novel, where the reader and writer engaged in a tussle for control, sometimes (in the later form) complicated by a detective who has as much control as the writer. This was high art, in fact still is in some form in literature.

Film picked it up and evolved the noir form, perhaps the greatest American invention.

In written fiction, the standard model is based on the reader trying to determine the murderer by assembling causal dynamics. Erle Stanley Gardner changed the formula in a clever way. He wrote tons of Perry Mason stories from his "fiction factory," using a very strict formula. In his stories, it is impossible to guess the murderer (or sometimes two) by understanding cause. Instead, you eliminated all that could have done it, because the solution is the least likely. Gardner in his day was the most popular author in the English language.

So while film took the mystery form and evolved it into noir in amazing variety, TeeVee picked up this strange deadend on the evolutionary tree. The stories were imported wholesale, with the characters modified significantly. Perry was less a playboy and Della was not his lover. No big deal. I think the long run of this show established the form of the detective story we have today when it is distinct from noir: viewers don't want to work at figuring things out. They just want to collect all the pieces as the movie proceeds and see how they assemble at the end, the assembly done for them.

When Perry went off the air, it was a sad end to the more pure negated form (negated because of that "least likely" business). So when he came back with this relatively long form, it was hugely anticipated. I recall this. And I recall how we celebrated the show and its successors, not because they were good but merely because they existed. Again. This negated the negation of the negated form.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

I hesitate to write this, as I am not a huge fan of reviving classics. However, three factors - the chemistry amongst the cast members, the combination of devoted former viewers and their kids who became new viewers, and the age-old American moral story that the good guys always win in the end - ensured that the revival of the Perry Mason franchise in the guise of two-hour TV movies would be a ratings smash.

As with a few other revivals of older franchises - the first Star Trek movie is a prime example - this plodded along at times, but its main purpose was to re-acquaint former viewers with an updated cast and to introduce new viewers to the show and its format. Later Mason TV movies were better than this; but after 19 years off the air, I think die-hard fans would have looked at a filmstrip of old stills from the original series. Just having Mason back in the saddle again, with his old confidential secretary at his side (and on trial for murder, no less) along with the son of his old detective pal was enough to put a grin on my face. The premise was a bit of a stretch, in that a well-respected appellate-court justice will impulsively resign his court to defend his faithful old sidekick but Mason is a stand-up guy.

The plot in a nutshell is that someone has it in for Arthur Gordon, a wealthy businessman. Any number of people want him dead, including everyone in his family and undoubtedly some of his business competitors. Someone goes to extreme lengths to not only do him in, but to frame Della Street for the murder as well. Suffice it to say that by framing her, two birds will be killed with one stone. Mason has his work cut out for him to get to the bottom of the mess.

William Hopper, Bill Talman and Ray Collins all died between 1965 and 1970. It would have been a kick to have seen them, too, but two out of five ain't bad. All things considered, not a bad watch at all.

The first Perry Mason Series ran from 1957 until 1966, In the mid eighties until it's star's (Raymond Burr) death in 1993 there was a belated revival bringing Mason a new generation of fans in several TV Movies along with original sidekick Della Street (Barbara Hale) and new P.I Paul Drake JR (William Katt). This is the first such movie and one of the better ones for it has Della street accused of murdering her boss and so Mason and Drake frantically try to find clear her name.

all in all an above-average TV Mystery

8/10

After a 20 year absence from the small screen Raymond Burr who is now, older, stouter, and grayer and with a beard returns to television in the first of several two hour made for television films. Burr had a legion of fans as Mason and his return was heralded with high ratings every time one of these films was broadcast.

In the interim like many good lawyers and some mediocre ones, Perry Mason became a judge and was now an appellate court jurist. But when a friend's in trouble, Perry quits it all and returns to active combat in the courtroom.

Back in the original series William Hopper as Paul Drake was a defendant in one episode. Here it's the only other living cast member at the time from the old series, Barbara Hale as Della Street.

Della's gone on with her life as well. She became a secretary and later executive assistant to the wealthy Patrick O'Neal. With the kids and second wife O'Neal's got, no wonder he began relying heavily on Della Street to run his business.

When O'Neal is stabbed to death by a killer in drag to make it look like Della broke in, she's arrested and of course she turns to Perry as her attorney. Biggest mistake the perpetrator made, didn't the individual realize just who Della worked for before. Definitely should have found another patsy.

But as the case developed it turns out that not only did O'Neal have to be killed, but that Della had to be framed in order to solve get out of the potential jackpot the killer was in.

This became a family reunion in another way as Barbara Hale's son William Katt came on as Paul Drake, Jr. The script had it written that Paul Drake was now retired and the Drake Detective Agency was in the hands of his son. But it's clear that Katt only considers it a part time gig. In fact when we first meet him he's doing another gig, playing a saxophone at a jazz club.

Perry takes him on, but doesn't quite take him seriously enough. Katt has to earn his respect and that's a running theme throughout the film.

Perry Mason Returns is a good start to eight years of Perry Mason films, all anticipated by the legion of fans Raymond Burr developed for Erle Stanley Gardner's famous defense attorney.