O Caso da Irmã Margaret

Interesting that about five years before all the sex scandals started breaking with the Catholic Church, this Perry Mason mystery is about a nun accused of murder because she was trying to cover up an affair with a priest.

In Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun the eminent criminal lawyer is now defending Michele Greene who was working with Father Timothy Bottoms doing an audit of a Catholic hospital. But a letter in her room sent to her by Bottoms implicates her big time when he turns up dead.

But these two frocked accountants uncover a lot of pilferage from that hospital, in fact it was Archbishop William Prince who retains Raymond Burr to defend Greene. This other sin, this nonsexual one opens up a host of other suspects.

Perry Mason always had a G rating and the sex among clergy is a topic treated most gingerly. Still Greene's not certain whether she can take her final vows in the end.

David Ogden Stiers made the first of eight appearances as the District Attorney and James McEachin was in nearly all the rest of the Perry Mason films as Sergeant, later Lieutenant Ed Brock.

This is one of the better Perry Masons as we discover just which commandments are broken that provide a motive for a homicide. Come to think of it, that's a commandment as well.

Like all of the Perry Mason series, this episode keeps you watching until the last scene. I have seen all of the Perry Mason shows at least once. I would recommend them to anyone who enjoys courtroom dramas. They are well written and and all the actors fit their parts to a 'tee'.

This made for TV mystery was dull and lifeless. There wasn't anything notable or well crafted about any aspect of it. The dialogue was flat. The cinematography was uninspired. Scenes are poorly staged with actors standing around awkwardly, and the pace in individual scenes frequently lagged. The acting was bland. The energy is low and the whole film lacks any real style or strong point of view. There are no interesting relationships here or memorable scenes.

The film features a dull mystery regarding the death of a priest. A nun he had been working with is charged with the crime. There's the usual collection of random, interchangeable suspects. Those used to smart and energetic legal dramas like "Law and Order" will be underwhelmed by the staid courtroom scenes. And the revelation of the killer falls flat, because really any of them could have done it. There's no real specificity or cleverness to the mystery's resolution.

Raymond Burr brings his trademark gravity to the Mason role, but the writers have not given him much to work with. Mason is a mostly expository character with little personality. He has no interests, quirks, passions or seemingly any personal life to speak of. He also doesn't seem to form even the slightest emotional bond with anyone else in the story. He's utterly disengaged. Follow his example and disengage from the film yourself.

The writers and director have priests and nuns doing what no priest or nun would do. Simply preposterous. Suspending disbelief is not enough; you actually have to shoot, mutilate, and burn your disbelief and scatter the ashes at one of the poles in order to tolerate this garbage.

Michele Greene's character isn't a nun, but a novitiate. She'd be in the convent or in class, not acting as some visiting priest's aide-de-camp; in fact, no nun would be in that capacity with a priest. It's ridiculous.

The priest wouldn't be at a hotel. He'd be in a rectory guest room. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Priests and nuns wouldn't "pal around" as these two did. It simply wouldn't happen. Preposterous.

Nuns wouldn't gossip with one another in the convent as is represented in the movie. These are not naive schoolgirls who would spend their time ooooohing and aaaaaahing about some boy. It's pathetic what's represented as plausible by the writers and the director.

Too bad. Michele Greene is, as usual, hot, even with her snood, but it's all too, too preposterous. Have a vomit bucket next to yourself if you're forced to watch this nonsense by a Perry Mason/Raymond Burr fan whom you don't want to offend

I suspect Burr needed the money and Greene needed the work. Burr's no doubt spinning in his grave and Greene's still cringing.

Father Timothy Bottoms is investigating possible corruption in the archdiocese at the order of the Archbishop. Novice Michele Greene has been assisting him. As he finds disturbing signs of corruption, rumors about a sexual relationship between the two swirl. When she is called to his hotel room, she finds an unknown priest there. He gives her a drink of sherry and she falls asleep. When she wakes, Bottoms' corpse is found, and she finds herself on trial for the priest's murder. Good thing that Raymond Burr is at hand when she is taken into custody and that he is Perry Mason.

Of course there are several other suspects, mostly having to do with the corruption issues, and when they're on the witness stand, you know that the least likely one will confess. In the meantime, there's the story of Miss Greene's character and her uncertainty about whether to take her final vows. It's a bit reminiscent of the movie A NUN'S STORY and makes the TV movie seem derivative. Still, there's always the fun of watching Raymond Burr in his signature role.