Perry Mason - Le retour de Perry Mason

Rich business man Mr Gordon has many enemies and a family that wouldn't miss him if he dropped dead. Someone hires a hitman to kill him and it is carried out in such a way to frame Gordon's secretary Della Street. When Della is accused of the murder, Perry mason resigns his position as judge to defend her and employs the son of his old colleague, Paul Drake, the act as private investigator on the case.

This film is the first of the many Perry Mason TVM's that were made in the late 80's and early 90's. This is the one that set up the new characters and the formula for all the movies. I have never seen the original series so don't know if this is just a lift of that formula or not, but they are all the same thing in different clothes and settings!

The plot here is the same as all the other TVM's except it does feel better written and more worked. The main flaw with the plot is the whole idea of a man dressed up as a woman – it isn't that big a deal but you must wonder how seriously they expect us to take the plot when Mason sets up his usual courtroom antics that would get kicked out in any real court but are accepted here! The final twists aren't even as daft as usual but it does set up the usual big finish. Burr loves nothing more that getting to boom `isn't it true etc, isn't it also true etc' and it makes for a dramatic if slightly hammy climax.

Burr seems very happy to be back in his old role and works hard, compared to later TVM's where he almost appears to be going through the motions. Hale is good and it's good to see her getting more of a role than usual. Katt is also good and his haircut hasn't yet gone curly and his action scenes are reasonably tense. The rest of the cast are made up of the usual red herrings for Mason to chase around the courtroom until he gets the real killer. The `oh look it's…..' faces are Taylor who is OK and Anderson. Freeman is also amusing to see if you only know him as Elijah Mohammed from Malcolm X. The cast is also interesting when you look at it in terms of the mason series and note that one of the Gordon family (Kathryn) is actress Kerrie Keane who is in two later Mason movies playing different roles.

If you've enjoyed any of the Mason TVMs then this will please you as well. Because it is the first of the TVM run it feels better and that a lot more work has gone into it, as much as I enjoy the rest, some did feel like they were rushed out in a short time. Overall this is one of the better of the modern Mason series.

After a long and successful career as a lawyer, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has put down his briefcase and has picked up the gavel. However, he decides to resign his judgeship and return to the other side of the courtroom when his former longtime secretary, Della Street (Barbara Hale), is accused of murdering the wealthy businessman she was working for. Using his still sharp investigative skills and the help of Paul Drake, Jr.. (William Katt), the son of his former private investigator, Perry attempts to bring the true culprit to justice.

A solid start to an entertaining series of Perry Mason Tv films with Raymond Burr on top form - there's some exciting action sequences featuring William Katt doing the legwork. The suspects consisting of a dysfunctional family is quite good. It's quite an engaging entry:

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.

Della Street is set up as the fallguy for a murder. Of course, everybody knows that this sweet, motherly woman wouldn't swat a fly, much less off somebody. Mason pulls out all stops in unraveling the mystery and uncovers a plot to keep a multi-million dollar scam intact. The one phony part in this film is the reaction of a lawyer at the movie's end. No attorney would do what this man did.

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