Perry Mason
There are few actors so closely tied to a persona than Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. This long-running series was built upon Erle Stanley Gardner´s many novels about a brilliant defense lawyer and his staff, that solved many a crime with surprise witnesses and stern cross-examinations.It was the first mystery series to feature chalk or tape outlines to mark the spots where bodies were found. Filmed almost exclusively in the Los Angeles area, Raymond Burr had Gardner's seal of approval in the role. The cases were usually won by way of pivotal confessions of witnesses, solicited by Perry Mason (Burr's) surgeon-like examination or with last-minute, key evidence brought into the courtroom by private investigator, Paul Drake (William Hopper). Della Street (Barbara Hale), Perry´s faithful secretary, was always at Perry's side in the courtroom where hapless Hamilton Burger (William Tallman) was the Los Angeles District Attorney who never seemed to win. As to the myth that Perry Mason never lost, there were 2 episodes where it did occur... but you'll have to watch to find out.The show was revived in 1973-74, with other actors in the familiar roles (Monte Markham as Mason), and then again with the some of the original cast, in a string of feature length TV films from 1985 until Raymond Burr´s death in 1993.
Demure Ellen Carter works at a relative's bookstore. When a book is found missing, he fires Ellen who is concerned she might be arrested. During a visit with him, Perry notices a first edition. When the owner is murdered, Ellen is charged.
Joane Proctor and her boyfriend worry about what might happen to a home for disabled children when benefactor Carleton Gage dies. When one of his heirs dies, the boyfriend concocts an idea that backfires when Joane is charged with murder.
Jimmy West believes he has a great fighter but when Tod Richards takes over the fighter's contract and hires Jimmy as trainer, Jimmy doesn't realize what he walked into. Jimmy is in the middle of a blackmail scheme and charged with murder.
Perry's friend Beth Sandover is in a strained marriage so she asks Perry for help. When the woman who took her job is murdered, she is charged as her husband tries to preserve the $201,000 he embezzled from the company where they worked.
Lt. Anderson's cousin is a young officer who recently partnered with Andy's old friend in a patrol car. Andy's old friend is killed when the two officers respond to a burglary. When the security guard is killed, Andy's cousin is charged.
Damion White marries an actress who has an offer for a role that involves a wonderful song. However, she recognizes the song as one that's been plagiarized multiple times. Her plagiarist husband is soon charged with murder.
Merchant seaman Harry Fothergill arrives in the U.S. with his mate Dickie to visit Dickie's brother and his family. Broke Dickie creates a will leaving a small fortune to Harry and his niece. When Dickie is murdered, Harry is charged.
John Gregory is perturbed when his mobster brother escapes capture and demands the money he put into a trust fund for John's daughter. At the same time, the manager of the trust fund tries to blackmail Gregory and is murdered.
Della is on the hook to Perry for $25,000 but more importantly may go to prison for helping a friend charged with murder who was being blackmailed. Perry must not only prove his client but his trusted secretary innocent as well.
On vacation, Perry decides to help Jane Wardman, who had been kind to him. She is a high-school teacher and widow accused of inappropriate behavior with some of her senior students. With the whole town against her, only Perry believes her.
Jennifer Wakely is upset her uncle sold her prize horse after her dad died. Given a chance to get her back, she is interrupted by the man who bought the horse. Right after their run in, he is found dead killed by the tool she used.
Maureen Thomas is contacted by Burt Renshaw who believes he can put her in contact with the mother who abandoned her. An inheritance is involved and James Grove has found another Maureen. When Renshaw is murdered, Maureen Thomas is charged.
Virginia Trent is having a bad day. Her Aunt is shoplifting, her Uncle George is missing, and diamonds are missing from George's business. When her aunt is charged with murdering an old friend who is a diamond agent, Perry is needed.
Linda Blake arrives in Ladera looking for her father only to find he has been dead for several years. His death occurred with suspicions that Charles Lambert killed him. When his alibi, Floyd Grant, is murdered, Linda is charged.
Laura Hewes' divorce is nearly complete. After an experiment in his class, her husband learns she is in town staying with another couple. A plagiarism charge compounds his problems. When he is murdered, Laura is charged.
After the death of her husband and partner, Joe Doyle, Constant Doyle takes on a case involving a young man who knew her husband. Constant asks for Perry's help, and he suggests she hire the Paul Drake Detective Agency to aid in the case.
Janice Norland turns to her law professor when she thinks she killed a man. When there is no body, they assume all is okay but she is soon the target of blackmail. When the man turns up dead, she is charged so the professor defends her.
Elihu Laban, a political refugee from the Balkans, hopes to obtain the papers from a leader who supposedly committed suicide. He and a group assemble a plan using a former member of the OSS. When the seller is killed, he is charged.
Hollis Wilburn's dilemma is deciding between two suitors who are also seeking a franchise from her uncle's business. Her problems grow when her uncle is first blackmailed and then murdered. Being the sole heir to his estate, she's charged.
Sandra Keller has agreed to sell her grandfather's orange orchard to a developer for mall parking. When the grandfather changes his mind, the deal is off but a lot of people will be hurt. When the developer is shot, she is charged.
Trevor Harris has returned home after 10 years as his wife is dying and he wants to ensure his children have a good home with Jill Garson instead of family patriarch Edgar Thorne. However, when Thorne is shot, Harris is charged.
Eva Belter is caught in a photo leaving an illegal gambling club with a politician. Fearing she will be blackmailed, she asks Perry for help but she seems dishonest and tries to incriminate Perry. Her murdered husband is the blackmailer.
Roy Comstock is handling the finances in a real estate deal with Peter Brent. However, his divorce has distracted him so Peter is worried about losing his land. Roy supposedly commits suicide but Peter is charged with his murder.
Dwight Garrett is the absent-minded brains of a floundering high-tech partnership with Austin Lloyd who is more of a con-artist. In an attempt to save himself, Lloyd tries to frame Garrett for his murder but the murder becomes real.
Sculptor John Kenyon returns from Greece with a beautiful model and her mother and becomes irritated with both of them when the mother interferes with his attempts to romance the model. When the mother is killed, he's charged with murder.
Margaret Layton is deeply worried that ex-husband and author Richard Harris will publish a trashy novel because of its effect on their daughters. When she visits him, she is heard threatening to kill him and fires a gun found in his desk.
Nelson Tarr bought a small-town radio station on a recommendation from his friend Andrea Walden, who is married to the owner, but her husband believes the rumors about her infidelity, so when he is murdered, Nelson is charged.
Judge Daniel Redmond has been nominated to run for Lt. Governor for his high level of integrity and respect. However, he is soon forced to turn it down when he's accused of fraud and murdering the witness against him.
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Raymond Burr | Perry Mason |
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Ray Collins | Lt. Tragg |
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William Hopper | Paul Drake |
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Barbara Hale | Della Street |
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William Talman | Hamilton Burger |
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Wesley Lau | Lt. Anderson |
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Lee Miller | Sgt. Brice |
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Flower Parry | Courtroom Spectator |
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Don Anderson | Courtroom Spectator |
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Bert Stevens | Party Guest |
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John Barton | Courtroom Spectator |
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John Roy | Bailiff |
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Eddie Baker | Bailiff |
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Carl Sklover | Bus Driver |
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Michael Fox | Coroner's Physician |
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Leon Alton | Burger's Co-Counsel |
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Dick Cherney | Court Clerk |
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Willis Bouchey | Judge |
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Hans Moebus | Commuter |
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Russell Custer | Bailiff |
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S. John Launer | Judge |
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Richard LaMarr | Courtroom Spectator |
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Charles Sherlock | Court Clerk |
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Ralph Brooks | Burger's Co-Counsel |
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Steve Carruthers | Restaurant Patron |
| Director | Arthur Marks |
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| Jesse Hibbs |
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| Allen H. Miner |
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| Harmon Jones |
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| Francis D. Lyon |
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| Writer | Erle Stanley Gardner, Samuel Newman, Jonathan Latimer, Robert C. Dennis, Jackson Gillis, Robert Presnell Sr., Charles Lang, Bob Mitchell, Esther Mitchell, Arthur E. Orloff, Maurice Zimm, True Boardman, Robb White, Judson Philips, Helen Nielsen | |
| Producer | Jackson Gillis, Gail Patrick, Art Seid, Arthur Marks | |
| Musician | Van Cleave | |
| Photography | Robert G. Hager | |
| Nr Discs | 1 |
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| Regions | Region 1 |