by Sam Juliano
I first came across and became subsequently hooked on Perry Mason as an impressionable teenager in the late 60’s. The syndicated show aired on the New York City-based WPIX-TV once a day including weekends, barely a year after a celebrated nine-year run on CBS when 271 one-hour episodes made their debut. With a package that extensive the likelihood of watching the same show multiple times over a short period was low, though at the rate of once a day even a lower grade students could figure out the entire run could fit comfortable into one calendar year with a few months left over. However, all of the episodes did not run until the mid-80s when TBS finally obtained the rights after the long period when 195 (through the first six seasons) comprised the available cache. A typical episode begins by setting up the conflict in the life of Perry’s future client. More often than not it was blackmail, marital disintegration, embezzlement, stalking or a threat of bodily harm, but the mise en scene was even more varied. Mason was played by Raymond Burr, a gravely-voiced, burly and impassive actor whose demeanor was unrelentingly stern. He was predisposed to exhale through his nostrils, and he was always seemingly way behind the eight ball until suddenly everything came together in marked Hercule Poirot fashion. Mason solved an unending line-up of baffling mysteries on each show with the help from the private investigator Paul Drake (played by William Hopper) and his faithful secretary, Della Street (Barbara Hale) to ultimately register victory after victory over hapless prosecutor Hamilton Burger (William Tallman). To pull off his last-minute courtroom triumphs Mason often broke down witnesses on the stand or produced surprise witnesses that left the prosecution’s case in shambles.
What I never quite understood or questioned back in those days when acceptance was rarely challenged was that Mason not only exonerated his clients without an apparent exception but more often than not he tricked the actual murderer to confessing during cross-examination on the witness stand! I never asked myself how or why every killer was present in the courtroom for virtually every case or how every supposedly air tight alibi was exploited and negated by a a super-human lawyer whose success ratio was as stellar as that of the Dynamic Duo, the Man of Steel, that inveterate pipe-smoker from Downing Street and the previously-alluded-to Belgian with the manicured mustache and the little grey cells. Anyway, near the start nearly all clients would consult with Mason before anything vital had gone down, but then would quickly require the lawyer’s criminal defense expertise when someone ended up dead about twenty minutes in. In most episodes crusty Police Lieutenant Arthur Tragg (Ray Collins of Citizen Kane notoriety) would arrest the client with some damning evidence and a laughable bravado that that in the end never stands up. Inevitably Mason with the resourceful Drake and efficient Della piece together mitigating counter-evidence to trap and expose in grand fashion the real culprit. One of the consistent pleasures of the show for viewers occasionally flummoxed by the unchanging formula is to observe the unsuspecting criminal stutter and stumble on the witness stand, the place where truth is always uncovered.
Of course this is a far cry from how the legal system works, not to mention a fraudulent conscription of a barrister’s success ratio. But one would be hard-pressed to imagine what viewer wouldn’t derive glorious satisfaction watching the reserved Mason win out in the end over the most sour-pussed District Attorney who arrogantly never sees the writing on the wall until a confession is given in the courtroom. The show’s success, despite the rarity of deviation is assuredly in spectacular terms. Not only was it television’s longest running lawyer series, but it is still seen as the best detective series ever made for television. Much of the credit of course goes to Burr, who began his career playing Hollywood heavies, most notably in Hitchcock’s 1954 masterpiece Rear Window. He previously made a strong impression in 1948’s Pitfall, a suspense noir starring Dick Powell and won critical praise as the district attorney who hounds Montgomery Clift in the classic A Place in the Sun (1951). One of his most unusual though more recognizable role was as a journalist who relays an account of Godzilla’s Tokyo rampage in the wildly popular Japanese film of the same title that spawned a franchise and endless imitations. In any case Burr lost 120 pounds to play Mason, though through the series he weight fluctuated and he gained most of it back.
Trivia fans always delighted that the famed mystery writer of the books that Perry Mason were based on, Erle Stanley Gardner appeared in the show’s finest episode as a judge who resides over the second trial. That show “The Case of the Final Fade-Out” was the only one filmed in color. And the notion that Mason was unilaterally successful isn’t exactly right. He did lose one case, the sixth season’s “The Case of the Witless Witness” in which a jury hands down a guilty verdict in case where Mason was unable to forge a reversal. In two other cases the skilled attorney was able by the hour’s end to circumvent jury verdicts, thereby turning losses into triumphs.
The show’s theme music is one of the most recognized and remembered in television. Composer Fred Steiner craftily aims to incorporate the lawyer hero’s sophistication and tactical brawn with his symphonic R & B “Park Avenue Beat” which even people who never watched the actual show can successfully sound out.
Many years after the earlier obsession Perry Mason remains delightful if not quite in discovery mode. Though one knows how each show will end and the road it travels to get there, Burr’s formidable presence and quiet fortitude and satisfying courtroom turnarounds keep it captivating, and many of Gardner’s stories still hold a nine on a scale of 10 in the intrigue department. A bonafide television classic, and with as much written about it as any other ever aired on the tube.
Brilliant series. I am a new fan of this one and still have many episodes to see, but I am loving it so far. I love the relationship between Della and Perry so much.
One of Raymond Burr’s best roles. Great write up Sam.
Maddy, so thrilled you have such a high regard for the series, and thank you many times over for this glowing comment and all the other excellent ones you have entered at the site for the countdown over the past several days! And quite thrilled you love this television institution. Burr was indeed iconic! Thanks so much!
Great capsule review Sam! Love the personal anecdotes. It was one of a kind and had the power to pull you in. I too got hooked and watched it everyday for a long span. Ray Collins as Tragg always had me snickering!
Ricky, thank you so much for the terrific response and kind words. Oh Tragg was a great character!
Sterling stuff, Sam!
I’ve been a fan of Perry Mason since even earlier than you — since childhood, in fact. It showed on TV in Scotland on a Sunday evening between 6 and 7, if I recall correctly. Provided I had finished my school homework, eaten my supper without fuss and had my bath/hair wash, all without fuss or tantrum, and was settled in front of the TV by 6pm, I was allowed to stay up until the giddily bohemian hour of 7pm to watch the show. Boy, was I well behaved on Sunday evenings, if at no other time.
And I’ve remained a fan ever since — a fan of Burr, too, whom I regard as one of noir’s largely unsung greats. (The 1951 remake of M is another that I think’s worth mentioning.) I even like the far later TV movie recrudescence, although I know those annoy the purists.
It’s alarming that Perry Mason should be as far down the countdown’s pecking order as #104. It may not be among TV’s finest hours in terms of artistic achievement, but it’s one of our great cultural icons, surely. It has certainly played a part in shaping the person I am.
Thanks so very much John! I am not at all surprised your association with this television landmark pre-dates my own. I discovered it a bit later than some of the other shows of my teenage period. Ha, I loved reading about your preparation for the show and the stipulations that dictated by your parents! And also the declaration that you were sure to tow the line on Sundays if Mason was going to command your attention for one hour! I am completely with you on Burr, who was underrated in the early days, though his role in REAR WINDOW cemented his reputation/marketability. Yes, great addition with the 1951 re-make of M absolutely! As to the order, personally I agree with you and voted it far higher on my ballot. Some of the numbering in this countdown is worthy of debate, though as a communal effort it will bring some applause and thumbs-down. I always regard the show as an American institution. The ultimate testament to the show and Mason appears in your final sentence. It was a show that had a lot to do with your viewing and how we perceived the legal progression. And to boot it was one of the most entertaining shows on television. Thanks so much for the very kind words!
Loved the show. Remember there were a few episodes when Burr was out and they had bette Davis and other well known actors replace him. And thanks for the mentioning wpix . I grew up in NYC and remember having wpix, wor and channel 5 as my go tos for old movies and syndicated tv shows.
Marvin, thanks for the reminder on the matter of the distinguished guest stars on the show. This was something I failed to mention in the all-too-brief review, though I had initially planned to mention Davis who filled in when Burr was incapacitated. Thrilled to hear you were a big WPIX man back in the day. I didn’t realize you were raised in NYC, which is a hop, skip and jump from where I reside. Ah yes, Channel 5 featured some wonderful syndication shows as well as WOR, which of course had the famed “Million Dollar Movie.” I once remember watching Vincent Price in “House on Haunted Hill” every single day for seven consecutive including three times on Sunday. 🙂 Many thanks my friend!
Great Article….thanks for another trip down memory lane. As a little kid living in rural Ontario 🇨🇦our first black & white TV came the 🎄I was born in ’59. My Dad loved Perry Mason- so of course we all did . 😉(One Channel Choice Made Things Simpler) lol Television watching in those days was a family affair. 🙏again Sam.
Thank you so very much JM! I was born five years before you, but also went through a big Perry Mason phase in the 60s during the re-run period. Yes when Dad loves something the family usually follows suit. In this case the veneration paid dividends for all of us. 🙂
Sam, great post for a show that immediately takes me back to the late 50’s. As most, if not every, child of that decade remembers there was only one television per house, and your parents made the viewing decisions. Saturday nights were reserved for two shows in particular “Have Gun, Will Travel” and “Perry Mason”.
I was a little young at the time to really know what was going on, but the theme music for both shows, and especially “Perry Mason” transport me immediately to Saturday nights with Mom and Dad. As I got older I learned to appreciate both shows, but never as much as I appreciated the theme songs whenever I heard them.
The memories of my childhood also added to my enjoyment of the Raymond Burr “Perry Mason” movies that ran from 1985 to 1995.
John, once again you brighten up a comment thread with with some wonderful anecdotal testament to the central part of the show as a household mainstay. The matter of the theme music is integral to the remembrance of the show and how it paved the way for a more detailed recall. I came onto “Have Gun Will Travel” during the later syndication run and now own the DVD box set from CBS. A terrific show though for me not quite approaching Perry Mason. I only saw a few of the later Perry Mason films, but I remember being reasonably impressed. I always planned to return to them and take up the ones I hadn’t seen. Thanks again my friend!!
I’ve got this somewhere, just needed the nudge to start watching it, which this incisive essay most assuredly has done. It was on my hit list for a long time. Here’s Leslie Halliwell’s appraisal with a three star rating out of four, which matches yours from ‘Halliwell’s TV Guide’;
“Totally formalised and immensely popular, this cleanly made show was a worldwide success and its characters welcome in almost everybody’s living-room, especially the DA who never won. Its mystery plots were complex but generally capable of being followed, and watching the show gave something of the satisfaction gained by crossword addicts.”
Bobby, I am thrilled that my capsule provided that “nudge” to get you on the Mason express! This was one of the shows I watched religiously back in the day along with some of the other genre gems we mutually attended. I never knew Halliwell held it in such high esteem. A 3 of 4 from him is a mighty rating. I remember Allan wasn’t a big supporter but then again he had admitted he saw little of it. Definitely an hour that held you riveted for whatever the formulaic aspect of the script surfaced. One day I hope we discuss specific episodes my friend! Many thanks!
Sam, this concise and engaging review is one of my favorites of the countdown. It helps too that I watched the show on WPIX, sometimes on a daily basis. They struck pay dirt with Burr, a winning personification of Gardner’s lawyer hero. I can still here the strains of the theme music!
Ah, great comment Frank and thank you so much for the very kind words! They struck pay-dirt indeed with Burr!
Beautiful write-up Sam! One of the staples in our home, and a show I sometimes made room for by canceling plans.
Great to hear that Karen, and thank you for the very kind words!