Tag Archives: David Ogden Stiers

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady In The Lake (1988, Dir. by Ron Satlof)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Fifteen years ago, the sister of Sara Wingate (Doran Clark) was murdered at a lake near the family home.  Traumatized, Sara had a nervous breakdown.  It was only when she married Billy Travis (David Hasselhoff), a former tennis player, that Sara started to get over her fear of the lake.  When Sara disappears while walking along the lake, Billy is arrested and charged with murdering her.  Because Perry’s is an old friend of Sara’s uncle (John Ireland), he takes the case.  If you’re going to get arrested for murder, you better hope one of your relatives knows Perry Mason.

This movie wasn’t bad.  It had a twist at the end, which I saw coming but which was still unique for the Perry Mason movies.  The actual guilty party is pretty obvious but the mystery wasn’t as important as usual in this one.  The supporting cast was pretty good, though David Hasselhoff seemed to be too calm for someone accused of murder.  As Perry, Raymond Burr uses his cane again and leans against something whenever he has to stand up.  Della jokes that Perry won’t be skiing anymore.  Most of the action falls to Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt), who gets beaten up even more than usual but who also gets to be the big hero in the end.

This was the last Perry Mason film for both William Katt and David Ogder Stiers, who played the district attorney.  I’m going to miss both of them.  William Katt’s hair was huge in this one and I was really looking forward to seeing how much bigger it could get.

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace (1988, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Back when Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) was a judge, he rejected the appeal of Kevin Parks (Larry Wilcox), an Air Force colonel who was accused of stalking and killing Amy Beth Sawyer (Dotty Coloroso).  Even though Perry had his doubts, he did not find any legal grounds for an appeal.  In the present day, when Parks is accused of killing a new witness who could have provided him with an alibi, Perry agrees to represent Parks in court and tries to prove that Parks was not guilty of either murder.

This movie was much more complicated than the typical Perry Mason movie but it was a good change of pace and the mystery itself kept me guessing.  I was sure I knew who the murderer was and I turned out I was wrong.  Perry’s guilt about turning down Kevin Parks’s original appeal added a new dimension to the movie and it was interesting to see Perry doubting himself, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Again, Raymond Burr spent most of this movie either sitting or leaning against something.  Even unwell, he still gave a good performance and his chemistry with Barbara Hale was as charming as ever.  Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt) did the leg work and got involved in a few good chases.  The only thing more interesting than the mystery was Paul’s hair, which gets bigger and bigger each movie.

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel (1987, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Sleazy magazine publisher Harlan Wade (Robert Guillaume) has made a lot of enemies through his scandal sheet.  He just published a story suggesting that Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) and Della Street (Barbara Hale) are more than just friends.  Well, duh!  Everyone knows Perry and Della are in love!  Perry still wants to sue him but then Harlan turns up dead in his swimming pool.  It would have been interesting if Perry had been a suspect but instead the police arrest Michelle Benti (Susan Wilder), a reporter who was recently fired by Wade.  Because Michelle is the ex-girlfriend of Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt), Perry defends her in court.

This is another case of someone close to the Mason crew being accused of murder.  The D.A. should know better than to arrest anyone who knows Perry, Della, or Paul.  Michelle first appeared in The Case of the Shooting Star but she was played by a different actress.  It’s still good that, for once, the series actually acknowledged one of Paul’s ex-girlfriends.  I worry about Paul and the way he falls in and out of love.

This one had a good mystery and a really memorable supporting cast.  Morgan Brittany, Yaphet Kotto, Wings Hauser, and George Grizzard all played potential suspects.  I liked that this was one of those mysteries where the victim went to a party before he died and everyone there threatened to kill him at some point.  This movie also featured one of the better courtroom confessions.  Raymond Burr uses a cane in this episode and is usually filmed either sitting down or leaning against something for support.  Even though Burr obviously wasn’t feeling well, it’s nice to see him and Barbara Hale share some sweet scenes together.

Who sent Della flowers, champagne, and perfume?  Watch to find out!

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case Of The Murdered Madam (1987, Dir. by Ron Satlof)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Former madam Suzanne Domenico (Ann Jillian) attempts to blackmail four rich men who are planning on embezzling money from a bank and is found dead by her husband, Tony, shortly afterwards.  Tony (Vincent Baggetta) is arrested and charged with murdering his wife.  Tony’s older brother used to run around with Della Street (Barbara Hale) and Della is able to get Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to defend him in court.  Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt) is brought in to do the investigative legwork.  Once again, Paul falls for a younger woman (Daphne Ashbrook) who will probably never be mentioned again in any of the other movies.

This movie was a little sad because it was obvious that Raymond Burr was not in good health.  He spends most of the movie sitting or moving with crutches.  In the movie, they say that Perry is using crutches because of a skiing accident but looking at Raymond Burr, there’s no way to imagine him skiing.  Burr is still as sharp as ever when asking questions in the courtroom but it’s still clear that he was in pain when he did this movie.  Perry being sidelined does mean that Barbara Hale and William Katt get to do more than usual.  After spending the last few movies constantly getting outrun and smacked around, Katt finally gets to beat someone up in the movie.

The mystery isn’t bad, even though I guessed who the murderer was long before the trial started.  The entire embezzlement scheme comes down to embezzling a few cents a day so that no one will notice.  That’s the same thing they tried to do in Office Space!  Luckily, no one got murdered that time.

Overall, this was a good entry in the Parry Mason movies, especially for those of us who like watching Paul Drake, Jr.  I’m starting to wonder if all of Perry and Della’s friends are going to end up getting accused of murder at some point.  My aunt and I always used to joke about how often Jessica Fletcher’s nephew was accused of murdering someone.  It might be just as dangerous to be a friend of Perry Mason’s!

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case Of The Sinister Spirit (1987, Dir. by Richard Lang)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

David Hall (Matthew Faison) is an obnoxious horror writer who invites a group of associates and former friends to spend the night at a “haunted” hotel.  He’s invited them because all of them are on the verge of suing him for writing about them in his latest book, The Resort.  Over the course of the night, he plays cruel practical jokes on all of them.  Finally, someone gets fed up and tosses him over a railing.  The police arrest publisher Jordan White (Robert Stack) and charge him with the murder.  It’s a good thing that Jordan’s best friend is Perry Mason (Raymond Burr).

Perry uses a cane in this movie and is not that active outside of the courtroom.  That means that it’s up to Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt) to do most of the investigating.  As usual, Paul falls for an attractive, younger woman, in this case the hotel’s owner, Susan Warrenfield (Kim Delaney).  Every movie features Paul falling for someone and then we never hear about them again.  Does Paul have commitment issues?

I enjoyed this Perry Mason mystery.  The hotel was a great location and I appreciated that the movie tried to add some horror elements to the story.  The Perry Mason movies can be predictable so I always like it when they at least try to do something a little bit different.  This was a fun entry in Perry Mason’s career.

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case Of The Lost Love (1987, Dir. by Ron Satlof)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Perry Mason’s ex-girlfriend, Laura Robertson (Jean Simmons), is about to be appointed to the Senate when blackmailer Pete Dixon (Jonathan Banks) threatens to reveal that she once underwent shock treatment after having a nervous breakdown.  When Dixon is murdered, Laura’s husband (Gene Barry) is arrested.  Laura hires Perry (Raymond Burr) to serve as his attorney.

At first, this movie felt weird to me because it didn’t seem right for Perry to have an ex-girlfriend when we all know that he and Della (Barbara Hale) were in love.  When Laura is at the office waiting to see Perry, she and Della have a conversation and it’s obvious that each is jealous of the other.  When Laura asks, “What about you and Perry?,” Perry shows up before Della can answer.  We all know what the answer was though.  Della loves Perry and, probably because she was so upset over Perry dating Laura, she threw herself at Paul Drake, Sr. and that’s how we got Paul Drake, Jr.

As for Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt), he flirts with two different women in this movie but he doesn’t get to do as much investigating as he did in the first few films.  This movie is almost all Perry Mason interrogating people.  Raymond Burr uses a cane in this movie and there’s a few scenes where it’s obvious that he was in pain but he still gives a very good performance.  The movie is very talky but it also has the best courtroom confession scene yet and Raymond Burr really sells Perry’s ambivalent feelings.  The identity of the killer actually took me by surprise!

It was weird to see Perry in love with someone oter than Della but this was still an excellent entry in the series.

So, I Watched Perry Mason: The Case Of The Shooting Star (1986, Dir. by Ron Satlof)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Actor Robert McCay (Joe Penny) decides that it would be hilarious to shoot talk show host Steve Carr (Alan Thicke) on live television.  McCay thinks that the gun is loaded with blanks but, before he goes on the show, someone slips a live round into the gun.  McCay kills Steve Carr and there are a million witnesses who see him do it.  Time to call in Perry Mason (Raymond Burr)!

The third Perry Mason movie isn’t as good as the first two.  Shooting someone on television as a joke and then leaving the studio immediately afterwards is a really stupid thing to do.  As my sister pointed out while we were watching, even if Robert McCay wasn’t guilty of premeditated murder, he was probably guilty of negligent homicide for not bothering to double check whether or not there was a live round in the gun.  McCay goes right back to shooting his movie, even while he’s on trial for murder.  As for the trial, it was ridiculous.  How many people can confess under cross examination in one trial?  “Mistrial!” my sister yelled whenever Perry pulled one of his stunts and I agreed.

Paul (William Katt) teams up with a photojournalist (Wendy Crewson) and his investigation somehow leads to him playing a priest in a cheap vampire movie.  For once, Perry didn’t give Paul a hard time about anything.  Maybe he realized Paul’s scenes were the best part of The Case of the Shooting Star.

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun (1986, Dir. by Ron Satlof)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

In the second Perry Mason movie, Perry (Raymond Burr) defends Sister Margaret (Michele Greene), who has been accused of murdering Father Thomas O’Neil (Timothy Bottoms).  The D.A. (David Ogden Stiers) says that Sister Margaret was having an affair with Father O’Neil and she killed him when he tried to break it off.  However, the movie shows us that, just like in the last movie, Father O’Neil was actually killed by a hitman (Hagan Beggs).  Perry, Della (Barbara Hale), and Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt) have to figure out who ordered the priest’s murder.

I enjoyed the Case of the Notorious Nun, even if it wasn’t as good as the previous film.  It was still entertaining and I loved watching Perry constantly give Paul a hard time about every little thing but this time, it was really obvious who the actual killer was.  Paul, of course, had romantic feelings for Sister Margaret but nothing came from them, other than a chaste kiss on the cheek.  Sorry, Paul.  You’re charming but you’re not that charming.

Father O’Neil was far more sympathetic than the previous movie’s victim.  Father O’Neil was trying to make the world a better place and his death with was a real tragedy.  That made it all the more satisfying when Perry was able to get his cross-examination confession.  There was an alarming scene early on in the movie where Perry checked into a hospital because he was feeling faint and I get the feeling that they framed the scene to make Raymond Burr look even heavier than he was.  (This movie justified Paul Drake doing all the leg work while Perry stayed at the office.)  But even if he moves a little slower than he used to, Perry Mason is still the best lawyer out there.

Shattered Politics: Harry’s War (dir by Kieth Merrill)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s Tax Day, which means that it’s a good day to remember that the IRS is not your friend.

That can sometimes be hard to forget, with all the talk of making people “pay their fair share” and all the drama that seems to accompany any suggestion that federal bureaucracy should be reduced.  Back in 2003, there was a big story about how the IRS was going to hire 3,000 new employees and it amazed me how the media tried to frame this as being a good thing to which no one could possibly object.  Whenever I turned on the news, I would see government official bragging about how they were going to bring in even more IRS agents to make “the billionaires” pay their fair share.  (They may say “billionaires” but one can be sure that those 3,000 IRS agents weren’t going to anyone near anyone who donated to the right people.)  In the recent election, I was always amused by analysts who were shocked to discover that many voters, especially those were struggling to pay their bills, weren’t enthusiastic about the idea of a supercharged IRS.

The fact of the matter is that people hate the IRS.  The IRS exists to make people’s live difficult.  The IRS exists to take our money away from us, money that we earned but which we are apparently not worthy of keeping.  The IRS is an agency that demands that you do you own taxes but then threatens to throw you in jail if you make a mistake.  When people hear 3,000 new IRS agents, they imagine 3,000 more people looking to take their money and toss them in prison for forgetting to carry the one.  I often think that if the IRS simply sent people a bill every year, people would actually get a lot less upset about having to pay taxes.  I get a property tax bill from the country and I have no problem paying it because it gives me an exact amount.  Instead, the IRS says, “We know how much you owe but we’re not going to tell you.  If you pay too much, you won’t get a refund and if you pay too little, we’ll destroy your life.”

On days like this, watching a film like 1981’s Harry’s War can be a cathartic experience.  The film stars Edward Herrmann (yes, the History channel guy) as Harry, a postman who was raised by Beverly Payne (Geraldine Page), an eccentric woman who collects military memorabilia and whose property is listed as being a church and is therefore tax exempt.  In her will, Beverly has named Harry as her heir.  Arrogant IRS district director Ernie Scelera (David Ogden Stiers) is convinced that Beverly is hiding a fortune from the IRS and he proceeds to harass both her and Harry in court until Beverly drops dead of a heart attack.  Harry inherits Beverly’s property and also her tax bill.  However, Harry has also inherited all of her military stuff and soon, he’s crashing Ernie’s press conference with a tank and then engaging in a lengthy stand-off with the government.  The film is a dramedy and you never really doubt that Harry will somehow triumph (even if his victory is ultimately a symbolic one) but the film still reminds us of how quickly the government will turn on its citizens when it’s being defied and the final few moments bring to mind some of the worst ATF and FBI excesses of the past 30 years.  That said, Harry is quick to point out that he’s not waging war on the government.  He’s waging war on the unelected bureaucrats who have forgotten that civil servants are supposed to work for the people and not against them.  “All that power in one place,” Harry says scornfully about the IRS and it’s hard to deny that he has a point.  It’s hardly a perfect film but, in this day and age, it’s a film that will leave you cheering.

 

 

Meet Wally Sparks (1997, directed by Peter Baldwin)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Wally Sparks (Rodney Dangerfield) is a talk show host with a program that is so raunchy that even Jerry Springer says, “At least this isn’t The Wally Sparks Show!”

Despite being a huge hit amongst teens and college students, the show is on the verge of being canceled by the head of the network, Mr. Spencer (Burt Reynolds, wearing a fearsome toupee).  He is tired of Wally’s antics and he tells Wally and his producer, Sandy Gallo (Debi Mazar), that they have a week to make the show respectable.

Wally doesn’t know what to do.  Wally Sparks act respectable?  Wally’s a guy who don’t get no respect, no respect at all.  Then Sandy finds a letter inviting Wally to attend a party at the home of Georgia Governor Floyd Patterson (David Ogden Stiers), a noted critic of the show.  Hoping to get the interview that will save the show, Wally and Sandy head down south.

At the party, Wally acts like Wally and scandalizes all of the politicians and socialites.  He also shares a bottle of whiskey with a horse and then rides the horse through the mansion.  The party is a disaster but, after Wally claims that he can’t walk because of a spinal injury he suffered when he fell off the horse, the Governor allows him to recuperate in the mansion.  Wally causes more chaos while also teaching the Governor’s wife (Cindy Williams) how to play strip poker and eventually exposing a scheme to blackmail the Governor into building  a Confederate-themed amusement park.

Rodney Dangerfield playing a talk show host sounds like a great idea and there are a lot of talented people to be found in Meet Wally Sparks.  Debi Mazar is an actress who should have appeared in a lot more movies and she and Rodney Dangerfield make a good team.  The movie actually gets off to a funny start, with a montage of actual talk show hosts talking about how much they hate Wally Sparks and his show.  Gilbert Gottfried has a cameo as a manic guest and Wally repeats some of Rodney Dangerfield’s classic jokes.

Unfortunately, the movie starts to fall apart as soon as Burt Reynolds threatens to cancel the show for being too lowbrow.  No network executive has ever threatened to cancel a show that’s bringing in the ratings, regardless of how lowbrow it might be.  Things get even worse after Wally goes to Atlanta and ends up staying there.  The movie tries to recreate the Snobs vs. the Slobs dynamic of previous Dangerfield films but the Governor comes across as being such a decent man that there’s no joy to be found in watching his life get turned upside down.  The movie has a surprisingly large number of subplots, including one about Wally’s son (Michael Weatherly) falling for the Governor’s daughter (Lisa Thornhill), but most of them go nowhere and just distract from the man who should have been the film’s main attraction, Rodney Dangerfield.  By the end of the movie, even the usually irrepressible Dangerfield seems to have been neutered.

Rodney Dangerfield was a national treasure but Meet Wally Sparks was not the best showcase for his persona or his style of humor.  Fortunately, Caddyshack and Back To The School are available to watch anytime that we need a good laugh and we want to show Rodney Dangerfield a little respect.