Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) and Ken Malansky (William R. Moses) are in Las Vegas for a boxing match but you know how it is when you’re the world’s most famous defense attorney.  Perry can’t even go to Nevada without getting drawn into a court case.  This time, David Benson (John Posey) is accused of shooting a blackmailer named Richard Stuart (Robert Culp).  David’s teenage daughter, Melanie (Jenny Lewis), convinces Perry to take the case.  She also tries to investigate on her own.  It turns out that Richard Stuart was blackmailing several people.  The suspects include Robert Vaughn, Jere Burns, Ken Kercheval, and Kevin Tighe.

I went back and forth on this entry.  The best thing about this movie were the other suspects, who were all flamboyant Las Vegas characters.  However, Melanie was sometimes annoying, even though it was understandable that she would be upset about her father being accused of murder.  But I do think it was interesting to see how Perry related to Melanie.  There’s a really sad subtext to the movie because Perry’s entire life is about his work.  His friends are other attorneys.  He doesn’t seem to have a family.  While defending David, Perry became a surrogate father for Melanie but, at the end of the movie, Perry was once again alone.

In the end, The Case of the Desperate Daughter won me over.  It was entertaining to see Perry in a different setting and dealing with characters who were more memorable than the usual cast of suspects.  Even Perry Mason needed an occasional change of scenery.