At the end of this movie… PERRY KISSED DELLA!

On the lips!

I knew they were in love!  Obviously, Della (Barbara Hale) was also in love with Paul Drake, Sr. but with Paul gone and Paul Drake, Jr. doing his own thing, she and Perry (Raymond Burr) can finally be together.  It was about time, too.  Even though Perry comes across like he would be too work-obsessed to really be a good husband or even boyfriend, it has also been obvious that Perry and Della were in love ever since Perry Mason Returns.

As for the mystery itself, it’s a really simple one and I was able to guess who the killer was from the start.  I know that Raymond Burr was terminally ill when he shot this film (and it was the last time Perry Mason movie to ai during his life time) and maybe that’s why the plot isn’t as complicated as usual.  The guest cast is really good, though.  Regis Philbin plays the owner of a talk radio station who is murdered by one of his hosts.  Every host is a suspect and they’re all strange enough to be fun to watch.  Both Montel Williams and G. Gordon Liddy are in this thing!

Knowing this was the last of the films to air during Burr’s lifetime made watching The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host feel a little sad.  As sick as he was, Raymond Burr still dominated the courtroom.  That was one reason why the kiss made me so happy.  Perry (and Burr) didn’t have much time left but he made sure we all knew how he felt about Della.