Truman York (David Soul), a painter who faked his death in a motorcycle accident five years earlier, reemerges because someone is selling forgeries of his work.  When York turns up dead, a photographer (Mark Moses) is arrested for the crime.  Luckily, the photographer went to college with Ken Malansky (William R. Moses) and Ken is able to convince Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to take the case.  (If you’re going to get arrested for murder, it helps to be a friend of Ken or Perry’s.)

I was disappointed with this entry in the Perry Mason series.  It had potential but it never really reached it.  I was more interested in how the artist faked his death for five years instead of figuring out who killed him.  Raymond Burr was obviously unwell when he shot this movie and there were times when it was painful to watch him as he had to learn against a wall just to be able to stay standing while delivering his lines.  I felt bad for Burr watching this because, even though he was great in the role of Perry Mason, it was obvious that he was in pain.

Maybe because Raymond Burr couldn’t do as much as usual, Ken got to do more than usual  in this installment.  What’s strange is that the accused photographer was also interrogating people and looking for clues.  He had just been released on bail and he was on trial for murder.  He should have been laying low instead of tracking down witnesses.

I love the Perry Mason films and I have so many good memories of watching them with my aunt.  This one didn’t do it for me.