Tag Archives: Raymond Burr

So, I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin (1989, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Ken (William R, Moses), who is now a lawyer, is representing a hockey player (Jason Beghe) in his contract negotiation with a tyrannical team owner (Pernell Roberts).  When the owner is murdered, the player is arrested and Ken turns to his mentor, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), for help in winning his first murder case.

This was pretty forgettable.  The mystery wasn’t interesting, there weren’t enough suspects to keep me guessing, and even the wrongly accused player was unlikable.  Amy (Alexandra Paul) returned to help out Ken and was annoying as ever.  I don’t understand the Amy/Ken relationship.  They’re in love.  They’re getting married.  But they always act like they hate each other.  Give me sex addict Paul Drake, Jr, any day!  I read that this was Amy’s final appearance in the series and I hope that’s true.

This movie also features some of the worst courtroom dialogue of the series.  Poor Bruce Greenwood plays Pernell Roberts’s son and gets stuck with the worst lines.  Deidre Hall plays Pernell Roberts’s unfaithful wife, which is appropriate because this movie was just a bad soap opera.

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (1989, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Terry Franken (Dwight Schultz), the arrogant director of a new musical that is playing out of town tryouts on the way to Broadway, is shot and killed at the theater.  Recently fired stage manager Johnny Whitcomb (Jim Metzler) is arrested for the crime but Perry knows that Johnny is innocent.  At the same time that Terry was getting murdered, Perry was in a hospital room recovering from knee surgery.  He looked out the hospital window and saw Johnny across the street.  Despite Perry providing an alibi, Johnny is still charged with murdering Terry.  Broadway legend Amanda Cody (Debbie Reynolds) asks Perry to take Johnny’s case.

This Perry Mason movie featured Perry on the stand, testifying to having seen Johnny.  The District Attorney (Valerie Mahaffey) tried to humiliate Perry by suggesting that he was on too many pain killers to be sure what he saw.  Never try to humiliate Perry Mason!  He’ll not only beat you in court but also make you look like a fool by getting the real murderer to confess while on the stand.

The key to proving Johnny’s innocence was finding the security guard (Rick Aiello) who worked at the theater the night that Terry was killed.  Ken (William R. Moses) and his annoying girlfriend Amy (Alexandra Paul) handled that part of the case.  Ken is still no Paul Drake, Jr. and his bickering with Amy is like nails on a chalkboard.

I actually remember watching this movie with my aunt when it came on Hallmark one weekend.  My aunt enjoyed it.  She liked Debbie Reynolds.  This one was better than the previous movie.  Along with Debbie Reynolds, the cast includes Jerry Orbach and Lori Petty.  Dwight Schultz was great as the victim.  I still miss William Katt and David Ogden Stiers, though.  Perry doesn’t have the same connection to Ken that he had to Paul.  David Ogden Stiers was great because, even though he always lost the case, he still seemed like he was a good enough lawyer that he could have won if things had gone differently.  These new district attorneys never even have a chance against Perry.

So, I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has spent a semester teaching moot court at a law school.  When one of his students, Frank Wellman Jr. (John Allen Nelson), is murdered, the accused is another student named Ken Malansky (William R. Moses).  Despite being a close friend of the victim’s father (Brian Keith), Perry thinks that Ken is innocent and agrees to defend him.  Ken’s ex-girlfriend, Amy Hastings (Alexandra Paul), pays Ken’s bail and helps him and Perry investigate the crime, even though Ken spends the whole movie talking about how “crazy” she is.

No William Katt.  No David Ogden Stiers.  Barbara Hale’s barely in it.  The Case of the Lethal Lesson was the start of a new era in the Mason movies and I didn’t like it.  Ken and Amy are Perry’s new assistants but I didn’t like either one of them.  Amy was stalkerish but Ken still cried too much about her being the one who paid his bail.  Did Ken just want to stay in jail?  Ken just wasn’t very likable and it bothered me that the movie never explained why Paul wasn’t available to help.  Both Paul and William Katt deserved better.  Meanwhile, the new prosecutor (Marlene Warfield) didn’t have the same friendly rivalry that her predecessor did.  The mystery element was okay until some cartoonish gangsters showed up.  I didn’t buy any of it.

Give it up for my sister, though.  A few minutes into the movie, Lisa said, “I bet that’s the murderer,” and she was right!  If Perry Mason had her helping him instead of Ken and Amy, he could have solved this case a lot quicker.

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)

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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.