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I Watched Perry Mason: The Case Of The Telltale Talk Show Host (1993, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

 

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.

 

We Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (1993, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Alana Westbrook (Morgan Fairchild), the ruthless owner of a cosmetics company, is murdered after she announces that she is actually 60 years old and owes her youthful appearance to a miracle skin cream.  Her husband (Patrick O’Neal) is charged with the crime but he’s lucky enough to have Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) as his attorney.  Perry thinks that the murderer is an eccentric gigolo (David Warner) but, for once, Perry might be wrong.  Meanwhile, Ken Malansky (William R. Moses) gets involved with a corporate spy (Lauren Lane) who might know more than she says.

Lisa and I watched this one earlier today.  We really enjoyed it!  It’s the most soapy of all the Perry Mason films that I’ve watched so far.  Morgan Fairchild was great as the murder victim and all of the suspects were enjoyably weird.  What I really enjoyed about this movie was that it featured people who appeared, in different roles, in other Perry Mason films.  Patrick O’Neal went from being the victim in Perry Mason Returns to being the accused here.  David Warner went from being the victim in The Case of the Poisoned Pen to being a suspect here.  This was also a second Perry Mason film for Jonathan Banks but instead of being a tough guy like he was the first time, he was a skin cream creator this time.  This movie understood that people will kill for clear skin.

This was one of the last of Raymond Burr’s Perry Mason films (it aired the same year that he died) and, with the returning actors, it feels like a tribute to Burr and the role that he made his own.

 

I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen (1990, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

When an arrogant true crime writer named Bradley Thompson (David Warner) is poisoned while attending a writers conference, his ex-wife (Barbara Babcock) is arrested and charged with his murder.  Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) and Ken Malansky (William R. Moses), who had their own run-in with Thompson, defend her in court and try to track down the real murderer.

This was a good whodunit.  The mystery was pretty easy to solve but all of the suspects were memorable and the supporting cast, which included Cindy Williams, Tony Lo Bianco, and Earl Boen, were entertaining to watch.  My favorite character was Max Mulgrew, a tough-guy crime writer who was played by Kiel Martin.  When Mulgrew was asked if he hated Thompson enough to murder him, Mulgrew says yes but he would have shot him instead of poisoning him!

Amy Hastings, who Alexandra Paul played in the previous three movies, is not in this movie and nobody says anything about her so, hopefully, her character has moved on.  Without Amy around, that means that Della (Barbara Hale) gets to help out with the investigation for once.  It was nice to see Della showing why she was the best assistant that Perry could have ever hoped for.

I remember enjoying this movie when I watched it with my aunt a few years ago.  I enjoyed it again when I watched it last night.