Perry Mason - Season 2, Vol. 1

the character created by Erle Stanley Gardner
USA 19
57

Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deep, startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.

****

Perry Mason was more than just the best courtroom television ever made. It ranks as some of the best TV ever broadcast. Raymond Burr was as solid as a rock, with Perry always outwitting crooks, femme fatales and D.A. Hamilton Burger (how did he ever keep his job?). Perry Mason also brought dignity to being a defense attorney that has been grievously nullified in the modern world. Still, seeing his preparedness, quick thought and one of his sidekicks, Paul Drake, whom could conveniently dig up any fact no matter how obscure within record time - is still comforting. Della Street was pretty easy on the easy too. The frequently used salacious titles from Season 1 (Restless Redhead, Sulky Girl, Vagabond Vixen, Negligent Nymph, and Cautious Coquette) were always at a juxtaposition to the ordered and noble feel of the episodes.

 

I see, especially the early episodes, as having a strong link to Film Noir. (generally good people doing bad things for money.... or love) - we even have Elisha Cook Jr. in an episode of Season 2! The atmospheric criminal capers of the 50's, replace the overly seedy societal anti-heroes with white-collar crime and you have some of the most addictive television ever shown. It lasted decades in syndication acquiring new fans with each generation. Even 40 years later this remains undated. Some of the music tracks are by such luminaries as Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Herrmann. This show still holds a strong appeal, fine performances, tight scripts and classically unique twists in the finale. A true gem of TV gone by. out of

Publicity Still

Television Premiere: September 21st, 1957 - USA and Canada

DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Paramount (4 single-sided dual-layered discs) - Region 1- NTSC

DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Available at a bit of a savings is the entire Season 1 - Perry Mason - Season One, Vols. 1 & 2 with all 39 complete episodes from the First Season of Perry Mason.

          

Distribution Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime Each episode is around 51:25 minutes X 15. Almost 12 1/2 hours of entertainment
Video 1:33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 4.96 mb/s (sample)
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s   

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Sample Bitrate:

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby) 
Subtitles None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Paramount Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details (From IMdb HERE):

• Season 2, Episode 1: The Case of the Corresponding Corpse
Original Air Date: 20 September 1958
George Beaumont calls Perry Mason to set up a meeting, which is a surprise since Beaumont was supposedly killed in a plane crash three years ago. George confesses to his girlfriend, Ruth Whittaker, that he plans to reconcile with his wife. When George is murdered and Ruth is charged with the crime, Perry must use all his wits to get to the truth.

Season 2, Episode 2: The Case of the Lucky Loser
Original Air Date: 27 September 1958
Ted Balfour, youthful heir to the Balfour fortune, is convicted of vehicular manslaughter and given a suspended sentence through a plea bargain. When the police discover the victim actually died of a gunshot wound to the head, Ted is charged with first degree murder. Perry Mason argues that the second charge is prohibited by the constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy, but the judge is not persuaded by the argument.

Season 2, Episode 3: The Case of the Pint-Sized Client
Original Air Date: 4 October 1958
Nicky Renzi, a diminutive fourteen-year-old, finds the loot from a robbery in an abandoned house and consults Perry Mason about the legality of keeping it. His grandfather, Gramp Renzi, is adamant about reporting it to the police, but then Gramp is charged with grand theft. When the brains of the robbery, Frank Anderson, is found dead, Gramp is charged with murder. Perry ultimately depends on ears more than eyes to solve the riddle.

Season 2, Episode 4: The Case of the Sardonic Sergeant
Original Air Date: 11 October 1958
United States currency that should have been burned on Corregidor in 1942 begins to show up on the post where Major Frank Lessing is the finance officer. Major Lessing and Master Sergeant William Smith are suspected of laundering the money. When Lessing is found dead, Smith is accused of murder. Perry Mason has to delve into wartime secrets from halfway around the world to defend his client.

Season 2, Episode 5: The Case of the Curious Bride
Original Air Date: 18 October 1958
Rhoda Reynolds is blackmailed by Artie Kane for a past indiscretion, which she would like to keep from her weakling husband Carl and his overbearing father Philip. Dr. Michael Harris, who practices at the hospital where Rhoda works, offers to help but she refuses. Instead, Rhoda consults Perry Mason about the legitimacy of her present marriage but is not satisfied with the answer. Artie turns up dead, and Rhoda is charged with murder. Perry meddles with the evidence, so the case involves buzzers and bells, and a honky-tonk named "The Oryx".

Season 2, Episode 6: The Case of the Buried Clock
Original Air Date: 1 November 1958
Jack Hardisty steals $100,000 from the bank where he works and asks his father-in-law, Dr. Blane, the chairman of the bank's board, to repay it and avoid a scandal. Meantime, Jack's wife Sue is having an affair with a neighbor, Philip Strague. While investigating matters, Paul Drake discovers Dr. Blane rifling Jack's home and Jack dead on the floor. Perry Mason demonstrates his knowledge of clocks in solving the case.

Season 2, Episode 7: The Case of the Married Moonlighter
Original Air Date: 8 November 1958
Danny Harrison holds two jobs to make ends meet, one as a schoolteacher, the other at Luke Hickey's diner. One evening Frank Curran comes to the diner flashing a wad of cash, which is tempting to both Danny and Luke. When Curran is robbed and killed, Danny is charged with murder.

Season 2, Episode 8: The Case of the Jilted Jockey
Original Air Date: 15 November 1958
Jockey Tic Barton's wife tries to persuade him to throw a race to please gambler Johnny Starr, with whom she is having an affair. Tic refuses, but he loses the race anyhow. When Starr is killed, Tic is charged with murder and calls on Perry Mason to defend him. Real-life jockey Billy Pearson stars as Tic Barton.

Season 2, Episode 9: The Case of 'The Purple Woman'
Original Air Date: 6 December 1958
Prominent art collector Rufus Varner has bought a famous Van Houten painting, The Purple Woman, from dealer Milo Girard, but the painting may be a forgery by Aaron Hubbell, a third-rate hack. Girard's estranged wife Evelyn consults Perry Mason for protection against any involvement in the suspected fraud. To complicate matters, Evelyn is having an affair with the art critic Wayne Gordon, and Milo is having an affair with his secretary Doris Andrews. Milo is murdered, Evelyn is charged and Perry must separate the wheat from the chaff in solving the mystery.

Season 2, Episode 10: The Case of the Fancy Figures
Original Air Date: 13 December 1958
Martin Ellis, a former employee of Jonathan Hyett, is serving time for embezzlement, a charge he strongly denies. New evidence curiously emerges that may cast doubt on Ellis' conviction, so his wife Caroline consults Perry Mason about the case. Meanwhile, there is tension within the firm because of the way Hyett's son-in-law, Richard Brewster, treats his alcoholic wife Valerie. Through Perry's efforts Ellis is released just hours before Brewster is found by Hyett shot to death. Ellis is quickly re-arrested and charged with murder. Perry must deal with California and Nevada laws in defending his client.

Season 2, Episode 11: The Case of the Perjured Parrot
Original Air Date: 20 December 1958

Season 2, Episode 12: The Case of the Shattered Dream
Original Air Date: 3 January 1959
Diamond cutter and confidence man Hans Breel, alias Hugo Werner, owes a large sum to belligerent gambler William Walker. Breel convinces Irene Bedford to let him sell her diamond and cut it to raise money. He sells the diamond to Virginia Trent, but swindles Irene out of her share. Meanwhile his wife, Sarah Werner, is consults Perry Mason for help in recovering funds from her child's trust account that Hans/Hugo has embezzled. Breel smashes Trent's diamond to bits and is later found dead. Sarah is charged with murder, and Perry must defend her.

Season 2, Episode 13: The Case of the Borrowed Brunette
Original Air Date: 10 January 1959
Attractive brunette Eva Martell interviews with Melvin Slater for a special assignment--to pose as Helen Reynolds. Eva takes the job chaperoned by her Aunt Agnes Nulty. Meantime, Slater's wife Barbara is looking for him to collect overdue child support. Aunt Agnes consults Perry Mason about the situation. Eva and Agnes find Slater dead and are charged with murder.

Season 2, Episode 14: The Case of the Glittering Goldfish
Original Air Date: 17 January 1959
Frederick Rollins and Tom Wyatt have discovered a cure for gill fever, a deadly goldfish disease. As they plan to market the product, they find that entrepreneur Jack Huxley has bought the aquarium supply business and owns all patents and intellectual property. Huxley's marriage is on the rocks and he breaks up with his girl friend. Huxley's partner, Dan Myers, despises him and tries to double-cross him. Huxley is murdered, Wyatt is charged with the crime, and Perry Mason has to sort everything out.

Season 2, Episode 15: The Case of the Foot-Loose Doll
Original Air Date: 24 January 1959
Bob Wallace breaks off his engagement to Millie Crest after involving her in an embezzlement scheme. Millie hurriedly leaves town and gives a lift to Fern Driscoll, who tries to highjack the car, causing it to plunge down a canyon. Fern is killed and Millie assumes her identity, traveling on to Los Angeles. There she is contacted by a shady insurance investigator, Carl Davis. Davis tries to recover incriminating letters from Fern/Millie, who knows nothing about them. That evening Millie protects herself by stabbing an intruder with an icepick. As the wounded intruder, Davis later contacts Millie, threatening to harm her if she does not produce the letters. Millie sends Perry Mason to represent her in the matter. Davis dies and Millie is charged with murder.


DVD Release Date: June 19th, 2007

3 double slim keep cases inside cardboard box
Chapters: 4 in each episode X 7 = 28 in total

 

Comments:

This represents some excellent value for the money although there are only 15 episodes (4 per disc - 3 on the last one) - half of season 2. It amounts to about 12+ hours of classic TV. This collection includes the first half of season 2 (1958-59) on four single-sided dual-layered discs. They did 30 episodes the second season but the other 15 will come in Season 2 - Volume 2.

A big plus about Volume 2 is that unlike Season 1 - Vol. 1 they episodes are transferred progressively and the image quality is that exceptionally sharper. These were put to HD first and transferred digitally - each frame separately. They are mastered from the original elements and have a very strong appearance (aside from very minor speckles in only a few episodes). One episode - Episode 3: The Case of the Pint-Sized Client - looks absolutely pristine - as sharp as any vintage TV image I have ever seen - fabulous contrast. It's a wonderful episode with Elisha Cook Jr., Eleanor Audley (Green Acres fame) and the perennial bad-girl Nita Talbot.

Still though there are no optional subtitles. Digital noise exists but it is minor and acceptable. Audio is clean and clear. There are no extras at all.

A huge plus (again) is that these are the complete 52 (roughly) minute versions  (syndicated versions have 6 minutes or more missing from each episode.) It is nice to have these on single-sided discs in slim transparent keep cases.

As the series goes on - they were really getting into high gear in Season 2 with plenty of Perry's courtroom trickery. I enjoyed this even more than the First Season and for the price you don't get a better entertainment to dollar ratio in my opinion!   out of  

Gary W. Tooze




Sample DVD Menus

 

Episodes

 


 

Screen Captures Samples

 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 

 


 

 

DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Available at a bit of a savings is the entire Season 1 - Perry Mason - Season One, Vols. 1 & 2 with all 39 complete episodes from the First Season of Perry Mason.

          

Distribution Paramount - Region 1- NTSC




 

Hit Counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

Mail cheques, money orders, cash to:    or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze