Perry Mason - Season 2, Vol. 1
the character created by Erle Stanley Gardner
USA 1957
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
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Television Premiere: September 21st, 1957 - USA and Canada
DVD Review: Paramount (4 single-sided dual-layered discs) - Region 1- NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: |
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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 |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Sample Bitrate: |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby) | |
Subtitles | None | |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details (From IMdb HERE):
• Season
2, Episode 1: The Case of the Corresponding Corpse |
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!
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Episodes
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Screen Captures Samples
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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 |