Show106
This episode has one of the series’ strangest lines (and to my mind, one of the most amusing) near the beginning of the episode. As the decidedly callipygian Rita Conover, clad in tight pants, is shown walking away, Rennie compares her to a taffy machine! Must have something to do with the push-pull, back-and-forth nature of it all, but it’s odd no matter how you interpret it. Submitted by Ed Zoerner, 4/29/10.
Thanks for teaching me a new word. "Callipygian" is a great one. Submitted by Rickapolis 2/8/17
Paul Drake may have coined a phrase in characterizing frequent movie-goer Rennie as "an old popcorn boy." Submitted by francis, 4/2/12.
+ I think the reference is more likely to Rennie having worked at at a theater as a youngster selling popcorn and sneaking out by propping the exit door open, probably for a quick cigarette, when he was supposed to be minding the snack counter. The dialog makes reference to him likely doing that so he could establish his alibi. OLEF641, 2 Dec 2016
Another clever line - in the lawyers' room at the Hall of Justice, Joe Dixon says to Perry: "Blackmail is better than alimony any day." Although I'm not really sure what he meant: PM devotees know that blackmailers don't stop, at least voluntarily, while alimony is tax-deductible. JohnK, 5 October 2015.
+ Ah, but it isn't Joe who is collecting, but Rita, probably getting more for keeping Rennie's secret than she would by conventional means. OLEF641 2/23/21
Must say I was shocked to hear Perry refer to a woman as a ‘tramp’ - seems out of character.
+ The person Perry calls a tramp is Rennie. OLEF641 2/23/21
I found this one of the most neatly plotted episodes, with none of those head-scratching ‘huh?’ moments we’ve come to expect. DOD 09/25/19
Ray Collins: A hint that Ray Collins was not well at the time: he sits through most of his scenes. Submitted by Francis. 10 June 2011.
+Yes, he looks sad and fretful. There are papers and notepads in his scenes too, as if they might be crib-sheets. Submitted by catyron, 12/12/17.
An off day?: Usually impeccably mannered, Perry neglects to rise when the headmistress enters Ann's room. And a bit later he gets snippy with Della. Maybe his arm is bothering him; it's in a cast or something. Perry explains it's "an old service injury." Submitted by francis, 4/3/12.
+ I didn't see a cast (or hear the line) in this episode but did in the previously aired episode "The Loquacious Liar," which was three episodes before this episode in production order. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 6/05/14.
+Wiseguy: Yikes, I was wrong about that cast. Might have been a day when I was binge-watching! Thanks for correcting the mix-up. Submitted by francis, 9/05/14.
+ I did not see a cast on Burr's arm this time (Wiseguy is correct), but there is still definitely something wrong with his arm. In most of his scenes his right shirt cuff does not show at all (but his left cuff does) and the right suit sleeve looks too long, like it's covering a shortened cast. He holds his am awkwardly throughout the episode. Submitted by catyron, 12/12.17/
There is nothing wrong with his arm in this episode. He uses it as usual and there are no signs of it being held awkwardly. DOD 10/25/21
This is a rare episode where the prosecution seems more knowledgeable and better-prepared than Mason (just a coincidence that Burger wasn't the prosecutor?). Perry seems blindsided by what is revealed during both Wilmer Beaslee's and Rennie Foster's testimony. It's true that his client was holding out on him, but you'd think Paul Drake would have uncovered those things. Submitted by 65tosspowertrap, 9/20/2013.
+ Maybe Paul is worn out from Perry working him so hard. Paul can't go out on a date or play poker with the boys or plan a vacation without Perry interrupting and asking him to do something, including flying to some remote country to find a missionary in the middle of the jungle, or searching the top of a circus tent for bullet holes. Submitted by scarter 8/25/14
++ You usually only find what you are looking for, and these revelations are completely out of left field. OLEF641 2/23/21
> That they're **** ********?!?! That, as Perry might say, cuts to the very heart of the matter and suggests bias. Notcom, 022421.
This is an episode where none of the characters are particularly sympathetic. Except for Jill Farwell, all the other main characters are either cowardly, mean, pathetic, greedy or stupid. So glad that Burt and Jill didn’t have a maudlin reconciliation in the last scene. Submitted by Wick 3/9/2022.
You can see the shadow of the boom mike at 25:33 on the DVD. Submitted by scarter 8/25/14
There's a stock shot, used before, of people walking down the courthouse steps at 30:11 on the DVD, and a girl in a white dress is pointing at something as two other people turn to look. I wonder what it was. A mystery that will never be solved. Submitted by scarter 8/25/14
When Kathy enters the room with Mason and Ann with a tray of food a light somewhere appears to become brighter. Watch the shadows of the shelves behind Mason become more pronounced. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 8/26/14.
+ I don't see the lighting change but when Kathy leaves the room there is a shadow of the boom microphone on the wall at the top of the screen. Kilo 3/5/2019.
Did Rennie drink from the same water fountain as Leonard Nimoy did in TCOT Shoplifter's Shoe? jfh 19Jul2024