Show11
"What one lawyer gives, other lawyer can take away: Old Greek Proverb," Nikolides said. [See 1st photo.] Mike Bedard 4.3.15
The second appearance of the elaborate staircase set, first used in #5, "Sulky Girl". At some point it will be reconfigured to eliminate the curve and put in a landing. DOD 05/04/18
First of four appearances by the astonishingly prolific Whit Bissell. It sounds like part of Perry’s questioning of him has been redubbed.
Hard to believe that candle holder wouldn't slide off the table. Mrs Bradford must be a very nimble woman, to be able to climb aboard a boat listing that much. Also very bad form for Perry and Della to leave the boat with a candle burning.
The plot point about the two Mrs. Bradfords turns out to be completely superfluous.
The file cabinets that are sometimes behind Della's desk and sometimes behind Gertie's desk seem to be missing completely. DOD 05/29/20
+Not to mention leaving the dummy on the boat for the next person to find thinking it was a body. Wiseguy70005, 2/22/24.
Imagine (to quote Paul) a person having their name and address engraved on their key. jfh 04May2018
Whit Bissell was indeed prolific. He even managed 2 appearances in the very short lived " The New Perry Mason" with Monte Markham in the early 1970's. Phil A 20July2018
Origins of the First Mrs. Bradford? The construction of this episode has always puzzled me -- in how the writers and producers developed the elaborate first scene at the beauty parlor, but then did not tie up the unusual circumstances of the first Mrs. Bradford's two years on the road. Maybe they just couldn't fit it into 51 minutes. Do any of our ESG experts know whether her disappearance, amnesia, alien abduction, whatever, got a more complete treatment in the original story? JohnK, 7 October 2018
The only reason I see for that opening scene is to give the second Mrs Bradford a desperate reason to track down her husband, setting in motion the actions of Sands and Harper. Surely something as dramatic but more sensible could have been devised. DOD 06/26/22
+The differences between the episode and the novel are fairly substantial. There's only one Mrs. Bradford in the novel; her name is Daphne Milfield and her husband's name is Fred. She neither disappears for several years (as does the episode's first Mrs. Bradford) nor is she the defendant (as is the episode's second Mrs. Bradford). Interestingly, ESG populates the novel with a number of characters whose last names are locations in California: Fred and Daphne Milfield, Harry Van Nuys, T.L. Cameron, Frank Palermo, and Roger and Carol Burbank (the novel's father and daughter defendants). Coincidental? I suspect not. Submitted by BobH, 07 October 2018.
After Nikolides and Perry finish talking Nikolides gives his dog a treat. The dog ad-libs and bites his finger. "Aah! Let go. Good boy." Kilo 9/4/2019.
"(Inadvertent) Exculpatory Testimony." An autopsy done on the victim Joe Bradford indicates that Bradford died somewhere around 5:00 pm, and the prosecution argues that Bradford's wife Martha is guilty of the crime. At around 10:00 pm on the evening of his death, Martha rises from her bed after hearing a sound downstairs, comes to the head of the staircase--gun in hand--and calls down, "Joe, is that you?" This is confirmed in sworn testimony by Rita Bradford, a prosecution witness and the person who made the noise in the first place.
Thereby, a possibly exculpatory point never mentioned by Perry in Martha's defense is raised: Is it likely that Martha Bradford killed her husband on his boat at 5:00 pm and then, in her home, called down to him more than 5 hours later, thinking that he might be the source of the noise downstairs? Submitted by BobH, 8 April 2020.
Ooh, well spotted! Of course, Perry fans are used to being very forgiving of things that don’t quite make sense.DOD 05/29/20
+ She could've been intentionally setting up an alibi for herself. jfh 29May2020.
++ And who's to say it's the same Joe (would she really have a husband and a lover with the same name...why not? there are two Mrs. Bradfords!) Notcom, 052920.
+++ I rest my case. Submitted by BobH, 20 January 2021.