Show154
A reunion of sorts for Allison Hayes and Maurice Manson. They both appeared several years earlier in the Roger Corman flick, The Undead, although they didn’t share any scenes together, just as in this episode if you don’t count the phone call. Submitted by Kenmore, 1/07/2012.
In 1962-63, we have a new opening scene, Perry sitting alone in the courtroom. And I'm happy that, in 1962-63, CBS decided to omit the little ditty music they had played during 1961-62 each episode following the last scene but prior to the classic Perry Mason theme during the credits. --submitted by 10yearoldfan, 26 August 2013.
+ There was also the alternate opening where Perry enters the courtroom and walks to his seat. Perry Mason was not the only CBS series which not only introduced a new opening in the 1962-63 season but also an alternate version. The Dick Van Dyke Show introduced the Rob-Petrie-tripping-over-the-ottoman opening and also made one where he didn't trip. Another similarity between the two series is that by the final season (1965-66 for both series) one of the openings was rarely seen. Rob Petrie rarely tripped anymore and Perry only walked in twice in the ninth season--and that counts the special color-episode opening. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 9/9/13.
++ Also, the 6th season did introduce the 2-part closing credits. Many times in the syndicated version, the second part is cut out. The first part leads directly to the Viacom logo and the copyright info and production number are not seen. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 9/9/13.
+++ What a relief that Pacific Title, which was responsible for the icky opening titles, is gone now, and that the comedic little ditty music is gone. Back to more-or-less normal at last! Submitted by catyron, May 24th, 2021.
That ubiquitous staircase set that was in the Langley mansion in the previous episode, Lonely Eloper, is seen here in the Cosgrove Library. DOD 12/03/19
MASON: "twilight extended only to 6:40 that particular evening".
So, what evening was that?? . . . . Find the April evenings which fit Perry's description by examining the calendar for April 1957 (Wed & Thurs 3/4 Apr 1957 both fit Perry's description). Then flip forward a year at-a-time by clicking on the appropriate link below the calendar (eg "April 1958" in blue). But note: The DST start-dates on these calendars are INCORRECT! The actual DST-starts were the Last Sunday of April (see explanation below). Subtract one hour from all times between the first and last Sundays .
. . . . Likewise check each calendar from October 1962 onward (Sat, 20 Oct 62 fits). The October calendars for 1962 & later have the correct DST-end dates & the correct Local Times are shown.
. . . . For 1961 & earlier, DST-end must be corrected to the Last Sunday of SEPTEMBER (see below) and One Hour subtracted from times in the affected days. Now observe that twilight does not extend to 6:40 on any of these autumn evenings. Added by Gary Woloski, 6/1/13.
A uniform DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (DST) protocol has been observed state-wide in California since 1950. The US federal Uniform Time Act of 1966, which aimed to reduce Time Zone Chaos across the US, didn't require any immediate change in California since the state was already in compliance. For the period of interest to us, California & Los Angeles DST was in effect as follows:
- 1950-1961: Last Sunday of APRIL to Last Sunday of SEPTEMBER.
- 1962-1986: Last Sunday of APRIL to Last Sunday of OCTOBER, except 1974/75.
Prior to 1950, California had only applied DST during wartime (1918-19 & 1942-45) and during California's own 1948 Power Shortage. A comprehensive reference for the whole USA back to 1918 is Time changes in the U.S.A. by Doris C. Doane (California p24). Online use timeanddate.com to find DST effective dates for Los Angeles: 1950-59, 1960-69.
WARNING. The calendars linked to above were produced by sunrisesunset.com using this DST rule. This DST Protocol IS NOT VALID for the era of the Perry Mason Series, 1957-1966! The October calendars up to 1961 and all of the April calendars incorporate INCORRECT DST start/finish dates. The times shown on these calendars for the three or four week periods affected by the incorrect start/finish date must be corrected by adding or subtracting one hour as appropriate. Added by Gary Woloski, 5/31/13.
Mr. Woloski provides excellent analysis above to help determine the actual date of the murder. Perry stated that "twilight extended only to 6:40". However, in the opening street scene you will notice that it appears to be after dark. The street lights are on, cars have their headlights on, etc. Now notice in the lower left of that scene there's a clock that clearly shows the time to be 5:20. Assuming the murder happened within a few days, that would destroy Perry's 6:40 twilight analysis to determine the time of the murder. Submitted by Kilo, 10/3/2017.
Library Substitution (contd) Perhaps not surprisingly, art forgeries are a frequent plot device on PM; paintings, statuary, tapestries, coins and - here - books have been among the media counterfeited, and the formula is pretty simple: someone creates a fake whatever and substitutes it for the original. And such could have been the M.O. here: Miss Chute, using her vast technical knowledge - "...old time pens, even special kinds of glue like they used in the olden days" she relates in a technical tour de force - doctors a minor copy of some major cla$$ic so it is indistinguishable from the actual, than a surreptious swap is made...no one the wiser. But what do they do instead ?? As Della clearly explains (@ ~26:30) the knockoff is substituted - unaltered - and instead Miss Chute doctors the original...thus destroying the very marks that give it its value !! In the name of Gutenberg, could the writers be more clueless if they tried ?!?! Head shakingly by Notcom, 020617.
+ No, I think the idea was to add some marks to the first edition so they could not be traced back to the library from where they were stolen.
A [new] stain on page 3, for example, would not be recognized by the original library because they would not have a memory/record of it. Using authentic inks/glues/techniques would make it not traceable as a 'new' mark. Still, a bit of a weak plot device. --yelocab 02012018
+ You're probably correct in that was the writer's thinking - "but not too much...just so it can't be identified as any particular copy" - but it's still a thoroughly bassackwards plan: even if the alteration was successful - how could they know which (of an infinite number of) identifying marks to alter ?? would a collector really accept an altered volume ?? - it still puts all of the effort on the part of the scheme that's unlikely to be a problem, and none on that which is ...the original substitution (one needn't worry about a stolen item being traced if the theft isn't discovered in the first place). Of course criminals often aren't very smart, so I'm not sure whether we should criticize the writers for coming up with a stupid idea, or applaud them for imitating what a stupid criminal would do. Redirect from Notcom, 030118.
+ Yes, I think the writer's thinking was backwards. A particular first edition could be identified by distinct marks/stains/etc. that already exist on a certain page. (torn page 8, words handwritten in red on page 12, water stain on page 7, etc.) Adding additional stains would not remove the distinctive earlier marks. Is it possible that a library, having paid thousands for a rare book, would have also marked it in a distinct --but discreet way? --yelocab 17APR19
++ Interesting that Burger, Tragg, and Anderson discuss "who suggested [Muntz as] the expert?" just as Mason is outlining the substitution scheme with Muntz on the witness stand. We can hear Mason speaking but cannot hear the details of the scheme. FWIW, I think the writers didn't want to provide an actual how-to for forgers. jfh 06Mar2024
Holy Awful, Batman! The only thing I could think of after hearing Adam West's off-kilter rendition of "This Train" at the beginning of this episode was: Where's El Kabong when you really need him? Submitted by Bob H, 27 May 2017.
+ Actually, Adam West's singing isn't all THAT bad, he's just way out of tune with the guitar he's singing with. OLEF641 2/30/21
"This train is bound for.....Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-----camonga." DOD 11/20/18
I found this episode to have really stretched disbelief in a number of ways: leaving a rare book on the shelf (someone could have stolen it); leaving cash in another book on the shelf (where anyone could have found it); and the flies, and the gas being left open for an hour or so without an explosion.