Show164
Watch for the scene in the first half where Paul reports to Perry from a phone booth. Isn’t that booth just a little peculiar? Submitted by Mitch English, 1/13/2005.
+ Good catch on the phone booth. The short scene starts at about 22:58 on the 2011 Paramount DVD. I had to watch it a few times before seeing the chuckle-worthy peculiarity. Submitted by masonite, 10/19/2011.
+ It took me a couple of viewings to spot the “peculiarity” of the phone booth Paul calls from. Without giving anything away, I‘ll just say viewers should focus their attention on Paul’s right arm. Submitted by Kenmore 1/10/2012.
++ EX-CELL-ENT catch and clue...when I saw it, I laughed...GREAT and THANKS! ;-> Submitted by mesave31, 03/29/15.
That race track official uses Della’s unique filing system - a single drawer for eight random letters of the alphabet. DOD 01/14/22
Strother Martin (Joe Mead) was in many of the TV shows we are familiar with: Dick van Dyke, Bonanza, etc., but he is most famous for the line “what we have here…is a failure to communicate!” in Paul Newman’s terrific Cool Hand Luke. Submitted by CGraul, 8/29/2011.
+ Strother says “What we’ve got here is…failure to communicate” in CHL, which also has the quote with an “a.” (The also-terrific novel doesn’t have the quote.) Strother is always fun to watch, and to listen to, though too many of his performances in a row could leave you a little less laid-back than Tiger Lil. Submitted by masonite, 10/19/2011.
Paul's TBird. So far, the best shot in the series of Paul's '62 TBird is at 24:13 of this episode. The shot shows the radiator grill in close-up and the yellow '56-pattern licence plate. The '62 grill has been described as "four rows of shiny metal 'drawer pulls' between thin horizontal bars" (Gunnell, p47). At this point in the series, we should soon be seeing 1963 model-year cars and 1963-issue plates. For later identification purposes (Ep#169), it may be helpful to remember how the '62 TBird grill looks on B&W TV in this scene and to imagine how the interaction between the grill's geometric pattern and the TV process's raster scans and limited resolution might play tricks with the grill's video appearance. Added by Gary Woloski, 8/7/13.
At a time about 2/3 of the way through the show, there is a scene in Perry's office where Perry and Della are discussing the murder victim. Della refers to him quite clearly as Brad Selby, while only a few moments later Perry correctly calls him Brad Shelby. Hard to imagine how this error got through and even more how the two actors didn't stop the scene realizing one had used the wrong name of a character just moments apart. Submitted by PerryDixon 10/14/13
+ Personally I find these kind of minor faux pas, which occur throughout the series (and are frequently pointed out), to be be quite realistic: both are talking about someone neither knew very well or for very long, and it's not unlikely one of them might mis-pronounce/remember their name; and the other might or might not notice (or correct them). Whether the production team felt the same way - and left it in intentionally - or just didn't notice either, we can't of course know. Rebuttal by Notcom, 031518.
Opening Scene. Once again, Perry shows up at the courtroom on the wrong date and wonders why everyone else isn't there. Submitted by 10yearoldfan, 18 Oct 2013.
+ Yes, and you can see him wondering why Della would have told him the wrong time to be there! Submitted by Welshwoman 04/02/15
+ I disagree with the running criticism of this opening. Trial work, if conducted properly, is performance art as much as it is knowledge and skill. Well-prepared trial lawyers will become familiar with courtroom layout and setup in advance of the trial, not just show up "cold" in court on the trial date. jfh 16Nov2016
This is another case where Burger asks a witness about a private conversation held between witness and defendant, and the witness admits that the defendant made a threatening remark about the victim. How would Burger have known what was said, and why would the witness admit it, to the detriment of the defendant? yelocab 22FEB18
+ trial prep. jfh 22Dec2022
The Shamrock stable hand took a peek at the camera when he was being questioned by Burger. Kilo 2/4/2020.
As Perry begins his questioning of Roberta Harper for the final time, he turns and walks back to the counselor's table. A large thread or string is seen dangling from the back of his suit jacket, as though the seam may be damaged. Chief Kurtz 12/10/2021
+ During her testimony, both Roberta and Perry refer to Madelon as "Mrs. Shelby", even though Madelon's marriage to Brad was invalid due to his unresolved prior marriage to Roberta. jfh 05Feb2024