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Nice to see Tragg work with Perry to expose the real killer. Burger's case was a string of criminals and people who had a reason to lie. Every single one of his witnesses he put on the stand had a criminal record. In real life a judge would have thrown out their testimony for credibility issues. I enjoyed seeing Hamilton with egg on his face. His objections to Perry "breaking the old lady's heart" made me laugh out loud. Since when does he EVER care about anyone's feelings? He goes out of his way to destroy families, hurt children, and expose dirty secrets. Submitted by DellaMason on 11/25/23
The killer in this episode is a different person than in the book. In the book, the killer, although privately identified, is not arrested, as it was clearly self defense. In addition, the book (1938) makes extensive use of police radio. Many characters in the book have radios tuned to the police band. Two way police radio was still a novelty back then. Submitted by Bill-W2XOY on 07/30/13.
+ Without explicitly identifying Austin Cullens's killer in the novel, one wonders whether the casting director's decisions had an effect on the change of the killer's identity. Submitted by BobH, 18 November 2016.
++ "A Second Thought." A second and, I think, better explanation for changing the identity of Cullens's killer: In the novel, Sarah Breel's flight from the "crime" scene and subsequent "medical condition" seem at the end to be part and parcel of her effort to conceal the identity of the person she knows to be the real killer. By changing the killer's identity in the episode, the scriptwriters absolve Sarah of any complicity in covering up the real killer's identity, thus making her an innocent Mason client--a hallmark of almost every episode. (See "TCOT Howling Dog," both novel and episode, for an even more obvious example of changing the killer's identity as a way of preserving the complete "innocence" of Perry's client.) Submitted by BobH, 20 January 2018.
+++ Technically speaking, we might say the killer wasn't (positively) identified here: at least - and this is the only episode where I can recall this happening - the suspect doesn't burst into an impromptu confession...OTC his/her final words are "I didn't do it..." Notcom, 031718.
++++ The killer is positively identified in the epilogue. jfh 19Dec2019
+++++You are correct: "It wasn't easy to get a confession out of him, but Tragg did it" Oh the perils of commenting based on an overedited showing !! (Whether/not Nimoy's onscreen adamancy is unique waits further inquiry.) Notcom, 1232119.
PM Producer Arthur Marks stated that 30,000 actors appeared in the 9 Perry seasons (Intro. with Barbara Hale to "Shoplifter's Shoe," 50th Anniversary DVD set). Mike Bedard Presidents' Day 2015.
Looks like both Perry and Paul got those magic parking spots right in front of the courthouse. And, again, the traditional courtroom interior has no relation to the modern exterior. DOD 02/02/23
BRAVO to METV for preempting TCOT Decadent Dean to run "The Shoplifter's Shoe" Honoring Leonard Nimoy on 2.27.15! See Trivia for the highlights of his Multi-Faceted career. Mike Bedard 2.28.15.
When Perry and Paul are outside Cullen’s house, the door is flush with the wall. From inside, a wall appears at a right angle to the door. I can’t believe that storeroom would not have been part of the police search. DODay 11,23,17
A body, dead for a couple of days, certainly would have been noticed by its odor. Right? --yelocab 20MAY19