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Another anomoly early in the episode: Della doesn't know where Perry is. jfh 15Dec2016.
Seeing Mike Mazurki lifting weights in this episode reminded me, as a lifter, (not a professional, just for exercise) that is one of the few times anyone who lifts weights is depicted as anywhere near normal. Submitted by MikeReese, 1/25/2012
I guess that 1963 was before the stereotype of prison inmates spending their time lifting weights, because Mazurki asks Mason, "And how could I do my daily workout in jail?" Submitted by masonite, 8/25/12.
Condemned-to-death prisoner Janice Barton at one point is "in transit", and she is not handcuffed in the back seat of car with an easily-accessible door lock. Submitted by masonite, 8/25/12.
And the windows are down!
Dr. Nevin takes his nurse to the Malibu beach house to talk her out of drowning herself. jfh 15Dec2016
Near Manaus, Brazil, the River Guide speaks to Paul Drake in Spanish. Interesting because a) Paul Drake doesn't understand the Spanish, and b) the local signage is in Portuguese. Submitted by masonite, 8/25/12.
That is a pretty cushy death row cell Janice Barton has. The cell is about 12X12 with a bookcase headboard bed. Two tables, desk lamp, plants, books, sheets, bedspread. Not bad at all. Submitted by PaulDrake33. 17 September 2012.
+ And she gets to wear a flower-print house dress and a white cardigan sweater. Submitted by catyron, May 20th, 2018
I clearly remember watching this episode back in 1963 with my mom, dad and grandmother. I was 10 at the time. My grandmother loved the show. I remember watching it with her on Saturday nights, so that had to be 1962 (or earlier). It became my favorite show during the 65-66 season. Anyone else willing to admit that they are old enough to remember the series during its initial run? Submitted by Bill-W2XOY on 08/26/13.
+Although technically I am old enough to have seen the series during the last two or three years on CBS (and I probably did occasionally) I just have no recollection of it. (I do recall watching Lost in Space and The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS prime time and morning reruns) in 1965. For awhile we didn't have a TV in the early-1960s so this might explain my not remembering much before 1965.) Syndication is where I really began watching the series in the late 1960s (the local ABC station showed it at 10pm CST in between prime time and their local news!) Of course, I never saw this episode then since it was one of the 76 episodes not syndicated. I bought and read my first Perry Mason novel ("The Amorous Aunt") in 1970 at age 11! Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 9/9/13.
It's nice to see court clerk Olan Soule having real lines. Incidentally, my father just passed at age 90, and never missed an episode. Because of that, I watch every day, and have owned and read every book -- over 80 of them ! cgraul 11.1.13
+ "The Court Clerk...usually administers the oath to prospective jurors & to witnesses. The clerk is also in charge of physical exhibits introduced into evidence & is responsible for other administrative aspects of a trial," The American Bar Association website observes; Americanbar.org also notes "The Bailiff keeps order in the courtroom, calls the witnesses & is in charge of the jury. It is the Bailiff's duty to be certain no one attempts to influence the jury." Mike Bedard Presidents' Day 2015.
Barbara Hale noted that TV Guide counted TCOT Deadly Verdict among "The 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" (50th Anniversary DVD). Mike Bedard Presidents' Day 2015.
There's that staircase set again!
Anyone else think Lee Bergere resembles Hank Azaria?
The pharmacy must have been pretty easy-going, allowing someone to order the same prescription two days in a row - and if Perry suspected the murderer had ordered the medicine in person, why didn't he just show the pharmacist some photos?
This episode has a real Agatha Christie vibe, complete with a "the murderer is in this room" scene, and the case is solved with no courtroom testimony by any of the suspects.
A minor point - This is the only episode I recall that anyone actually sits on Perry’s office sofa. DOD 01/13/20
[unsigned comments]
TCOT Noir Novelist Wow! This was the most like a film noir of any episode I've seen, thanks to the skillful writing of Jonathan Latimer and the direction by Jesse Hibbs. Latimer was a successful crime novelist as well as a scriptwriter. His film scripts included adaptations of novels by noir greats like Hammett and Woolrich, so no surprise he could turn this out. And I bet Burr loved the chance to deepen his character, as Mason struggles with losing a case. It's clear it isn't about his pride, but his empathy for his client. The scene near the beginning where Mason is reliving the case while exploring the deeply shadowed bedroom of the murdered woman gives Burr a chance to make powerful use of his incredible talent for expressing thoughts and emotions without words. Truly breathtaking. Submitted by JazzBaby, 4/8/2019.
One of a very few episodes showing Perry actually smoking a cigarette, and, at the same time, showing Perry bedraggled in his office. jfh 19Aug2022
This is one of the few Season 7 episodes to feature Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg. He looks very haggard but sounds considerably better than in his later (and final) appearance -- "The Case of the Capering Camera."
Business Goof - At about halfway in, just after Janice once again refuses to tell where she really was (at least on tonight's meTV broadcast), Perry visits Dr. Nevin to ask where he was at the time of the murder. The doctor is examining something in a microscope. What's funny about this is that it's a stereo microscope designed for use with both eyes, and he's just looking through it with one! Well, I found it funny, anyway. OLEF641 6/10/21
+ Great point. An alternative title for this episode could have been "TCOT One-Eyed Witless." Submitted by BobH, 10 June 2021.
HeTV?? Absoulutely no comment is made to that effect, let alone developing it as a plot point, but might it be inferred that the killer is a transvestite ?? An alternate explanation, of course, is that he thought he might be seen and wanted to again trick the police into thinking the killer was a women (or the producers wanted to trick the audience as to who the killer actually was). Still, it seems like an elaborate effort for such mundane purposes. Hmmm....Notcom 022622.
+ Shades of Norman Bates.
+ + Oh, and in TCOT Crimson Kiss, Perry suggested that a man could've put on lipstick to throw off the police and leave the lip print as a misleading clue. jfh 19Aug2022
I wonder if the writers of the first Perry Mason TV movie, “Perry Mason Returns”, were influenced by this episode. In both, a “woman” is seen only from the back leaving the scene of a crime. Of course, in the movie that woman is identified as - clutch the pearls! - Della! DOD 02/27/23