Show269
Considering General Brandon was a favorite of the governor, it would have been nice to see Burger and Drumm read the riot act from Sacramento for trying to railroad a war hero for a murder he didn't commit. Burger even suggested that Brandon had a history of violence because he had "fought the enemies of our country." A pretty low blow from a civilian. Just once it would be nice to see their shoddy investigative tactics called out publicly. There are never any consequences for repeated prosecutions of innocent people. Not to mention destruction of reputations. Closest we got was in the previous episode where the judge scolded both Drumm and and the prosecutor (not Burger) for trying to convict an innocent man even though they admitted they had reasonable doubt and evidence they could not explain. Submitted by DM
General Who? Sorry, but Brian Donlevy as a general is an awful piece of miscasting. He's far too tentative and wishy washy to have command anybody or anything. And the ridiculous toupee on his head doesn't inspire confidence either. Couldn't they find someone with a bit more authority to play the general? Or save Donlevy for an episode about a small town barber? He was just not believable in this episode. Half the time he sounded like he didn't know what his next line was. Submitted by DellaMason
Poor Communication The general repeatedly says he trusts his wife implicitly and they have a great marriage. But how good could it have been if his wife didn't think to share with him that a man burst into her bedroom unannounced with phony stories about attempted suicide? Do these people have such interesting lives that it didn't come up in conversation?? IMO, her husband should have been the first call she made! Then maybe he wouldn't have been taken off guard. Great marriage, my foot. Submitted by DellaMason
Out of all the possible fictitious place names, why did story writers Kent and Libott choose the name of real California city San Carlos as the corrupt town? It is in the San Francisco peninsula, about 360 miles north of Los Angeles, and had a population of 20,000-25,000 in the 1960s per the US census bureau. But per Kent and Libott San Carlos seems as savory as Bay City. Submitted by (lowercase, with a comma and period) masonite, 10/29/13.
We get another look at Della's unique filing system - a separate drawer for each letter I through P. DOD 04/30/19
Drumm can’t make up his mind to pronounce Los Angeles with a hard or soft “G”. Perry has acquired a few decorative accessories- a pair of bird sculptures on the end table by the sofa. DOD 05/26/21
Was Brian Donlevy ailing during the filming of the episode? His voice sounds like he had a serious throat condition, making speech difficult. He still has 6 years more to live, and about 9 more roles to play. Submitted by (lowercase, with a comma and period) masonite, 10/29/13.
+ When I first saw his initial scene (and moments before reading here), to me he sounded like he was having painful teeth issues. Several scenes later though, he does not seem to be having the same speech issue. Also, I thought this was his worst deadpan/no emotion acting job in all of his Perry appearances. Just my humble .02¢ opinion of course. Submitted by mesave31, 03/18/15.
[nitpicking note: to the best of my ability to research, this is Brian Donlevy's only Perry appearance. jfh 29Apr2019]
++ Of course you mean 2¢ [or $.02]. .02¢ is two hundredths (or two percent) of ONE cent. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 3/28/18.
+++ Brian Donlevy did die from throat cancer in 1972 so this may be a reason. Submitted by Perry Baby 2/4/14
TCOT Satisfying Story Aaaah. We are back to adults with adult problems (greed, scandal, blackmail)! I find this one of the better late season episodes, more in line with classic PM. No ersatz Playboy Bunnies, no rebellious teens played by 20-somethings, no sappy pop music, no cringeworthy attempts to use current slang. In the early seasons, of course, we had similar attempts to capture the beatnik scene, but those made me laugh, at least. Give me greedy old men fighting over money any day! Them I can believe in! Submitted by JazzBaby, 6/29/2019.
When Perry and Drumm are at the murder scene Drumm gives the notepad to Perry. He points to it with the murder weapon, finger on trigger, two inches from Perry’s chest! Kilo 11/3/2021.
"Baerly Present." This is the last of Parley Baer's six appearances on the show. In each and every one of Parley Baer's appearances, he played neither defendant nor victim nor murderer, but rather "innocent" suspect. Submitted by BobH, 2 October 2017.
TCOT Dubious Dabbs I love how Dabbs Greer, who has been the murderer at least once, played his character with sufficient shiftiness of expression and body language to make viewers question his supposed loyalty to the General and suspect he could be the guilty party. Of course, having him at the murder scene with the gun in his hand set him up as a suspect, too! (Speaking of which, why weren't his fingerprints found on the gun?) Submitted by JazzBaby, 6/29/2019.
+ He was not holding the murder gun, but rather the gun that he took from his drawer and brought with him. Unlike the murder gun, it was a revolver. TerryS, 10/17/2019
Interesting that neither Perry nor Bill Cotton called the fire department or the police to report on the break-in, assault and arson at Cotton's place. TerryS, 10/17/2019.