Show43
It's odd that in a military courtroom they don't use military time. There's a reference to "9 p.m." but surely people in the Army would have said "2100 hours" instead.
Submitted by Scarter, 2-24-14
+ Inconsistent would seem to be the term for it, as the first day is concluded with the remark: "Court will reconvene at 0900 tomorrow morning", the last word being, of course, redundant. Altho the writers did their best - we assume - thru minor faux pas such as these, we can see they were at times in areas they weren't familiar with. Notcom 121021.
And I think touch typing would result in uneven pressure on keys, and the hunt-and-peck system would result in even pressure, the opposite of what they said in the episode. Submitted by Scarter, 2-28-14
A skilled touch typist does indeed produce more even results than a hunt-and-peck typist. My mother could do well over 100 WPM on a manual machine with wonderfully even results. Of course, typing like this is just about a lost art altogether. DOD 07/01/19
The first episode I believe in which we see the office in its final form - a full row of books across the credenza, fish painting above, and mask on the side wall. DOD 07/20/20
+ Yes, the books have finally arrived! Submitted by catyron, December 16, 2020
If you use the year the episode aired as a reference date, then the testimony would indicate that Rikki Stevens was about 15 or 16 years old in the Philippines when she "worked" at her job. Submitted by Kenmore, 4-15-14
I love that flowchart in Major Lessing's office. It's even titled "FLOW CHART" so that we know what it's supposed to be. However, it doesn't look like any flowchart I've ever seen; there are no yes/no branches. I suspect the prop guys weren't too sure what a flowchart was. Submitted by Alan Smithee, 5 May 2014.
+ I noticed that too. Weird. Submitted by catyron, December 16, 2020
There was no shortage of great talent on the Mason show. In this episode, two top-flight actors put on a clinic: the doe-eyed Lori March, always understated and believable, and the veteran Robert Armstrong, who crafts a powerful performance on the witness stand. Submitted by francis, 30 June 2014.
+ So true. One of the consistent pleasures of Perry Mason is enjoying fine performances by a variety of lesser known, but very talented actors.
Robert Armstrong is of course best remembered as the man who brought King Kong to New York. DOD 07/01/19
++ Not only are the tremendous Robert Armstrong and the lovely Lori March in this episode, but we also get to see George E. Stone as a bartender and John Dehner as a prosecutor! Dehner was a long running voice actor on radio's Gunsmoke, where he was was just brilliant when paired with William Conrad, who starred as "Mershill Dillin" (which is the way Dehner pronounced Conrad's character-name when he played cowboys). Dehner's vocal range was amazing, and in this episode's role, where he portrayed a neutral and rather bland prosecutor, he only let loose with a couple of instances of his Famous head-down vocal fry. I could listen to his voice all day. Submitted by catyron, December 16th, 2020.
When Dexter looks at his watch, they cut to a closeup of the dial and we see that they've tried to obscure the brand by opening the watch and scraping the text... but you can still see the "X" pretty clearly at the end. Submitted by bobhoveyga, 7/3/2014.
When Perry questions Captain Kennedy and as he faces the camera, at least one of the books seen over his left shoulder appears to have black tape over the volume/title on its spine. jfh 25Nov2020
It's amusing to me how suspects in PM episodes forget that there is likely a paper trail somewhere that will tell on them .. ironically, nowadays, public and private figures alike seem to forget that there is likely a camera watching them, to record both visible and sonic evidence of their conduct. And they still don't know enough to shut up and case their environment! Submitted by MikeReese, 8/16/2014.
It was convenient that Perry could get some finger prints from the FBI especially with quick turnaround. Submitted by Perry Baby 1/10/2015
Art. 1, Sec. 8 of the Constitution states "Congress shall have power to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces": the Uniform Code of Military Justice standardized court-martial rules among all 5 services in 1951. Submitted by History teacher Mike Bedard, 2.2.15. //
The movie "MacArthur" has a Corregidor scene where US money is burned & a soldier says, "That's 140 Million Bucks the Japs won't get." Mike Bedard 5.25.16.
In the first half, after Perry meets with his client in the lock-up, he finds Paul Drake waiting for him. The following conversation occurs on a soundstage with a base back-projected. Poorly done, actually. cgraul 96.2016//
It's the same backdrop, with the same soldiers looking over their shoulders, as was used when Perry first arrived at the base. Clothears 23-Jan-2021.
When the brother-in-law asks Perry if he knows what has occurred, Perry says yes, that he found out from Captain Kennedy. But when he meets Mrs. Lessing, he tells her that he wants to give her back the retainer. But why would he have brought the retainer with him? Wouldn't he have left it with Della to deposit? The only thing I can figure is that he still hadn't decided to represent Major Lessing. In his office, he had said that the retainer was sufficient "if he agreed to represent him." But then why would he drive all the way out to the base if he hadn't already agreed to represent Lessing? Submitted by Paul's Operative. 1/8/2024.
The court clerk uses what appears to be a type of dictaphone instead of the usual keypad device. Anyone know if this was usual for military proceedings at this time? DOD 07/01/19
+ That is a stenomask, which was adopted by the Navy in 1945. Voice recognition software has made it increasingly useful today, since it is faster and more accurate than a stenotype machine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenomask Submitted by vgy7ujm 4 May 2020
Possible Spoiler I'll try to keep this as vague as possible so as to not give anything specific away.
+ The gist of the crime revolves around the "Corregidor Money". Yet the money-laundering plot that is uncovered to me at least makes no sense. Given how easily the money can be identified, I would think that the culprits would come up with a far better plan that would totally avoid getting the military involved as we see in the opening scene.
+ Another issue is one of coincidence and identity. Given what we learn in the climatic scene, it seems like an unbelievable coincidence of how two characters who are linked by the events on Corregidor would not only wind up stationed on the same base, but apparently not recognize each other. Yes, it has been nearly two decades, but still, it is rather hard to believe. Submitted by Kenmore 10/13/2020.