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Dr. Bayliss informs Arthur Cartwright that his sister has escaped from the sanitarium. Arthur tells Dr. Bayliss not to call the police, he will handle the matter. Dr. Bayliss agrees. Evelyn Forbes has just brutally assaulted the night nurs, stolen her clothes, and broken out of the sanitarium. After all of this, Dr. Bayliss agrees not to call the police. Things would be handled much differently today. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 7/20/2008.
I don't remember even hearing anything about how badly hurt the nurse was. After all, that WAS a pretty heavy vase she was clobbered with, and Mrs. Forbes used quite a bit of force when she hit her, too. I think Mrs. Forbes was lucky she didn't accidentally kill the nurse. But, in late 50s, most businesses didn't file any charges if a woman got injured, or killed; the prevailing attitude back then was that a woman was lucky to even HAVE a job. That's also why office wolves acted with impunity - no court would ever prosecute them. Submitted by Arisia, 02/18/18
Dr. Bayliss is probably eager to hush things up for the sake of his business, and willing to pressure his staff to do the same. However, he was entirely negligent in not getting written and signed confirmation of Cartwright's promise to take full responsibility. Submitted by GCL 06/10/18
Maybe I just missed him, but did anyone see Pitt Herbert as the Coroner? He's in the credits. Submitted by daveb, 8/12/2009.
+ Not on the DVD. Kilo 4/21/2018.
Paul Drake can certainly sprint with the best of them as he shows in this episode. Early on he enters the house across the street from the Forbes residence and in less than 6 seconds is opening the 2nd-floor window. You can even see Paul begin his sprint as his associate Andrews enters the door. Submitted by Kenmore, 7/05/2010.
+ Just before Paul enters the residence he pauses and holds up the key. If you look quick (or pause) you can see that he has a bandaid on his finger tip. It's also noticeable in other scenes such as when he's playing with the "killer" German Shepherd in the epilogue. Submitted by Kilo 4/21/2018.
The dog which Paul brings to Perry's office really loves the PI's hair. Was Brylcreem a PM sponsor? Submitted by MikeM, 11/02/2012
+ Sammy the dog seems to be one of those pale, heavyset German Shepherds from the Frank Barnes kennel who played the modern television Rin-Tin-Tin. I never liked those dogs. The original Rin-Tin-Tin (1918-1932), the silent film star, was a sable-coated dog with very long dark ears and a thrifty form. His highly agile movements could not be matched by Barnes's tubby Flame Jr. and his equally pale and tubby kennel-mates. Submitted by catyron, January 5th, 2021.
Though a (black) cat person, I love the closing scene with Paul and that dog; hilarious. And something about those wooly sounding four bars has a delightful vintage So-Cal quality. No music credits for this episode? dped, 1/14/24
It seems odd that the police cars have no writing on the doors. Submitted by scarter, 8/4/14
Burger and Bill Johnson wear identical neckties, DOD 07/26/19
Clinton Forbes asks Perry if a will is valid if the maker of the will is executed for murder, and then he tells Perry he wants to make a will. It seems odd Perry doesn't ask him about this. "Mr. Forbes, are you planning a murder?" Forbes assures him he isn't, but he volunteers that information on his own, as he's leaving Perry's office.
submitted by scarter, 8/4/14 //
+ It was actually Arthur Cartwright, Evelyn Forbes' brother,
who asks about the will. Submitted by Kilo 6/30/2017.
++ And Perry said, "Do you have something in mind, Mr. Cartwright?", NOT "are you planning a murder". Submitted by Arisia, 02/18/18
Classic Perry: "If my client's interests are in jeopardy, I will do whatever is necessary," he tells Paul.
Mike Bedard 6.27.16 MeTV airing.
We actually see Perry smoking a cigarette in this episode, then in the epilogue, Perry has a coughing spasm as he chuckles at Paul characterizing Sammy as "a killer". jfh 26Jul2019.
Not the first--but likely the most dramatic--example in Perry Mason:
And notice that neither Perry nor Della comment on the motivations of a secretary who kills her boss because he won't marry her !! Submitted by Notcom,10-04-2016.
In addition to violence and jealousy, this episode features another staple of PM - an intricate plot - and as is many times the case, the sequence of events that Perry deduces doesn't seem to quite match up with what we've actually seen develop.
When Arthur Cartwright first visits Perry, he relates that he's been kept up two nights by a howling dog; tho it (seems to have) meant little at the time, what we later learn tells us it meant that Polly is already dead...for two days, at least (clearly she and Arthur were neither murdered nor buried at the same time, tho the dialogue during the trial might suggest otherwise).
+ Perry later receives a letter - ostensibly from Arthur - changing his beneficiary from Polly to Evelyn, asking Perry to defend the latter and leaving a cryptic message; taken together, they mean that he knows Polly is dead, and he seems to suspect Evelyn killed her...so right church, wrong pew. But if that's the case why was he murdered ?? Did he tell Thelma and/or Clinton of his suspicions, and they realized he knew too much?? or did he actually suspect they had killed Polly and confronted them?? if so, then why ask Evelyn be defended ?? More to the point, why not report his theory to the police...or at least Perry??
++ The answer of course makes great deal of sense dramatically (but has little logic to it): just as with the no-one-is-looking "surprise" discoveries, it's to fool the audience.
Notcom, 122320.
Although Clinton Forbes was a pretty despicable predator, he did do one smart thing (although it ended up getting him killed). Maybe I watch too much of Forensic Files. But whenever I see a story about how a person collaborates with their affair partner to kill the person's spouse, I always ask, "Don't you realize that this person has no problem killing their spouse? You could be next!" At least Forbes had the good sense to tell Thelma Brent that he couldn't live with her based on what she had done. Submitted by Paul's Operative. 2/3/2024.