Show8
Anita Bonsal and Fay Allison each make $75 a week at the missile plant. Seventy-five dollars a week would be $552.42 in 2007 dollars. That’s $28,725.84/year. No surprise they have to share an apartment in LA. Submitted by billp, 12/27/2008.
+ On the other hand, expenses like housing have far outpaced inflation. We should probably look at the total cost of living (rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, clothing) in LA during that time. Submitted by gracep, 11/22/2010.
++ The ID card in Fay's purse had "Guided Missile Identification" at the top. Mike Bedard 3.31.15
+++ Yet they're sharing that apartment in what seems to be a luxury building (the attendant's desk in the lobby - with mail slots - suggests it's actually an apartment hotel). Notcom 102221.
A very faithful adaptation of the only Perry Mason short story - even many of the names are the same. In that first outfit of hers, Faye really seems to be pointing to a bright future. DOD 05/26/20
Perry parks his Cadillac at the entrance of the Mandrake Arms. When the police arrive, the car is gone. DOD 07/25/24
The $500 bonus that Shirley Tanner paid to get the apartment would be $3,682.81 in 2007 dollars. Holy cow! I agree with Bill Storrer that was unfair to withhold from the audience. I wonder what the original script looks like. Could there be a deleted scene here? One which gave some hint? Submitted by billp, 12/27/2008.
> There is a hint - and use of the term seems generous as it's as subtle as one can imagine - when Paul informs Perry that the lessor never left town; so they realize that her account of how she obtained the apartment was inaccurate (or at least appears to be so). Notcom 112123.
Shirley Tanner’s last line is “When I found out what Anita Bonsal had done, I thought I was safe.” Submitted by billp, 1/1/2009.
Perry pronounces Anita's last name "Bonsell while everyone pronounces it as "Bonsal". jfh 05Sep2018.
My local TV station made a revealing mistake. When the airing was to begin, a card appeared on screen instead, reading: “Viacom Enterprises || PERRY MASON || The Case of the Crimson Kiss || Episode 8 || 4/3/87.” It is this date that intrigues me. This is an old syndication package from the late 1980s? Pondered by gracenote, 8/23/2011.
We learn from Burger that the Mandrake Arms has 48 apartments, but there are only 12 call boxes at the front door, and 36 mail slots at the desk.
As in "TCOT Silent Six", solving the mystery depends on apartments coming completely and identically furnished. DOD 05/26/20
+ With tongue firmly planted in cheek, I suggest that 12 of the tenants don't want to receive any mail and that the other 36 don't want visitors (12+36=48). ;-) OLEF641 11/9/21
Perry gets his first kiss of the series. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think, of the five main characters, Perry is the only one who ever gets kissed. Kilo 2/22/2021.
Deadly Drinks: I think this episode provides our first instance -- with many more to follow -- of a friend, relative, or caregiver slipping poison into what should be a calming beverage at bedtime. And then there's the allegedly nutritious "warm broth" in TCOT Murderous Mermaid. I'll have to look at the plot wheels to see if these potions were a regular gambit in the novels. JohnK, 9 June 2021
I think I may have noticed this before, but to me, Jean Willes looks a lot like Barbara Eden, but more worldly-wise and jaded. Watching this episode back-to-back with the previous one, I think, brought this to the front of my mind. OLEF641 11/9/21
Plot Hole: Why would Shirley Tanner call attention to herself by confronting people knocking on Carver Clement's door? It makes no sense, other than as a plot device to show her to the audience prior to the trial, and to entangle Perry and Della in the proceedings. Submitted by 65tosspowertrap, 3-18-2014.
+ Also, if she has insomnia as she claims, why would she care how much noise is being made in the hallway? jfh 08Jun2020
++ I would think a person who had trouble sleeping would be even more bothered by it. Notcom, 100820.
The major weak point in what is one of the most entertaining shows in the whole series. DOD 05/26/20
For the (so far) second time in the series:
Submitted by 65tosspowertrap, 3-18-14.
Even better - two women scorned! DOD 05/26/20
Double Feature altho there are many episodes in the series that feature multiple murders, I believe this is the only one that has murder (attempts) by different characters; of course only one of the attempts is successful, and two episodes back we seemingly had a similar situation, but one of the attempts turns out to have been faked. Notcom, 100820.
MAJOR SPOILER: the murderer is (Gloria McGhee as Shirley Tanner) Steve Harris. jfh 08Jun2024