Show268
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#268: The Case of the
Misguided Model
Original Airdate: 04/24/66
Summary Edit
From The Perry Mason TV Show Book (Revised)
Former beauty queen Mary Ann Mobley plays Sharon Carmody, a model trying to become the new representative for White Snow soap. Trouble is, the job calls for Sharon to be as pure as the product she’ll be pushing, and unfortunately, her past is getting in her way. She’s being blackmailed. Then her boyfriend, ex-boxer Duke Maronek, fights with her adversary, and when it is over, the adversary is dead, and it looks like smooth sailing for her. But Duke confesses to Perry, and when the police arrest someone else for the crime, Perry is torn between two unpleasant options. Ethics prevent him from revealing his client’s confession, but he can't let an innocent man be convicted.
Credits Edit
Opening
Starring Raymond Burr
in The Case of THE MISGUIDED MODEL
Based upon characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman
Trailing
Directed by Jerry Hopper
Written by Orville H. Hampton and Ernest Frankel
Arthur Marks \ Art Seid | Producers
Gail Patrick Jackson | Executive Producer
Ernest Frankel | Story Consultant
Orville H. Hampton | Associate Story Consultant
Raymond Burr as Perry Mason
Barbara Hale as Della Street
William Hopper as Paul Drake
William Talman as Hamilton Burger
Richard Anderson as Lt. Steve Drumm
Music | Richard Shores
Cast
Mary Ann Mobley as Sharon Carmody
Paul Lukather as Dennis ‘Duke’ Maronek
Anthony Eisley as Rudy Blair
Rita Lynn as Fern Bronwyn
Don Dubbins as Deputy D.A. Vincent
James Griffith as Jake Stearns
Harry Holcombe as Judge
Armand Harrison as Ira Dewitt
Sarah Selby as Woman Clerk
Isabel Randolph as Madam Rosa Bruening
Lauren Gilbert as Dave Bronwyn
Eddie Quillan as Agent
Lisa Davis as Receptionist
Lee Miller as Sgt. Brice
Darlene Enlow as White Snow #1
Robert Legionaire as Road Block Officer
Jim Johnson as Policeman #2
Howard Davis as Policeman #1
Crew
Director of Photography … John M. Nickolaus, Jr.
Art Direction … Lewis Creber
Assistant Director … Robert G. Stone
Film Editor … George Hively
Casting … Harvey Clermont
Makeup … Irving Pringle
Hair Stylist … Annabell
Wardrobe Supervision … Bob Wolfe, Evelyn Carruth
Set Decoration … Carl Biddiscombe
Properties … Ray Thompson
Production Sound Mixer … Herman Lewis
Script Supervision … Marshall Schlom
Theme Composed by … Fred Steiner
Automobiles supplied by … Ford Motor Company
Perry Mason
Produced by the CBS Television Network in association with Paisano Productions
Trivia Edit
Mary Ann Mobley was Miss America 1959. Submitted by Jim Kramer, July 09, 2008.
+ Mary Ann Mobley appeared in both Perry Mason and The New Adventures of Perry Mason (Episode #5, “TCOT Telltale Trunk”). There were only 15 episodes of The New Perry Mason, so it was quite rare for a performer to appear in both. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 4 October 2009.
Isabel Randolph makes her last of 3 appearances on Perry here playing Madam Rosa Bruening. Not only would it be her last appearance on Perry, it was her final screen credit in a busy 25 year career. Mrs. Randolph is known for playing snooty society matrons, and was quite famous in the 40's for playing Mrs. Uppington on the highly popular Fibber McGee and Molly radio show. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 15 June 2013.
Location: About 27 minutes into the episode, Perry walks from his car into the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. This exact clip of him along side his car has been used in multiple episodes. There is also a clip in which he closes the car door. Submitted by Eric Cooper, 13 October 2010.
+ That the shot of him entering the courthouse is a stock clip is obvious: en route to the courtroom, Perry loses his pocket square, briefcase, and gets a haircut! DOD 4/10/18
Location #2: At about 4 minutes in, the night street scene location with the Chinese or Japanese neon signs and the Fuji film sign makes its third appearance (at least). It was first used in a story that featured Asian actors (sorry, i cannot recall the episode name); it also appeared within the last coupe of episodes. Submitted by catyron, August 16th, 2018
Uncredited Actors: Though it’s difficult to be positive, it looks like Don Anderson was one of the uniformed policemen sent with Lt. Drumm to Duke’s hideout. Anderson is one of the two left at the checkpoint on the road, and he has to do some fancy footwork to avoid being run down when Rudy (Anthony Eisley) drives on through. Anderson might also have been used in the seige scene closer to the cabin. Drumm repositions some of his men, addressing one of them as “Don,” but the actor has his back to us making identification impossible. Submitted by FredK, 1/27/2012.
+ Speaking of Rudy, this is the third of three PM appearances for Anthony Eisley (Rudy Blair / Vince Rome / Howard Kern), whom I enjoy watching, through the magic of FETV, as a lead character in the series "Hawaiian Eye". jfh 15Sep2022.
The policeman shooting the tear gas was not a very good shot. [Item moved to "Spoiler Alert" section.] Submitted by Perry Baby 1/30/14
Perry runs in this one, even though it is the short distance between the police car he arrives in at the cabin to the main one where Steve Drumm is positioned. Submitted by mesave31, 03/18/15.
+ Perry also runs from the main police car to the foot of the hill. jfh 16Apr2018.
The Second Miss Carmody: Although everyone pronounces Carmody as "Car-ma-dy" Perry pronounces it "Car-mo-dy." Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 3/20/18.
+ Just as he did when way back in Episode #73, when first introducing our beloved courtroom spectator, waitress, and nurse, Miss Car-MOH-dee.
++ In Episode #73 everyone called her Miss CAR-ma-dy except Perry. I think Raymond Burr's pronunciation may be a Canadian Thing. Filming schedules being what they were, there was slipshod continuity on details such as names, so each actor just took a personal approach -- and sometimes the results were chaotic. I also wonder why this rather uncommon surname appears twice in the series, and both times as a Miss. The internet informs me that variants of the Irish name Carmody include Carmoady, Kermode, O'Carmody, and Carmady; that the name is derived from the pre-10th century Gaelic name O' Cearmada, which means "the descendant of the black hunting dog;" and that it also refers to the O'Cearmada sept located in the eastern part of County Clare as well as in Counties Kerry and Limerick.
This is the final of five PM appearances for Rita Lynn, who developed the use of one-act plays as therapy for psychiatric patients...MikeM. 4/16/2018
West Bend Thermo-Servs: The West Band Thermo-serv carafe and at least one mug is on display in the viewing booth at the studio where the White Snow ads are being rehearsed and filmed. Submitted by catyron, August 16th, 2018
The Staircase Goes to Seattle: The well-used staircase set is now at Fern's house in Seattle. Submitted by catyron, August 16th, 2018
Staircase in Seattle Hmmm, must be a movie there. Errm ... Submitted by Clothears 11th Ost 2020.
The Return of the Upside-Down Law Book: After a couple of seasons with no upside down law books, we see one in Perry's office in the closing scene. It is on the right side of the screen, near the giant urn-thing. Submitted by catyron, August 16th, 2018
+ Interesting that the book is aright on the shelf halfway through the episode. jfh 21Aug2018.
This is the 7th and last PM appearance for Don Dubbins, the last three of which were as Deputy D.A. Bill Vincent. Submitted by JazzBaby, 6/28/2019.
This is the 4th and final Perry appearance for James Griffith (Arthur Dorian / Walter Hutchings / Jack Randall / Jake Stearns) who has 230 IMDb acting entries. jfh 22Jun2022
Comments Edit
Better Stick to Beauty Pageants Mary Ann Mobley's acting in this episode was absolutely terrible. In the beginning when she's pleading with Duke to take the body out of her apartment, she kept widening her eyes, gesticulating wildly, and overenunciating her words. It was embarrassingly bad, particularly for 1966 when acting was moving more toward realism. It was depressing to watch since I realize that she was going to be the main character. Hollywood always has a tendency to hire pretty faces for film jobs. Sometimes they get lucky and the person can act. Other times, we get Mary Ann Mobley's awful impersonation of a woman in distress. Disappointing for the one of the last episodes to have this poor acting. Perhaps if they had been told the show wasn't continuing before season 9 shooting wrapped, they could have hired better actors. Submitted by DellaMason
I was under the impression that since William Talman's arrest in 1960 that he would no longer be credited for episodes he did not appear in. Unless his part was cut out of the syndicated version of this episode, he did not appear but was credited. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 6/26/12.
+ I just watched the unedited print off of Season 9, Volume 2. William Talman does not appear, but is credited. Submitted by Bill-W2XOY on 08/28/13.
Jake Stearns’ lawyer certainly doesn’t inspire confidence. DOD 05/11/20
During the fight scene, actor Paul Lukather does a good job of throwing his punches with form suitable for a trained boxer. Usually fight scenes just have wild haymakers. Ed Zoerner, 8/16/20,
The scene of Perry & Paul in the Records office being helped by Lt. Drumm is interesting in the sense that Perry lights Lt. Drumm's cigarette while an "American Cancer Society" sign is featured prominently in the background. Submitted by Kenmore 11/4/2012
+ The placement is so obvious that it would have to be intentional. William Talman did an anti-smoking commercial that aired after his death but according the Internet it was not diagnosed until September 1967 so no connection. Perry Baby 1/30/14
++ The connection may have been to the death of Ray Collins, who had died from emphysema not long before this episode was shot. Submitted by francis, 5/6/14.
+++ Ray Bidwell Collins was Born December 10, 1889 in Sacramento & Died July 11, 1965 in Santa Monica [IMDb]. Mike Bedard 3.13.15
I was very proud of the woman in this scene who stood up for herself and told the police detective that her name was "Millicent" NOT "Honey"! So why in the credits is she just described as "Woman Clerk"! Not fair! Submitted by Welshwoman 03/16/15
Perry's Dilemma in Misguided Model is similar to the one in Capering Camera; "Misguided" was used in another of the 12 MM episodes: Misguided Missile; "Model" appeared in another title: Reluctant Model. Mike Bedard 3.16.15.
In a case of life imitating art, in the mid 80's adult film star Marilyn Chambers was revealed to be the face of Ivory Snow detergent. DOD 4/10/18
Close your eyes and you would be forgiven for mistaking Rita Lynn for Ann Baxter.
A couple unusual aspects to this episode - an African-American policeman, and Perry has no court time. DOD 4/10/18
Don't you love the way Lt. Drumm calls Sharon Carmody "Miss Snow Plow" ;-) Submitted by HamBurger, 6/26/2023
The Travelling Target Show. If I was handling a tense, armed standoff, I know just what I'd do: send up a handful of unneeded people - Fern, Paul - to the site ... and put them w/i firing range, no less! (Really the former's whole appearance in LA was gratuitous, but she showed such spunk I guess we can forgive it.) Notcom, 072517.
When the cops arrest Jake Stearns it appears they're going to drive off leaving the body of Art Grover on the sidewalk. Kilo 11/17/2018.
Just before Sharon's audition, Perry is about to be shown into the studio by an attractive blonde lady. Her dialogue appears to be dubbed. Submitted by Chief Kurtz, 20 January 2022.
Why the police car sirens on obviously remote country roads? Otto Gervaert, 6/9/22
Rudy Blair's (the agent) constant holding his head from the blow from Duke was a bit over done as it continued for all of his scenes. Submitted by Perry Baby 1/30/14
+ At first i thought he had a migraine and my husband thought he had a hangover, but eventually we both guessed "concussion," and it turned out that we were right.I was also surprised that the stunt actor who played Art Grover got no credit. I realize he had no lines, but he was in a fight scene and he died -- which should count for something! Submitted by catyron, August 16th, 2018
++ Why Art Grover was not credited: He was already dead behind that couch as a corpse so he didn't have any lines and was not involved in the fight as that was a different actor, Rudy Blair (the agent) as "Perry Baby" mentions just above. Submitted by HamBurger, 8/29/2020
+++ It's easy to see 'catyron's confusion: as was the case with TCOT Stand-in Sister, with the way the fight was staged, it just doesn't seem possible for the events to have been as Perry described: after Duke delivers his blow - sending Rudy tumbling over the couch - he almost immediately turns on the lights and investigates...there simply wouldn't have been time - or a place - for Rudy to have hidden. Notcom 100621.
> I'm going to backtrack on this...well, sort of: viewing it last night, I saw Duke walk out into the hall and have a conversation with Sharon before turning on the lights. Did I see this last year ?? I'm guessing not: I think it was cut; and while (even) the uncut version isn't entirely believable - after all Rudy (and Sharon) would have no guarantee that Duke wouldn't run right over and discover the two men both there - together with the other apparent cut (discussed below) it seems this episode had a bad case of the Syndication Cut Blues...and how this colors our perception of episodes. Revised 102122, Notcom.
++++ Thanks for straightening me out on that. Submitted by catyron, November 27th, 2021.
The wrapup seems to imply that Sharon herself had killed Grover. So does that mean she actually punched him out? Or did she hit him with some blunt object? The mechanics of his murder was never actually explained. Submitted by Wick 6/9/2022.
Also in the wrap-up: Perry tells Duke tbat attorneys always want to know thd truth from clients while, less than 30 episodes prior, Perry insists on "not knowing" what Minerva Minden wants to confess to him in ep 241 TCOT Mischievous Doll jfh 15Sep2022
Watching this again last night, I saw a scene I don't recall having seen before (whether I earlier saw edited versions or just missed the beginning I don't know): shortly after the shot of Sharon and Duke leaving their car, but before they enter her apartment, we catch a glimpse of Fern in the hallway. There's never any explanation given; OTC it seems completely at odds with the rest of the activity (which never even hints that all three of the "Badger Game" confederates had recently been in contact). Hmmm.... Notcom 100621.
+ Art had contacted Fern promising not to blackmail her anymore if she would let him have the incriminating photo showing Sharon with the victim of the "badger game". Sharon killed Art (with a blunt instrument) thinking he had the photo. jfh 15Sep2022
You are correct - Fern’s brief appearance is not explained. It may be connected to another mystery - why does Fern have that incriminating photo of Sharon? An educated guess - Fern went to Grover’s apartment, something to do with his blackmailing her, found him dead, searched for anything he had on her, found that photo and decided to take it away. I wonder if a scene was cut explaining all? DOD 06/09/22
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