Show117
Anomaly: Paul Langton, listed as Prosecutor Green, is called Mr. Telford twice by Perry in court. He was Deputy D.A. Telford in #101, TCOT Wandering Widow. Submitted by daveb, 12/20/2007.
+ The judge also addresses him as Mr. Telford. Submitted by gracenote, 7/8/2011.
Betty Lou Gerson makes the last of three appearances here on Perry playing Trudie Braun. Betty Lou Gerson was much better known as a radio actress and a voice actress. Ms. Gerson was the star of First Nighter on radio for 15 years and also was the orginal voice of Cruella De Vil in the 1961 Disney production of 101 Dalmations. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 3 September 2009.
Location: The Courthouse that Perry goes to several times is the San Diego County Administration Center. It is part of the National Registry #88000554. Posted by Eric Cooper, 18 March 2010.
Uncredited Actors: Though Don Anderson rarely appears in episodes set outside of LA, here he plays a security officer at the San Diego Zoo. Submitted by FredK, 4 October 2010.
+ The brunette gorilla attendant is uncredited, although she has a speaking part; perhaps she was a zoo employee. Submitted by catyron, March 16th, 2021.
Sightings: One of our recurring spectators made the field trip to San Diego to watch Perry Mason in action—namely, Distinguished Gentleman #1. Can you spot any other regulars? Submitted by gracep, 11/13/2010.
+ While Perry, Della, and Tony Osgood talk in front of the gorilla exhibit, The Thin Man walks along in the background, apparently looking at other exhibits. Submitted by gracep, 7/8/2011.
+ DG#1 is the actor Rudy Salinger, and he certainly does get around! Submitted by catyron, March 16th, 2021.
Character Names: Bookkeeper Keller’s full name is Abner Keller, as we learn when he introduces himself to Mason. Submitted by gracep, 11/13/2010.
+ Sec. Officer Crawford's full name is Frank Crawford, an he is addressed as "frank" by Tony Osgood. Submitted by catyron, March 16th, 2021.
Although Ray Collins (Lt. Tragg) is credited in this episode, he does not actually appear. Submitted by gracep, 11/13/2010.
Location: Almost 24 minutes in, Paul pulls into the Kona Kai Club. It’s still in business as the Kona Kai Resort Hotel, 1551 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego, CA 92106. If you Google Kona Kai Resort you can see the dining area where Perry and Della ate in the next scene. Submitted by Eric Cooper, 7 April 2011.
CARS. (1) 1956 Chevrolet 150 Handyman 2-door station wagon, light color with San Diego Zoo markings. This is Tony Osgood's official car, Lic No E 91605 ("E" in octagon, see EXEMPT PLATES).
- (2) 1961 Buick Electra 4-Door HardTop, black, Lic No VBV 990, Dr Walther Braun.
- (3) & (5) Two 1956 Chevrolet 210 Townsman 4-Door station wagons, same light color as Osgood's and with S.D. Zoo markings. Each is driven by Security Officer Frank Crawford. Car (5) has 2-way radio antenna & city seal on door without the lettering.
- (4) Paul Drake drives a white 1960 Lincoln Continental Mark V Convertible, top down, into the Kona Kai Club. The car is identical to Perry's Car (2) in Ep#109.
- (6) 1961 Ford Fairlane 4-Door Sedan POLICE B&W, Lt White SDPD.
Background Cars. Amongst the tons of background cars are these few of interest:
- (a) 1954 Nash Rambler 2-Door Station Wagon, light color, parked on streetside as Tony Osgood drives Car (1) into SD Zoo in opening panning shot.
- (b) Aerocoach P-372. As Tony turns his Chevy Wagon into the Zoo's front gate in the opening sequence, the front 10-15 feet of the P-372 are seen at left-of-screen in the parking lot across the street; its distinctive livery (paint scheme) is exactly as in the linked image from Beach Blanket Bingo. We've already seen this same bus in Ep#s 80 & 99; it appears again in Ep#135.
- (c) 1950 or 1951 Studebaker Starlight Coupe, medium color, in traffic on N. Harbor Dr. in the panning shot in front of San Diego City & County Administration Building (building history here). The shade-wearing driver, with his arm hanging way out the window is looking at the camera like he's the original Way-Too-Cool Dude, approx 9:36.
- (d) 1958 Edsel Ranger 4-Door HardTop, white w/ dark roof & trim, parked in front of San Diego City & County Admin Bldg.
- (e) 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible, dark color w/white top up, parked beside Edsel.
- (f) 1960 Ford Falcon 2-Door Sedan, medium color, passes Paul's car just before he turns in to the Kona Kai. This is Falcon's 1st appearance in PM. 1960 was its 1st model year.
- (g) In the Kona Kai lot, Paul parks beside a black 1961 Buick Electra 4-Door HardTop, Lic No VBV 990. The Lic# is clearly shown, as it was earlier when the car was driven by Dr Braun. But Dr B has departed for the morgue. What's his car doing here? He doesn't need Lunch any more!
The octagonal emblem on the door of the SD Zoo cars is the Seal of the City of San Diego (closeup @ 18:53). On cars (1) & (3) the seal is accompanied by the lettering "SAN DIEGO ZOO - UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO ". Added by Gary Woloski, 11/15/12.
Movie Connection: There were a few things in this episode that relate to The Wizard of Oz: (1) The title of the story (2) The signs above Boris in his first appearance - TIGERS, LIONS, BEARS, and Elephants (3) Baby gorilla named Toto (4) victim named Braun (close to Baum). Did anybody see others? Submitted by H. Mason 11/8/14
+That's L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the 1900 book the Oz movie is based on; (5) Incredibly, there is an actor in this episode named OZ! O.Z. Whitehead makes his only appearance on PM, playing Beacom. CBS had rebroadcast The Wizard of Oz (it's 3rd TV appearance) on December 11, 1960, 4 months before the airing of this episode. Would that be within the time this episode was being written and produced? Submitted by DyNama 11/27/2014
++ (6) Tony Osgood's name is pronounced OZ-good. (7) Betty Lou Gerson was a prolific 1930s-40s radio voice actor, and in the 1930s she starred in the soap opera "Arnold Grimm's Daughter" as DOROTHY, the titular character. Submitted by catyron, March 16th, 2021.
This is the second of three PM appearances for Phyllis Coates, the original Lois Lane on television's Adventures of Superman...MikeM. 9.10/2016
This is the first of two PM appearances for Carol Rossen, who appeared in eight episodes of the television series The Lawless Years...MikeM. 12/19/2016
Writer Jonathan Latimer may have had San Diego connections from his service in the US Navy during World War II. Latimer passed away in San Diego (La Jolla) in 1983...MikeM. 9/18/2017
The script made several cryptic references to World War Two and the years immediately following: (1) The character name Walter Braun is strikingly similar to Werner von Braun, the Nazi scientist who was given a free pass to come to the USA. (2) Braun was said to have been caught in a scheme to sell illegitimately collected "dental gold," and it was well known after the war that the Nazis had financed projects by removing the dental gold of their Jewish victims. (3) The smuggling of antibiotics and selling them for inflated prices, the young woman who may be arrested and forced to return to her native country, and the sinister specter of left-over Nazi schemers all echo the plot of Carol Reed's classic film, "The Third Man," which takes place in post-war Vienna. Submitted by catyron, March 16th, 2021.