Show169
Burr’s Absence: This is the first of four consecutive episodes that Raymond Burr will miss due to injury. He will be replaced by Bette Davis, Michael Rennie, Hugh O’Brien, and Walter Pidgeon. Submitted by PaulDrake33.
+ It was an operation, not an injury! The Appleton Post-Crescent newspaper for 11/6/62 reported that the network said that Burr “will enter a Los Angeles hospital for minor corrective surgery in December” and that “the company must make several shows during his convalescence without the star.” See the Comments section below for more about this incident. Burr is seen briefly in all four episodes “recuperating.” Submitted by daveb, 1/26/2011.
++ Poor Perry: he was hospitalized in the 2-Hour Movies too: he had knee Surgery in "TCOT Musical Murder," where he said, "I lost my 1st 7 cases in Municipal Court. 2 were real embarrassments" to young protege Ken Malansky. Perry introduced Della as "my Associate." MeTV 2.19.15 re-airing. Mike Bedard 2.20.15.
Dick Wilson makes his only Perry appearance in a small part as a prisoner. Dick Wilson was well known by baby-boomers as Mr. Whipple, the man who was forever telling women shoppers, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin.” Submitted by PaulDrake 33.
Peggy Ann Garner makes her only Perry appearance here as Letty Arthur. Peggy Ann Garner is most famous for her role as Francie Nolan in the motion picture A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. In fact, she was awarded the Juvenile Oscar for 1946 for her performance. Submitted by PaulDrake 33.
+ Peggy Ann Garner also starred, in 1956s color noir Black Widow alongside Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, George Raft, Reginald Gardiner, and fellow future PM alum Otto Kruger. jfh 24Dec2019
This episode is at the present (September 2009) available on YouTube for viewing. Submitted by PaulDrake 33.
This is one of only three episodes titled “The Case of…” rather than “The Case of the…”. The other two are “The Case of Paul Drake’s Dilemma” and “The Case of a Place Called Midnight”. Submitted by Kenmore, 9/24/10.
+ The pipe Bette Davis pulls out of the glove compartment appears to be an inexpensive rusticated pipe. Disappointing. Otto Gervaert, 1/6/21.
Sightings: Several courtroom regulars appear in this episode. On the prosecution side, the Little Old Lady in a Hat sits in the first row, the Pencil Mustache Man in the back row. And on the defense side, Quiet Old Man #1 sits in the back row. Submitted by Kenmore, 9/24/10
+ “Miss Carmody” is seated behind Letty Arthur during courtroom gallery closeups. Submitted by alan_sings, 3 Oct 2010.
++ Be sure to check out all of these favorite frequent faces on the Who Is That? page. Submitted by gracep, 11/25/2010.
Tragg does not appear in this episode, despite receiving credit. Submitted by gracep, 1/25/2011.
+ Ray Collins played bank president Milton in "The Best Years Of Our Lives," which Bette Davis said was Hollywood's finest film (tcm.com reviews; it won the 1946 Best Picture Oscar). Mike Bedard 2.4.15
Being a lady lawyer in the 1960s was challenging and uncommon. By 1970 only 3% of lawyers in the United States were women. Submitted by gracenote, 7/24/2011.
Jailhouse Comics. The Prisoner in the cell next to Cal is improving his mind by reading CRIME MUST PAY THE PENALTY! (Ace Magazine Issue#42, December 1954), seen at 1:17. Flip pages to the back cover ad for the "DELICIOUS KELPIDINE CANDY PLAN!" or see it here. The "After" portrait ("THIS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU") looks just like Della! Added by Gary Woloski, 7/26/13.
At 19:56 Paul reads the Registration Form of a '63 Buick wagon parked by a mailbox:
- AUTOMOBILE REGISTRATION________Z? . . ?
- NAME . . . Mrs. Constant Doyle________Code....54
- ADDRESS REGISTERED OWNER . . . 104 Cheviot
- Licence No...YGG-922_______Engine No 4J200525
- Make....Buick_________________Type....Le Sabre
- First Sold......12/8/62_____________Fee $....87.43
- Date Issued...??/12/62 (Dec 12, 1962 assumed)
- . . . . Constant Doyle
At the Sheriff's Office the front plate is seen to be a 1956-Pattern "yellow-plate". The number "YGG-922" is correct for December 1962. It's lucky that the 1963 black-plates are about to be issued because the yellow-plates run out at "ZZZ 999"!
Maybe it's a fluke, but "Engine No 4J200525" seems to be just one numeral short of being a valid Buick number (Scroll down to "Serial Numbers" here and find: "4" = 4400 Series V-8 LeSabre; "J" = Year 1963; "2" = South Gate Assembly plant, California; "00525x" = Production Number)! See Comment on Address, below. Added by Gary Woloski, 8/3/13.
CARS. In the opening scene, there is a spurious movement of background cars between shots which you can ignore (it's a production goof, see Comments section below). The Cast Cars are:
- (1) a light-color Ford Model A Roadster STREET ROD w/ top down, driver Kid(?), pulls up to the gate of the Otis Industries compound to extract Cal in the opening scene. It's the same car as Car(2) in Ep#150: compare windshield frame, driver's-side radio antenna, hubcaps, tires.
- (2) Constant Doyle's medium-color 1963 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon w/ factory roof-rack. Parked outside Seaview Sheriff's Office and later beside Lawrence Otis' mailbox. This is the First 1963 Model-Year Buick to appear in the series (and the first '63 General Motors car). The first-overall '63 car was a Ford in ep#167.
- (3) Paul drives his black 1962 Thunderbird Convertible to Lawrence Otis' house with the car's white top UP (It really pours in these winter episodes!).
Background Cars. (a) A light-color 1963 Buick LeSabre Convertible with white top up is parked foremost in the Otis compound in the background of the opening scene but only after Cal climbs back over the fence to the outside. Before Cal hops the fence it's hidden behind a '63 Buick station wagon.
- (b) A 1963 Ford 300 or Galaxie, POLICE B&W with roof-mounted siren and flasher is parked outside SEAVIEW SHERIFF's Office as Constant leaves after seeing Cal in his cell.
- (c) Also parked outside the Sheriff's Office is a white 1962 Mercury Meteor, "S-33" or "Custom" model, only right-rear side & tailfin seen. A Moiré effect should appear on your video screen over the "washboard" trim appliqué on the bottom of the quarter panel behind the rear wheel. This car returns in the next episode where it's seen to be a '62 Meteor Custom 4-Door.
Seen through the windows of Constant's car at 19:38, Paul's TBird appears to have a grill with vertical slots, somewhat like a '63 TBird. But it's just a trick of the video process: Paul has a few more miles to put on his old '62 TBird yet! Added by Gary Woloski, 8/9/13.
Paul Drake on the witness stand: We didn't get to see Mr. Drake testify, but through the testimony of the police Lieutenant we learned that Paul had been questioned in court. Submitted by H. Mason 1/15/15
Michael Parks: Was the star of the 1969 - 1970 NBC television show Then Came Bronson. He is still active (at the date of this entry). He appeared in Django Unchained (2014) and Tusk (2014). According to IMDb he will appear in a few films that are to be released. Submitted by H. Mason 1/15/15
+ According to Wkipedia, sadly, "Parks died on May 9, 2017, in his Los Angeles home at the age of 77 from undisclosed causes. He requested a full body burial at sea, which his wife attended alone following a public funeral ... " jfh Lunar New Year Of The Dragon 2024
When this episode first aired in January 1963, Peggy Ann Garner was separated from her actor husband Albert Salmi. After Garner and Salmi divorced in March 1963, Albert Salmi married Roberta Taper in 1964. In 1990, Salmi murdered Roberta Taper, then committed suicide...MikeM. 11/23/2016
This is the fifth of seven PM appearances for Neil Hamilton, who was Commissioner Gordon on 120 episodes of the Batman television series...MikeM. 11/23/2016
This is the first of two PM appearances for Frances Reid. Her husband, Philip Bourneuf, made three PM appearances...MikeM. 3/1/2017
This is the first of two PM appearances for Jerry Oddo, whose IMDb credits start in 1957 and end with his second PM appearance (TCOT Floating Stones) which aired on 21 November 1963...MikeM. 3/21/2018
This is the only PM appearance for Bette Davis, who appeared in three episodes of the television series "Wagon Train" each time playing a different role...MikeM. 5/7/2018
Star Trek Alert: Gil Perkins, the watchman who gets punched out but ultimately apprehends the delinquent James Dean impersonator, Cal Leonard, was a stuntman/actor who played an unnamed Roman slave in an uncredited appearance in the original series Star Trek episode, "Bread and Circuses" (about a planet where the Roman Empire didn't fall). More support for my thesis that almost every Perry Mason episode has a Star Trek connection. It was his only Perry appearance. Submitted by MyFavoritePolarBear 11/12/22.
Character error: When Fred McCormick was speaking with Constant on the phone he said the case could be squashed. I’m pretty sure he meant to say quashed. Kilo 7/22/2024.