Show4
CARS: 1957 Cadillac convertible, black w/ black & white int., top down (Mason). From The Cars by Greg Cockerill.
+Perry's car was a 1957 Cadillac Series 62 convertible. The taxi in the opening scene was a 1947 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75. Were Cadillac taxis common?
Submitted by oldgray, 2/27/2014.
+ Hmmm, Perry upgraded to a Cadillac in the fourth episode. Must be from that comment about getting a lawyer in the previous episodes about "getting a lawyer where money is no object". He must have made a boatload to upgrade to the Cadillac from the Ford Skyliner. ;-) Submitted by HamBurger, 9/12/2020
BUS: At the beginning we see a 1947 ACF-Brill IC-41 which delivers Lois Reed to Logan City. Submitted by Tony, 5/31/2019.
Goof: In the scene where Paul and Della drive out to find Marv’s mother, you can see Mason’s convertible with Della in the passenger side and someone with dark hair driving coming down the road towards the camera, but when the car pulls up to the house it is still Mason’s convertible but it has Della and Paul driving.
+ I'm not sure it might not have simply been two stand-ins. Men in both shots had white shirts. I doubt they'd risk getting the stars all grimy driving down that dusty desert dirt road with the top down just for a long shot establishing the location. M French 11/18/16
Paula Winslowe makes the first of two appearances on Perry, (the other was as a judge in “TCOT Unsuitable Uncle”). Paula Winslowe is best known as Peg Riley, Chester Riley’s wife in the long running radio show, The Life of Riley. Submitted by PaulDrake33, 6/23/2008.
+ The Perry Mason TV Show Book incorrectly lists Paula Winslow(e) as George Norris. Submitted by HamBurger, 07/23/2017
Continuity Error: Watch the scene where Marv Adams is carrying the duck and the bottle of chemicals to the water trough. When Marv begins his journey the bottle has a cap on top, but when he get ready to do the trick the cap has disappeared. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 8/26/2008.
It has to be that way; in the first shot he's holding the duck under his left arm and has the bottle in his right hand, but he's moving the children around by waving his right hand. Must have a lid then otherwise his "magic fluid" would spray everywhere. Second shot he's got to be able to pour the fluid and has no third hand to remove the bottle top. Submitted by Clothears, 4th Nov 2020.
The (shooting?) script for this episode was dated 16 July 1957. There were at least 12 episodes with scripts dated earlier. It seems possible, if not probable, that this episode was no earlier than the 13th filmed. If so, there was a little less than a 3-month lag between filming and broadcast. Submitted by billp, 3 November 2009.
+ Here is the first episode with the Cadillac convertible. Submitted by HamBurger, 9/20/2020
Harry Landers (Donald Briggs) played “Man with Miss Lonelyheart” in Rear Window. Submitted by billp, 15 November 2009.
Marv Adams (played by Gary Vinson) and Helen Waters (played by Carolyn Craig) are the two young lovers in this episode. They have something in common with Romeo and Juliet: both actors Craig and Vinson ended their lives by committing suicide, she in 1970 and he in 1984. Submitted by Charles Richmond, 8 March 2011.
Sightings: Distinguished Gentleman #1 turns up among the spectators at the Logan City Courthouse. Submitted by gracenote, 8/19/2011.
A few rows behind Perry is a woman who looks remarkably like Dorothy Kilgallen. DOD 05/20/20
This was the first story to feature a newspaper headline. Submitted by H. Mason 9/24/14
+ And the 1st to feature Poison; Pokers were the other "P" weapon used. Could we add a "Weapons Frequency List" to the Statistics Page? Mike Bedard 3.25.15
++ We find the Pencil Mustache Man standing against the back courtroom wall and the Distinguished Lady #4 moves to the front to become the court reporter. Submitted by BigBill767, Nov 11, 2016.
In Other News... The Logan City Sentinel notes that Perry has taken on Marvin's case, but also reports "Building Code Under Fire" and "Court Seeks Adjournment." We will see this newspaper "insert" many times, in PM as well as movies produced by Columbia, such as the 1960 "Ocean's Eleven," and films by other studios too I believe. JohnK, 6 October 2018.
Cold case / old case: Perry also solved the murder of David Latwell killed 18 years earlier. There will be 17 more episodes where this happens. Submitted by H. Mason 9/27/14
George Nolan Leary Judged TCOT Golden Oranges & appeared in the Jilted Jockey [IMDb]. Mike Bedard 3.24.15
Visible Crew: At approximately 8:25, after Paul enters Perry’s office through the side door, a crew member’s hand and arm are visible through the closing doorway, reaching for the outer door knob to pull the door closed. This also happens in several other episodes in the series, including Episode #30 TCOT Screaming Woman and Episode #74 TCOT Startled Stallion. Submitted by Dan K, 7/14/16.
+ After watching the entire series in 2017 and starting over again in 2020, I just have to say that this remains my husband's and my favourite goof of all time -- in any television or movie series anywhere. We reran it twice and just kept on laughing.
Wardrobe: Judge Meeham can be seen wearing sleeve garters when he is in his office. These bands encircle the arm and help adjust the sleeve length of shirts with very long sleeves, preventing the cuffs of the shirt from slipping down over the hands. Don't see them very often nowadays. Submitted by Dan K, 7/14/16.
Behind the Gray Door This will be the first instance of Perry and Paul finding the victim; there will be many more in the next 267 episodes. Notcom 080317.
ESG: "The Case of the Drowning Duck" is Perry Mason novel # 20, published in 1942. Submitted by catyron 11/3/2017
+ The book, co-incidentally enough, features a character named "Roland Burr" ;) jfh 27Jul2018.
This is the only PM appearance for Carol Kelly, who was married to actor Joe Maross from 1958 to 1962. Joe Maross made three PM appearances...MikeM. 4/25/2018
Gas in Logan City is 32 cents a gallon in 1957. Seems expensive to me. Kilo 2/18/2021
Unhappily ever after altho, as noted around the page, this episodes contains a lot of "firsts" - first headline, -poisoning, -murderess, -out of town trial, etc. - there's one thing it definitely doesn't introduce: this is no less than the fourth episode in a row - as in all of them , so far - in which divorce forms a prominent part of the story. For someone who "doesn't handle divorce cases", Perry sure doesn't have trouble running across them. Notcom 101621.
Somewhere along in this wiki, a question was raised as to how often an actual gavel was used by a judge -- pencil tapping became the norm at some point. Despite having just watched the entire series on MeTV, I will slog through again and do my best to get a count. I'll note each episode with gavel-tapping and the first instance of pencil-tapping. Since gavels are rare, I will add a Trivia note to each episode where an actual gavel is used at least once. This episode contains the first use of a gavel. Stay tuned for further developments! OLEF641 11/9/21