IMDb > "Perry Mason" (1957)
"Perry Mason"
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"Perry Mason" (1957) More at IMDbPro »TV series 1957-1966

Photos (see all 9 | slideshow) Videos (see all 41)
"Perry Mason" (1957): : -- Perry defends a dark-haired beauty and her aunt, who are both accused of murdering the man who hired the brunette to impersonate his client
"Perry Mason" (1957): Season 1: Episode 39 -- An old man seems to be giving his money away, something his nephew and wife try to stop by having him committed. But once he escapes from the sanitarium, he's accused of murder.
"Perry Mason" (1957): Season 1: Episode 38 -- After a woman tries to steal some letters from an office in Perry's building, she masquerades as a temp for Della in order to escape the police. Later, it's discovered that she stumbled upon a murder plot.
"Perry Mason" (1957): Season 1: Episode 37 -- An attractive blonde shows up at Perry's office with a black eye and claims the stepson of her wealthy employer did it. But when her roommate is murdered, the police accuse her.
"Perry Mason" (1957): Season 1: Episode 36 -- A secretary, who was harassed by the boss she once dated, has a solid alibi when he is killed. But his stepfather does not - and his fingerprints are all over the murder weapon.
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Overview

User Rating:
8.5/10   560 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Creator:
Erle Stanley Gardner
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Perry Mason on IMDbPro.
Seasons:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 full episode list
Release Date:
21 September 1957 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Mystery more
Plot:
A master attorney works difficult criminal cases for his clients. full summary
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(13 articles)
Actor Maross Dies
 (From WENN. 11 November 2009, 8:11 AM, PST)
'Twilight Zone' Featured in Classic TV Stamp Set
 (From Get The Big Picture. 29 June 2009, 11:04 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Defying the Odds more (30 total)

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 5 of 837)
Raymond Burr ... Perry Mason / ... (271 episodes, 1957-1966)
William Hopper ... Paul Drake / ... (255 episodes, 1957-1966)
Barbara Hale ... Della Street (253 episodes, 1957-1966)
William Talman ... Hamilton Burger / ... (208 episodes, 1957-1966)
Ray Collins ... Lt. Tragg / ... (172 episodes, 1957-1965)
(more)
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Series Directed by
Arthur Marks (62 episodes, 1958-1966)
Jesse Hibbs (31 episodes, 1962-1966)
William D. Russell (28 episodes, 1957-1960)
Christian Nyby (13 episodes, 1957-1962)
Laslo Benedek (9 episodes, 1958-1961)
Andrew V. McLaglen (7 episodes, 1958-1960)
Jerry Hopper (6 episodes, 1961-1966)
Bernard L. Kowalski (6 episodes, 1961)
Allen H. Miner (5 episodes, 1962-1963)
Harmon Jones (5 episodes, 1963-1966)
Arthur Hiller (4 episodes, 1958-1960)
Gerd Oswald (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Lewis Allen (3 episodes, 1958-1961)
Roger Kay (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Anton Leader (3 episodes, 1958)
Richard Kinon (3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Francis D. Lyon (3 episodes, 1962)
Earl Bellamy (3 episodes, 1963)
Richard Donner (3 episodes, 1964-1965)
Ted Post (2 episodes, 1957-1958)
Buzz Kulik (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Walter Grauman (2 episodes, 1959-1960)
William F. Claxton (2 episodes, 1960)
Gerald Mayer (2 episodes, 1960)
Robert Ellis Miller (2 episodes, 1960)
James Sheldon (2 episodes, 1960)
John English (2 episodes, 1961)
John Peyser (2 episodes, 1961)
Jack Arnold (2 episodes, 1964-1965)
Irving J. Moore (2 episodes, 1964)
Vincent McEveety (2 episodes, 1965)
 
Series Writing credits
Erle Stanley Gardner (81 episodes, 1957-1966)
Jonathan Latimer (26 episodes, 1958-1965)
Jackson Gillis (24 episodes, 1959-1966)
Gene Wang (23 episodes, 1957-1959)
Samuel Newman (23 episodes, 1958-1965)
Seeleg Lester (20 episodes, 1958-1960)
Robert C. Dennis (18 episodes, 1958-1965)
Orville H. Hampton (15 episodes, 1965-1966)
Ernie Frankel (10 episodes, 1965-1966)
Milton Krims (8 episodes, 1959-1965)
Maurice Zimm (7 episodes, 1959-1962)
Richard Grey (6 episodes, 1957-1961)
Al C. Ward (5 episodes, 1957-1959)
Sy Salkowitz (5 episodes, 1960-1961)
Francis M. Cockrell (4 episodes, 1957-1958)
Philip MacDonald (4 episodes, 1958-1966)
Robert Bloomfield (4 episodes, 1958-1960)
Robb White (4 episodes, 1961-1965)
Robert Leslie Bellem (4 episodes, 1961-1962)
William Bast (4 episodes, 1965-1966)
Harold Swanton (3 episodes, 1957-1960)
Laurence Marks (3 episodes, 1957-1958)
Donald S. Sanford (3 episodes, 1957-1958)
Sol Stein (3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Glenn P. Wolfe (3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Adrian Gendot (3 episodes, 1961-1962)
Bob Mitchell (3 episodes, 1961-1962)
Marian B. Cockrell (2 episodes, 1957-1958)
Stirling Silliphant (2 episodes, 1957)
Herman Epstein (2 episodes, 1958-1960)
Ben Brady (2 episodes, 1958)
Stanley Niss (2 episodes, 1958)
Lawrence L. Goldman (2 episodes, 1959-1965)
Michael Morris (2 episodes, 1960-1961)
Sam Neuman (2 episodes, 1960)
Helen Nielsen (2 episodes, 1961-1962)
True Boardman (2 episodes, 1962-1963)
Mann Rubin (2 episodes, 1964-1965)
Philip Saltzman (2 episodes, 1964-1965)
John Elliotte (2 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Produced by
Gail Patrick .... executive producer (271 episodes, 1957-1966)
Arthur Marks .... associate producer / producer (77 episodes, 1959-1966)
Art Seid .... producer (62 episodes, 1961-1966)
Jackson Gillis .... associate producer (50 episodes, 1961-1965)
Ben Brady .... producer (42 episodes, 1957-1959)
Seeleg Lester .... associate producer / producer (42 episodes, 1959-1961)
Sam White .... associate producer (34 episodes, 1957-1959)
Herbert Hirschman .... producer (28 episodes, 1959-1960)

Cornwell Jackson .... producer (unknown episodes)
 
Series Original Music by
Richard Shores (23 episodes, 1964-1966)
Van Cleave (6 episodes, 1962-1964)
Jerry Goldsmith (2 episodes, 1959)
René Garriguenc (2 episodes, 1964)
 
Series Cinematography by
Frank Redman (82 episodes, 1957-1961)
Robert G. Hager (49 episodes, 1961-1963)
John M. Nickolaus Jr. (14 episodes, 1964-1966)
Howard Schwartz (4 episodes, 1963-1964)
Philip H. Lathrop (2 episodes, 1961)
 
Series Film Editing by
Richard Cahoon (58 episodes, 1957-1965)
John Faure (47 episodes, 1959-1963)
Richard W. Farrell (12 episodes, 1957-1966)
Otto Meyer (11 episodes, 1957-1961)
Al Clark (3 episodes, 1963-1964)
George Hively (2 episodes, 1966)
 
Series Casting by
Harvey Clermont (105 episodes, 1958-1962)
Marvin Schnall (11 episodes, 1958-1959)
 
Series Art Direction by
Lewis H. Creber (145 episodes, 1957-1966)
Lyle R. Wheeler (35 episodes, 1957-1959)
 
Series Set Decoration by
Charles Vassar (120 episodes, 1957-1962)
Walter M. Scott (34 episodes, 1957-1959)
 
Series Costume Design by
Dick James (1 episode, 1957)
Charles Le Maire (1 episode, 1960)
 
Series Makeup Department
Annabell .... hair stylist (127 episodes, 1957-1966)
Irving Pringle .... makeup artist (100 episodes, 1959-1966)
Dick Hamilton .... makeup artist (25 episodes, 1958-1959)
Mel Berns .... makeup artist (9 episodes, 1957-1958)
 
Series Production Management
Dewey Starkey .... production supervisor (55 episodes, 1959-1961)
J. Paul Popkin .... production supervisor (35 episodes, 1957-1959)
 
Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert G. Stone .... assistant director (56 episodes, 1958-1966)
Morris Harmell .... assistant director (33 episodes, 1958-1961)
Gordon A. Webb .... assistant director (20 episodes, 1961-1966)
Maxwell O. Henry .... assistant director (6 episodes, 1957-1958)
Arthur Marks .... assistant director (4 episodes, 1957)
 
Series Art Department
Ray Thompson .... properties / props / ... (127 episodes, 1957-1965)
 
Series Sound Department
Herman Lewis .... sound mixer / production sound mixer (103 episodes, 1959-1966)
Gene Eliot .... sound effects editor / sound editor (80 episodes, 1958-1961)
Robert O'Brien .... production sound mixer (13 episodes, 1958-1959)
Roy Meadows .... sound mixer / production sound mixer (12 episodes, 1959)
Alfred Bruzlin .... recordist (8 episodes, 1957)
Harry M. Leonard .... recording mixer (8 episodes, 1957)
 
Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Evelyn Carruth .... wardrobe supervisor / costume supervisor / ... (85 episodes, 1959-1965)
Edward McDermott .... wardrobe supervisor / costume supervisor / ... (44 episodes, 1961-1965)
W.T. Zacha .... wardrobe supervisor (40 episodes, 1959-1961)
Dick James .... wardrobe supervisor (31 episodes, 1957-1959)
 
Series Editorial Department
Art Seid .... editorial supervisor (33 episodes, 1957-1959)
 
Series Music Department
Gene Feldman .... music editor (55 episodes, 1959-1961)
Fred Steiner .... composer: theme music (6 episodes, 1963-1966)
Herschel Burke Gilbert .... music supervisor / conductor (5 episodes, 1964-1965)
 
Series Other crew
M.E.M. Gibsone .... script supervisor (71 episodes, 1959-1962)
Art Seid .... assistant to producer (40 episodes, 1959-1961)
Samuel Newman .... story consultant / script consultant (39 episodes, 1961-1965)
Gene Wang .... story consultant / story editor (32 episodes, 1957-1959)
Seeleg Lester .... story consultant / associate story consultant (30 episodes, 1959-1960)
Jackson Gillis .... story consultant (28 episodes, 1960-1961)
William E. Orr .... script supervisor (24 episodes, 1958-1959)
Alice Young .... story editor / script editor (24 episodes, 1958-1959)
Cosmo Genovese .... script supervisor (17 episodes, 1957-1963)
Robert Gary .... script supervisor (8 episodes, 1959-1962)
Gertrude Bank .... stand-in: Barbara Hale (6 episodes, 1957-1964)
Ernie Frankel .... story consultant (5 episodes, 1965-1966)
Orville H. Hampton .... associate story consultant (5 episodes, 1965-1966)
Marshall Schlom .... script supervisor (2 episodes, 1964-1966)
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Runtime:
60 min | USA:60 min (271 episodes)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Australia:PG | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (DVD) (2008)
Filming Locations:
Chaplin Studios - 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA more
Company:
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Raymond Burr originally auditioned for the role of Hamilton Burger, but was chosen for the title role instead. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: In "Case of the Grinning Gorilla", you can see the flesh underneath the eyes of the actor portraying the gorilla, especially in the close-ups. more
Quotes:
Della Street: [a simple question] What do you know about art?
Paul Drake: [astonished] Me? I don't even know what I like!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: (#7.3)" (2008) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
14 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
Defying the Odds, 25 December 2006
8/10
Author: dougdoepke from Claremont, USA

Perhaps the most successful formula show in the history of TV. An interesting question is why, since the lead characters never varied, the outcome was predictable, and the plots could at times defy expert analysis. To me, that sounds pretty boring. So why did I faithfully watch the first runs and still catch the reruns when I can, and why did the series catch the fancy of so many others as it still does. Here are some conjectures.

Mason, Street, and Drake are more than a team-- they are a family. The chemistry among them is so good it's almost spooky. Burr's Mason is nothing if not masterful both inside the courtroom and out. He's a strong father-figure, while Hale's Della Street is the perfect secretary, sweet, attractive and highly efficient. Not quite a mother-figure (after all, this is a chaste family), she's the perfect older sister. And Hopper's Paul Drake is clever, charming, and slightly rakish. All in all, he's the perfect younger brother. Though each is a professional, together they operate as a loyal family unit. And when their final scene rolls around (The Final Fadeout, 1966), we're happy to know they will remain together even though we (the viewers) won't be with them.

The key here is Burr's grasp of character. After all, Mason wins week after week-- he never misses. What's more, he shows up the guardians of law and order week after week. If not done right, Mason would be an easy character to dislike. But Burr's Mason is never smug, never immodest, and always low-key, so we don't resent his near god-like status. This is a real tribute to Burr and the show's producers, who managed to walk a very fine line. There's one other character point worth noting. Mason's personality is the only one of the five (Burger and Tragg included) to alter. In the early episodes, he smokes, wears loud jackets, and occasionally flirts. But with the show's success, he's transformed into a paragon of virtue, probably because his character has come to stand for the quality of criminal justice in America. Shrewdly, the producers would take no chances with their golden egg.

The engaging quality of the stories varies little, an unusual feature for any formula show. That's likely because the script-writers worked with variations on six or seven basic plots. After all, they had to come up with thirty-plus mysteries every year for nine years. And each episode had to have a plausible list of suspects with a story line to unravel, which is a pretty heavy load. Then too, each entry had to have a larger than average cast of capable actors as suspects. Watching the re-runs, we see just about every familiar face from that era (one of the joys of catching the re-runs). Executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson deserves a lot of behind-the-scenes credit, since I'm sure this was not an easy series to put together week after week.

I had never thought of the show as film noir. But other reviewers have correctly pointed this out. Indeed, there are elements of noir in many of the first half hours, where the mystery sets up. Many of these were done in shadow, with strong emotions and a heavy atmosphere of doom, which distinguishes the series. For, overall, there was very little noir from any series during that sunny era. Frankly, it's that part I always enjoyed more than the courtroom scenes with their high-key lighting and extended dialogue. The general excellence of these first half- hours is another reason, I think, for the show's unusual success.

The mystery angle remains an attraction for many. It's fun, for those who want, to try to figure out the culprit. We know he or she will be exposed and the loose ends tied-up by hour's end. But the entries can be enjoyed for their drama alone. The witness-stand confessions served as a chance for neglected feature players to show their acting chops. Some of these were truly memorable. My favorite is from that great unsung actress of the era, Constance Ford. Watch her split personality emerge under Mason's perceptive grilling (The Case of the Deadly Double, 1958). It's a dramatic tour-de-force, as good as anything from the movies of the time. Many of the confessions were also poignant. The culprit could be seen as a sympathetic character, driven to murder by larger forces. And though, the epilogue (usually in Mason's office) often ended on a humorously upbeat note, the confessions remain the dramatic high point.

These are some of my best guesses. I expect there's another, not so flattering reason. Many of us, of course, have a nostalgic attachment to those younger years, which, I suppose, is only natural. Nonetheless, there is something timeless about the brave knight rescuing unfortunates in distress (in this case, usually a shapely blonde or brunette). In fact, the Mason show was predicated on that venerable premise. And even though Mason-as-ideal-defense-attorney would probably not work in today's post-Vietnam era, the key plot elements endure ( understandably, the series ended, just as the war in south-east Asia heated up). Greed, jealousy, ambition-- this is the stuff of high drama, while the Mason show used them effectively inside a format that fit its time. But the elements themselves remain timeless. And in that sense, so does the series.

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