"Perry Mason"
The Case of the Lawful Lazarus (1963)

Director:

Jesse Hibbs

Writer:

True Boardman (writer)

TV Series:

"Perry Mason" (1957)

Original Air Date:

14 March 1963 (Season 6, Episode 21)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Suspect | Twist | Beautiful Woman | Secretary | Clue

Cast

Raymond Burr	...	Perry Mason
Barbara Hale	...	Della Street
William Hopper	...	Paul Drake
William Talman	...	Hamilton Burger
Wesley Lau	...	Lt. Andy Anderson
David McLean	...	Trevor Harris
Maria Palmer	...	Nora Kasner
Irene Hervey	...	Jill Garson
Max Showalter	...	Clarence Henry
Philip Bourneuf	...	Edgar Thorne
Abigail Shelton	...	Michaela Martin (as Abbagail Shelton_)
Joy Hodges	...	Clara Thorne
Kay Stewart	...	Barbara Billings
Morris Ankrum	...	Judge
Mack Williams	...	Doctor

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

CBS Television

Case of the Bad Script

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is one of the slowest moving, unsatisfying episodes I've ever seen. David McLean plays Trevor Harris, a man who abandoned his wife and children years ago and had been declared legally dead. He shows up when his millionaire wife is on her death bed, suddenly concerned about who is going to take care of the children (but not enough to take care of them himself). He discovers he is being blamed for embezzling $50,000 from the company when he left and asks Perry to help clear him of the charge. But before you know it, he's accused of murdering the man who has taken control of his children's estate and claimed to have "incontrovertible evidence" (uh-huh) that he embezzled the money.

Everyone seems to move like they are covered in molasses. There is no energy in the narrative at all. Trevor Harris isn't a very sympathetic character either. The script shoves the reasons he abandoned his wife and child under the rug with a "the reasons I left weren't important"--then NEVER reveals those reasons. True Boardman's script even has a sappy ending. With Harris cleared and about to go back to Saudi Arabia, Jill Garson (Irene Hervey) brings his two kids (who not only lost their mother but their guardian as well) to see their father. However, he refuses, sappily claiming he doesn't have the right to see them...but maybe some day...

The only saving grace about this is the lovely Abigail Shelton as Michaela Martin, the dead man's love interest. She is a stunner! It's also amusing that one character is named Barbara Billings, especially when you know Barbara Billingsley was then playing Jerry Mather's mom on "Leave it to Beaver".