Perry Mason

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Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who originally was the main character in numerous pieces of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in over 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a story line which involved a client of his being put on trial for murder. Typically, Mason was able to establish his client's innocence by demonstrating the guilt of another character. Gardner was one of the best-selling authors of all time, and had "135 million copies of his books in print in America alone in the year of his death." (1969).[1] The character of Perry Mason is also well-known from film and television, including "television's most successful and longest-running lawyer series"[2] from 1957 to 1966, another series in 1973-1974, and more than 25 made-for-TV movies from 1985 to 1993.

Contents

[edit] Character

The name "Perry Mason" dates to creator Gardner's childhood. As a child, Gardner was a reader of the magazine Youth's Companion. The magazine, best known for producing the original Pledge of Allegiance in 1891, was published in Boston, Massachusetts by the Perry Mason Company (later renamed "Perry Mason & Co." after the founder died). When Gardner created his fictional attorney, he borrowed the name of the company that published his favorite childhood magazine.[3]

Gardner provided more information about Mason's character in the earliest novels, although his character is largely taken for granted in later novels and the television series/movies. In the first novel (The Case of the Velvet Claws, 1933), Perry Mason describes himself as follows:

You'll find that I'm a lawyer who has specialized in trial work, and in a lot of criminal work. ... I'm a specialist on getting people out of trouble. They come to me when they're in all sorts of trouble, and I work them out. ... If you look me up through some family lawyer or some corporation lawyer, he'll probably tell you that I'm a shyster. If you look me up through some chap in the District Attorney's office, he'll tell you that I'm a dangerous antagonist but he doesn't know very much about me.

Gardner depicts Mason as a lawyer who fights hard on behalf of his clients and who enjoys unusual, difficult or nearly hopeless cases. He frequently accepts clients on a whim based on his curiosity about their problem, for a minimal retainer, and finances the investigation of their cases himself if necessary. In The Case of the Caretaker's Cat (1935), his principal antagonist, District Attorney Hamilton Burger, says: "You're a better detective than you are a lawyer. When you turn your mind to the solution of a crime, you ferret out the truth." And in The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink (1952), a judge who has just witnessed one of the lawyer's unusual tactics says: "Mr. Mason ... from time to time you seem to find yourself in predicaments from which you extricate yourself by unusual methods which invariably turn out to be legally sound. The Court feels you are fully capable of looking after your own as well as your clients' interests."

Another frequent antagonist, Lieutenant Tragg of the Homicide Squad, has a discussion with Mason about his approach to the law in The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito (1943). Mason is recovering from having been poisoned, and Tragg is investigating. He says:

How does it feel to be the victim for once? ... You've been sticking up for criminals and now you can see the other side of the picture."
"Not 'sticking up for criminals'," (Mason) protested indignantly. "I have never stuck up for any criminal. I have merely asked for the orderly administration of an impartial justice. ... Due legal process is my own safeguard against being convicted unjustly. To my mind, that's government. That's law and order."

Other than what we learn of his character from his actions in the novels, we know very little about Perry Mason. We are told nothing about his family, his background, his personal life, or his education. Paul Drake seems to be his only friend, and Della Street his only (unacknowledged) romantic interest. We only know that he lives in an apartment because he is occasionally wakened from sleep to go to his office -- he does not entertain anyone at home. We know his tastes in food, because many scenes take place in restaurants, and that he is an excellent driver, because he participates in the occasional car chase. Other than those scanty facts, there is so little physical description of him that the reader is not even really sure what he looks like.

The movies from the 1930s were not closely based on the character of Perry Mason as revealed in the books and contain plot and character developments which are not taken as canonical in the remainder of the books and adaptations -- for instance, in one film Perry marries his long-time secretary Della Street, while Paul Drake turns into comic sidekick Spudsie Drake.

[edit] Novels

The Case of the Demure Defendant, a Perry Mason novel by Erle Stanley Gardner.
The Case of the Demure Defendant, a Perry Mason novel by Erle Stanley Gardner.

Erle Stanley Gardner "had spent more than twenty years practicing law in California, and the knowledge he gained was put to good use in the Perry Mason stories, which hinge on points of law, forensic medicine or science as clever as a watch mechanism ... and also the total lack of characterization."[4] While the Mason novels were largely a form of pulp fiction of the sort that began Gardner's writing career, they are somewhat unusual in that the whodunnit mysteries usually involved two solutions: one in which the authorities believed (whereby Mason's client was guilty) and an alternative explanation (whereby Mason's client was innocent). The second half of each novel is invariably devoted to a lengthy courtroom scene, during which Mason arrives at the alternative explanation and proves it to the satisfaction of the court. "It is perfectly true that our author works to formula; in one sense, the plot never varies. Having said this, one must add that the variety of persons and circumstances and the ingenuity in contriving the details that Gardner dreamed up in his dozens of cases are astonishing and entrancing."[5]

A hallmark of the stories is that Perry Mason (with the assistance of his devoted secretary Della Street and his faithful private investigator, Paul Drake), once embarked on a case, will juggle the evidence using unusual, even bizarre tactics, in order to mislead the police -- but (except for the very earliest novels) always in an ethical fashion. From "The Case Of The Long-Legged Models" (1958): "It's my contention, Della, that an attorney doesn't have to sit back and wait until a witness gets on the stand and then test his recollection simply by asking him questions. If facts can be shuffled in such a way that it will confuse a witness who isn't absolutely certain of his story, and if the attorney doesn't suppress, conceal, or distort any of the actual evidence, I claim the attorney is within his rights."

The influence of the television series has given the general public the impression that Mason is highly ethical. In the earliest novels, Mason was not above skulduggery to win a case. In The Case of the Counterfeit Eye (1935) he breaks the law a few times including manufacturing false evidence (glass eyes). Mason manipulates evidence and witnesses, resulting in the acquittal of the murderer in The Case of the Howling Dog (1934). The Case of the Curious Bride (1934) is "a good Perry Mason except for one great flaw, which the author would scarcely have been guilty of later on: he tampers with the evidence, by having a friend move into an apartment and testify to the state of the doorbells. ... One is left with the uncomfortable idea that maybe the murder did not take place as Mason reconstructs it."[5]

In later novels, the only crime which he can be seen to commit might be illegal entry, when he and Paul Drake are searching for evidence, and even then he would expect to put up a strong and effective defense leading to an acquittal. Hamilton Burger is constantly under the impression that Mason has done something illegal, but has never been able to prove it.

Gardner prefaced many of his later novels with tributes to coroners and forensic pathologists whose work was instrumental to solving cases. Gardner inserts his ideas about the importance of proper autopsies into many of his Mason novels. In The Case of the Fugitive Nurse, for instance, close scrutiny of dental records in the identification of burned bodies is a key point. In that same story, the possible use of additives to track illegal resale of medical narcotics is examined.

However, a study of Gardner’s novels by critic Russel B. Nye (The Unembarrassed Muse, Dial, 1970) did expose a pattern. Nye called Gardner’s novels as formal as Japanese Noh drama. He described fairly rigid plot points: Attorney Perry Mason’s case is introduced. Mason and his crew investigate. Mason’s client is accused of a crime. Further investigations ensue. Then the trial begins. In a courtroom coup, Mason introduces new evidence and often elicits a confession from the lawbreaker.

[edit] Adaptations

[edit] Movies

[edit] Other adaptations

The Perry Mason character appeared in radio adaptations, comic books, and a short-lived (October 16, 1950–June 21, 1952) comic strip. He was also the inspiration for The Whole Truth (1986) by James Cummins, a book-length collection of sestinas.

The daytime soap opera The Edge of Night was originally meant to be a daytime version of Perry Mason, until Gardner had a falling-out with CBS network officials. He was later mollified enough to allow production of the most famous incarnation of the character.

[edit] Television series

Main articles: Perry Mason (TV series) and The New Adventures of Perry Mason

Perhaps the most famous incarnation came in the form of a CBS TV series that ran from 1957 to 1966, with Raymond Burr in the title role. Also starring were Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, and Ray Collins. The familiar theme song was Park Avenue Beat by Fred Steiner.

Several years after the first series' cancellation, a new series, The New Adventures of Perry Mason, aired in 1973, featuring Monte Markham in the title role. It was not successful, and reruns are not seen in syndication.

[edit] TV movies

Television producers Dean Hargrove and Fred Silverman resurrected the popular Mason character in a series of TV movies for NBC beginning in 1985. (They would create the Matlock series one year later.) Hargrove and Silverman were able to bring back the two then-surviving major stars, Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale (reprising their roles as Mason and Della Street, respectively) for the first telefilm, Perry Mason Returns, in which Mason, now an appellate court judge, resigns his position to successfully defend his secretary, Della, on murder charges. William Katt (Hale's son) was cast as Paul Drake, Jr. (William Hopper, who played private investigator Paul Drake in the original television series, had died years earlier; Hopper's photograph appears on Paul Drake Jr's desk.) In the later TV Movies, Perry Mason used the services of attorney Ken Malansky (portrayed by William R. Moses).

The successful series of Perry Mason TV movies continued through 1993, the last of which (The Case of the Killer Kiss), being completed only weeks prior to Burr's death, was dedicated to his memory. The last of these films were set in Denver rather than Mason's traditional locale of Los Angeles; it was said that the character had moved there, but the real reason for the change was Denver's considerably lower production costs. After Burr's death, there were four more Perry Mason movies, starring either Paul Sorvino or Hal Holbrook as friends of Mason, who was ostensibly out of town. The movies were aired under the series title A Perry Mason Mystery.

[edit] Recurring characters

Recurring characters in the Perry Mason universe include:

  • Della Street, Mason's confidential secretary (played by Barbara Hale on the TV series).
  • Paul Drake, private investigator (played by William Hopper on the TV series).
  • Hamilton Burger - District Attorney (played by William Talman on the TV series)
  • Lieutenant Arthur Tragg - Police homicide investigator (played by Ray Collins on most of the episodes of the first TV series)
  • Lieutenant Steve Drumm - Another police homicide investigator (played by Richard Anderson on the final season of the first TV series)
  • Lieutenant Andy Anderson - Yet another police homicide investigator (played by Wesley Lau on the first TV series, often replacing the ailing Ray Collins who continued to appear in the credits)
  • Terrance Clay - Restaurateur and friend of Perry (played in 8 episodes by Dan Tobin in the later episodes of the first TV series)
  • Sergeant Holcomb - Policeman often featured in the novels
  • Jackson - A junior attorney in Mason's law firm (in the TV series, he appears in a few episodes. )
  • Lieutenant Ed Brock - police commander (played by James McEachin in the telemovies)
  • Gertrude "Gertie" Lade - Mason's switchboard operator, an "incurable romantic" rarely seen in the TV series but a common presence in the novels. She was played in the first series by Connie Cezon and in the second by Brett Somers, later of Match Game fame.
  • David Gideon (played by Karl Held), who first appeared as a suspect in a TV episode (The Case Of The Grumbling Grandfather, 1961), and later appeared in 6 episodes (all 1961) as a young lawyer working with Perry Mason.

[edit] Title listings

Main article: Perry Mason (novels)

[edit] TV movies

  • Perry Mason Returns (1985)
  • The Case of the Notorious Nun (1986)
  • The Case of the Shooting Star (1986)
  • The Case of the Lost Love (1987)
  • The Case of the Sinister Spirit (1987)
  • The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987)
  • The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel (1987)
  • The Case of the Avenging Ace (1988)
  • The Case of the Lady in the Lake (1988)
  • The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989)
  • The Case of the Musical Murder (1989)
  • The Case of the All-Star Assassin (1989)
  • The Case of the Poisoned Pen (1990)
  • The Case of the Desperate Deception (1990)
  • The Case of the Silenced Singer (1990)
  • The Case of the Defiant Daughter (1990)
  • The Case of the Ruthless Reporter (1991)
  • The Case of the Maligned Mobster (1991)
  • The Case of the Glass Coffin (1991)
  • The Case of the Fatal Fashion (1991)
  • The Case of the Fatal Framing (1992)
  • The Case of the Reckless Romeo (1992)
  • The Case of the Heartbroken Bride (1992)
  • The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (1993)
  • The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host (1993)
  • The Case of the Killer Kiss (1993)

After the death of Raymond Burr, four films were produced as "A Perry Mason Mystery" with Della Street but without the Perry Mason character:

  • The Case of the Wicked Wives (1993) starring Paul Sorvino as Anthony Caruso
  • The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle (1994) starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie
  • The Case of the Grimacing Governor (1994) starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie
  • The Case of the Jealous Jokester (1995) starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie

[edit] In popular culture

  • The Butthole Surfers song "Perry", included on the album Rembrandt Pussyhorse, borrows the tune from the TV show.
  • The Blues Brothers recorded a cover version of the song, called "Perry Mason Theme", which was included in Made in America. It was later used in Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) where it was played during a scene in the film where Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) and Mack (John Goodman) leave two members of the Russian mob unconscious in an alley.
  • The 1995 Ozzy Osbourne album Ozzmosis features the song titled "Perry Mason", whose lyrics allude to the character.
  • In El Chavo del Ocho, there is an episode when Professor Jirafales suggests that they do a judgement of the Quico's cat murder case. And so, Don Ramón suggests that they do as in the TV series of "Perro Menso" ("Silly Dog"). And then, Jirafales corrects him, saying "PERRY MASON!"
  • In the Portuguese version of El Chavo del Ocho, Don Ramón (Seu Madruga) suggests that they do as the TV series of "Pede Mais Um" ("Ask for another one"). And as in the original version of the series, Professor Jirafales corrects him, yelling "Perry Mason!!!".
  • The Pixies paid tribute to the show by incorporating part of the theme tune into their song "Space (I Believe In)" on the album Trompe le Monde. Singer Frank Black announces "Now I'm going to sing the Perry Mason theme" before singing it under vocal distortion.
  • In the BBC television sitcom May to December, solicitor Alec Callender (portrayed by Anton Rodgers) is a huge Perry Mason fan, and often speaks privately to a large poster of Raymond Burr hanging on his office wall.
  • William Hanna and Joseph Barbera stretched Gardner's character by creating "Perry Masonite" in the episode of The Flintstones in which the Rubbles adopt Bamm-Bamm. Masonite's opposing counsel was named "Bronto Burger".
  • Mad Magazine did a spoof on the 1950s' TV series called "Perry Masonmint" (Perry lost because he had been tricked into trying a case on a Friday, rather than Saturday, when he was always successful).
  • Fast Forward sent-up the 1950s' TV series.
  • Jack Benny once did a sketch about Perry Mason actually losing a case. Benny is accused of not being funny, and Perry Mason is there to defend him, but unable to prove his client is indeed funny.
    • In a dream sequence in a TV episode of The Jack Benny Program, Raymond Burr as Mason defends Benny on the charges of killing a rooster. In Benny's dream, Mason is incompetent and loses the case easily.
  • Roger Fox of the comic strip FoxTrot gets a speeding ticket, and mentions that he will try to come up with a Perry Mason routine to get out of it.
  • During a case in the TV law drama, Boston Legal, a method of proving reasonable doubt was credited as being used before by Perry Mason, to much success.
  • A mystery novel by Barbara Paul, But He Was Already Dead When I Got There (1987), is dedicated by the author to her viewing of the original Perry Mason TV series, and largely inspired by it.
  • Author Susan Kandel wrote her debut mystery novel I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason (2005) about a woman, Cece Caruso, who is writing a biography of Erle Stanley Gardner.
  • In Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, the MASON system plays a key part in the final case of the game.
  • In an episode of That 70's Show, Red says he's watching Perry Mason when Hyde's sister turns off the television. Kitty responds by saying "Guess what? Perry wins!" to which Red says "It's not if he wins! It's how he wins! That's the magic!"
  • It is commonly known that The Rav knew about him.
  • In the 1985 film adaptation of the world famous board game "Clue", the character of Miss Scarlet references Perry Mason to highlight Wadsworth's (played by Tim Curry) crime solving capabilities.

[edit] References and footnotes

  1. ^ Bloody Murder by Julian Symons, Faber and Faber, 1972, with revisions in Penguin Books 1974, ISBN 0 14 003794 2
  2. ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946-Present, Brooks and Marsh, Ballantine 1979, ISBN 0 345 28248 5
  3. ^ Erle Stanley Gardner biographic material by William F. Nolan
  4. ^ Bloody Murder by Julian Symons, Faber and Faber 1972, with revisions in Penguin Books 1974, ISBN 0 14 003794 2
  5. ^ a b Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8

[edit] External links