Talk:Perry Mason

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Contents

[edit] Books?

I cant believe it. Most of the emphasis of this article is on the TV series. Blech. the books were so much better. Deepak 16:31, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I agree that this article needs some work, however, I do not have the knowledge to do it. --Erik Jensen 04:07, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC)
I agree that a lot of work is needed here. There are some misunderstandings -- a couple of things that are just plain erroneous -- and some omissions. Some of the descriptions of the novels are -- well, let's say "unusual". I'm going to work at revising this article over the next few weeks, and add citations wherever possible. (One of the problems with writing about detective fiction is that there are so few critical sources.) I welcome comments and amendments. Accounting4Taste 02:21, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
I hope that the extensive revisions I've made will serve as a beginning, and I welcome anyone's assistance, comments and amendments. My next task will be to give a terse explanation of each of the novels to replace/amend what's there. I will say that there were two things about this page that were driving me crazy. The main one is that Perry Mason was being described as unethical. IMHO it was always made very clear in the books and TV series that he took great care to stay on the ethical side of the law. The other thing that was nagging me was the suggestion that The Case of the Fan-Dancer's Horse had any relationship whatsoever to the Sherlock Holmes story Silver Blaze. Only in the sense that they both contained horses, I have to say. Accounting4Taste 04:11, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Thanks! The Silver Blaze thing had been irritating me, too. Marieblasdell 18:03, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lt. Tragg's First Name

The article gives the name as "Lieutenant Paul Tragg," but on IMDB, it is "Lt. Arthur Tragg."

It is also Arthur Tragg on several other sites. (Google)

Which is it? --Erik Jensen 07:54, 26 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I am fairly sure it is Arthur, though they didn't use the first name very much. Why would Gardner have given the same first name to two major characters in the same series? -- Antaeus Feldspar 17:51, 26 Feb 2005 (UTC)
I Will change it. If it is wrong, someone can revert it. --Erik Jensen 03:56, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Tragg's name was definitely Arthur, although Perry and Burger just called him Tragg, and the other principals generally just called him Lieutenant. Mark Dixon 20:32, 6 Apr 2005 (UTC)
He is called to the stand at least once as Arthur, I remember this because recently I was trying to remember what his first name was, and the very next episode had it. I don't remember which one is was, though. CFLeon 07:13, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] added dates

Good work, 68.148.21.240. Rick Norwood 13:37, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Reason for cancellation of series

When the television series was cancelled, it was one of the most popular programs on television. Does anyone know why it was cancelled? J S Ayer 17:46, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

I've seen reports that Raymond Burr gained too much weight. Rick Norwood 19:00, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] plots

I have mixed feelings about the new plot summaries. I can see how they might be useful if someone were looking for the title and only remembered the plot, but if they are to be included at all, they must be kept short. I'm going to make some of them shorter. Rick Norwood 18:59, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

I've tried to follow your lead by seeing if I can isolate a key plot point or two to serve as a reminder to someone. If I've been too wordy, by all means edit them down, but at least I've filled in some of the blanks. Accounting4Taste 06:08, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The introduction of the chalk outline

Yep, it happened on Perry Mason. The first time was actually a tape outline in "The Case of the Perjured Parrot" in 1958, but the outlines started showing up in other mystery dramas from there. Incidently, there has been some controversy as to whether or not the police actually do this. In some cities, they do. It is common practice in Cape Girardeau, Mo. and has even been shown on some of the new reels on KFVS channel 12 there, especially when the Scheper murders took place in 1992. 4.245.15.174 16:56, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Double Or Quits, as by A.A. Fair, 1941, chapter 3: "The coroner ... brought out a piece of chalk and said, 'All right, now mark there on the floor right where the body was lying. Make a little diagram. Mark the position of his head, of his feet, and of his arms.'" I've added this reference to the main page. I don't know of any reference to a chalk outline in the Perry Mason books specifically. What's interesting is that the outline in this citation is being requested of a witness after the body has been moved -- the coroner is trying to get the idea of what happened by having Donald Lam draw the chalk outline. I would suggest that the outline on the TV show was a way to show the location of the dead body without any potential infringement of the production code by actually showing a corpse. Accounting4Taste 04:33, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

And I'm sure you know, but some may not, that A. A. Fair was a pen name of Erle Stanley Gardner. Rick Norwood 19:42, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Anthony Caruso

Does anyone know more about the 'Perry Mason' branded television movies that actually featured "flamboyant" lawyer Anthony Caruso (not the actor of the same name AFAIK)? There's one on the Hallmark channel right now in the UK called "Perry Mason: Wicked Wives". --81.129.250.83 19:14, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Question about David Ogden Stiers

Why did David Ogden Stiers keep showing up in the early movies? It seemed that even when Mason was working on a case out of town, Stiers was portraying Michael Reston -- and prosecuting the case. Prosecutors, unlike defense attorneys, do not take on cases wherever they happen to be.--Will 04:54, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

According to the early movies themselves, Stiers was the prosecuting attorney in Denver. The very earliest of the TV movies were shot in Vancouver, Canada (I actually witnessed them shooting here and shook hands with Burr) but as I understand it the productions moved to Denver because it was even cheaper to shoot there. I'll try to find a reference in one of the early films that confirms Stiers' role.

Accounting4Taste 15:56, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Errors in The Case of the Desperate Deception

I have troubles believing the military court in The Case of the Desperate Deception really reflects a real military courtroom. I have watched JAG long enough to know that, while there were many errors in those trials, they had one part correct that the Perry Mason producers probably got wrong. In the Perry Mason movie, the court consisted of a panel of judges headed by a president. However, aside from one episode, namely Defensive Action, JAG showed what resembled a civilian court with a single judge and a panel of members (equivilent to jurors). This concurs with what is listed in the article Courts-martial in the United States. --Will 05:33, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

My understanding is that the 1969 amendments to the Uniform Code of Military Justice created the current courts-martial system. Having been involved in one in the early 80s (as a witness), I can state that the military judge was a JAG Corps colonel who wore his judicial robe over his uniform, and that the members of the court were officers and senior enlisted personnel who functioned exactly as jurors do in civilian trials. Rlquall 04:39, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

It still looked more like a true jury was not used. In JAG, every court martial featured a jury (referred to as "The Members") positioned and treated like a civilian jury. However, in this movie, the closest to a jury that the episode comes is the officers next to the colonel you mentioned.Will 07:56, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] dvd

a local low-end tv station plays the original series during dead time (3:00 am or so) and i must admit, i'm becoming a fan. there wouldn't happen to be any dvds in the works, would there? 63.226.57.47 05:33, August 13, 2006 (UTC)

Many of the original Perry Mason episodes are available on DVD from Columbia House, and there is also a first season DVD available from amazon. Rick Norwood 14:44, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Should the Info Box be moved up top where people will see it?

I think it should. Info Boxes should be used to provide quick summaries. Burying them is not a good idea. Will (Talk - contribs) 03:54, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spinning Frog?

I deleted 'The Case of the Spinning Frog' from the novel list. If anyone knows that the story actually exists and was published, please revert. It certainly doesn't exist in the standard list of Gardner's books. Note that there's only three entries for it in Google, Wikipedia itself, Answers.com--obviously copying all its material from Wikipedia, and a person wishing to get a copy of the book. Also, the entry was added by an anonymous user, much later than the main list of books. Marieblasdell 06:40, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

According to Crime Fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography by Allen J. Hubin, Garland, 1984, ISBN 0 8240 9219 8, and Erle Stanley Gardner: A Checklist by E.H. Mundell, Kent State University Press, 1968, and my 30 years of collecting Gardner novels, no such book exists. Accounting4Taste 01:36, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Good catch. --64.199.184.19 19:33, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Publication Dates

I did a massive revise/reorder of the books based on what I think are the true U.S. publication dates. I know it still needs fixing, specially to verify the publication order within a given year. It might also need another eye to make sure that I didn't introduce any errors. Marieblasdell 17:41, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

I checked all the dates, made some edits, then made a really dumb mistake (aaargh) and had to revert back to the original. I'm going to try again, with reference to Erle Stanley Gardner: A Checklist to get the exact chronological order of more than one novel/story in a single year. BTW, Marieblasell, nice catch on "Silent Partner" -- I must have been thinking of the TV version, "Candy Queen". Accounting4Taste 01:54, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
Thanks! I didn't have access to a source I trusted for the exact chronological order. That looks good. Marieblasdell 03:03, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] James Mason

I've just deleted an entry in "Trivia" which referred to Eddie Izzard imitating JAMES Mason -- this was originally cited as Perry Mason, but I checked the Izzard article and it's James, so has no place in this article. Thanks to the person who corrected Perry to James. Accounting4Taste 16:32, 15 August 2007 (UTC)