The Case of the Angry Astronaut (7 Apr. 1962)

Mitch Heller is the test astronaut in the human factors division for the Moonstone project. He's recently suffered from disorientation and the head of the division, Matthew Owen, has ... See full summary »

Director:

Francis D. Lyon

Writers:

Erle Stanley Gardner (characters created by), Samuel Newman

Stars:

Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Raymond Burr	...	Perry Mason
Barbara Hale	...	Della Street
William Hopper	...	Paul Drake
William Talman	...	Hamilton Burger
Ray Collins	...	Lt. Arthur Tragg
James Coburn	...	General Addison Brand
Robert Bray	...	Mitch Heller
Jeanne Bal	...	Dr. Linda Carey
Patricia Donahue	...	Bonnie Winslow
Steve Brodie	...	Eddie Lewis
Wesley Lau	...	Lt. Anderson
Paula Raymond	...	Terry Faye
John Marley	...	Matthew Owen
Robert Casper	...	Bruce Young
Richard Grant	...	Gordon Kendall

Storyline

Mitch Heller is the test astronaut in the human factors division for the Moonstone project. He's recently suffered from disorientation and the head of the division, Matthew Owen, has requested a delay in finalizing their test results. In fact the entire Moonstone project is now several months behind schedule, something that displeases the new program head, retired General Addison Brand. In fact, Brand and Heller have a history together and it's no surprise when Brand fires him. Mitch is subsequently asked to meet Brand at his home and when the police find the general dead, Mitch is charged with murder and Perry Mason defends him.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1962 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 4, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paisano Productions, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

An elaborate ruse

Robert Bray is both Perry Mason's client and cast in the title role in this episode. Bray works for an aeronautical firm as a test subject and the head of the aerospace division is James Coburn. Bray and Coburn have some nasty history together going all the way back to the Korean War. So Coburn is later shot to death and Bray arrested.

On this episode the key here is that Bray is a fall guy for someone who also had it in for Coburn. In fact a rather elaborate deception is used to frame Bray. You don't have much sympathy with the perpetrator because of that.

But what gets me is that Raymond Burr points out in some crime scene photographs that it has to be a ruse of some kind. That that fact escaped Ray Collins, Wesley Lau, and William Talman was a bit much to swallow. From there we unmask the real killer.

The writers were slipping with this one.