The Case of the Baffling Bug (12 Dec. 1965)

At Perry Mason's suggestion, Paul Drake is hired to screen employees at Tryon Industries when the owners think their industrial process for desalinization has been stolen and brought to ... See full summary »

Director:

Vincent McEveety

Writers:

Erle Stanley Gardner (characters created by), Orville H. Hampton

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
Richard Anderson	...	Lt. Steve Drumm
Grant Williams	...	Dr. Todd Meade
Dee Hartford	...	Rhonda Coleridge
Ben Cooper	...	Lowell Rupert
Aliza Gur	...	Dr. Nina Revelli (as Alizia Gur)
Gilbert Green	...	Dr. Malcolm Scranton
Bryan O'Byrne	...	Horace Lehigh (as Byron O'Byrne)
Teru Shimada	...	Dr. Maseo Tachikawa
S. John Launer	...	Judge
Mary Treen	...	Bess
Bob Okazaki	...	Manager (as Robert Okazaki)

Storyline

At Perry Mason's suggestion, Paul Drake is hired to screen employees at Tryon Industries when the owners think their industrial process for desalinization has been stolen and brought to market by a competitor, Coleridge Associates. The obvious suspect is Dr. Todd Meade a former employee at Coleridge and who may at one time have been - and still be - involved with their CEO Rhonda Coleridge. When a counterspy hired by Tryon and working undercover is found dead in the lab, it's Meade who is arrested and charged with murder. When Paul finds that Perry's office has been bugged, they are able to use it to their advantage and set a trap for the killer.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1965 (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

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

A spy story that plays well even today..

This episode involves the world of industrial spy/counter-spy in the dog-eat-dog world of technology.

The show begins inside Tryon Laboratories as they are ready to reveal a new desalinization technique that will mean millions to the company. They hire the Paul Drake Detective Agency to make sure that there are no leaks within the meeting of the doctors working on the development. However, with Paul best work, there is someone recording the meeting which will lead to a competitor, Coleridge Associates, getting the information.

All the doctors are a suspect until the CEO of the company Malcolm Scranton (Gilbert Green) gets a call from Dr Lehigh (Bryon O'Byrne) saying he knows who is selling the secrets.

Mr Scranton calls Perry to meeting him at Dr Lehigh's office but when they arrive find that Dr Lehigh had been murdered. (Dr Lehigh had been a counter-spy for the company in hoping to catch who actually was giving information about the project out to other businesses.) Also they see Dr Todd Meade, a former Coleridge employee but now working at Tryon, standing over the body. Dr Meade is charged with murder and Perry will defend the man in court on the charges.

This episode does a good job of providing the viewer with a different storyline than we have been accustom. Spy stories were big business in the mid 60's so this fit right into the days interest. It also plays quite well even today with hidden cameras, offices being bugged and stealing of company's secrets.

A break in the case happens when Perry finds out that his office is also bugged. He sets in motion a change of events that will lead to the true murderer confessing in court. Even though the so-called evidence was somewhat sketchy it ends the story in a good way for the defendant and the viewer.

A good watch. Lots of suspects, some good ribs at Hamilton Burger and an interesting story- Everything that makes a Perry episode good.