Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Daring Decoy (1958) User Reviews

Classic episode that is the root of the entire series.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 26 March 2013]

A classic Perry Mason episode where you have a person that looks so innocent until Perry gets the person on the witness stand and produces evidence that will prove guilt.

It begins with a oil investment company has a CEO named Daniel Conway that is in the middle of a stockholders meeting where another person, Warner Griffith, wants to take over the daily operations and push Conway out the door. But there is more to this little takeover than meets the eye.

Warner Griffith has planted a secretary spy in Conway's office. The spy, Rose Calvert, is giving valuable information for the possible takeover to Griffith. When Conway gets a suspicious call about meeting someone in a hotel room for the company's sake, Conway finds Rose Calvert dead from a gunshot wound. And then he does something that even a novice person would know better- Conway picks up the gun and leaves the room. Ouch!

Anyway it is not long before Hamilton Burger has issued a murder warrant on Daniel Conway and Perry will be the attorney for the accused. Perry has a good idea of who the real murderer is but he will turn out to be incorrect. When it looks nearly hopeless, Perry will be able to get a person to confess to the crime with some keen cross-examination.

Again classic Mason a large pool of likely suspects that could have been the murderer. A good watch for viewers as Perry provides nice insight into how and why the murder unfolded. Good Watch

Mason elicits a confession ... as usual ... but with a surprise twist

[leemcintyre · 8/10 · 6 October 2006]

In this whodunit, Mason is confronted with a challenge. His client's fingerprints are found at the murder scene, his client is in possession of the gun used to kill the victim, and his client was observed by the elevator operator taking a devious route from the murder scene to avoid detection.

As usual, Mason, pitted against Burger and Trask, is aided by the always-demure Della Street, private secretary, and the always-smoking Paul Drake, private detective.

Mason is pretty sure he knows who the killer really is, and when his suspect takes the stand, Mason attacks with a vengeance. But Mason is wrong!! The person he suspected of killing the victim didn't do it, even though there's a gaping hole in the suspect's alibi.

But the unflappable defense attorney doesn't miss a beat. He recalls an earlier witness and using psychology, strategy, and a pair of shoes, elicits a confession.

In the closing moments, Della speaks coyly to Perry about "a merger" of two "interests" -- meaning a marriage. But, of course, she's not talking about her and Perry, but about the now-absolved defendant and a key witness.

Oil Drilling We've Struck Oil

[DKosty123 · 8/10 · 21 February 2018]

Seeleg Lester sounds like a writers name WC Fields would use. Lester actually would write a lot of great TV scripts including 20 Perry Masons. This, one of hi first ones, is solid .

There are lots of leads that confuse the trail to the m urderer. Then there is the elevator operator in a hotel who reads books and remembers all the feet that ride up and down with her.

As we get our ups and downs including Mason being sure of the killer and then suddenly, not so. Even Perry makes a wrong guess sometimes.

Staying on the tops of the shoes is the key to this one.

The true star of the episode

[info-16951 · 10/10 · 21 November 2014]

The star of this superb episode is Seeleg Lester, the writer of the teleplay.

In this unforgettable episode, Seeleg exhibits perfect plotting, pacing, and particularly characterization.

Unforgettable characters are introduced throughout, from Jack Weston's unforgettable materialist, Fred Calvert, to the omnivorous reader, the inadvertently hilarious elevator operator, Mavis, to the gruff roughneck, Johnny Mack Brown.

In addition, the core cast remains young and vigorous.

Finally, superb background music is provided by Russ Garcia.

One of the Best

[darbski · 10/10 · 17 May 2017]

**SPOILERS** I just finished watching this episode on METV. There are good episodes, and others, and this is one of the truly great ones. There are so many things (and the witness said so when being questioned by Perry) about it that it is difficult to review the whole thing; I'm just gonna hit a few, but believe this: you MUST get and watch this episode! I've mentioned in other reviews the fact that there was a talent pool of some absolutely fantastic actors that this show could draw upon, and this episode proves that I'm right. Starting with one of my all-time favorite actresses, Marie Windsor. Tall, beautiful and exceedingly talented, she was known as "The Queen of the Bs" as in "B" movies. Just look her up she's fabulous.

Jack Weston is next; he's a character actor that directors dream about fits several roles with ease and in this case, tragically perfect. Others follow, including a red herring ( hot for teacherish Jacqueline Scott, and hot for cheaterish Pamela Duncan), and Johnny Mack Brown an actor who was a past football star, silent screen star, western star, who plays his part so well that he looked like he was born to it. Indeed, he and Marie would have been head and shoulders above most of the other players in this story; they are two of the greatest.

Another is Natalie Norwick; yeah, I never heard of her either, but I looked her up on IMDb, and she's pretty serious. In this episode, she is an elevator operator with a very unusual talent, and you've gotta see her to believe it; she's really cool with a really neat name: Mavis.

There is terrific courtroom drama in this episode, as well as Burger threatening Perry beforehand, which is water off a duck's back, as usual. There never was any proof that Conway KNEW Rose Calvert had any important papers, He DID do the one groanworthy self incriminating thing we all (even then, when we were kids) cringe at. See this episode to groan for yourself!! And, while I digress a bit, let me say this. It is always a treat to watch either Perry of Hamilton use the phrase "Incompetent, Irrelevant, and Immaterial. I've thought many times there should be others, such as: Inconsistent, Incometaxable, Incompatible, Irrepressible, Incompoopulatable... you get the picture, I'm sure.

One of the great Perry Masons, and I'm gonna get it out of my collection and re-watch it soon. As good as these directors are, and they ARE very good, they consistently mess one thing up (I know I've said it before), Barbara Hale should have taken the Gregg Shorthand course to make her part even more believable. It's never noticed the first couple of times, because she is so beautiful you only see her, but she needs to constantly take notes to be transcribed by Gertie right after. She should ALWAYS have a professional notebook and pen with her to take down important information. Professional confidential legal secretaries almost never looked at their books once they started, and it was the professional standard of the day. Secretaries ran the offices. They were indispensable.

Okay, I know this: the show is all about acting, and it is so deep with talent that when these episodes aired, nobody noticed the small things, and I'm being picky, but they could have done better. I'll get over it.

Berger to Mason: I'd have you sniffing brimstone through a keyhole

[ebertip · 9/10 · 5 November 2020]

In this season one episode, Berger and Tragg are still after Perry's ethics, and there are definite rough edges to work out in later years. The setup here is an oil company headed by Daniel Conway, but who is being challenged by Warner Griffith for control. Warner's marriage to Linda is on the rocks, because Warner is hanging out with Rose Calvert who is married to Fred Calvert (played by Jack Weston who will play a similar husband role in the Thomas Crowne Affair). Rose ends up dead and Dan Conway is charged. Perry was at a Bar dinner with the oil company counsel and Perry (wearing a tux) is brought in. This is a rare Mason with a jury trial, with the murder weapon (Smith & Wesson 38) passed among the jurors. The "star" of the episode is an elevator operator Mavis Jordan (played by Natalie Norwick, later in Star Trek's The Conscience of the King). Mavis can identify people by feet and shoes, and has been evaluated by researchers at Stanford and The University of Chicago (!!!). There are a number of great lines in this episode. When Perry asks what Mavis was reading, she responds "you could die laughing." These lines along with references to Stanford and the UofC give this episode high marks.

One of My Favorite Actors

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 8 December 2021]

This has a nice plot and some really interesting characters. I especially liked the young woman who played the elevator operator who could identify people by their shoes. But my favorite is Jack Weston. He did so much TV and appeared in Wait Until Dark in the movies. I remember him as one of the householder in the Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street." Anyway, he does a masterful job in this one.

Jack Weston

[Bills3511 · 9/10 · 5 November 2020]

Jack Weston does a beautiful, convincing job as the inept husband in this whodunit. I'm flagging this as a potential spoiler because of my description of the job he did in this episode.

What a witness

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 5 October 2018]

I guessed who the perpetrator was in this Perry Mason story. I think you will too. But despite that there is a performance in this story which is really funny and the Perry Mason Show rarely went in for comic relief.

H.M. Wynant is Raymond Burr's client in this story. He's an oil executive who is being threatened with a hostile takeover of his country. Rival former B picture cowboy hero Johnny Mack Brown is doing the threatening and he has planted Pamela Duncan in Wynant's office. Duncan is the victim and Wynant sure has motive, betrayal is always a good one.

There are a few folks in the cast who are known to play villain types so don't look at the list. I think when the story gets to that character it will be obvious.

Natalie Norwick plays a witness who in her capacity as the building elevator operator always notices feet and the shoes on them as she is always looking down. That's what her testimony is based on and she has some really funny deadpan lines with Raymond Burr and William Talman.

I'd watch the episode for that alone.

The thrill of victory to agony of the feet

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 31 March 2013]

***Spoilers*** In the middle of a bitter proxy war to gain control of the Cal-Tex company, by the way the Cal-Tex building in Dallas Texas was prominent in conspiracy theories in the JFK assassinating, Rose Calvert, Pamela Duncan, who was supposedly planted in the company's CEO Warner Griffith, Johnny Mack Brown, office was found murdered in room #709 and the Redfern Hotel.

The person who was fighting with Griffith for the control of Cal-Tex Daniel P. Conway, H.M Wynant, was arrested for her murder in that Rose was not only working for him but was suspected in her going to expose Conway's dirty dealing behind the scenes in the Cal-Tex takeover. There's was also found at the murder scene the .38 revolver that killed Rose with Conway's fingerprints on it.

At first it seemed like an open and shut case for prosecuting D.A Hamilton "Ham" Burger, William Talman, but hold your horses Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, soon came on the scene to defend Conway and started to dig up evidence that not only was going to prove his client innocent but that Rose's murder had nothing at all to do with the proxy battle between Conway & Grifith! It had to do with something very close to home in Rose's case that had her killer freak out and end up doing her in.

****SPOILERS**** It was a breath of fresh air in that we didn't have to go through all the complications of a violent takeover of Cal-Tex to find out who Rose's murderer really was. In fact he didn't murder her for money or power but for what she did to him after all the love and security he gave her over the years. Something that the members of the jury will greatly consider in his upcoming trial and hand down a much lighter sentence. Not the death penalty that his crime would have demeaned of them!

Geez.....

[pmike-11312 · 1/10 · 22 July 2022]

The solution is found in an elevator operator who remembers the shoes people wear? AND has a remarkable memory-based filing system to remember them all days, weeks, months later? PerryMason at it's most ridiculous. - all's copacetic in the world of PM!

The Case of the Daring Decoy

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 7 October 2020]

Rose Calvert is a plant. She is working as a secretary for an oil executive whio firm is fighting a hostile takeover.

Rose was placed there by the rival bidder and she has stolen valuable information.

When she is found dead, Daniel Conway the oil executive is charged for her murder. Well he found Rose's body and picked up the gun.

Perry Mason is hired and Hamilton Burger finds Conway because he second guessed the advice Perry would had given to Conway.

The key witness is the elevator operator who remembers people's feet and shoes.

There are some good red herrings regarding the killer. It could be the rival bidder who sent Rose to spy on Conway or his wife. There is a confession of a sorts in the witness box but there is still a twist left.

Jack Weston plays Rose Calvert's estranged husband. He bought her a house and it is now mortgage free. He hoped his wife would return to him. Weston will be better known as the resort owner in the Catskill mountains in Dirty Dancing.