The Case of the Dead Ringer (17 Apr. 1966)

Perry Mason finds himself the target of an attempt to discredit him while he is in the middle of a major lawsuit. Perry is representing a young woman, Barbara Kramer, who accuses Otis ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Marks

Writers:

Erle Stanley Gardner (characters created by), Jackson Gillis

Stars:

Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Raymond Burr	...	Perry Mason / Grimes
Barbara Hale	...	Della Street
William Hopper	...	Paul Drake
William Talman	...	Hamilton Burger
Richard Anderson	...	Lt. Steve Drumm
Dan Tobin	...	Terrance Clay
Indus Arthur	...	Barbara Kramer
Arlene Martel	...	Sandra Dunkel
Oliver McGowan	...	Otis Swanson
Henry Beckman	...	William March
Stewart Moss	...	Dan Swanson
Maurice Manson	...	Jess Parkinson
Tom Palmer	...	Franklin Bates
Chet Stratton	...	Minister
Alan Fordney	...	Harley

Storyline

Perry Mason finds himself the target of an attempt to discredit him while he is in the middle of a major lawsuit. Perry is representing a young woman, Barbara Kramer, who accuses Otis Swanson of stealing her father's intellectual property. Swanson will stop at nothing to win and endorses his nephew Dan's elaborate plan to discredit the famous attorney in court. Using an investigator Dan has located a British sailor, Grimes, who is the spitting image of Mason. He arranges to have Grimes - dressed and groomed to look like Perry - try and bribe a prospective witness. Perry loses the case and not only has to defend his reputation but also Barbara who is accused of murder after Otis Swanson if found dead.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1966 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Paisano Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Connie Cezon's final TV performance.

User Reviews

Was a surprising well acted show.

When I first saw that Raymond Burr was going to play two characters in this show, I thought that the writers had run out of scripts and was using anything off the floor. But this was actually a very fine episode and a nice mystery.

The episode begins with Perry in civil court representing Barbara Kramer in a patent suit against Otis Swanson. When one of the witnesses advise that Perry Mason had given her money and a list of answers to questions it appeared poor for Perry. In fact, there are witnesses that testify that they saw Perry give the witness an envelope inside a hotel lobby.

But what has happened is that people from the other side of the lawsuit have found an old sailor that looks much like Perry. They use make-up and hair-dye and sure enough the person named Grimes looks just like Perry Mason.

After Perry loses the civil case, Perry has to appeal. In the meantime, his client, Barbara, is found inside Otis Swanson's home next to his dead body. Now Perry will have to defend her in criminal court for a charge of murder. Perry will need a lot of help from Paul Drake's private detective team if he wants his client released of the charge.

I really have never like those two character episodes, especially when it involves the main character. Most of the time the show is just so unbelievable that it makes no sense. This show proved me wrong. Raymond Burr was believable as he separated both parts with fine acting. Instead of the stuffy lawyer type, he became a rough and salty sailor. The mystery was interesting and the characters interesting. Good watch.