The Case of the Tandem Target (14 May 1964)

Perry defends Con Bolton who is accused of killing his future step-father-in-law, Sumner Hodge. Hodge was a bombastic and demanding individual in both his personal and business life. His ... See full summary »

Director:

Irving J. Moore

Writers:

Robert C. Dennis, Erle Stanley Gardner (characters created by)

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 (credit only)
Wesley Lau	...	Lt. Andy Anderson
Philip Ober	...	Sumner Hodge / Adrian Hodge (dual role)
Ann Rutherford	...	Mona Hodge
Lonny Chapman	...	J.S. (Jack) Talley
Paul Carr	...	Con Bolton
Natalie Trundy	...	Irma Hodge
Pat Priest	...	Miss Young
Dan Seymour	...	Leo Lazaroff
Vince Barnett	...	Noonan
Tom Fadden	...	Cooper

Storyline

Perry defends Con Bolton who is accused of killing his future step-father-in-law, Sumner Hodge. Hodge was a bombastic and demanding individual in both his personal and business life. His step-daughter Irma hated him and Sumner was dead set against the marriage, even to the point of faking an assassination attempt to try and implicate Con. Even his twin brother Adrian Hodge admits that his brother is a dominating Napoleon. When Sumner is killed in a car accident - his brakes had been tampered with - Bolton is arrested. Leo Lazaroff hated the man, believing Hodge stole an idea from his brother that made him lots of money. His business partner Jack Talley was also planning to end their business relationship and Sumner was in the process of buying him out.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1964 (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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Philip Ober is credited as only playing Sumner Hodge, he actually also plays Sumner's brother Adrian, using a wig and glasses.

User Reviews

Good story - Bad ending

This episode had some very good qualities. The story was interesting, the acting was good and the courtroom scenes was great. Then it crashed like the 1929 stock market.

I assume the show was running long and they only had ten more seconds of film in the camera. So with only seconds remaining, we get someone telling the how's and why's of the murder in a few fleeing moments before the show ends. What a waste to an otherwise good show.

The show centered around a young women named Irma Hodge (Natalie Trundy) and she was in love with a folk singer named Con Bolton (Paul Carr). The step-father Sumner Hodge (Philip Ober)disapproved of the relationship and throws out Con Bolton. There are some attempts on the step-father's life and all think it is Con Bolton.

Well finally Sumner ends up dead when his car goes over a cliff. A witness saw Con Bolton under the car right before Sumner drove off and over the cliff. So Con gets charged with murder and Perry defends him.

This is only part of the story to this episode. Sumner and Jack Talley (Lonny Chapman) own a dental business and a good bit of the rest of the episode hinges on that partnership.

Everything is going along nicely until we get a confession at the very last moment that I did not completely understand. It was like taking a flu shot- we anticipate the injection but it happens so fast we do not even realize that the shot has been completed.

A poor ending to a good story.