The Case of the Tsarina's Tiara (20 Mar. 1966)

Jeweler and gem expert Gerard Van Ness returns to Los Angeles from South America only to be pulled over by the police as the car he's driving was reported stole. More ominously, they find ... See full summary »

Director:

Harmon Jones

Writers:

Ernie Frankel, Erle Stanley Gardner (characters created by),

Stars:

Raymond Burr, Carlos Romero, Barbara Hale

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Raymond Burr	...	Perry Mason
Carlos Romero	...	Ricardo Arena
Barbara Hale	...	Della Street
William Hopper	...	Paul Drake
William Talman	...	Hamilton Burger
Richard Anderson	...	Lt. Steve Drumm
Virginia Field	...	Madame Sonya Galinova
Kendall Clark	...	Gerard Van Ness
Vivienne Segal	...	Pauline Thorsen
Leonid Kinskey	...	Vyacheslav Gerznov
Wesley Addy	...	Joachim DeVry
Phillip Terry	...	Rolf Thorsen
Janet De Gore	...	Lisabeth Wells
Barbara Perry	...	Girl Assistant
Lew Brown	...	Officer One

Storyline

Jeweler and gem expert Gerard Van Ness returns to Los Angeles from South America only to be pulled over by the police as the car he's driving was reported stole. More ominously, they find the dead body of Nils Dorrow, an international jewel thief, in the trunk. Perry Mason, who has acted as Van Ness and his partner Joachim DeVry's lawyer, agrees to defend him. Interestingly, Perry had recently been to their store with another client, Sonya Galinova, where DeVry was astounded to see that she was in possession of a priceless Russian tiara that had been thought lost. The two cases are intertwined and there is a very good reason why someone has tried to frame Van Ness for murder.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 1966 (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

Vivienne Segal's last acting performance.

User Reviews

A crowded cast takes away from this otherwise nice mystery

One of the things I dislike about some of the episodes is when they have a crowded cast. In this show, there are so many people that at times it was difficult to remember exactly who they were talking about without seeing a face. It can get complicated trying to keep up with who-is-who with those long Russian names during extended dialog.

Because of all the characters and their long names, I will sum this up quickly to make the story more clear. A long lost Russian Tiara is accidentally found when a old Russian magician pays a woman for lodging and food. The woman takes the tiara to Perry thinking she had been swindled. But by taking the tiara to the Devry/Van Ness Jewelry Company, Mr Devry says the tiara is real.

Meanwhile, Mr Van Ness is returning from a trip and upon driving home is stopped by the police and they find a dead man (who happens to be a jewelry thief) in the truck of the car. Van Ness is charged with the murder. Perry will defend him in court.

The best thing about the episode is the courtroom scenes. There we can to see the characters and can keep the large Russian names separated from confusion. Perry picks through the witnesses, plus the tiara, and comes up with the reason for the murder. Someone is left on the witness-stand thinking their plan was never going to be discovered.

If you can get pass the first half of the show then you will be rewarded with a very nice mystery. But with all the confusing names and a crowded cast, it will take patience to keep the interest going.