Reviews & Ratings for
"Perry Mason" The Case of the Vagabond Vixen (1957)

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
A simple good watch, 10 December 2011

Author: kfo9494 from United States

Here is another good episode from the first season as we see Perry defending John Addison (Robert Ellenstein) for the murder of his partner Edgar Farrell (Paul Cavanagh).

Seems both men were co-operators of Fidelity Studios. And a big stock holder's meeting was approaching that was going to swing the movie studio to a single manager and leave the other behind.

But before all of that Mr Farrell, picks up the 18 year old girl on the highway and takes her to a remote house that was owned by the studio. Before Mr Farrell gets lucky- a car drives up and he sends the girl into another room. The next scene produces a gunshot and then you see the young girl Veronica Dale (Carol Leigh) running from the house. And to make matters even more strange, she is picked up down the road by Mr Addison.

And when Hamilton Burger finds all this information, plus the fact that Mr Farrell was killed with Mr Addison's gun, a warrant is issued and Mr Addsion is taken to the county jail charged with murder.

There is also a big sub-plot to this story when we learn that picking up the girl on the highway was not by chance. It had been planned by ex-con blackmailer named Peter Hansel (James Anderson). This all comes to light- but Hamilton gives Peter immunity so that he can testify in court.

The episode ends in a rather uneventful way. Actually very tamed by 'Perry Mason' standards, when we get a confession from the true murderer away from the courtroom. But not before Perry makes people's testimony tainted by revealing lies while on the witness stand.

This is a good watch for viewers but nothing really stands out. It is a simple story with a simple ending. The only thing of mention is the beauty of Ms Carol Leigh and the performance by Barbara Peppers (she played Vernoica's mom).

Notes- I know this is an early episode, but every time some nugget of information is revealed in court, you get this loud rustling sound from the spectators gallery. I glad, in later episodes, they we away from that sound. In this show you get it about five times.

Murder at Paradise Cove, 28 February 2013

Author: sol1218 from brooklyn NY

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

****SPOILERS*** After being picked up by movie producer Edger Ferrell, Paul Cavanagh, hitchhiking along the Pacifice Coast Highway outside L.A 17 year old Veronica Dale, Carol Leigh, is taken to his house with a promise to be given a screen test for a new movie he's making.

Happy in being able to break into the movies as well as getting a chance to blackmail Ferrell with her partner in crime ex-convict Peter Handsell, James Anderson, as things soon turn out it's Ferrell battle ax wife Lorraine, Catherine McLeod, who seems out of camera rage to have shown up unexpectedly and caught her cheating husband in the act! With Ferrell quickly hiding Veronica in another room she hears a gun shot and takes off feeling her life is in danger. No sooner then she left Ferrell's pad Veronica in given a ride outside a local gas station by non other then his boss at Fidelity Studios John Addison, Robert Ellenstein, who had no idea where she was. Addison also didn't know, like Veronica, that Ferrell was shot and killed just moments before he gave her a lift!

It's not that long that Addison is picked up and booked by the police in Ferrell's murder all due to the testimony of Veronica Dale whom he kindly gave a lift back to town! As for Veronica the worse is yet to come for her in her being beaten down and unmercifully crossed examined by Addison's attorney Perry Mason, Raymond Burr. The cross examination on Perry's part is so effective that Veronica broke down and admitted her together with Peter Handsell setting up and blackmailing unsuspecting rich driver like Ferrell for the last six months! But as for who murdered Ferrell that's one point that Perry can't quite figure out. That's until the guilt ridden person who did Ferrell in confessed to the crime outside not inside the courtroom!

***SPOILERS**** This was a real stumper for Perry Msson who just about gave up on getting his client John Addison off and was willing to get or plea barging down a 2nd degree murder charge against him. It was Ferrell's real killer who did Perry and John Addison a big favor by not only admitting to his or her crime but also recovering the murder weapon, with his fingerprints on it, to convict him!

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