A cold, controlling woman can't stand to see her husband outshine her. Their marriage was in trouble from day one. He has made a major nautical breakthrough and instead of enjoying his success, she sets out to destroy his prototype. But forces work against her and she is killed. This leads to suspicion of the woman who is in love with the suffering husband.
6 Reviews
Wife Never Thaws From Honeymoon Deep Freeze
DKosty12311 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
In this one, a frozen wife who schemes to freeze everyone around her is the center of the plot. In this one, there is a lot of evidence which comes out late in the court room hearing.
A solid episode in method, which involves a time bomb, a natural gas heater, a nurse, & some court room theatrics.
Mason demonstrates how a remote control device can be used from 40 miles away to kill the frozen wife by remote control. Then comes the twist as that isn't what happened.
Paul Drake takes a ride in a helicopter. This one gets some altitude to go with the Mason attitude.
A solid episode in method, which involves a time bomb, a natural gas heater, a nurse, & some court room theatrics.
Mason demonstrates how a remote control device can be used from 40 miles away to kill the frozen wife by remote control. Then comes the twist as that isn't what happened.
Paul Drake takes a ride in a helicopter. This one gets some altitude to go with the Mason attitude.
June Vincent magnificently gets her just desserts
XweAponX24 December 2018
She portrayed a hateful and hated woman with relish.
Obviously, she sets herself at the head of the table, she is the one who controls everyone in the vicinity. But she can only do so because of the dirt she has muckraked up on each of them. Including 'Roger" (Fredd Wayne), what does she have on him where she can order him to do something vile and destructive? Alan Hewitt's familiar face is also in this, as is a few other noted character actors of the day.
Walter Randall (Jerome Thor) is the hapless husband, trapped in a marriage to a subhuman icebergmonster. We do not blame him for wanting to get loose. I think at one time or other we have had our Significant Other's be as Clingy as this woman is. In Fact, the "Clingy Disabled Wife" is a common character in Perry Mason episodes, there is another Perry episode where the secretary calls the Bosses' house for instructions, and the Klingon Wife answers and scares the pants off her (Er, Dress, rather - Perry Mason rarely had women in pants). But then the Husband enters the frame and it's apology city - Until she does it again. But in the end, the Husband of that woman has accepted it, and chooses to stay with the troubled, disabled wife.
Here, June's character Laura, is not really disabled at all. Just Clingy, and Cold. And Mean: Her husband, an Engineer, has developed an electronic gadget, a sounding device, that can be controlled via Remote over great distances.
This invention is important to Walter's future, and to his happiness, but one thing stands in his way: Laura "In a Lonely Place" Randall. She orders her brother in law Roger to do something unconscionable, and then seems to order her nurse Phyllis Hudson to participate in this heinous act. This is when it all goes sideways, and we find out, it's not as simple as we thought during the teaser of this episode.
So it is all fun and games until someone loses an eye, and a life, and so suddenly Tragg is sniffing about. That's when we find out, as usual, Phyllis didn't tell Perry everything.
The question is not really "Who had motive to commit a murder". it's actually "Who did Tragg arrest". Which is normally "The Wrong Man" (or Woman in this case), so Perry has to figure out who the real murder is, all during the preliminary hearing! Heck, sometimes it even gets to Trial.
This was one of the episodes sans Hamilton Burger, the Assistant DA is pretty Shakespearean.
This episode has a clever technological twist including tech that is still in use today, For the Late 50's early 60's, Perry Mason was pretty much on the edge of Tech, there were Gadgets and Gizmos, Car Phones, and even one episode had Bugs Galore. The Modus Operandi of this case was VERY clever. And it would have worked but for one thing: Perry Mason was defending.
But this episode would never have caused anyone to blink except for one thing: June Vincent's great performance.
Obviously, she sets herself at the head of the table, she is the one who controls everyone in the vicinity. But she can only do so because of the dirt she has muckraked up on each of them. Including 'Roger" (Fredd Wayne), what does she have on him where she can order him to do something vile and destructive? Alan Hewitt's familiar face is also in this, as is a few other noted character actors of the day.
Walter Randall (Jerome Thor) is the hapless husband, trapped in a marriage to a subhuman icebergmonster. We do not blame him for wanting to get loose. I think at one time or other we have had our Significant Other's be as Clingy as this woman is. In Fact, the "Clingy Disabled Wife" is a common character in Perry Mason episodes, there is another Perry episode where the secretary calls the Bosses' house for instructions, and the Klingon Wife answers and scares the pants off her (Er, Dress, rather - Perry Mason rarely had women in pants). But then the Husband enters the frame and it's apology city - Until she does it again. But in the end, the Husband of that woman has accepted it, and chooses to stay with the troubled, disabled wife.
Here, June's character Laura, is not really disabled at all. Just Clingy, and Cold. And Mean: Her husband, an Engineer, has developed an electronic gadget, a sounding device, that can be controlled via Remote over great distances.
This invention is important to Walter's future, and to his happiness, but one thing stands in his way: Laura "In a Lonely Place" Randall. She orders her brother in law Roger to do something unconscionable, and then seems to order her nurse Phyllis Hudson to participate in this heinous act. This is when it all goes sideways, and we find out, it's not as simple as we thought during the teaser of this episode.
So it is all fun and games until someone loses an eye, and a life, and so suddenly Tragg is sniffing about. That's when we find out, as usual, Phyllis didn't tell Perry everything.
The question is not really "Who had motive to commit a murder". it's actually "Who did Tragg arrest". Which is normally "The Wrong Man" (or Woman in this case), so Perry has to figure out who the real murder is, all during the preliminary hearing! Heck, sometimes it even gets to Trial.
This was one of the episodes sans Hamilton Burger, the Assistant DA is pretty Shakespearean.
This episode has a clever technological twist including tech that is still in use today, For the Late 50's early 60's, Perry Mason was pretty much on the edge of Tech, there were Gadgets and Gizmos, Car Phones, and even one episode had Bugs Galore. The Modus Operandi of this case was VERY clever. And it would have worked but for one thing: Perry Mason was defending.
But this episode would never have caused anyone to blink except for one thing: June Vincent's great performance.
Remoted
darbski11 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS** Another of those cases wherein nobody is gonna miss the murder victim. Of, course, around her, everyone else is a victim, so, it's tit 4 tat. Now we get to a to a complicated murder device that is remotely controlled. Naturally, that's not all. Nicely dead wife's huz is in a relationship with (of course) the client who asks for and receives Perry's help.
The remote device angle has 2 problems. 1) it has to be operated from an elevation, without interference from clutter such as buildings, or hills. 2) The guy involved with Perry's client was on a boat, and very likely did not have that advantage. Batteries being recharged? He didn't have replacements?? Really? For the test of his career?? Now, Perry only had circumstantial evidence that a remote device was used. Oh, sure, he had threadings, rust, other scraps that might indicate interference with the important gas line, but NO solid proof. The killer did a good job of covering up.
What Perry accomplishes is to point out an alternate theory of who committed the crime; and cast serious doubt on the prosecution's case. I mean, the killer himself showed how another person besides himself (Phillips), could have assembled and operated the device, and he all but admitted that Perry's demonstration was how it was done. RIGHT THERE, Perry's job is done. He's thoroughly disrupted the case against his client, and thrown the ball back into the D.A.'s court (so to speak).
Two other details stop in to say hi, though. 1) The killer actually admits his guilt, when he clearly was already defending against it very well. 2) The "Happy Ending"; Perry still has to get Phyllis out of jail and the police off her back. They should show the audience how this is done. after all the D.A. didn't actually drop the charges, yet, did he? What if the killer recanted, got a lawyer?? Muddy ending, but a good show.
The remote device angle has 2 problems. 1) it has to be operated from an elevation, without interference from clutter such as buildings, or hills. 2) The guy involved with Perry's client was on a boat, and very likely did not have that advantage. Batteries being recharged? He didn't have replacements?? Really? For the test of his career?? Now, Perry only had circumstantial evidence that a remote device was used. Oh, sure, he had threadings, rust, other scraps that might indicate interference with the important gas line, but NO solid proof. The killer did a good job of covering up.
What Perry accomplishes is to point out an alternate theory of who committed the crime; and cast serious doubt on the prosecution's case. I mean, the killer himself showed how another person besides himself (Phillips), could have assembled and operated the device, and he all but admitted that Perry's demonstration was how it was done. RIGHT THERE, Perry's job is done. He's thoroughly disrupted the case against his client, and thrown the ball back into the D.A.'s court (so to speak).
Two other details stop in to say hi, though. 1) The killer actually admits his guilt, when he clearly was already defending against it very well. 2) The "Happy Ending"; Perry still has to get Phyllis out of jail and the police off her back. They should show the audience how this is done. after all the D.A. didn't actually drop the charges, yet, did he? What if the killer recanted, got a lawyer?? Muddy ending, but a good show.
Shades of The Man With The Golden Arm
bkoganbing4 July 2012
In this episode of Perry Mason, he gets to defend Marianne Stewart a home health aide who is in love with the husband of her client June Vincent. When this episode was on the drawing board someone was inspired by The Man With The Golden Arm because the relationship between husband, health aide, and wife is the same.
And Vincent goes over the top the same way Eleanor Parker did in the Otto Preminger classic. She tries to kill her husband Jerome Thor and Stewart, but she herself is killed. Thor looks like he has a rock solid alibi because he was on a naval vessel testing a sonar invention he was working on. That leaves Stewart and she becomes the client.
Some nice courtroom theatrics get at the truth and the real murderer is discovered.
And Vincent goes over the top the same way Eleanor Parker did in the Otto Preminger classic. She tries to kill her husband Jerome Thor and Stewart, but she herself is killed. Thor looks like he has a rock solid alibi because he was on a naval vessel testing a sonar invention he was working on. That leaves Stewart and she becomes the client.
Some nice courtroom theatrics get at the truth and the real murderer is discovered.
Yes I killed her! I had to!
sol121822 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** On the brink of having his underwater sonar detection device about to be accepted and marketed by the Notronics Cooperation inventor Walter Randall, Jerome Thor, felt it was time for him to split with his frost bitten and cold hearted wife Laura, played by June or should it be December Vincent, and start a new life with Laura's caretaker the warm & friendly Phyllis Hudson, Marianne Stewart. With Laura determined that her husband's device never makes it to be installed on boats she with the help of her blackmailed, by her, accomplice, Roger Phillipsplayed by Fredd Wayne plans to have it blown up in the garage where Walter has it stored in.
The good news for Laura is the plan to blow up Walter's garage was a complete success. The bad news is that the sonar device that Laura planned to have destroyed wasn't there. But the really bad news for Laura is that someone piped in deadly gas in her bedroom mixed together with the pills that she was taking that ended up killing her. Now getting back to some more good news for Laura, who by now was in no condition to enjoy it, is that her husband's lover Phyllis Hudson was charged in her murder! At Phyllis' murder trial her attorney Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, tries to prove that she who was at the scene of the crime couldn't have killed Laura. Perry does that by him trying to prove that the crime was committed by remote control some 30 miles away! With her lover Walter Randall doing the remote controlling!
****SPOLIERS**** Perry's remote control demonstration with his friend PI Paul Drake, William Hopper, airborne some 5,000 feet up in the air and 35 miles away is amusing at best and laughable at worse since it doesn't do a thing to help his client Phyills Hudson at all. It's when Perry gets down to business in cross-examining Laura's suspected murder that he finally gets results. That's by Laura's killer who at first violently denied his guilt in Laura's murder suddenly like he's been put under hypnosis or in a deep trance matter of faculty admitted his guilt without as much as blinking an eye twitching his nose or breaking into a cold sweat!
The good news for Laura is the plan to blow up Walter's garage was a complete success. The bad news is that the sonar device that Laura planned to have destroyed wasn't there. But the really bad news for Laura is that someone piped in deadly gas in her bedroom mixed together with the pills that she was taking that ended up killing her. Now getting back to some more good news for Laura, who by now was in no condition to enjoy it, is that her husband's lover Phyllis Hudson was charged in her murder! At Phyllis' murder trial her attorney Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, tries to prove that she who was at the scene of the crime couldn't have killed Laura. Perry does that by him trying to prove that the crime was committed by remote control some 30 miles away! With her lover Walter Randall doing the remote controlling!
****SPOLIERS**** Perry's remote control demonstration with his friend PI Paul Drake, William Hopper, airborne some 5,000 feet up in the air and 35 miles away is amusing at best and laughable at worse since it doesn't do a thing to help his client Phyills Hudson at all. It's when Perry gets down to business in cross-examining Laura's suspected murder that he finally gets results. That's by Laura's killer who at first violently denied his guilt in Laura's murder suddenly like he's been put under hypnosis or in a deep trance matter of faculty admitted his guilt without as much as blinking an eye twitching his nose or breaking into a cold sweat!
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