Perry Mason 

The cases of a master criminal defense attorney, handling the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.

Creator:

Erle Stanley Gardner

Stars:

Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Raymond Burr	...	Perry Mason / ... 271 episodes, 1957-1966
Barbara Hale	...	Della Street 271 episodes, 1957-1966
William Hopper	...	Paul Drake 271 episodes, 1957-1966
Ray Collins	...	Police Lt. Arthur Tragg 241 episodes, 1957-1965
William Talman	...	Hamilton Burger / ... 225 episodes, 1957-1966
Don Anderson	...	Courtroom Spectator / ... 128 episodes, 1957-1966
Lee Miller	...	Police Sgt. Brice / ... 119 episodes, 1957-1966

Storyline

Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.

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Plot Keywords:

attorney | defense | courtroom | legal drama | verdict | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Perry Mason

Filming Locations:

Chaplin Studios - 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Television Network, Paisano Productions, TCF Television Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (271 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Episode 9.21) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the opening sequence for season seven, episode twenty-nine, "The Case of the Tandem Target", Perry, Paul, and Della are shown at the table in the courtroom, along with Hamilton Burger and Lieutenant Tragg. This must have been a very interesting case, to have Mason and Burger on the same side.

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Goofs

Perry Mason's office is given as on the 9th floor of the fictional "Brent Building" in Los Angeles, and has a distinctive terrace outside (as does the next-door office in S.8 Ep. 30). However, establishing shots of the exterior use a photo of a plain-sided office building with no balconies or terraces on the 9th floor, or anywhere else.

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Quotes

Della Street: [a simple question] What do you know about art?
Paul Drake: [astonished] Me? I don't even know what I like!

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Connections

Referenced in Here's Lucy: Won't You Calm Down Dan Dailey? (1971)

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Soundtracks

Park Avenue Beat
(uncredited)
Written by Fred Steiner
(series theme)

User Reviews

Still on, in monochrome

Bear in mind that Perry Mason and I Love Lucy are the only black & white programs still showing in syndication on broadcast television.

Also note that Law and Order (the original series) took the same first half investigation/second half in the courtroom format, except of course doing it from the perspective of the forces of repression (cops & D. A.s).

Caveat Emptor: The episodes available for broadcast syndication are often (especially the earlier seasons, when network shows ran several minutes longer than now) edited, and the Hallmark Channel showings (when P. M. was running there) were even more edited. Anyone who'd like to know what's been cut should visit www.storrer.com and go to the esg/perrymason page therein. Dr. Storrer obviously has too much time on his hands, as he has written detailed synopses of every single episode, and kindly made them available to all through the miracle (being sarcastic here) of the information superhighway.

One last note: Many others who've commented here refer to the fine B&W cinematography, but it seems as if every night exterior was shot day for night, which I always find highly amusing, especially when they almost always throw crickets on the soundtrack, just in case we can't figure out it's supposed to be night.