Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Bogus Buccaneers (1966) User Reviews

More Mayhem Than Captain Jack Sparrow

[DKosty123 · 7/10 · 7 July 2017]

The script writer for this one only did one other Mason episode. This particular entry is pretty active. It throws a hook at the viewer and Mason which is pretty tricky.

We have 2 Bigamists. We have several Buccaneers. We have blackmail, payoffs, a drunken wench. Yet we seem to have $25,000 dollars missing. How can we top all of these?

How about Della Street slamming a man's skull with an Iron Frying Pan? Then with the bandage still in place the poor guy with the headache is next seen on the stand getting grilled by Mason.

While there is no Black Pearl, there are a few motives and several buccaneers hooks flying around. Whew, I thought there would be an Argh too. Mason throws the last hook.

An odd premise for a mystery- but turns out well

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 6 January 2012]

The episode begins as we see a TV show that features a buccaneer named Martin Eldridge (Rhodes Reason) that makes women feel more beautiful. Through the magic of TV the buccaneer transform a women into a beautiful walking model by means of hair-care products and cosmetics. And for this story's plot-- the TV show is popular.

Anyway the producers of the TV show also send out other buccaneers in the area of the show and give them baskets of free gifts. Most love the gifts until we get this one situation.

Tony Polk (Steve Harris) goes through his routine at the home of Grace Knapp (Kathy Crowley). However Ms Knapp actually is upset saying where is the $25,000 that was promised. In fact she gets rough with Tony until he has to push her down and leave the house. However he leaves his costume's hook in the residence when fleeing. All the while a neighbor is seeing the entire incident.

The neighbor calls the police and by the time they arrive Ms Knapp is dead from a wound with the hook. And all evidence points to ex-con Tony Polk as being the murderer. But thanks to his parole officer, Perry decides to take the case and defend Tony in court.

For the rest of show the viewer is dished out many meaty chucks as part of the mystery. Blackmail, trickery, bribes, polygamy and intimidation - all these add up to a show worth watching.

This may have not been the best premise for an episode but I thought it turned out quite well. Overall it was a good watch. There was actually some good acting in this quirky episode.

Note-- Della has to knock someone unconscious in this episode. That along is a must see.

Hooked!

[darbski · 8/10 · 6 July 2017]

**SPOILERS** Beauty Buccaneer? Really? Whoever thought that idea up should've been made to walk the plank; with the script in his hands. Seriously, though, the episode starts out with a drunk, stupid, belligerent dingbat who ties into a guy who was just doing his job. She gets happily killed, and then his agent (an old friend of Perry's) hires Perry, and assists him and Paul in clearing his client.

Lieutenant Drum begs off any connection between the murder and the attempted robbery of the suspect, claiming that it's a job for the "Robbery detail" NUH-UH, It's the "Robbery-Homicide" detail, just ask any cop. Paul gets some reference help from a sweet secretary at the radio station one of the connected parties used to work at. No big deal, I just liked her looks. Richard Jaeckel, a veteran of many a cameo part, confesses to switching places with the client. The mix gets more clogged with extra details, daring the viewer to stay awake, when, BANG!! Della bashes another bad guy (just a stack of charges had to be piled on him) over the head with a skillet, after she'd tricked the greedy crook into looking under a sink for the dough. I swear to you, it was just wonderful; I've always loved her.

While that is going on, Perry delightfully chops up the landlady's testimony; she crawls away in shame (or, she should have, anyway; the nosy old bat) while Paul tries to figure out what happened to Dells and the client's pregnant wife. I've told you enough; if you think I'M confusing, just watch the show.

Beth; client's wife; has her child, a nurse wheels in a wagonload of crying babies. Like I'm supposed to say I don't like babies? Sure I love 'em; but a wagonload? Not a funny ending, just sentimental slop; Barney the dinosaur would've loved it.

What an agent

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 10 May 2013]

If you are ever an aspiring actor Michael Fox is definitely the agent to have. When his client Steve Harris gets himself in a huge jackpot, Fox gets him Perry Mason as an attorney. Best move he ever made.

This was one unusual episode involving an actor played by Rhodes Reason who plays the Beauty Buccaneer like some romance novel hero, but it's a gimmick to sell beauty products. He does his TV pitch and then a couple dozen or so 'Buccaneers' go out like Avon salesmen with the various beauty products.

Harris is one of those salesmen. Only on his route a somewhat psychotic Kathleen Crowley is waiting for him to deliver some kind of money payoff and Harris hasn't a clue. She scratches him up pretty good and he has to flee. Later on Crowley is found dead and when he's got a good amount of cash on him that he won't explain to the cops, Richard Anderson is thinking Harris is looking real good for it.

This episode involves a lovely tale of bigamy and murder to cover up same. It even involves Della Street being kidnapped, see how Barbara Hale gets out of that.

A most interesting tale from Perry Mason's last season.

Too Many Pirates Spoil the Grog

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 3 March 2022]

A silly TV show that is designed to show us how stupid housewives are. This macho jerk prances around, getting women to swoon over him and his products. One of the Buccaneer's little helpers is at the scene where a formidable, drunk lady is murdered. The whole thing seems awful and probably much like about half of prime time TV today.

Arg! Thar she Blows

[zsenorsock · 5/10 · 22 August 2008]

What could have been an interesting episode is ruined by the ridiculous costume of "The Buckaneer", supposedly a romantic pirate character on a TV show that has women swooning.

Rhodes Reason plays TV's "The Buckaneer" and one of his "buccaneer helpers" Tony Polk (Steve Harris, looking remarkably like a young William Shatner at times) is accused of killing Grace Knapp (Kathleen Crowley) using his buccaneer's hook while on a mission to deliver free samples to Knapp's home. The plot thickens with blackmail and a missing $25,000 as we learn Knapp was the Buckaneers first wife and had never followed up with her promised Mexican divorce.

This one is filled with a LOT of very attractive actresses, including Crowley, Mary Mitchel as Beth Polk (she was Wally's girlfriend on "Leave it to Beaver" and had a key role in "Sammy the Way-Out Seal") and Linda Lee in the small part of a girl in the newspaper office Paul questions. We also get to see how really tiny Richard Jaekel was. As one of a 'buccaneer" helpers we see not only Perry, Paul but even Della tower over the little man. I was surprised to see how small he was.

But again the stupid outfits the "Buckaneers" have to wear just takes a lot of wind out of this mystery. Nobody even comments on the outfits, which might have saved it. At least Paul doesn't end up dressed as a "Buckaneer" in a goofy ending gag.

I wanna know what's holding up my dough!

[sol1218 · 5/10 · 26 January 2013]

***SPOILERS*** In this Perry Mason episode Perry, Raymond Burr, gets involved with this crazy TV soap opera called "Bennett the Handsome Buccaneer" who's tidal character Bennett played by Rhodes, kid brother to Rex, Reason is every woman's, despite having one hand amputated, dream. Bennett gets involved in a murder that's a result of his show having actors dressed up as buccaneers giving out free samples of the shows sponsor hair spray and cosmetics! As it turned out one of the buccaneers ex-convict Tony Poke, Steve Harris, picked the wrong person to knock on her door with a free sample. She Grace Knapp, Kathleem Crowley, expected a bit more then when he had for her and attacked the confused guy that ended with her getting whacked by his hooked hand, that went along with his buccaneer outfit, knocking out cold! It's later that Grace is found dead from being hooked to death and there's a nosy neighbor Mrs. Webb, Meg Wyllie, who's now an eye witness to her murder!

With Perry taking up his case we know no matter how guilty he looked Tony Polk didn't kill Grace Knapp but somebody must have. It all stems back to the handsome buccaneers shady past in far off Waterton Ohio where he was married to Grace and was then known as Martin Eldridge! After divorcing Grace Martin started a new life in L.A as TV personality "Bennett the Handsome Buccaneer" and married his now wife Ann, Pat Cutts. As it turned out Grace didn't have the divorce finalized and has been blackmailing him ever since! In the threat of exposing Martin or Bennett as a polygamist and thus destroying his squeaky clean career as the "Loyal & Handsome Buccaneer" she plans to shake him down for a cool 25 G's! It was when Grace didn't get the $25,0000.00 blackmail payoff from Tony Polk,who was just an innocent bystander, that she went nuts and attacked him almost tearing his eyes out that he was forced to defend himself with his hook! But as for who really murdered Grace that's for Perry Mason to find out and as we all expect he does!

***SPOILERS*** It soon becomes obvious who Grace's killer is just by seeing who was to suffer the most, besides Bennett "The Handsome Buccaneer", because of her actions. And it didn't take that long for Perry to brake that person down in tears on the stand with his skillful cross-examination! But what this Perry Mason, the first of the year 1966, showed is that the show didn't have long to go. Running out of good stories and resorting to unbelievable plots like this one, that were more like comedies then court room dramas, you just knew that the series was on its last legs.

P.S. Check out Richard Jaeckel as Mike Woods one of the buccaneers who was in fact the one who was to hand Grace the blackmail money but, in discovering it, kept it all for himself. That in him not quite realizing what his greedy action would eventually lead to!

Pirate, Pirate! Who's got the pirate?

[pmike-11312 · 1/10 · 24 May 2022]

I keep saying that PM eps are ridiculous and keep topping themselves as such. Really though, it's the whole series! What silly, utterly unbelievable garbage!

What were there in this one? 6, 10 clowns all dressed up in pirate getups and all walking around in public at night? LOL!

PM does provide laughs.....just call it a parody of a lawyer show and you've got something!