Plot

Sandra Keller has agreed to sell her grandfather's orange orchard to a developer for mall parking. When the grandfather changes his mind, the deal is off but a lot of people will be hurt. When the developer is shot, she is charged.

Sandra Keller has given permission to a development firm to take possession of her grandfather's orange orchard but her grandfather, Amos Kenesaw Mountain Keller, changes his mind at the last minute and refuses to give them possession. Several people have considerable sums invested in the project and they stand to lose everything if it doesn't go forward. Keller's land is required for sufficient parking. It all ends up in court with Perry Mason suggested by architect James Wheeler to represent her and her grandfather. The first case involves Keller's dog Hardtack who Thorton claims attacked and bit him. Perry defends the dog and Keller against criminal charges successfully. It all takes on a far more serious tone when the developer, Gerald Thornton, is found dead from a shotgun blast. When the police find the shotgun on her property and with her fingerprints, she is charged with Thornton's murder and Perry defends her.—garykmcd

A fight over a land deal compels Perry to defend a dog in criminal court. It's not long before he's in the more familiar situation of defending a human client charged with murder.

** SPOILER ALERT ** This Synopsis reveals the entire plot, including the ending.

Developer Gerald Thornton arrives at the construction site of his shopping center project to find work has stopped. Orange grove owner Amos Keller won't let workers bulldoze his trees, and isn't afraid to use his shotgun to make his point. Thornton claims the law is on his side, as Amos's granddaughter Sandra had brokered a deal to sell the land. Later, Amos tells Sandra that he changed his mind about the deal when he realized he couldn't abandon the trees that had supported him or his beloved dog Hardtack, who wouldn't be allowed to come with Amos to the "old folks' home." Also, as a hero of the Spanish-American war who won a Congressional Medal of Honor, he'd be embarrassed to have someone pick him up at the home when it was time to march in a parade. Sandra is surprised to learn that her friend Jim Wheeler agrees with Amos, despite being an architect in Thornton's employ. In fact, Wheeler recommends that Amos talk to Perry Mason.

Thornton is running his project from a trailer located practically next door to Amos's house. Due to the proximity, when project supervisor Edward Doyle arrives, he is greeted by Hardtack. Once inside, he learns from secretary Janis Carr that Thornton is arguing over the phone with Courtney Osgood, the bank official who oversees the loans made to finance the development. Doyle reveals that Wheeler has admitted that he leaked the information about Amos's refusal to go through with the sale. Thornton decides to fire Wheeler, keeping his back pay and also the architectural models in the trailer, which Wheeler claims he made on his own time. Thornton points out that all this should matter to Doyle, as he and his wife Grace each have $10,000 invested in the project. Doyle replies that Grace's investment is more like $60,000 - but it's refreshing to hear Thornton acknowledge that she's Doyle's wife, not Thornton's.

At the bank, Grace goes to Osgood for help, but all he does is to call Perry's office. Perry confirms that he has been retained in the matter, and says that Amos has the legal right to refuse to sell. After Grace leaves, Osgood meets with John Grimsby, who agrees to buy the project from the bank after it forecloses. This will protect the bank's interest, but leave the other investors out in the cold. Thornton breaks in on this discussion, and it is soon clear that Grimsby is motivated by revenge. On an earlier occasion, it had been Thornton who left Grimsby hanging out to dry.

At the trailer, Thornton arrives to find Wheeler attempting to repossess his models. Thornton crushes one, shoves Wheeler, and pulls a gun on him, forcing him to leave without the remaining models. Then Thornton cozies up to Grace, who has been feeling neglected lately. Once she's mollified, she suggests to Thornton that Amos has two weaknesses that can prove useful. One, to be exploited immediately, is his love for Hardtack. The other, his pride in his medal, can be saved for later.

The next morning, Amos and Sandra drop by the pound in a search for the missing Hardtack. He's there, but they can't just pay a fine and leave with him. Thornton claims the dog bit him, and is filing criminal charges. In court, Perry compares the proceeding to medieval trials of animals on various criminal charges. D.A. Burger, who happens by, finds all this amusing, but the judge insists that the case be taken seriously. Perry accuses Thornton of fabricating the charge to pressure Amos to sell. He gets that examining doctor to admit that Thornton's wound could have been caused by many different things other than a dog's teeth. Finally, he has Amos testify that Hardtack has never attacked anyone, and Perry says the word of a Medal of Honor winner should be unassailable. The judge dismisses the charges, with the proviso that Hardtack be kept secured in the future.

At night, Sandra is awakened by barking and sees that Hardtack has gotten loose. Her search takes her to the front of the trailer, where she finds a dead Thornton and a shotgun, which she takes. The next day, Paul arrives at the crime scene and promises Lt. Anderson help in finding Amos in exchange for a progress report. The Doyles found the body that morning. Thornton was killed around 1 AM by a shotgun blast at close range. Carr comes out of the trailer, reporting that nothing is missing.Andy is a bit suspicious of her, since he'd found a highball glass with a lipstick stain in the trailer. However, Janis is quite confident that she can prove she wasn't there.

Paul finds Perry and Sandra in front of Amos's house, and tells them that in addition to being shot, Thornton had been bitten by a dog that night. Sandra lies, claiming that Hardtack had been secured all night. Paul goes to check the dog's collar and accidentally lets him loose. Hardtack heads right for a nearby pile of oranges. This gets Andy's attention, and he finds a shotgun hidden in the pile. Later, Perry, Paul, and Sandra find Amos at Wheeler's house, but Andy is there ahead of them. He has an arrest warrant charging first degree murder. It's for Sandra!

In court, Andy testifies that Sandra's fingerprints were on the shotgun he found. A lab technician testifies that the blood on slippers found in Sandra's closet was Type AB, just like Thornton's. Also, the fingerprints on that highball glass were Sandra's. Grimsby testifies that he dropped by that evening to talk to Thornton and heard Sandra threatening him. Amos tries to confess, but Burger is having none of it. To demolish Amos's credibility, he cites an army report that the only Amos Keller involved in the Battle of San Juan Hill was serving well behind the lines as a company clerk.

Later, we get to gawk at Carr's legs as she gets out of the shower to answer her door. It's Paul, and she admits to him that Thornton's records were missing after all, along with those models that Wheeler wanted. Perry and Paul go to Wheeler's place, and find him locked in a closet. He says he answered the door and whoever was there slammed it into him, knocking him out, so he never saw his assailant. He admits he took the records, and read enough to know that in addition to the bank and small investors, there was one unnamed investor who had put in $60,000, and another for $90,000. Unsurprisingly, the records are gone now.

In court, Grace admits to being the $60,000 investor. She also admits that she came up with the schemes to pressure Amos to sell, but insists she didn't personally help carry them out. With Amos again on the witness stand, Perry produces a will from the recently deceased man who was on record as the real recipient of Amos's Medal of Honor. It reveals that the man had been overcome with fright, and company clerk Amos had taken his place in the battle. He had previously given Amos the medal, and in his will wanted to set the record straight publicly. Returning to the cross-examination of Grace, he cites a medical report that markings on Hardtack's throat must have been caused by someone lifting or dragging the dog by his collar. Grace says that it couldn't have been her - anyone who knew her could testify that she's always been afraid of dogs.

Osgood testifies about the deal with Grimsby that would leave the non-bank investors with nothing. Perry gets him to confirm that the bank had forced Thornton to take out life insurance, and those investors could now get their money back from that. Perry accuses Osgood of being the $90,000 investor, but he replies that an officer of the bank would not be permitted to make such an investment, due to conflict of interest. As Osgood starts to leave the witness stand, Perry says he has some other items to go over with him, and asks him to hold Hardtack's leash. Suddenly the dog, who has slept through most of the trial, is very upset. Osgood seems frightened, so Perry tells him to lift the dogs head by its collar, as he did the night of the murder.

Osgood admits that, after long resenting being prohibited from making investments that made fortunes for others, he invested in Thornton's project despite the conflict of interest. Thornton threatened to expose him unless he helped with the second attempt to frame Hardtack for biting. Osgood did participate, but also decided to remove the threat of exposure. He found the shotgun on Amos's porch and used it. Later, Amos happily goes off to a military parade, wearing the medal that is now officially his.