Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Resolute Reformer (1961) User Reviews

This has all the aspects to make a great mystery

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 17 July 2013]

Here is a classic 'Perry Mason' show as we get all the aspects of a mystery and all the cover-up of the cast members. And as we all know this leads to an exciting episode.

It begins when Peter Caine hits a man while driving home drunk. His passenger, Debra Bradford, takes control of the car and they leave the scene. The next day Peter feels bad about the accident but instead of reporting the incident to the police, Debra tells him that she has checked and the man is not severely injured and it would be better to buy his property, he has been trying to sell, so him and his wife can retire. Peter goes along.

Peter's father, William Cain, is the County Chief Engineer and is responsible for an aqueduct being built. When the project is stopped for possible re-route, which will bankrupt the contractor Roger Quigley, he learns that the land purchased for the new pathway goes right through the property that Peter Caine purchased. Sounds like conflict of interest by the Chief engineer.

When Roger Quigley is found dead, William Caine is seen holding the gun. Mr Caine will be defended in court by Perry and will have a tough job of going through the mounds of testimonial evidence that looks poor for his client.

A very nice mystery. We will learn there are more things going on in this episode than meets the eye. When one unlikely witness advises that they were driving in an all-night motor rally the house of cards being to fall. Good watch.

Perry does car rallyes

[ebertip · 8/10 · 14 October 2020]

John Hoyt (born Bronxville, NY; grad Hotchkiss, Yale) is well cast as William Rainey Caine the honest bureaucrat and here murder defendant. The case pivots on Perry's questioning of Bradford (played by Millay) on time details of a road rallye the night of the murder. The humorous part is that Bradford, although already shown to be quite dishonest, conveys the impression she would not think to cheat on a rallye. Also, unmentioned is that rallye participants don't get the route until the starting time. It would be tough for Bradford to plan any "detours" in advance. But Perry, in fact, is only baiting a trap for the real killer. As to Hoyt, he played a less thoughtful government servant in Gunsmoke's "Bureaucrat."

Another Rich, Beautiful, Greedy, Dangerous Woman

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 13 January 2022]

A young man who has been a disappointment to his rich, land developing father, is used to destroy an important land deal. He is drunk and his girlfriend leads him into a hit and run incident. In making amends to the family, he compromises his father's standing and costs him big time. He also gets the old man arrested for the murder of a rival who is standing in his way. It is made obvious that a whole lot of people, including the young woman, will have hell to pay.

Same Song and Dance

[darbski · 10/10 · 7 September 2017]

**SPOILERS** In this episode, a spoiled, drunken, fool is framed by a careful crew of conspirators, all who seem to have no knowledge of a fourth member who is operating on principles of his own.

The sexpot blonde, Debra Bradford, keeps Peter Caine off balance long enough to trap him, and then the extortionists go to work. They try to set up his daddy, but, guess what? He's honest, and he ain't buyin what they're sellin. Paul investigates Grace Witt, he's driving a '60 Ford Starliner convertible, and he barely escapes Grace's clutches (she's a lush who's been dragged into the scheme). Perry connects it all up, and nails the killer due to a discrepancy in an identification; trapped by his own need to blame someone else for the murder. If he'd said he never heard any sports car and didn't see Debra, he'd have walked.

Perry drives possibly the ugliest Lincoln continental ever sold; there are two cinnamon brunettes behind the defense table. Della is beautiful, all is right with the world. Then, of course, there is the happy ending, isn't there? Okay, daddy and brat come to a truce, but daddy's still gotta be held for making a bribe; even it WAS to protect his son. A long, honest career wrecked by familial loyalty and professional malfeasance. Debra and company (there are just two left), are in deep. Bribery, coercion, fraud, perjury, and they may be tied to the Murder One charge if they don't get disconnected from Lawrence Kent. Tough luck, huh?

Set up beautifully

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 October 2012]

Douglas Dick who is the playboy son of the county engineer of San Marcos John Hoyt is set up beautifully for a hit and run accident by his date, the beautiful and deadly Diana Millay. Of course she's got accomplices. But this is all part of an elaborate scheme to get Hoyt to not put a stop on a construction project that would bankrupt the guy doing the constructing James Westerfield who is depending on the monies received not to bankrupt him. When Westerfield is shot to death, Hoyt is the one charged and lucky he has Perry Mason defending him.

He's even luckier in the fact that Paul Drake was staking out Westerfield's house. In fact William Hopper is of particular value to Raymond Burr in this episode.

Of course Burr at trial beautifully sets up the real killer in his recall cross examination.

Nicely done Perry.

Time-Table for murder

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 20 July 2013]

***MAJOR SPOILERS*** Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, uncovers an elaborate frame up that was engineered on his client county engineer William Caine, John Hoyt. That through the framing of his good for nothing playboy son Peter, Douglas Dick, in a phony hit-and-run accident. This all involved the go ahead with a water, or aqueduct, project that for reasons in it being a serious danger to the county's water supply was to be held off for some three months.

It's the contractor who's to build the aqueduct Roger Quigley, James Westerfield, who pulled off this major league frame-up in order to discredit William Caine but ironically ended up getting murdered! With William Caine who was at the scene of the crime with the smoking gun in his hand who was indited for his murder. It was in fact young Peter who was used to set up his father in a phony hit and run accident he was involved in that seriously injured Joseph Whitt who's house was at the site of the water project that Peter, in paying off Witts' hospital bills, bought off his grieving wife Grace, Maxine Stuart, at three times the asking price. The only problem here was that Mr. Whitt wasn't injured in the accident he's been dead & buried for the last three years!

***SPOILERS*** Perry slowly uncovers the reasons behind both Quigley murder as well as what was behind it by a time-line that in fact totally exonerates both Caine and the woman Debra Bradford, Diana Millay, who was with his son Peter at the time of his so-called hit-and-run-accident. It seemed that Quigley was going to stiff his partner in crime, in framing William Caine, by cutting him out of a long sought promotion as president, in his construction company after he was to retired. This all lead to Quigley's forced retirement or murder and the framing of both William and his son Peter Caine for it that was to throw the police, but not Perry Mason, off his trail.