Year:  1986
Rating: 5.0

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Some 19 years after the Perry Mason series ended in 1966 totaling nine seasons and 271 episodes, they began a series of TV movies. There were 30 TV films made from 1985 to 1995 with Burr starring in 26 of them until he passed away in 1993. The final four had Mason played by Paul Sorvino in one and Hal Holbrook in three - fine actors but there is only one Perry Mason. The TV show is one of my favorites though the routine of each show is almost comically similar. The murder raison d'etre is set up, more suspects than fans at an Orioles game are under suspicion, the murder is committed with the second part of the show taking place in the court room with the guilty party always admitting it in open court. But it was the familiarity and predictability of the show that made it so comforting as well as the added spice of you trying to guess who the killer is.


Having five core members in the cast made it feel like a family even if they opposed each other - Mason, his secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale), Mason's private dick Paul Drake (William Hopper) for the defense and Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) and D.A. Burger (William Talman) for the prosecution. In every show Tragg and Talman smugly think they have the case wrapped up like a Christmas present only to see Mason bust it wide open. You might have thought they would have learned, but they never do. The TV Mason is very different than the character as written by Erle Stanley Gardner in the books and from the series of films in the 1930's. Mason of TV is honorable, chaste, dedicated only to his work and occasionally fly-fishing, above reproach - the sort of character America of the 1950's could invite into their living room every week. In the books and early films Mason is a bit of a scoundrel, a skirt chaser, a drinker and not above breaking the law to help his client.


By the time of the TV films three of the five had passed on- Talman in 1968 after leading a wild party life, Collins in 1965 during the last years of the series and Hopper in 1970 at the early age of 55. Without these three honestly the films just don't match up - you miss those guys and their replacements are just not the same - David Ogden Stiers was the prosecutor in 7 of the films and James McEachin is the investigating policeman in 18 of them. Maybe they will grow on me. But Barbara Hale is back and so is Paul Drake's son who is a P.I.. Not really Drake's son but weirdly played by William Katt who is the real life son of Della, I mean Barbara Hale.


At least the first two TV films don't really shape up - at 125 minutes they have way too much filler - the old 50 minutes was perfect. There isn't much drama here and way too much time is given over to Katt, I suppose to get the younger crowd as both Burr and Hale were not spring chickens and made no attempt to look it. Burr is a favorite of mine - not just Mason but back to his early days in Hollywood when he often played the heavy, both in weight and in morals. Ironside admittedly was just a bad idea and feels so dated - the Perry Mason series doesn't. In this one (the second TV film) a priest (Timothy Bottoms) has been brought in to look at possible financial improprieties in a church parish. He finds them and is killed for his trouble and a nun (Michele Greene) is framed. Mason is on the case so worry not. Also on hand are TV stalwarts Jon Cypher, Barbara Perkins, Stiers, Tom Bosley and Arthur Hill.