Saw this broadcast on MeTV. The murder is committed at the 42 minute mark of this hour show when commercials are included. I have never seen a Mason show that took longer to claim its victim. Courtroom scenes as a consequence of the slow death (pun intended) are about as minimal as I can recall in a Mason episode. Since the courtroom is where the action of interest is on this show, it suffers as a result. Adding even more tedium to this effort is the laughable attempt (presumably) to attract younger viewers with a very Beatle-esque "singer" named Sandy (who does very much look like a young Roddy McDowell) whose warbling is even more forgettable than this very forgettable episode.
I remember being very unhappy hearing that Perry Mason would be canceled in the spring of '66 as I was just reaching an age where I would be able to watch it (in this time when if you didn't see it when it aired, you never saw it!) but now that I have seen most of season 9 (thank you MeTV) I must reluctantly conclude it was for the best as the scripts were just not that compelling. Also, having just watched the solo episode in color ("The Case of the Twice Told Twist") which immediately preceded this episode it is clear (to me at least) that black and white was very much a character on this show - it's just not the same or as compelling - in color. 9 years is a heck of a run. It was time for the final verdict for this series. This episode which easily makes the bottom 5 of all the PM episodes that I have seen - and I have seen most of them - makes that clear. Watch only if have a goal of watching them all. I won't be seeing this one again.
I remember being very unhappy hearing that Perry Mason would be canceled in the spring of '66 as I was just reaching an age where I would be able to watch it (in this time when if you didn't see it when it aired, you never saw it!) but now that I have seen most of season 9 (thank you MeTV) I must reluctantly conclude it was for the best as the scripts were just not that compelling. Also, having just watched the solo episode in color ("The Case of the Twice Told Twist") which immediately preceded this episode it is clear (to me at least) that black and white was very much a character on this show - it's just not the same or as compelling - in color. 9 years is a heck of a run. It was time for the final verdict for this series. This episode which easily makes the bottom 5 of all the PM episodes that I have seen - and I have seen most of them - makes that clear. Watch only if have a goal of watching them all. I won't be seeing this one again.