KCDM Talk Radio host Sheila Carlin (Mariette Hartley) has been the victim of terrifying phone calls and incidents at her home. Now she finds herself accused of killing her boss, Winslow Keen (Regis Philbin), who she did not get along with because he had been trying to break her contract. But, unlike the prosecution and Lt. Brock (James MacEachin), Perry looks beyond the circumstantial evidence and discovers that all of Sheila's colleagues had reasons for killing Keen. They include Clark Hunter (G. Gordon Liddy), who hosts a controversial political programme, celebrity gossip host Judith Jansen (Christina Ferrare), drivetime presenters Fred Fisher (Fred Roggin) and Fritz Moore (Fritz Coleman) and sports commentator Boomer Kelly (Montel Williams). Keen had been trying to drastically change their broadcasting schedules thus saving all the best airtime for himself. But, there was very little they could do about it because he knew things about each of them that enabled him to blackmail them. The astute Mason discovers that on the night before the murder all five of them had attended a secretive meeting at an oyster bar. There was also a sixth person, which they all deny, and the ace lawyer must discover who that person was and determine whether or not they were plotting to do Keen harm or perhaps even kill him...
Raymond Burr's penultimate case as Erle Stanley Gardner's ace defence attorney Perry Mason is a pretty routine offering, but it certainly isn't the worst nor is it the best. The most enjoyable aspect of this one has to be the scenes between William R. Moses' Ken Malansky and Alex Datcher who plays a streetwise and resourceful cop called Cathy Paxton who assists him as he tries to track down the hitman who shot Winslow Keen. As ever, Malansky doesn't like people interfering in his work, but like so many of the other people who he has reluctantly accepted help from, she is always one step ahead of him. "If you're chasing a killer, you're gonna need me", she says. "I had you cold in that pool hall without breaking a sweat. You do the leg work and I'll take care of the bad guys." There is some amusing comedy between them and the chemistry makes it worth the watch.
Burr is his usual impressive self as Mason, and with what little she has to do, Barbara Hale does well as Della Street. The supporting cast, however, are largely average and while they are competent no one really sets the screen alight.
The mystery side of things is generally adequate, but the script goes awry towards the end when Perry unmasks the killer in his usual inimitable way. The way he reveals the truth about the radio hosts' secretive meeting at the restaurant is logical and smart enough. He traps them by quizzing them about the quality of the oysters and they all said that they liked them. But, they were clearly lying because the smart lawyer uncovered that no oysters were delivered that day. Indeed there was a sinister motive behind the meeting, which leads the judge to recommend that Mason move for a dismissal of all charges against Carlin. But, in the interest of justice, Mason calls two more witnesses, one of which is the guilty party. Here, it succumbs to the fault that sometimes ruined other Mason TVM's. We are suddenly bombarded with evidence out of blue sky, which wasn't hinted at earlier in the film and we cannot logically see how Mason arrived at his conclusion.
Raymond Burr's penultimate case as Erle Stanley Gardner's ace defence attorney Perry Mason is a pretty routine offering, but it certainly isn't the worst nor is it the best. The most enjoyable aspect of this one has to be the scenes between William R. Moses' Ken Malansky and Alex Datcher who plays a streetwise and resourceful cop called Cathy Paxton who assists him as he tries to track down the hitman who shot Winslow Keen. As ever, Malansky doesn't like people interfering in his work, but like so many of the other people who he has reluctantly accepted help from, she is always one step ahead of him. "If you're chasing a killer, you're gonna need me", she says. "I had you cold in that pool hall without breaking a sweat. You do the leg work and I'll take care of the bad guys." There is some amusing comedy between them and the chemistry makes it worth the watch.
Burr is his usual impressive self as Mason, and with what little she has to do, Barbara Hale does well as Della Street. The supporting cast, however, are largely average and while they are competent no one really sets the screen alight.
The mystery side of things is generally adequate, but the script goes awry towards the end when Perry unmasks the killer in his usual inimitable way. The way he reveals the truth about the radio hosts' secretive meeting at the restaurant is logical and smart enough. He traps them by quizzing them about the quality of the oysters and they all said that they liked them. But, they were clearly lying because the smart lawyer uncovered that no oysters were delivered that day. Indeed there was a sinister motive behind the meeting, which leads the judge to recommend that Mason move for a dismissal of all charges against Carlin. But, in the interest of justice, Mason calls two more witnesses, one of which is the guilty party. Here, it succumbs to the fault that sometimes ruined other Mason TVM's. We are suddenly bombarded with evidence out of blue sky, which wasn't hinted at earlier in the film and we cannot logically see how Mason arrived at his conclusion.