Episode 16, "The Adventure of the Judas Tree," begins with the hanging of the late George Sherman by person or persons unknown, wearing a crown of thorns to indicate betrayal. One of Sherman's visitors that day was an Asian gentleman, Stephen Yang (James Shigeta), whose rebel forces in China were betrayed to the Japanese by Sherman, a war profiteer. The dead man's wife, Paulette (Diana Muldaur), spent an evening on the town with her husband's doctor, Anthony Bender (George Maharis), who diagnosed his client's terminal illness the year before, yet gave him a clean bill of health for insurance purposes. Insurance investigator Al Russo (Michael Pataki) reports Sherman's selling his share of his construction company (at a loss) to his business partner, Gunther Starr (Jack Kruschen), conducted by attorney Lewis Marshall (Dana Andrews), without informing Gunther of his illness. Trying to make amends for his past misdeeds, Sherman also donates vast sums of money to a Chinese mission fronted by Father Terrence Devlin (Clu Gulager), as well as to the aforementioned Stephen Yang. Even his groundskeeper, Salvatore Mercadonte (Bill Dana) receives payment in advance for an entire year. Peter Hobbs (previously seen as the doctor who diagnoses cyanide poisoning in episode 9) appears briefly as the Medical Examiner at the crime scene, who determines that Sherman was already dead when he was hung from a beam, killed by a stab wound in the stomach. Finally, Nina Roman returns as Grace, Inspector Queen's secretary, this time aiding poor Ellery's request to find a plumber due to his demolition of the kitchen sink, which yields some amusing byplay between the sleuth and his exasperated father.
3 Reviews
Not quite up to par
VetteRanger9 February 2023
Love this series, but this show didn't quite get it for me. A good half of it seemed to be spent on Elery's kitchen plumbing problem and not on the mystery, and that was sort of a cop out, as there really wasn't enough in the mystery story to really sink our teeth into.
Well, for the plumbing side .... it was supposed to be played for comedy but I've done too much household plumbing repair to ever find any humor in the efforts. Here Ellery is utterly incompetent and lost, even though he has a "How To" book in hand.
In the mystery, a man is found hanged in his garden, but he first died from a stab wound. No one seems to have a motive to kill him, and everyone has an alibi. The solution is unique to the series, so far as I know.
Well, for the plumbing side .... it was supposed to be played for comedy but I've done too much household plumbing repair to ever find any humor in the efforts. Here Ellery is utterly incompetent and lost, even though he has a "How To" book in hand.
In the mystery, a man is found hanged in his garden, but he first died from a stab wound. No one seems to have a motive to kill him, and everyone has an alibi. The solution is unique to the series, so far as I know.
Murder Most Deceiving
chashans23 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
There is a whole lot of deceiving being practiced in this episode. It should be needless to say, though I will anyway, that the end result is "Oh!" ...such an incredibly tangled web.
Even Ellery is in on the acts of deception. When we first encounter the Mystery Writer, he has a wrench in hand, ready to strike a fearsome blow! To some leaking plumbing in the Queen household, that is. (Sorry if you feel - deceived - by my "fearsome blow" line there. It may have led you astray.) Ellery's Dad is quite dismayed at the sight of the newly mangled plumbing. Rendered so at the hand of his extremely "Un-Fix-It" son. Ellery assures his father that the plumbing will be back to order by that very evening. Thus Ellery's deception begins. And this assuring deception directed at his loving, adoring father. Such shame, Ellery Queen. Such shame.
Yes, deception and deceiving runs rampant through the proceedings of this fine story. The victim's faithful wife who may have been "fooling" her husband as well as fooling "around". There's the family Doctor who may have been deceiving the victim as well as an insurance company. A priest who may have been deceiving his flock, though certainly not the Big Guy Upstairs. A landscaper who may have been deceiving his long-term paying client. The victim's business partner and the partner's lawyer who may have been deceiving the victim all the way to the bank. A Chinese veteran of World War II, who may have deceived or have been deceived. Then there's one more trickster in the bunch, one you would never guess, who may have ultimately deceived everybody all at once.
The deceiving doesn't stop there though. Even the production itself attempts to deceive the viewing audience with an oddly arranged automobile accident. Ellery has pretty much always demonstrated careful driving habits in previous episodes. (Although Inspector Queen often feels somewhat uncomfortable while riding shotgun when Ellery is at the wheel.) Even in this very episode, we see that Ellery is quite capable in the controlling of a vehicle. Yet, twice in this outing, Ellery arrives upon the scene of the crime, racing at an unacceptable speed, up the driveway of the victim's estate. The first time, he ends up slamming into the back of a trailer attached to the rearend of the landscaper's truck. Here is when the show's production tries to deceive the audience. You see, that 1940's car that Jim Hutton is driving, is a very expensive classic collectible. The production wouldn't dare allow damage to the car by having Hutton crash it into the trailer. (They also wouldn't dare allow damage to Jim Hutton!) Therefore, the "crash" is faked. The camera angle makes it look like the car hits the trailer. But there is most likely a good gap left between the two. However, to simulate the crashing of the car into the trailer, sound effects are added and the trailer is manipulated by "stagehands" hidden from the view of the camera. But instead of the trailer being "hit from behind" (by the car), the trailer is hit from the side, by those stagehands. The result is that the trailer, when "hit" by the car, moves against the laws of physics - sideways!
Yes, that tangled web is sprawled out in many directions in this very good episode. Or is it really all that "sprawled out"? Is this really a "very good episode"? Perhaps I have deceived you with this "positive", "8/10" review.
No, "The Adventure of the Judas Tree" really is a very good episode.
Trust me. I would never deceive you.
Even Ellery is in on the acts of deception. When we first encounter the Mystery Writer, he has a wrench in hand, ready to strike a fearsome blow! To some leaking plumbing in the Queen household, that is. (Sorry if you feel - deceived - by my "fearsome blow" line there. It may have led you astray.) Ellery's Dad is quite dismayed at the sight of the newly mangled plumbing. Rendered so at the hand of his extremely "Un-Fix-It" son. Ellery assures his father that the plumbing will be back to order by that very evening. Thus Ellery's deception begins. And this assuring deception directed at his loving, adoring father. Such shame, Ellery Queen. Such shame.
Yes, deception and deceiving runs rampant through the proceedings of this fine story. The victim's faithful wife who may have been "fooling" her husband as well as fooling "around". There's the family Doctor who may have been deceiving the victim as well as an insurance company. A priest who may have been deceiving his flock, though certainly not the Big Guy Upstairs. A landscaper who may have been deceiving his long-term paying client. The victim's business partner and the partner's lawyer who may have been deceiving the victim all the way to the bank. A Chinese veteran of World War II, who may have deceived or have been deceived. Then there's one more trickster in the bunch, one you would never guess, who may have ultimately deceived everybody all at once.
The deceiving doesn't stop there though. Even the production itself attempts to deceive the viewing audience with an oddly arranged automobile accident. Ellery has pretty much always demonstrated careful driving habits in previous episodes. (Although Inspector Queen often feels somewhat uncomfortable while riding shotgun when Ellery is at the wheel.) Even in this very episode, we see that Ellery is quite capable in the controlling of a vehicle. Yet, twice in this outing, Ellery arrives upon the scene of the crime, racing at an unacceptable speed, up the driveway of the victim's estate. The first time, he ends up slamming into the back of a trailer attached to the rearend of the landscaper's truck. Here is when the show's production tries to deceive the audience. You see, that 1940's car that Jim Hutton is driving, is a very expensive classic collectible. The production wouldn't dare allow damage to the car by having Hutton crash it into the trailer. (They also wouldn't dare allow damage to Jim Hutton!) Therefore, the "crash" is faked. The camera angle makes it look like the car hits the trailer. But there is most likely a good gap left between the two. However, to simulate the crashing of the car into the trailer, sound effects are added and the trailer is manipulated by "stagehands" hidden from the view of the camera. But instead of the trailer being "hit from behind" (by the car), the trailer is hit from the side, by those stagehands. The result is that the trailer, when "hit" by the car, moves against the laws of physics - sideways!
Yes, that tangled web is sprawled out in many directions in this very good episode. Or is it really all that "sprawled out"? Is this really a "very good episode"? Perhaps I have deceived you with this "positive", "8/10" review.
No, "The Adventure of the Judas Tree" really is a very good episode.
Trust me. I would never deceive you.
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