User Reviews

Pete Mallory is the owner of Mallory Construction Firm and has been hired by land developer Stuart Benton to build a road to a new up to a new housing community. While Mallory is building the new road, it comes to a sudden stop when a court order is delivered to the construction site. Seems that Mallory had been given incorrect land surveys and the road is crossing into private property owned by Jim Ames. This halt in working will bankrupt the construction company.

Mallory finds out that he was given wrong surveys and goes on a war path and ends up at Stuart Benton's house where he gets into a fist fight. Later Stuart Benton is found dead- and with all the evidence pointing to Mallory warrants are soon issued. But thanks to Jim Ames, Perry Mason will defend Mallory in court.

Perry must not only get Pete Mallory off the murder charges but also find out who was using Pete as their personal pansy. And with a lot of accusations being thrown by both sides, it will be a difficult case for Perry to defend.

Even though this episode started to become complicated with all the material that was brought in on the witness stand-- we get a confession that is as good acting as we have seen in a long time. The ending saves this episode from being dull and provides a good watch.

This involves a rather multi-layered effort to cheat a man and blackmail him. A construction company is put to the test when an easement is not sought because of a bad platte map. The contractor turns out to be bad news but gets himself killed. Soon lots comes out about some collusion.

A hot tempered Jeff York is in need of Perry Mason's services. In fact if he had sought Mason earlier in a civil matter earlier, York might not have needed his help defending him from a charge of killing Jason Evers.

Truth be told Evers was a guy who any number of people would like to have killed. He was a 'developer' who had a nice scheme for making quick profits and then pulling out without developing anything. York who ran a construction firm invested as well as worked for this guy an he's about to be ruined.

Evers also was conning a lot of people in different ways. He was cheating on his wife Suzanne Lloyd with Joan Camden the daughter of Neil Hamilton. Lloyd has Lee Farr just waiting to marry her if she can shed herself of this two timing cad.

What was interesting about the episode is that during the course of the trial it was brought out for reasons of character that the real murderer couldn't be considered a suspect. But in point of fact that person does do the killing.

Still York should have come to Raymond Burr earlier, might have saved him a lot of grief.

A good series entry and a decent mystery. Several witnesses for the state, however, under cross from Mason, scream their innocence, prompting Ham Berger to object. I'm not sure the point of these histrionics, but maybe it was sweeps week in 1961. The solution seems unsatisfying.

***SPOILERS*** You need a score card to follow what's going on in this overly complicated and confusing Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, episode with all the screwing and back stabbing going on it with sleazy real estate operator Stuart Benton, Jason Evers, finally getting everything he deserves: Killed with his skull fractured. With one of Benton's many victims construction owner and operator Pete Mallory, Jeff York, being blamed for Benton's murder and having to stand trial for it. Benton had country surveyor the scardy cat Phil Edwards, excellently played by Joe De Reda, falsify the survey maps to trick Mallory into building an access road from the lake to the luxury Bentonville Park Devlopment. The trouble is that the road was being built through Jim Aims', Neil Hamilton, property without his knowledge or permission. With Benton getting up front money from both Mallory and the person who provided him with his earth moving equipment Edward Parker, Burt Freed, he now plans to check out leaving both of them out in the cold and in debt. That's when the courts decides that the project was illegally built on Aime's property!

With an enraged Mallory on his way to confront both Edwards and Benton it's the wetting in his pants Edwards who gets worked over by him but it's the oily as a snake oil salesman Benton who's later found dead with his brains beat in with a iron yard or road marker. With Perry defending Mallory it comes out that even if Mallory did in fact kill Benton the guy was so sleazy and despicable no jury would convict him! Still Perry had to find out who in fact murdered Benton since it was obvious to him that his client Pete Mallory didn't do it! And the person whom he uncovered on the witness stand as Benton's killer had to be baby talked by a totally kind concerned and out of character Perry Mason, to keep him from passing out and going into shock into admitting his role in Benton's murder!

***SPOILERS*** Here we get to see the tough as nails and take no BS Perry Mason use both kindness and a bit of armature psychology to get the killer to admit his crime without his usual brow beating and take no prisoner theatrics. As for the deceased or murdered Stuart Benton no matter what kind of a low life swine he was he still didn't deserved to get murdered. And as for Benton's killer, who in fact was in cohorts with him, he would probably get off with no more then a misdemeanor or a justified homicide acquittal if he's ever put on trial.