The Case of the Misguided Model

The 'regulars' of the Perry Mason cast are great as usual - nothing out of the ordinary. However, this episode exposes a different side of the noted lawyer than to what we are usually exposed - vulnerability.

An innocent-appearing young woman, trying for her breakthrough job into acting by being a spokesperson for a soap company, seemingly becomes the victim of a botched burglary at her apartment. Fortuitously she has been accompanied home by a friend - an ex-boxer. As he enters her apartment he's attacked by an unknown assailant as the door closes and locks behind him. Because of his quick wits and fighting abilities he quickly overpowers the attacker and opens the door to let in the young woman, only to find it seems the attacker has been killed by his blows.

The ex-boxer has had dealings with Perry Mason before (in a contract dispute with a previous employer), so, of course, he calls him and reveals all, admitting to killing the victim. Unfortunately he further assisted by removing the body from the apartment to prevent tarnishing the career goals of the young actress. To complicate matters further, a transient finds the body dumped in an alley and, thinking it was just a passed-out drunk, he begins to take a watch and wallet only to be discovered by the police and ultimately is charged with the murder.

Many more plot twists ensue, with the man who thinks he caused the death on-the-run from the police. Predictably, Perry Mason figures out the matter and brings the episode to a successful conclusion with the true murderer being identified immediately before the end...but only after several plot twists and a cliffhanging scene posing the threat of death to Mr. Mason.

Featured in this episode are noted and highly-respected actors Paul Lukather (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0525566/?ref_=tt_cl_t7), Mary Ann Mobley (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595039/?ref_=tt_cl_t6), and veteran character actor James Griffith (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341526/?ref_=tt_cl_t11).

Only 4 more episodes of the Perry Mason series were aired after this - it was season 9 and CBS no longer felt it was financially feasible to continue the program...too bad. Raymond Burr and the rest of the cast had held down Earl Stanley Gardner's 'fort' admirably and could have continued had the network continued to have faith.

Why is Rudy Blair, the model's talent agent, constantly looking like he has a splitting migraine and is about to die? Is that ever explained?

Sharon Carmody tells her boyfriend, Duke Maronek, that Art Grover has threatened to cut her face because she has rejected him. She therefore wants him to accompany her home and make sure he is not hanging around. But when he opens her apartment door he is greeted by a punch in the face. A fight ensues between the two men that ends in Art Grover laying dead on Sharon's living room floor. She tells Duke that having such a thing end up in the papers will ruin her chance at getting a big job being the model and spokesperson for a major soap company. Thus Duke agrees to take the body out the "back way" and dump it somewhere else, and the two will pretend it never happened.

But Duke is tormented and goes to his attorney, Perry Mason, and tells him all. Perry wants to call the police and explain the situation was self-defense and an accident, but Duke swears him to silence since he is claustrophobic and fears being in a jail cell. The next day, when a known felon is arrested for the murder because he is found going through the dead man's pockets, Perry has quite the dilemma on his hands - violate attorney/client privilege, or stay quiet as the wrong man is prosecuted for the crime.

Meanwhile Sharon isn't troubled by any of these developments at all as she gets her big modelling job, though her agent is walking around acting very sick, like he has the plague. Complications ensue.

During the last couple of seasons Perry Mason tries to take on the relevant issues of the day without abandoning the show's traditional roots. It's a hard needle to thread, and this is one of those episodes, with PM obviously taking shots at beauty contests and false displays of and demands of virginal appearance if not outright virginity. For example, here, when auditioning models for her soap company, the owner asks if the girl currently auditioning is married or is divorced - obvious subtext for wanting the girl she hires to at least be a possible virgin.

This episode had an interesting twist in the plot - one of the more interesting ones I've seen on this show, plus the added unusual feature where Perry is on the horns of an ethical dilemma, but it also had a ridiculous part to it too. Apparently, In 1966 Los Angeles, you can engage in a protracted armed stand-off with the police and suffer no legal consequences. Then there is the old plot device of somebody going out "the back way" when Duke takes Grover's body out of Sharon's apartment. Where do these convenient back ways come from? I've had several apartments and I've never seen or had one before. Finally I'm surprised Mary Ann Mobley ever "worked in this town again" after her over the top performance near the end - Her character shrugs off a murder in her apartment, but destroys the set over a tame looking picture of her with some random guy? It appears the folks at PM were just shrugging off the details at this point as the show was going off the air in just a few more episodes. Still, that great plot twist I mentioned, the high camp of Mary Ann Mobley's performance, and the regular cast make it worthwhile.

This was another enjoyable episode, for the same reasons I always cite: good acting, great character actors and Della/Paul. The cars also star, in this episode Nash Ramblers and Ford Galaxies, I believe, although the LAPD never used those models as cruisers.

What didn't star in this episode was the plot. Too many holes. Why did the pretty brunette show up at the starlet's apartment, and what was she doing, trying to get in or leaving? Never addressed or explained. When did the killer murder the victim? Never explained. How long was the body on the floor before the two people got there? Since there were no court scenes, there was no coroner or ME to explain the cause and manner of death or the time of death. There was a mention of a blunt instrument, but the facts were glossed over here. And how did the ex-boxer escape charges when he fired at police officers?

Lots of holes, but love the actors and the vehicles, even if the police car emblems were too generic. Oh, and to pmike, again I ask why you even bother to watch when you end up with a 1/10 and sarcastic comments. Don't bother. Your reviews are "unhelpful."

Perry has a client that tells him under the 'attorney-client confidentiality privilege' that he killed a man. Now another man has been charged with the murder and Perry is in a pinch between a client and an officer of the court.

It beginning when a young model named Sharon Carmody (Mary Ann Mobley) is being threatened by a man named Art Grover. Sharon asks a young boxer named Duke Maronek to escort her home. When they get to her apartment, Duke opens the door and before he can turn the lights on he gets hit in the face. Duke fights back with Sharon outside calling the police. When the fight is over, the lights are turned on and Art Grover lays on the floor apparently dead from Duke's fist. Since Sharon is up for a spokesperson for 'White Snow' cleaning product she wants no scandal. She asks Duke to take the body outside before the police arrive. Duke does as Sharon asks and flees. Later the police arrive where Grover's body was dumped and they arrest a bum, that is robbing the body, for the murder.

Duke is scared and goes to Perry and reveals the story. He wants to make sure that Perry will not reveal the story to anyone. But when Perry learns that the bum is going to be charged with murder, he does everything in his power to try to get Duke to confess. Perry is torn between his client and making sure justice is protected.

With some help from Paul Drake and his little visit to Seattle, things are not as cut and dry as they seem. And with Duke refusing to be taken alive it will be a dangerous situation for police and Perry alike.

This was a different look at a lawyer's life as he tries hard to take the correct and ethical path. Very impressive episode with a entertaining mystery that keeps the viewer interested in the entire show. With the acting being top-notch this episode was a pleasure to watch.