Product Description

Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #783 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2009-12-08
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: 1.20 pounds
• Running time: 623 minutes

Customer Reviews

The Best of Television
Perry Mason is as much a part of American culture as apple pie and mom. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone of any age who doesn't at least recognize the name. Erle Stanley Gardner's books have millions of devoted fans. The television show it spawned was fabulous as entertainment, and today is widely regarded as one of the best shows television ever produced. Perry was the attorney you wanted on your side in a jam.

It was Gardner himself who picked Raymond Burr, even though the studio only agreed to let him test for Perry if he would test for Burger too! Barbara Hale was his pretty secretary, Della Street, who kept Perry human and was in love with him. William Hopper was the dapper detective, Paul Drake. He had a playful and flirtatious relationship with Della but every viewer knew that secretly her heart belonged to Perry. And we liked it that way.

William Talman as D.A. Hamilton Burger would almost be ready to gloat, Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) not far behind, when Perry would spring his client by revealing the real killer on the witness stand. There has never been anything close to it in genre on television since. Its mix of drama, noir, and humor, and its truly likable central cast of characters, made for terrific viewing.

Season four was terrific. Releasing them in half seasons, the first half on volume one, the second on volume two now, is indeed an effective but annoying marketing scheme. I agree the price should be lowered, but at the same time agree that as entertainment, this is an incredible value. So, much like gasoline and food, you pay what you have to. Hopefully at some point, Amazon or Paramount will make an effort to still make a profit with a sure-fire hit, while giving fans a better purchase price.

Season four episodes, beginning in September of 1960 and ending in June of 1961, are as follows: The Case of the Treacherous Toupee--The Case of the Credulous Quarry--The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker--The Case of the Singular Double--The Case of the Lavender Lipstick--The Case of the Wandering Widow--The Case of the Clumsy Clown-- The Case of the Provocative Protege--The Case of the Nine Dolls--The Case of the Loquacious Liar--The Case of the Red Riding Boots--The Case of the Larcenous Lady--The Case of the Envious Editor--The Case of the Resolute Reformer--The Case of the Fickle Fortune--The Case of the Waylaid Wolf--The Case of the Wintry Wife --The Case of the Angry Dead Man--The Case of the Blind Man's Bluff--The Case of the Barefaced Witness--The Case of the Difficult Detour--The Case of the Cowardly Lion--The Case of the Torrid Tapestry--The Case of the Violent Vest--The Case of the Misguided Missile--The Case of the Duplicate Daughter--The Case of the Grumbling Grandfather--The Case of the Guilty Clients

This was one of the best dramas ever to hit the air. Seeing it today reminds us just how good television can be, but is often not. It's a bit of nostalgia and a lot of entertainment for TV fans. Fred Steiner's "Park Avenue Beat" remains one of the most recognizable themes ever heard. A must for fans of Perry Mason.

Worth the wait
The second half of the fourth season suffers from the sporadic appearance of Bill Talman's masterful portrayal of Hamilton Burger, the unluckiest district attorney in history. Talman was exiled for a morals clause violation the previous season but brought back by popular demand. CBS seems to have looked for ways to keep the actor off the show. One of the few positive effects of this experimentation is found in an episode entitled "the Case of the Cowardly Lion" which is shot extensively on location at the San Diego Zoo and the Kona Kai resort. The zoo in 1961 was indeed a wondrous place, and quite unlike zoos of its era.

Another sixties wonder was the space race. "The Case of the Misguided Missile" was shot extensively at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Pacific missile launch site. Among the cast was William Schallert, later of the Patty Duke Show and the mayor in the Best Picture Oscar winning fim "In the Heat of the Night". Also in the cast of that episode was James B. Sikking, a Hill Street Blues regular.

However most times when Burger and Tragg are absent the courtroom drama lacks real sizzle. The replacement prosecutors are never haunted by Burger's horrendous won-loss record against Mason, and sort of plod along. Talman projects a hunger to win, and when he doesn't he is always gracious. These other prosecutors just disappear. In one episode, Mason with tongue firmly in cheek, tells Paul and Della that he was to rush to the courthouse because "Hamilton Burger is about to win a case."

As always the writers worked closely with Mason's creator Erle Stanley Gardner. They had to. Gardner had final approval of all scripts. And that is the reason this series remained true to Gardner's vision. After Gardner died in 1970, the series was revised as TV movies starring Raymond Burr. Not one of the TV movies approaches the quality of any episode in this box set. And that is all the reason in the world to add it to your DVD collection.

The Original Courtroom Drama
Perry Mason Season 4 Volume 2

These twelve TV films from 1961 are mostly stories based on the characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner. The books are more complete and informative and tell stories about life that is not experienced by most people. The books can tell you why certain things are done, the films only show you what happened. The books tell you about "ropers", rough or smooth shadows, and how to evade surveillance and avoid leaving a back trail. Some may question the legality and ethics of Perry Mason's tactics but most stories were written before the modern legal rules of the 1960s. The backgrounds tell about life in Los Angeles. It is difficult to film a scene at night but easy to describe it in a book. The seeming reality of these stories is due in part to characters who don't look like Hollywood actors.

The theme music is typical for that era. Note the style of clothing and culture; ladies wore white gloves. People seldom lock their doors. The prices date these films. One advantage is seeing the many automobiles from the late 1950s. How many can you identify? Note the slimness of people then, and the familiarity with pistols. Smoking was very common [a tobacco sponsor]. Watch how the actors express their emotions by their facial expressions. The camera sharpness and quality is excellent on these films. There is nothing like these dramatic stories on today's broadcast TV. When was the last time you saw a trial lawyer as a hero? These stories often use the misinterpretation of circumstantial evidence to provide dramatic effects. The courtroom scenes are usually the Preliminary Hearings. A story adapted from a Gardner novel has the year.


Wintry Wife; Angry Dead Man
Blind Man's Bluff; Barefaced Witness

Difficult Detour; Cowardly Lion
Torrid Tapestry; Violent Vest

Misguided Missile; Duplicate Daughter (1960)
Grumbling Grandfather; Guilty Clients