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.System Requirements:Runtime: 1000 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 097368878143 Manufacturer No: 887814

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9689 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
• Released on: 2006-07-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 5
• Dimensions: .70 pounds
• Running time: 999 minutes

Amazon.com
There was a time when the defense attorney was a heroic everyman, not the butt of bad jokes; think Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and, of course, Raymond Burr's incomparable Perry Mason. The first season of Perry Mason, which launched in 1957 on CBS, shows just how dramatic a "law and order" show could be. Shot in lush black and white, on film, the episodes have been lovingly restored (including lost minutes hacked from reruns to accommodate commercials). The story arcs and atmosphere feel more like film noir (Perry Mason + Philip Marlowe = separated at birth?) than early TV. The cast was stellar, including Burr's Emmy-winning Perry Mason, the indefatigable lawyer who takes tough cases no one else will touch. Burr's chemistry crackles from episode 1 with his costars, including Barbara Hale as secretary Della, William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake, and William Talman as Hamilton Burger, the well-meaning but overmatched district attorney. While it's true that the last-minute witness-stand confessions strain some credulity, the case-cracking, character development, and dialogue set a high bar for the legal shows that followed. "The Case of the Negligent Nymph," for instance, involves a comely young woman--and murder suspect--fished out of the Pacific; Mason deadpans to Drake, "Call off the search, Paul; we've landed our mermaid." The shows unfold at a leisurely pace, and yet don't rely on the overly expositive dialogue that, say, Law & Order does; the viewer learns a lot about each case simply as it happens. The set contains the first 19 episodes of the first season and will hook you, even if you're not a procedural buff. --A.T. Hurley

Customer Reviews

I love it, but Ramond Burr is the whole show in this first season
I'm old enough to have watched the last couple of seasons of Perry Mason when they were first on, but not old enough to have seen the first season. Many of these episodes were not familiar from my having watched episodes in the syndication package over the years, which it made it more interesting to watch them now. Compared with later seasons, Perry seems to take things a bit more into his own hands in these episodes. He's as much a private detective as a defense attorney. Burr was a superb actor and this was the part of a lifetime for him. In fact, given how strained many of the plots are and how sudden and implausible the finales are, without Burr to put it over, I doubt this show would have lasted more than one season. With respect to implausibility, for instance, in the episode on which Barbara Eden guest stars, what was the killer's motive? Mason ends up establishing opportunity and catches the killer in a contradiction on the witness stand, but, unless I missed something, neglects to establish a motive.

One other fun thing: Count how many episodes where Mason is working at night. Not only is he often in the office at midnight or later, but so are Lt. Tragg and Hamilton Burger! Clients think nothing of calling him up at all hours asking to meet him and he invariably obliges. The script writers must have been real night owls to believe it would be plausible to show people working those hours.

A final note: These DVDs contain absolutely no extras. No commentaries, no "Making of" feature, nada. It's a shame after all these years they couldn't have come up with something.

Perry Mason Season 1 Volume 1
This is wonderful. It is in the original B&W. Because the jacket is in color, I thought it was a colorized version, but I wanted the original B&W and I am so pleased with the clarity, sound, and memories. I intend to buy future Perry Mason DVD"s. This is a wonderful gift. Thank you.

Indict me Please Mr Mason
Perry Mason, a mans man, a lawyer to die for, or without. Perry Mason always had something up his sleeve. Della Street, his high profile secretary, I still think they should have hooked up. Of course, who can forget Paul Drake, Mr Suave. Great series Worth getting. The show the made Law and Order