Samuel Newman Movies
- 1995
- R
This Australian drama is an adaptation of Hannie Rayson's award-winning play. It is the tale of the three Moynihan sisters, Hilary, a widow who lives in the family "hotel" with their father and her teenage son; Pippa, who lives in New York; and Meg, who lives in London. After a long absence, the three gather in their familial home in Sorrento, a coastal town near Melbourne, for their father's funeral. Many of the town's most prominent citizens are terribly impressed that Meg has just published an award-winning book that is actually a thinly veiled vicious attack on the town, its people, and her family. It is not a happy reunion, as old hurts and rivalries amongst the sisters immediately begin resurfacing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
The West Coast is taken hostage when terrorists position a 40-megaton nuclear explosive on the Golden Gate Bridge. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is assigned to capture escaped bank robber-murderer Robert Charles Porter (Earl Holliman). Going undercover, Erskine quickly learns that Porter is the latest client of a gang that specialize in smuggling criminals out of the US. In the episode's thrilling climax, Erskine finds himself reluctantly sharing a "last ride" with the wounded Porter and his terrified girlfriend Linda (Barbara Luna). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Contacted by a man claiming to be a US intelligence agent, lawyer Ward Toyama (James Shigeta) uses his influence with his father's export firm to help the self-proclaimed spy deliver a top-secret cargo to the Middle East. As a result, Toyama becomes innocently involved in an illegal gun-running operation--and worse, he is charged with the murder of Frank Jones, alias Frank Jensen (Douglas Henderson). Coming to Toyama's rescue is his old friend and colleague Perry Mason (Raymond Burr). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In her third and final Perry Mason appearance, Fay Wray is incongruously cast as voodoo dancer Mignon Germaine, the mother of DA Hamilton Burger's new assistant Larry (played by future talkshow host Gary Collins). Though Burger (William Talman) tries to warn Larry that the young man's girlfriend Carina (Karen Steele) is no good, Larry doesn't listen--and as a result, he finds himself the in the middle of a nasty conflict-of-interest situation which threatens to destroy his career. Holding Carina responsible for Larry's plight, Mignon places a voodoo curse on the girl's head. . .but when Carina ultimately dies, it is Larry who is charged with the murder. Though forced to prosecute his luckless assistant, Burger secretly hopes that his "friendly enemy" Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) can ultimately save the day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Accused by Vera Wynne (Jeanne Bal) of embezzling $200,000 from the So-Cal Investment Company, executive Clyde Darrell (Linden Chiles) hires Paul Drake (William Hopper) to expose the real crook, who is also suspected of leaking secret trading informaton to the firm's rival. Paul is able to identify the "leaker" but not the embezzler--and it begins to look REALLY bad for Darrell when Vera is murdered. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) agrees to handle the man's defense, even though Darrell is convinced that he really is the murderer! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Investment broker Eric Pollard (Lloyd Bochner) seems to have gone off his trolley when he begins suffering from dizzy spells; to begin with, he publicly charges his wife Sybil (Marian Moses) with every crime under the sun--and as a capper, he hires a taxi to rob a bank! Though he is thrown in jail, Eric receives a suspended sentence thanks to Sybil's probation-officer friend Roy Galen (Jason Evers). Far from grateful, Eric accuses Roy and Sybil of being lovers--and when Sybil is murdered, it is Roy who is arrested. In order to save an innocent man from the gas chamber, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must first find the real reasons behind Eric's nutty behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Lifelong parasite Rachel Gordon (Phyllis Hill) will be cut off without a cent by her rich Uncle Abner (Richard Hale) unless she immediately returns all the money she has syphoned from his bank account. Out of desperation, Rachel takes a shot at Albert while the man is sleeping. It turns out she needn't have bothered: Albert is already dead, and the police have charged his secretary--and main benificiary--Bruce Jay (John Napier). Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) knows that Bruce is innocent, and that Rachel wanted to be guilty but technically isn't...so whose alibi does he ultimately break down in court? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
This is one of a handful of episodes in which Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) appears only fleetingly, with the bulk of the drama handled by a "special guest attorney." While Perry is in Europe on business, fellow attorney Joe Kelly (Mike Connors) agrees to help Bill Jaris (Robert Harland), the owner of a bowling alley in the town of Tesoro. The town is controlled by Bill's monstrous mother-in-law Bonnie Mae Wilmot, aka "The Duchess", who conspires with Dr. Max Taylor (Milton Selzer) to have the bowling alley closed down for health reasons. When Taylor is murdered and Bill is charged with the crime, Kelly works overtime to defend his client. Reportedly, this episode (which for many years was not included in the series' syndication package and thus considered "lost") was contrived by the producers to test out Mike Connors as a potential replacement for Raymond Burr, who at the time was seriously considering retirement at the end of Perry Mason's eighth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
A pre-Man From UNCLE, pre-NCIs David McCallum is cast as Phillipe Bertain, an incredibly naïve young Frenchman who gives a "belle femme" named Ninette (Roxane Berard) a great deal of money so that she can afford to divorce her husband Armand (Jacques Bergerac). Instead, the duplicitous Ninette hands the cash to Armand, who immediately purchases a ski resort. The outraged Phillipe heads to the slopes to confront Armand, but before this can happen the scoundrel is killed in a plane crash. When the police determine that Armand was killed before the crash, Phillipe is arrested for the crime. Sacre bleu! Ou est Monsier Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), s'il vous plait? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
A chain of weird events has Ramona Ambrose (Mona Freeman) convinced she is going insane. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is hired to find out with Roseanne is indeed crazy, or if she has been targeted for persecution by an unknown party. Inevitably, murder rears it ugly head and the sinister plot to drive Ramona bonkers is revealed--but by this time, she has been charged with killing her tormentor's co-conspirator. Amusingly, the character played by Berry Kroeger is named "Kirk Cameron"--but take our word for it, there is absolutely no resemblance! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
An otherwise peaceful lakeside resort is the scene of an angry confrontation between Edward Lewis (Richard Anderson) and his father-in-law B.K. Doran (Murray Matheson), with each man accusing the other of embezzling funds from the family business. Later on, Doran is stabbed to death, and Lewis is charged with murder. Fortunately for Lewis, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is also visiting the resort. Featured in the cast is actress and model Dee Hartford, who at one time was both the wife of director Howard Hawks and the sister-in-law of comedian Groucho Marx (whew!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Ex-fire chief Carey York (Tom Tully) hires Perry (Raymond Burr) to sue TV repoter Tommy Towne (Frank Aletter) for slander, after Towne claims on the air that York burned down his own warehouse for the insurance money. To avoid ponying up $1.5 million, Towne issues a "retraction"--still insisting that York is an arsonist, but now claiming that he was trying to save his son Dorian (Wynn Pearce) from bankruptcy. Ultimately, Towne is murdered, York is charged, and Perry must find out who is really going around setting fires and killing people. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Although he no longer works for the insurance company that had hired him to track down the stolen Jokarta Diamond, shady private detective Jack Mallory (Michael Pate) has never given up the chase. Worming his way into the confidence of Katherine Stewart (Phyllis Hill), Mallory puts a tail on Katherine's husband Philip (Phillip Pine), recently released from prison after serving a manslaughter charge--and the primary suspect in the theft of the elusive diamond. After a confrontation in which he demands that Phillip reveal the diamond's whereabouts, Mallory is murdered--and Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is hired to prevent "number one suspect" Phillip Stewart from going back to prison for keeps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
At the behest of the family of the missing Alice Bradley (Sheila Bromley), Paul Drake (William Hopper) tracks the woman down to a mental institution, where she is suffering from amnesia--and as such is totally unaware that she is wanted for the murder of her husband. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) manages to clear Alice of that charge, but soon afterward has another client on his hands: Alice's son Charles (Richard Rust), who has been arrested for the murder of his embezzling coworker Henry Clement. The second victim is played by ventriloquist Paul Winchell, in a rare dramatic role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
This is the third of four consecutive episodes in which Perry Mason appears only briefly, while a "guest" lawyer handles the case at hand (Raymond Burr was at the time recovering from minor surgery). Subbing for Perry on this occasion is Bruce Jason (Hugh O'Brian), a lawyer who normally specializes in cases involving the entertainment world. But there's nothing "entertaining" about the death of Iron-curtain dignitary Franz Schreck, who turns up murdered shortly after making a big-money deal to sell some top-secret papers to columnist Elihu Laban (Abraham Sofaer). Ultimately, Jason must defend Laban on a double-murder charge, and in the process ends up chasing "himself" in the form of a lookalike assassin (also played by Hugh O'Brian). Removed from the original Perry Mason syndicated rerun package in 1966, this episode remained on the shelf until it was telecast on cable TV in the mid-1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Austin Lloyd (Gerald Mohr) is convinced that his business partner Dwight Garrett (Douglas Henderson) is stealing money from their firm--and worse, that Garrett is fooling around with Lloyd's wife Bonnie (Gloria Talbott). To get even, Lloyd first tries to frame Garrett for embezzlement, then fakes an attempt on his life so that both Garrett and Bonnie will be charged with attempted murder. That charge is immediately bumped up to murder in the first degree when Lloyd is killed for real--and Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has two clients on his hands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
The "teaser" opening of this episode shows Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) losing an appeal before Judge Daniel Redmond (Robert Middleton). Later on, however, Redmond is banking on Perry to win in court--in fact, the judge's life depends on it. It seems that Redmond is running for lieutenant governor, but may be discredited in the eyes of the voters thanks to the dissolute Martin Weston (Vaughn Taylor), who claims that the Judge was involved in a nasty fraud scheme twenty years earlier. When Weston is killed, the police are convinced that Redmond is the guilty party--and it is up to Perry to un-convince them! This is the final episode of Perry Mason's sixth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
A young woman named Linda (Antoinette Bower) arrives in the town of Ladera, claiming to be the daughter of wealthy Addison Blake--who died seven years earlier, presumably a bachelor. Floyd Grant (played by Bill Williams, in real life the husband of Perry Mason costar Barbara Hale) insists that he has documented proof that Linda is a phony, but apparently doesn't trust the local DA to do anything about it. Otherwise, why would Grant arrange for Linda to be killed in an "accidental" explosion at the Ladera dairy? As it turns out, Grant is the one who ends up dead, and Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is called upon to defend Linda on a murder charge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
The citizens of Cliffside Heights hire Perry (Raymond Burr) to press a libel suit against novelist Richard Harris (Michael Pate), the author of a Peyton Place-style "roman a clef." A financial settlement is reached, but turned down by publisher Albert McCann (David Lewis), who for some reason is afraid of Harris. Likewise fearful is Harris' ex-wife Margaret Layton (Peggy McCay), who is desperate to hide her lurid past from her children--so desperate, in fact, that she becomes the Number One Suspect when Harris is murdered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Perry (Raymond Burr) visits the campus of Manzana Valley Prep School to confer with his client, Dean Aaron Stuart (Milton Selzer). Someone is working very hard to destroy Dr. Stuart's reputation, and that someone turns out to be assistant dean Tobin Wade (H.M. Wynant)--whose own reputation has been tarnished by embezzlement and the theft of a rare book. When Wade is murdered, the police pounce upon Dr. Stuart, but Perry is (as always!) thoroughly convinced of his client's innocence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Althhough she is on her deathbed, wealthy Be Be Brent (Anne Barton) is sufficiently hale and hearty to enrage her relatives by leaving the bulk of her estate--one million dollars--to her nurse Hetty Randall (Anne Seymour). The family members hire Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to contest the will, but instead he ends up with another murder case on his hands. This time, the victim is Justin Grover, and the accused is a girl named Madeline (Sherry Jackson)...whose last name is also Randall. Former "beefcake" leading man Jon Hall, who hadn't appeared on TV since 1958, came out of retirement to play a major role in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Janet Brent (Mala Powers), a close friend of Perry Mason's secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale), is being blackmailed by Edward Franklin (John Dall), an employee of Janet's husband Alton (Wesley Addy). Franklin has in his possession some faked photos that could ruin the Brents' marriage and reputation unless Janet comes up with $25,000. Later on, Franklin is murdered and Janet is accused of the crime--with Della facing charges as an accessory. As if Perry doesn't have enough on his hands with this case, there's also the little matter of a Red Chinese slave ring complicating the plotline (which explains the preponderance of Asian-American actors in the supporting cast). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Washed out of an upcoming Moon project, civilian astronaut Mitchell Heller (Robert Bray) has plenty of reason to despise the man responsible, Maj. Gen. Addison Brand (a pre-stardom James Coburn). Not only has Heller stolen his job and his girlfriend, but he also may have swiped an invention on which Heller has been working for years. Thus, when Brand is murdered, the police think that Heller is the culprit. In his efforts to clear Heller, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) immerses himself in the brave new world of Astronautics--while a reluctant Paul Drake (William Hopper) participates in a simulated space-capsule flight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Playboy Douglas Hepner has been murdered, and the principal suspect is Eleanor Corbin (Mary Murphy), who claims to be suffering from amnesia. As she tries to put the pieces of her memory back together, Eleanor arrives at the conclusion that Hepner was her fiance, and that they were working together on behalf of the US Treasury Department to break up a smuggling ring. This of course does not prevent Eleanor from being charged with murder, and it is up to Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to determine if any portion of her incredible story can be believed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
