Arthur Marks Movies

Much to her astonishment, Eva Martell (played by Maggie Mahoney, the mother of Oscar-winning actress Sally Field) is paid $100 a day and installed in a luxurious apartment: all she has to do is impersonate another woman named Helen Reynolds (Paula Raymond). Eva and her Aunt Agnes (Sheila Bromley) begin to smell a rat when they notice that the apartment is being watched day and night by seedy private eye Melvin Slater (Joe De Santis). Investigating of Eva's behalf, Perry (Raymond Burr) is assured by the real Helen Reynolds that everything is on the up-and-up, though she won't reveal the reasons for the deception. Things take a really sinister turn when Slater is murdered and Aunt Agnes is arrested for the crime. This episode is based on a 1946 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the body of wealthy Peter Baxter (Anthony Joachim) is found in the charred ruins of his mansion, caretaker James Hing (Benson Fong), who'd been made Baxter's sole heir in his will, is accused of the crime. Hing admits to burning down the mansion, but insists that he did so on the orders of Baxter, who'd planned to fake his death in order to test the loyalty of his heirs. Can it be that someone else got wind of Baxter's scheme and decided to bump him off for real? That's what Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must find out before the final commercial. This episode is based on Erle Stanley Gardner's novel The Case of the Black Cat, previously adapted as a 1935 theatrical feature, with Ricardo Cortez as Mason. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to divorce her husband Walter (Walter Prescott) so she can marry her sweetheart Jimmy McLain (Biff Elliot), Ruth Prescott (Stacy Graham) is terrified that Walter is trying to kill her. Actually, it may be the other way around: Walter turns up dead, and Ruth is charged with the crime. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is convinced that Ruth is innocent, and that there is more to this seemingly open-and-shut case than meets the eye. Based on a 1936 novel by Erle Stanley Gardner, this is the final episode of Perry Mason's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The much-despised Allan Sheridan (William J. Campbell) is going to need the $162,000 he is due to inherit: deeply in debt to several people, Sheridan had better pay up in a hurry if he doesn't want his list of enemies to increase. As it turns out, one enemy is more than enough to bludgeon Sheridan to death with an ashtray. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) enters the scene to defend the chief suspect, Sheridan's cousin Sarette (Lurene Tuttle) (who curiously was identified as the victim's aunt in the original TV Guide synopsis!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third season of Perry Mason begins with a typically baffling set of circumstances. Just before he left for a business trip, henpecked Bruce Chapman (Karl Weber) stumbled upon the strangled body of his hateful wife Marie (Peggy Knudsen). Deciding not to press his luck, Bruce did not report the crime. Upon his return, Bruce is charged with murder--even though all evidence suggests that his wife is still very much alive! To be sure, there has been a murder, and there is a culprit; it's up to Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to figure out who did what to whom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Perry (Raymond Burr) is suspicious when Rhoda Reynolds (Christine White) shows up in his office to ask advice on the legality of marriage, claiming she is doing so on behalf of "friends." As it turns out, Rhoda is being blackmailed by her shifty ex-husband Arthur Kane (Michael Emmet). When Kane is murdered, everyone is convinced that Rhoda is the guilty party--including Rhoda, who recalls striking him with a blunt object before rushing out of his apartment. Convinced that Rhoda is innocent, Perry tries to get at the truth by meticulously reconstructing the crime in the courtroom, with an alarm clock and a doorbell as key props. This episode is based on a 1934 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, which was previously adapted as a theatrical feature in 1935 with Warren William as Mason--and a pre-stardom Errol Flynn as the murder victim! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second season of Perry Mason begins when Perry (Raymond Burr) receives an unusual phone call from one George Hartley Beaumont (Ross Elliott). What makes it unusual is that Beaumont is dead--or at least he's supposed to be. Reported killed in a plane crash three years earler, Beaumont had actually missed the fatal flight, but decided to take advantage of his "demise" so his wife Laura (Jeanne Cooper) could collect his insurance, and so he could start life anew in Mexico with his girflriend Ruth (Joan Camden). Now he wants to come home and come clean--but before he can do so, someone stabs him to death. Now Perry takes it upon himself to clear Number One suspect Ruth of a murder charge. This is the first of several episodes in which Perry argues his case before a woman judge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide