Saturday, January 30, 2010

REMINISCING … PERRY MASON

REMINISCING …

PERRY MASON

perry-mason7 mason 

Perry Mason is an American TV series produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966. Perry Mason was played by actor Raymond Burr. The title character is a fictional Los Angeles, California, defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. 

mason-drake-vPerryMason5 perry-street2

At one time, the show is "television's most successful and longest-running lawyer series." Another series starring Monte Markham as Mason ran from 1973–1974, and Burr returned as Mason in 30 made-for-TV movies that aired from 1985 to 1995.

cast-v

Each episode's plot is essentially the same: the first half of the show usually depicts the prospective murder victim as being deserving of homicide, often with Perry's client publicly threatening to kill the victim; the body is found (often by Perry and his investigator, Paul Drake, who through circumstance happen to stumble upon the body) surrounded by clues pointing to Perry's client. Perry's client is charged with murder, but (in the second-half courtroom setting) Perry establishes his client's innocence by dramatically demonstrating the guilt of another character. The murderer nearly always breaks down and confesses to the crime in the courtroom, if not on the witness stand then in the arms of the bailiff, who blocks the murderer's effort to escape into the hallway.

perry-mason3-v

In the closing scene (the Epilogue), the characters often gather together, to discuss how the case was solved. Occasionally, Perry invites District Attorney Hamilton Burger and police Lt. Arthur Tragg to join them.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment