User Reviews

I don't think I'm gonna give anything away, here, but, I do have to get something off my chest. I don't know who it was that decided a hottie like Gigi Perreau would ever be attracted to Colonel Klink (before he WAS Klink, of course), but the least they could do would be get the makeup department to slap a rug on his bald pate. Boy, that felt good! Yeah, I know; we can't criticize someone just because they're challenged in the fur dept. I know, because I'm there, myself.

Now, I'm lucky, because METV runs two Masons a day (morning and night). Last night it was in color, and it makes me look at everything a little different. Including the fact that Perry's downsized from a Cadillac to a Ford (a good looking Fairlane convertible, but still a Ford). I wonder, for example if the car is black, or dark blue? Della is riding shotgun, scarf on her head, looking real 1950s cool.

Perry catches Tragg in a two way twist about a ladder that is pure fun, and later, the judge has to admonish Perry and Hamilton from an argument that was revealing, and welcome. These guys are adversaries, and they sometimes go after each other. It is a high credit to their (and the director's) talent, that they return to professional behavior immediately after; this is a mark of a real lawyer, emotions are not part of their business.

When you see the beginning, Lisa tells Doris that her father is the REAL head of the communist party in east Germany, and sh's worried about being sent back. Doris is smart enough to play silly games and get herself in a boatload of trouble, but not smart enough to go to the State Department to secure a permanent visa or citizenship for Lisa; this does not add up.

The guilty party is trapped (watch it and see how), and how truly mean, rotten and twisted is revealed. Beautiful Della has the last line, and it is absolute, solid gold.

Edward Bannister (snarly Robert F. Simon, at his disgruntled best) walks with two canes. He seems upset with his German second wife Lisa (Osa Massen), the step mom his daughter Doris (Gigi Pereau) loves dearly. Then slick East German Stefan Riker (Werner Klemperer in the first of several "Perry Mason" appearances) appears, claiming to be Lisa's cousin. Only he seems to know a dark secret about his "cousin". Lisa is obviously frightened by Stefan, so Doris steps in and begins to date him to keep him away from her step mom. Then one night Stefan winds up dead and Doris appears at Perry's door as the prime suspect...with AMNESIA!!! When you boil it all down like this, it sounds pretty over the top, but its done pretty well. Arthur Hiller ("Silver Streak")directed this and I've always had a soft spot for him since he offered to take my picture for me at the grotto at Hef's mansion (absolutely true--until he made his new National Lampoon feature, I think that was his last picture!). He does a good job here too. Osa Massen ("Rocketship X-M")made only two more appearances before retiring, both of them on "Perry Mason" episodes, while Gigi took off six years before resuming her career on "Gunsmoke" and other 1960's series. Werner Klemperer of course went on to star as Colonel Klink on "Hogan's Heroes" so its a little difficult to take him seriously as a bit of a slick and dangerous con man, but he's killed early so we don't need to suspend disbelief for long.

All in all a solid, but not spectacular "Perry Mason". The only really interesting part is the idea of Perry having to defend a client who has amnesia and can't help herself, but that isn't as played up as much as it could have been, possibly because they didn't want the whole thing to come off as too soap-opera like.

This episode of Mason is a little uneven compared to some but it does get quite active. There is a lot of subterfuge going on with Klemperer being used as a distraction by the real murderers. What is it about Werner that he always is getting deceived and hooked into by women?

Mason does a lot of sorting out of a messy mystery that he winds up solving outside the court house during a famous Mason blackout. Of course as the title goes he is defending the desperate daughter from what turns out to be some desperate criminals who are really looking to frame her for a murder.

It does seem for quite a while that she really is guilty. Mason does have better days but he is up to the challenge as usual here. In 1958, this series is rolling so well that even this episode does not slow it down much. There is something that is really special about these shows, even now.