User Reviews

This episode returns the series to its roots as we get a nice mystery with some fine acting that combines to make a good show.

The episode begins with Roy Comstock, the owner of a development company, and his wife, Valerie, going through a nasty divorce. Valerie Comstock is set to take nearly all the property and money except for the company that will still be owned by Roy.

Roy appears to be heart-broken over the divorce and the company suffers to the point of closing its doors. This will default on ocean front property that was was placed as collateral by Peter Brent for a bank loan. So when Roy goes missing, Peter hires Perry to find Roy and try to stop the default on the loan.

Roy writes a suicide note and boards his ex-wife's boat. Peter Brent tries to intervene but gets knocked out 'cold' from a punch thrown by Roy. Later Roy's body is found in the ocean but the medical examiner determines that he was killed by a blow to the head instead of drowning. Peter Brent is the suspect and Perry will defend him in court. Perry believes there is more to the suicide than meets the eye. And could have been a ploy by the Comstock's that somehow went wrong.

Julie Adams that plays Valerie Comstock does an excellent job of bring the character to life. Ms Adams does well in playing a wide range of emotions that was needed in this story. A good mystery that the viewer will enjoy. Lots of excitement throughout the entire show.

The writing includes frank but friendly conversations between Perry and Burger, with the two ending up working together to get to the bottom of things. Funny banter in after the trial end. Perry aggressively questions Julie Adams, having figured out that all us not what it seems. Humorous to see Marvin Miller (Millionaire) as a slimey lawyer. Love Adams but think her witness stand performance was a bit over the top. She was in a more famous Mason.

Very enjoyable after a few clunkers in this series. This is another case involving some shady land deals. The defendant will be taken to the cleaners because he trusted the methods of payment. There is a suicide note, an attempted escape, some sneaky dealings. Julie Adams returns from the Black Lagoon to be the hysterical wife of the murder victim.

After the incredible episode preceding this, "the case of the velvet claws", this episode appears to be a dénouement. But it is highly enjoyable especially with one of the best character actresses that appears to be in every other episode of this show, Julie Adams, who earlier portrayed a woman facing the gas chamber at "10 o'clock in the morning" (TCOT Deadly Verdict)

But there is one little word in this episode that is important. A word, that if we were to believe certain people who were formally mayors of New York City, he would have us think that it is not a crime. But it is a crime.

Because Perry Mason isn't just a fictional character, and the TV shows and novels and movies that were made about him weren't simply courtroom entertainment. The television series especially dealt with very real crimes and used very real words for crimes. After watching a number of interviews with Barbara Hale, it was apparent that this show was very much the embodiment of Erle Stanley Gardner. Who, before he decided to write about crime with the character of Perry Mason, he actually was a lawyer.

And this TV show isn't just about a character that he created, he was very much involved with every episode of ether show.

So when at 13 minutes and 10 seconds into this episode Della asks about the crime of collusion, that is how we know that collusion is not just a word being used by "mainstream media", or by anybody sitting in the White House claiming that "collusion is not a crime". Collusion is a crime, something that a court can find you guilty of.

That elevates this meager episode up to the point of being very relevant to the issues of January 17, 2019.

The other interesting thing about this episode is another appearance of John Conte, from "thousands cheer" and "the man with the golden arm," who was in this series almost as much as Julie Adams was, so they make the perfect collusional couple.

Also look for another appearance of Richard Jaeckel, from "the dirty dozen". Lieutenant Tragg may have made one of his rare season six appearances, with Hamilton Burger prosecuting it always feels like a full deck of cards with Lieutenant Tragg.

But just remember that collusion is a crime, not because it says so in this episode, and not because Erle Stanley Gardner says so, but because the laws of the United States of America say so.

Carleton Carpenter is the Perry Mason client in this episode. He's in need of Perry's services very badly both to save his life and financially. He's invested heavily in John Conte's construction company and is about to lose his shirt because Conte is in a nasty divorce with wife Julia Adams and the company is the prize.

But it gets worse than that, Conte fakes a suicide and Carpenter catches him at it. Then when Conte really does die it's Carpenter who's looking very good for the homicide.

This episode though I kind of, sort of figured out who was the real guilty party boasts the unusual teaming both Raymond Burr and William Talman in what the people and defense attorneys should do more often, actually search for the truth together.