User Reviews

Future Oscar winner Louise Fletcher is the Perry Mason client in this story. She's the private secretary to a female Mickey Spillane played by Beverly Garland. This is a complex tale with a whole lot of different elements that don't pull together until Raymond Burr wrings a confession while cross examining a witness at Fletcher's trial.

Garland is something else, she's gotten too close to the people she writes about and now is involved herself. Fearing for her own life she sends Fletcher on an errand to pick up a package at a remote wilderness cabin. All that Fletcher finds is a man who disappears and a dead body. That's when she sends for Perry Mason.

This is one of the better written and intricately constructed Perry Mason stories, this one should not be missed.

It looks like Burger has got Mason this time- for evidence suppression, at least until Lt. Tragg bails him out. This Gardener material is better than some episodes and adapted by a writer who did more than 20 other Mason episodes.

The Monkeys are on a woman's scarf that is planted at the site of a murder with some bullets well after the murder. The web of intrigue includes a government agent and some shady mob folks. Overall this turns into a pretty satisfactory edition of this superbly done series.

Louise Fletcher, later to be Jack Nicholson's nurse in the Cuckoos Nest is among the guest cast supporting the Mason regulars here. Della Street even gets approached by a strange man in Mason's office one night.

**SPOILERS** Lucky, as in Louise Fletcher (Gladys); who although trusting, and duped by her boss into a frame, was smart as hell after all. She goes to Perry, tells her story, and he realizes that she is truthful, and loyal; if a little naive. He goes to Beverly Garland (Mauvis); and he realizes that she is NOT honest, and not loyal. He has several dealings with her, and knows that she is in deep with some very bad guys. Tough luck - "Bad friends bring bad luck" (Vito Corleone). No sympathy here, she was quite willing to sacrifice Gladys - and her life - for her own safety; reprehensible.

VERY interesting case with Perry figuring out what's what. One tidbit is one of Paul's operatives turning state's witness about some evidence Perry supposedly suppressed (cool the way those words worked out). My theory, is that Paul HAD him do it; Burger brought it up in the hearing, so Perry could then introduce it without waiting to put on a defense. It may seem like a small point, but in any fight, the sooner it's over (and you're on top) the better. His obligation is to get his client off NOT to solve the crime. Another theory I have is he must have been concentrating hard on giving Paul and Perry what he DIDN'T find at the cabin. He didn't even LOOK at Della; did not even acknowledge her presence. Definitely not normal to miss someone so beautiful. Della has a great scene in which she has courage, control, and clearness of thought; it was excellent.

The guy that left Gladys in the cabin alone turns out to be a Fed with a story of his own that clarifies a point that very probably will doom Mauvis later (see quote above). He's driving a nice 2-door Buick hardtop coupe.

Really great acting in this one with Beverly Garland (Decoy) smoking WAY too much (I wonder if the director had her do this to show how terrified she was); she is still incredibly sexy. I mean she even out-smokes Paul, and I didn't think ANYONE could do that without uncontrollable hacking. Louise Fletcher; who, at this stage looks so much like Marion Ross that they could be beautiful sisters. THAT'S the Looker part.

This was not an episode that the actors had to carry the story. it was tight, quick, no wasted space. Kudos to all involved. Yeah, you need to see it yourself to really appreciate this very fine episode. Hence my not saying anything about how it ends; get the series from Amazon.

****SPOILERS*** Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, in defending Gladys Doyle, Louise Fletcher, for murder soon finds out that the person that she's working for crime novelist Mauvis Meade, Beverly Garland, new novel about the Las Vegas underworld was the reason for Joseph Manley, the stiff she found in her cabin, untimely death. It was Manley who was involved with the Vegas mob that Meade was writing about.

The clue that connected Meade to Manley's murder was a scarf with the three monkeys, see hear and speak no evil, on it found at the murder scene with a number of .32 bullet shells wrapped inside it. The scarf belonged to Meade who claimed she lost it while working out at the local gym. Perry not one to made a monkey out of soon discovers that whoever planted the monkey scarf was trying to implicate Meade not his client Gladys Doyle in Manley's murder. And did it out of sheer revenge and nothing else. And the murder of Joseph Manley was more or less a case of mistaken identity on the killer's part that in fact backfired on him.

****SPOILERS*** It's more then evident that Gladys Doyle was completely innocent in Joseph Manley's murder right from the start. Even if she's the first to find his body. The actual murderer of Manley actually was gunning for writer Mauvis Meade and after screwing things up, by killing Manley, did the next best thing in saving his or her neck by implicating the totally innocent Gladys Doyle for the crime. Not that he had anything against Gladys but in her being at the scene of the murder she was a perfect pasty to be blamed for it. Perry's attempt to expose Manley's real killer in court was so effective that he implicated himself by trying to make a run for it, and apprehended by the court bailiff, and admitted his crime even before he was even called to take the stand.