[COLOR= black]
Perry Mason: Season 5, Volume 1[/COLOR][COLOR= black]
Directed by Arthur Marks et al
Studio: CBS/Paramount
Year: 1961
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 764 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English
Subtitles: CC[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]MSRP:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] $ 49.99[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]
Release Date: April 20, 2010[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Review Date:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] April 4, 2010[/COLOR]
The Series
4/5
Perry Mason reached the zenith of its popularity in this, its fifth year on the air. For the season, it ranked as the fifth most popular program on television. By this point in its nine year run, viewers had become comfortable and welcoming with its combination of murder mystery, courtroom give-and-take, and the rock solid precision of its superb cast. Though the show may have been formulaic in its structure, there’s no denying that intriguing stories, thoughtful acting, and reliable production values continued to keep it near the top during the 1961-1962 season.
Raymond Burr’s definitive performance as Earl Stanley Gardner’s fictional defense attorney had already garnered him two previous Emmys. He’s always commanding, rarely flustered, and even occasionally playful in the courtroom in a performance that’s always enjoyable to revisit. Barbara Hale’s Della Street is loyalty personified while William Hopper’s Paul Drake isn’t often shown doing his sleuthing for Perry, but he usually makes the most of his limited screen time. William Talman and Ray Collins, almost always the opposition for Perry and continually frustrated by Perry’s success rate with his cases, prove to be wonderfully irascible antagonists for another season of murder cases. In some shows during the season, Perry has a paralegal named David Gideon (Karl Held) who seems to do some of Perry’s legwork. Lieutenant Anderson (Wesley Lau), less combative than Lt. Tragg but just as dogged, occasionally replaces Tragg in the investigations.
The formula is unflinchingly familiar: we’re introduced to a group of people, one of whom ends up murdered, and the person accused of the crime comes to Perry for help in his defense. Usually despite overwhelming evidence against the accused person, Perry puts the evidence and courtroom testimony together to trap the guilty party in either lies or hidden information which usually leads to a confession on the stand or occasionally in the courtroom gallery. A coda finds Perry, Della, and Paul (and sometimes the innocent parties) detailing the unknown information which led Perry to his eventual solution to the puzzle. Unlike Murder She Wrote which always provided for the audience the revealing clue to solve the mystery hidden in plain sight, Perry Mason doesn’t provide all the clues ahead of time (like the fictional attorney, the most damning evidence is usually saved for a last-minute reveal in court) making that revelatory coda necessary for the audience to see how Perry put it all together.
Television programs of this vintage carry with them the possibility of seeing unusual guest stars either at the beginnings of their careers or well into them. In these fifteen episodes, we find an impossibly young James Drury and the veteran Cheerio Meredith in individual episodes. Others noted in passing during these marvelous mysteries are Denver Pyle (two separate appearances), Parley Baer, Leslie Parrish (two separate appearances), Ben Cooper, Constance Towers (who sings three songs in her episode with no editing of them), Tommy Noonan, Victor Sen Yung, Roy Roberts, Jackie Coogan, Sue Ann Langdon, Gloria Talbot, Eleanor Parker, Kent Taylor, Paul Smith (two different episodes), Frank Cady (playing twins), Virginia Gregg, Stuart Erwin, George Macready, Raymond Bailey, Alejandro Rey, Barbara Pepper, Ed Nelson, Dabbs Greer, Les Tremayne, Strother Martin, Elvia Allman, Frank Overton, Dick Foran, DeForest Kelley, Gerald Mohr, Alan Hale, Jr., Philip Ober, J. Pat O'Malley, Robert Lowery, Harry Carey, Jr., and Bruce Bennett..
Here are the fifteen episodes that make up volume one of the fifth season’s episodes:
1 – The Case of the Jealous Journalist
2 – The Case of the Impatient Partner
3 – The Case of the Missing Melody
4 – The Case of the Malicious Mariner
5 – The Case of the Crying Comedian
6 – The Case of the Meddling Medium
7 – The Case of the Pathetic Patient
8 – The Case of the Traveling Treasure
9 – The Case of the Posthumous Painter
10 – The Case of the Injured Innocent
11 – The Case of the Left-Handed Liar
12 – The Case of the Brazen Bequest
13 – The Case of the Renegade Refugee
14 – The Case of the Unwelcome Bride
15 – The Case of the Roving River
Video Quality
3.5/5
The original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 is faithfully reproduced in these new transfers. Although for the most part, the images are sharp and clear and feature a very accurate grayscale rendering with sharp (only occasionally crushed) blacks and pure whites, there seems to be a bit more dirt and debris on these images than on those of the past two seasons I’ve reviewed. There’s still slight moiré patterns to be glimpsed in the light plaids of some of the men’s jackets, and, of course, the stock footage used for views of harbors, airports, and the like is always soft and streaked with thin scratches. Still, for programs that are almost fifty years old, they look very good. Each episode has been divided into 8 chapters.
Audio Quality
3/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track is decoded by Prologic properly into the center channel. The mix of heavy dialogue, music, and sound effects into the mono track is typical for its era, and you won’t be surprised by the low fidelity offered here. There is a slight hiss which persists on the audio tracks though it’s only noticeable in scenes that are very quiet. Otherwise, in a show where talking constitutes the majority of the audible sound, you’ll undoubtedly hear everything clearly.
Special Features
0/5
There are no bonus features with the set.
There were promo trailers for Mannix, Cannon, Jake & the Fatman, Walker Texas Ranger, and Mission: Impossible.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
Another box of very entertaining Perry Mason episodes makes its way to fans. No bonus features are pretty much par for the course now for these releases, but at least the shows themselves look generally clean and are very watchable. Recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
Perry Mason: Season 5, Volume 1[/COLOR][COLOR= black]
Directed by Arthur Marks et al
Studio: CBS/Paramount
Year: 1961
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 764 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English
Subtitles: CC[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]MSRP:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] $ 49.99[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]
Release Date: April 20, 2010[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Review Date:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] April 4, 2010[/COLOR]
The Series
4/5
Perry Mason reached the zenith of its popularity in this, its fifth year on the air. For the season, it ranked as the fifth most popular program on television. By this point in its nine year run, viewers had become comfortable and welcoming with its combination of murder mystery, courtroom give-and-take, and the rock solid precision of its superb cast. Though the show may have been formulaic in its structure, there’s no denying that intriguing stories, thoughtful acting, and reliable production values continued to keep it near the top during the 1961-1962 season.
Raymond Burr’s definitive performance as Earl Stanley Gardner’s fictional defense attorney had already garnered him two previous Emmys. He’s always commanding, rarely flustered, and even occasionally playful in the courtroom in a performance that’s always enjoyable to revisit. Barbara Hale’s Della Street is loyalty personified while William Hopper’s Paul Drake isn’t often shown doing his sleuthing for Perry, but he usually makes the most of his limited screen time. William Talman and Ray Collins, almost always the opposition for Perry and continually frustrated by Perry’s success rate with his cases, prove to be wonderfully irascible antagonists for another season of murder cases. In some shows during the season, Perry has a paralegal named David Gideon (Karl Held) who seems to do some of Perry’s legwork. Lieutenant Anderson (Wesley Lau), less combative than Lt. Tragg but just as dogged, occasionally replaces Tragg in the investigations.
The formula is unflinchingly familiar: we’re introduced to a group of people, one of whom ends up murdered, and the person accused of the crime comes to Perry for help in his defense. Usually despite overwhelming evidence against the accused person, Perry puts the evidence and courtroom testimony together to trap the guilty party in either lies or hidden information which usually leads to a confession on the stand or occasionally in the courtroom gallery. A coda finds Perry, Della, and Paul (and sometimes the innocent parties) detailing the unknown information which led Perry to his eventual solution to the puzzle. Unlike Murder She Wrote which always provided for the audience the revealing clue to solve the mystery hidden in plain sight, Perry Mason doesn’t provide all the clues ahead of time (like the fictional attorney, the most damning evidence is usually saved for a last-minute reveal in court) making that revelatory coda necessary for the audience to see how Perry put it all together.
Television programs of this vintage carry with them the possibility of seeing unusual guest stars either at the beginnings of their careers or well into them. In these fifteen episodes, we find an impossibly young James Drury and the veteran Cheerio Meredith in individual episodes. Others noted in passing during these marvelous mysteries are Denver Pyle (two separate appearances), Parley Baer, Leslie Parrish (two separate appearances), Ben Cooper, Constance Towers (who sings three songs in her episode with no editing of them), Tommy Noonan, Victor Sen Yung, Roy Roberts, Jackie Coogan, Sue Ann Langdon, Gloria Talbot, Eleanor Parker, Kent Taylor, Paul Smith (two different episodes), Frank Cady (playing twins), Virginia Gregg, Stuart Erwin, George Macready, Raymond Bailey, Alejandro Rey, Barbara Pepper, Ed Nelson, Dabbs Greer, Les Tremayne, Strother Martin, Elvia Allman, Frank Overton, Dick Foran, DeForest Kelley, Gerald Mohr, Alan Hale, Jr., Philip Ober, J. Pat O'Malley, Robert Lowery, Harry Carey, Jr., and Bruce Bennett..
Here are the fifteen episodes that make up volume one of the fifth season’s episodes:
1 – The Case of the Jealous Journalist
2 – The Case of the Impatient Partner
3 – The Case of the Missing Melody
4 – The Case of the Malicious Mariner
5 – The Case of the Crying Comedian
6 – The Case of the Meddling Medium
7 – The Case of the Pathetic Patient
8 – The Case of the Traveling Treasure
9 – The Case of the Posthumous Painter
10 – The Case of the Injured Innocent
11 – The Case of the Left-Handed Liar
12 – The Case of the Brazen Bequest
13 – The Case of the Renegade Refugee
14 – The Case of the Unwelcome Bride
15 – The Case of the Roving River
Video Quality
3.5/5
The original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 is faithfully reproduced in these new transfers. Although for the most part, the images are sharp and clear and feature a very accurate grayscale rendering with sharp (only occasionally crushed) blacks and pure whites, there seems to be a bit more dirt and debris on these images than on those of the past two seasons I’ve reviewed. There’s still slight moiré patterns to be glimpsed in the light plaids of some of the men’s jackets, and, of course, the stock footage used for views of harbors, airports, and the like is always soft and streaked with thin scratches. Still, for programs that are almost fifty years old, they look very good. Each episode has been divided into 8 chapters.
Audio Quality
3/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track is decoded by Prologic properly into the center channel. The mix of heavy dialogue, music, and sound effects into the mono track is typical for its era, and you won’t be surprised by the low fidelity offered here. There is a slight hiss which persists on the audio tracks though it’s only noticeable in scenes that are very quiet. Otherwise, in a show where talking constitutes the majority of the audible sound, you’ll undoubtedly hear everything clearly.
Special Features
0/5
There are no bonus features with the set.
There were promo trailers for Mannix, Cannon, Jake & the Fatman, Walker Texas Ranger, and Mission: Impossible.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
Another box of very entertaining Perry Mason episodes makes its way to fans. No bonus features are pretty much par for the course now for these releases, but at least the shows themselves look generally clean and are very watchable. Recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
