"I'm not claiming a thing. I'm trying to get the defendant in this case acquitted. As far as the murder case is concerned, you are quite at liberty to solve it." - Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) during a heated courtroom exchange with District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman)
Perry Mason: Season 1, Volume 1 DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
Writer Erle Stanley Gardner, a former lawyer, introduced crime-busting attorney Perry Mason in his 1933 legal whodunit The Case of the Velvet Claws. The character would eventually appear in over 80 books, a Warner Brothers film series, and a radio series. His biggest success, however, was on the small screen. In 1957, Perry Mason began its nine year run on CBS.
If you're ever in trouble with the law, you want a lawyer just like Perry Mason (Raymond Burr). With the help of his trusty assistant Della Street (Barbara Hale) and ace P.I. Paul Drake (William Hopper), Mason is always ready to poke holes in the cases of Los Angeles Homicide Division's Lieutenant Tragg (Ray Collins) and District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman). He's so good at having his clients acquitted that he almost makes it seem easy.
Perry Mason is formulaic TV at its very best. It's as if each episode can be charted with the same basic algebra problem. The letters might be different each time, but the answer is always the same. Nearly every episode begins with an average Joe intuiting that he might be in trouble and that it wouldn't hurt to hire L.A.'s best lawyer, Perry Mason. Actually, make that an average Josephine since most of Mason's clients tend to be attractive young women. Josephine hires Mason just in time - when he attempts to interview her troublemaker, said troublemaker turns out to be dead. Called to the crime scene, Lieutenant Tragg finds a piece of evidence that suggests Mason's client is guilty. Mason, of course, knows better. In court, he chips away at Hamilton Burger's case, questioning witnesses until he finally elicits a witness stand confession from the truly guilty party. Mason is so effective that sometimes people in the courtroom audience jump up and confess while he's grilling someone else.
This formula is a large part of the series' appeal. The audience knows exactly where the episode is going, but the fun is in watching how it gets there. Each episode is like a miniature film noir from the 1940s and 1950s, but without the extreme chiaroscuro usually found in those movies. Instead, call it California noir. The locales and sets are lovingly shot. Mason's wood paneled office is picture-perfect California mid-century cool. And while Mason can get rough with witnesses in the courtroom and isn't above bending the law to gather information, he isn't the conflicted, hard-hearted soul found at the center of most film noir.
As a matter of fact, despite his bulky presence, Mason is actually a pussycat. He and Della can be found in the office at all hours. If a client really seems to need his help, he'll schedule meetings at 2AM. He even accepts a case while on vacation. This is the lawyer as superhero - a crusader who fights for truth and justice. As Mason says, "I'm a lawyer, not a detective." Yet he chases down leads, hunts for the bad guys, and basically does everything except swear in witnesses and sweep up after the trial.
If it is somewhat unusual to see a series in which lawyers are presented as heroes, it is just as odd that the police are portrayed as idiots. Dedicated idiots, but idiots nonetheless. Tragg always goes for the obvious answer and then immediately closes the case. If something doesn't fit in with his theory, he simply ignores it.
Admittedly, some of the cases don't make much sense. Almost every episode ends with Mason explaining to Della and the client exactly how he solved the convoluted case. Even that explanation can use an explanation. Still, the show is so darn entertaining.
If you are easily upset by onscreen smoking, then you'll surely go apoplectic watching Perry Mason. Everyone smokes. A lot. Mason smokes his breakfast while on vacation. The ashtray in his office is as large as a salad bowl. Paul Drake even manages to puff away while visiting a hospital. Healthy living at its peak!
Fans of the series who have only gotten the chance to watch it in syndication will be happy to know that this DVD set includes the full-length episodes. Television shows are often cut for syndication so that more commercials can be shoehorned into each episode. The episodes in Perry Mason: Season 1, Volume 1 run about fifty-two minutes apiece. This probably adds up to at least ten minutes per episode that may not have been seen since the show's original broadcast. These episodes are so complete that some even feature images of the original sponsors in the closing credits, including such products as Dutch Cleanser and Beads o' Bleach.
Television seasons were much longer in the 1950s and 1960s than they are now. Most current shows produce an average of twenty-two episodes per season. By contrast, Perry Mason produced thirty-nine episodes during its first year on the air. Season 1, Volume 1 presents the first nineteen episodes in airdate order.
Eagle-eyed viewers may see a few familiar faces in Season 1, Volume 1, including Gloria Henry (Dennis the Menace), Hillary Brooke (My Little Margie), William Schallert (The Patty Duke Show), Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie), Francis Bavier (The Andy Griffith Show), Joi Lansing (The Bob Cummings Show), Barbara Pepper (Green Acres), Whit Bissell (The Time Tunnel), Doris Singleton (I Love Lucy), Judy Tyler (Jailhouse Rock), and Carl Betz (The Donna Reed Show).
The nineteen episodes that make up Season 1, Volume 1 are divided onto five discs. The discs are housed in three slim, clear plastic keepcases, two of which hold two discs apiece. The fronts of the cases are decorated with color production and publicity stills of Raymond Burr. The backs of the cases include titles and brief synopses for each episode. The interiors of the cases and the discs themselves are decorated with a "Scales of Justice" seal theme. The keepcases slide into a cardboard outer sleeve.
The static DVD menus are easy to use. Viewers can play individual episodes. Upon choosing an episode title, the episode automatically begins. The episodes are divided into chapters, but there are no scene selection menus.
