Ownership of a professional football team is the basis of this episode. MeTV shows Perry Mason in chronological order and when we first tuned in, I thought we'd gone all the way back to the beginning. It had a very 1950s look to it. And I could name all the actors. Mona Freeman, Bill Williams, Regis Toomey. All the biggies.
The murder victim is Barbara Hale's husband, Bill Williams. And he is a real jerk. His wife is Mona Freeman's character, Ellen. The episode is scored in a jazzy fashion and when Perry and Ellen have their counselor-client confab, there is a wall with a slit between them. We see his eyes framed by the slits, then hers. I should have taken a picture but thought of it a "slit second" too late.
PM: This isn't a football game, Ellen. You lose this one, you lose for keeps.
The judge (Willis Bouchey) and D.A. Hamilton Burger are at odds throughout the hearing.
Judge: Mr. Burger, there’s no jury here. And I’m certainly not impressed by these tactics.
HB: And the prosecution is not impressed by Mr. Mason's parlor tricks!
Judge: Mr. Burger, it isn't necessary to shout.
HB: I’m sorry, your honor. But I will resist any motion by the defense for a dismissal based on an exhibition of legerdemain and fireworks.
Richard Anderson, as Lt. Steve Drumm, uses a hard g when he says Los Angeles.
Near the end, Perry, Della and Paul go to a night football game featuring the L.A. Wildcats. There is a nice scene with Paul in a black trench coat chasing someone out of the LA Memorial Coliseum. And the jazz score is particularly impressive here.
The ending is bizarre and unexplained*. But they are having a fine celebration anyway.
DS: I’d ask Paul to make a toast but he learned his in the Marines.
Ellen: To Mr. Perry Mason, twelfth Wildcat!
*The blogger at Objection Overruled calls this episode the worst of them all. It was different enough that I stayed awake for the whole thing, so I liked it fine. Except for the lack of explanation of the real crime.