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Perry Mason

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Perry Mason is a fictional defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. He appeared in over 80 novels and short stories, most (but not all) of which involved his client being put on trial for murder. Usually he is able to establish his client's innocence by showing another person was the guilty party. However, in some cases, he merely established the innocence of his client, and while he knew who the guilty party was, let the police figure it out for themselves.

Contents

Origin of the name \"Perry Mason\"

Long before Erle Stanley Gardner became an author, he was a child reader of the magazine Youth's Companion. The magazine, which is best known for producing the original Pledge of Allegiance in 1891, was published in Boston, Massachusetts by the Perry Mason Company (later renamed "Perry Mason & Co." after the founder died). The company name was completely fictional - Daniel Sharp Ford, a Christian socialist, made it up out of modesty instead of using his own name as the company name. When Gardner set about creating his fictional attorney, he borrowed the name of the company that published his favourite childhood magazine.

Original novels

In the books, Perry Mason is not the most ethical attorney, often confusing evidence, adding evidence, or otherwise pulling stunts to mislead the police away from his client. However, he always was portrayed as somebody who fought for his client, something common to Gardner's writings.

While the Mason novels were largely a form of pulp fiction of the sort that began Gardner's writing career, they are somewhat unusual in that the whodunnit mysteries usually involved two solutions: one which the authorities believed (in which case Mason's client was guilty) and an alternative explanation (in which Mason's client was innocent). Often, Mason's trial antics exposed the guilty party during court (though usually without the confessions on the witness stand that the television series was famous for), but sometimes was enough to get his client acquitted. Depending on how he felt afterwards, Mason would either advise the authorities, or just snub them, depending on how he and his client had been treated.

A point neglected in the television adaptations, but not in the novels, is how Mason finds the money to pay for helping penniless clients. He usually finds that their situation is due to the malfeasance of a party with deep pockets, and frequently (not always) contrives a way to make them pay. For instance, in one of the earliest Mason books, The Case of the Curious Bride, the dead man is ultimately shown to be the nexus of evil, but the husband of Mason's client, the son of a very wealthy Chicago businessman, dishonors his family name by his conduct and Mason induces his father, without taint of blackmail, to preserve the family honor and pay a sizeable "divorce settlement" to his daughter-in-law.

Finally, Erle Stanley Gardner's prefaces many of the later novels with tributes to real-life people, coroners and forensic pathologists, who have materially contributed to making sure murders are detected in the first place, let alone properly solved. Gardner inserts his ideas about the importance of proper autopsies into many of his Mason novels. In many other so-called legal thrillers, including television versions of the Mason books, details of the person's death are passed over without much scrutiny. In The Case of the Fugitive Nurse, for instance, close scrutiny of dental records in the identification of burned bodies is a key point. In that same story, the possible use of additives to track illegal resale of medical narcotics is examined.

On the big screen and other media

Warren William portrayed Perry Mason in four movies for Warner Bros. from 1934 through 1936. Donald Woods starred in 1937's The Case of the Stuttering Bishop .

The Perry Mason character appeared in radio adaptations, comic books, and a short-lived (October 16, 1950–June 21, 1952) comic strip. He was also the inspiration for The Whole Truth (1986) by James Cummins, a book-length collection of sestinas. The daytime soap opera The Edge of Night was originally meant to be a daytime version of Perry Mason, until Gardner had a falling-out with CBS network officials. He was later mollified enough to allow production of the most famous incarnation of the character.

Television

Series

The medium of television has made its greatest mark for Perry Mason. Mason was portrayed by Raymond Burr in a television series which ran on CBS from 1957 to 1966. The general plot involves Perry Mason unmasking the actual murderer in a final dramatic courtroom showdown. As such it is a highly unrealistic portrayal of the criminal justice system, and some of the structure of the television show was dictated by the motion picture and television codes of the 1950s which required an ending in which justice was served and in which the police and judicial institutions were not questioned (see Production Code). The theme music, "Park Avenue Beat" by Fred Steiner, is one of television's most recognizable themes. A recurring subplot was the low-key romance between Mason and his private secretary, Della Street, alluded to only in the most discreet way.
Perry Mason Cast: (left to right) William Talman (Hamilton Burger), Ray Collins (Lt. Arthur Tragg), Barbara Hale (Della Street), Raymond Burr (Perry Mason) , William Hopper (Paul Drake)
Perry Mason Cast: (left to right) William Talman (Hamilton Burger), Ray Collins (Lt. Arthur Tragg), Barbara Hale (Della Street), Raymond Burr (Perry Mason) , William Hopper (Paul Drake)

The series also set a precedent for other mystery series in that it was the first detective show to feature either a tape or chalk outline to mark the spot where the murder victim's body had been found. The first time this appeared was in the episode "The Case of the Perjured Parrot" which aired in 1958.

Years later, a TV Guide interview stated that Raymond Burr was not the original choice for Mason, and that the producers were firmly against Burr, but they agreed to let him audition for Mason if he would also audition for Prosecuting Attorney Hamilton Burger. The part had originally been offered to Fred MacMurray, but MacMurray turned it down. As the story goes, Mason's creator, Erle Stanley Gardner happened to be sitting in on the auditions that day and excitedly shouted, "That's Perry Mason" upon seeing Burr. Erle Stanley Gardner made a cameo as a judge in the last episode of the orginal series.

An unsuccessful attempt to recreate the series was made in 1973. Starring Monte Markham, The New Perry Mason only lasted one season

The original series was a staple in syndication, running for many years on TBS and most recently on the Hallmark Channel. The official DVD release of season 1 is due July 2006.

Actor Raymond Burr, after he retired, donated all his 'Perry Mason' scripts and associated papers to McGeorge School of Law of the University of Pacific. Although the University of Pacific is located in Stockton, CA, the McGeorge School of Law is located in Sacramento, CA. These Perry Mason manuscripts hold an esteemed place in the McGeorge Law Library.

TV movies

Television producer Dean Hargrove resurrected the popular Mason character in a series of TV movies for NBC beginning in 1985. (He would create the Matlock series one year later.) Hargrove was able to bring back the two then-surviving major stars, Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale (reprising their roles as Mason and Della Street, respectively) for the first telefilm, Perry Mason Returns, in which Mason defended his own secretary, Della, on murder charges. William Katt (Hale's son) was cast in most of these films as Paul Drake, Jr. (William Hopper, who played the private investigator Paul Drake in the original television series, had died years earlier.)

The successful series of Perry Mason TV movies continued through 1993, the last of which (The Case of the Killer Kiss) being completed only weeks prior to Burr's death, and therefore dedicated to his memory. The last several of these films were set in Denver rather than Mason's traditional locale of Los Angeles; the character had moved there, but the real reason for the change was Denver's considerably lower production costs.

Other recurring characters in the Perry Mason universe include:

The Case of the Velvet Claws, 1953 U.S. paperback edition
Enlarge
The Case of the Velvet Claws, 1953 U.S. paperback edition

Title listings

Novels

Note: In certain cases, a book was not published until long after it was written. In such cases, the earlier date in parentheses indicates the copyright date, and the later date the date of first book publication.

1930s movies

TV movies

Pop culture references / Notable appearances

Triva (Spoofs)

References

External links

 

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