The Case of the Black Cat

Personally, I am not fond of this film, although Cortez is fine as Mason. The 1930s hosted a brief Warner Brothers series, with three different men in the lead. This is the only movie I have seen from the period.

The plot is convoluted, with a few too many characters. I am assuming that all were in the original story - I would love to see the Burr television take that was apparently shot over twenty years later. Speaking of which, I am one of those who grew up on Burr's Mason, so it is strange to experience another actor in the role.

This film wastes Della and Drake, in my opinion.

Harry Davenport provides his usual supporting role professionalism, albeit in a B movie a few notches below what he was probably accustomed to.

Definitely worth a viewing.

Case of the Black Cat, The (1936)

*** (out of 4)

Fifth film in Warner's Parry Mason series now features Ricardo Cortez in the role of the attorney. This time out an old man calls Mason to his house so that he can change his will since he's worried someone in his family is about to kill him. A few days later the old man dies in a fire but after the autopsy it turns out he was dead hours before the fire. This is a pretty solid little crime picture from start to finish and I was surprised to see it didn't suffer any from not having Warren William in the lead. Cortez actually delivers a very strong performance as the attorney and manages to come off looking and sounding like a real detective and someone with a brain in their head. The supporting cast doesn't feature any huge stars but they all fill their roles nicely. One interesting note is that the cat from the title plays a big part in the film but it's a black and white cat. One has to wonder why Warner didn't use a black cat.

Excellent pre-Raymond Burr filming of a Perry Mason novel! I was lucky enough to see this on TCM (since it isn't on video). At first I wasn't expecting much, but found Ricardo Cortez to be an excellent Perry Mason! Why Warner Brothers didn't keep him for other movies in the series I don't know! That's probably why Perry Mason wasn't that successful until the tv series came along. It would be nice to see this title on DVD.

I admit that I am a hopeless Perry Mason fan. When I was a girl, our family gathered around the TV set every Friday to watch Raymond Burr outwit Hamilton Burger. So when I had a chance to buy the DVD for this movie from e-bay I did it thinking it would be a B movie and that was that. I was very agreeably surprised. Ricardo Cortez made a very, very charming Perry Mason. My first introduction to Mr. Cortez was in an old Bette Davis movie wherein he played a snaky villain. We forget that in those days they had such a thing as good acting so I just thought he was the quiet, sneaky type. But in this Perry Mason movie he is utterly adorable. And it has a pretty fair plot too with quite a neat surprise at the end. I agree with the other comment I too do not understand why they did not make other movies with Mr. Cortez in this role.

I like Ricardo Cortez in everything I've seen him do. He was an excellent actor who never really became a major star. Here, he is a fine Perry Mason. His Mason has a sense of humor. He's stylish. And he's not entirely admirable, which seems to me just right.

I also like Jane Bryan, who is most appealing as the female member of a troubled household. The other performers are fine, though not memorable.

It's hard not to wonder why Warner Brothers used a gray and white cat for the title character. Surely it would have been easy to find a cat that would have been both black and well behaved on the set.

There are a few other inconsistencies. One I noted is that Mason calls the caretaker of this wealthy family at their home. Is it, was it ever, standard to call servants at their employers' primary number? (Sure, my cleaning guy, who's here for two hours every two weeks, gets a call now and then; but he is a painter and this is far from a mansion.)