Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception

Captain Berman is in France as he tries to hunt down the Nazi war criminal who took members of his family in the concentration camp years. He is pointed to the location of this `Krugman' and confronts him - only for him to be shot by an unseen killer. As a friend of the family, Mason comes to France to defend him - and gets drawn into a world of deception in the underworld of Nazi hunters.

The films of Perry Mason usually follow the same formula every single time and, in some regards, this film does too. However the plot bravely strikes out into France and a military court-martial hearing involving Nazi's. In doing this the film appears to be more interesting but actually doesn't really succeed in what it is aiming to do. The stuff surrounding the Nazi hunt makes for more than just the usual twist at the end, but it is all a bit tidy and easy and I wasn't really gripped by it. The film scales back on Malansky's investigation and Mason's questions in order to bring in this element in terms of flashbacks, but it only seems to take the pace out of the film and make it seem rather ill at ease with itself.

The Holocaust is a difficult subject and not one that can be easily just `used' as a background for a murder mystery. The film tries to deal with it sensitively but it doesn't really know what to do with it and in the end just slots it into the formula the best it can. Aside from the weakness, I was drawn in by the film attempting to do something different for a change and enjoyed it for having the formula with a reasonable twist.

The cast is pretty average despite having quite a few well known faces. Burr is OK as Mason but parts of the film doesn't really fit his character - particularly the final shot doesn't sit well. Moses is given much less to do than normal but seems happy to just be around. Hale is not in France but, funnily enough, actually gets more lines than usual as a result! An `all star' cast is not that well used, including Ian `Lovejoy' McShane. O'Quinn is pretty good despite hamming it for all he is worth towards the end; fans of Gerry Anderson may recognise the voice of Paul Maxwell or know him from the few big American films he did (Aliens for one).

Overall this film weakens itself by trying to do something different from normal but is still worth seeing for Mason fans as the formula is still recognisable.

An all-star cast of former notables make up the faces in this Paris-set adventure for TV's most popular lawyer, Perry Mason. THE CASE OF THE DESPERATE DECEPTION sees Mason and his buddies travelling to France to take on the case of a young man who has been wrongfully accused of murdering a suspected former Nazi. Once there they uncover a sinister conspiracy of hidden identity and motive, while Mason prepares to defend his client in court.

I remember watching these latter-day Perry Masons when I was a kid and really enjoying them. They remain entertaining to this day, with fast-paced and involved story lines and plenty of characters at odds with each other. The use of the Nazi hunter theme and the setting make THE CASE OF THE DESPERATE DECEPTION stand out from others in the series, but really it's the cast that makes this work.

This TV film features a nice role for an aged Ian Bannen as a Nazi hunter and Paul Freeman as the ruthless fellow in his employ. Yvette Mimieux is the ageing wife of the murdered man and Ian McShane a delight as his colleague. British soap star Kim Thomson even has a minor part as a flame-haired beauty. On top of all these, Terry O'Quinn is an investigator. Raymond Burr remains the consummate professional, Barbara Hale cameos, and William R. Moses is involved in a brief romance and car chase. None of it is less than entertaining.

This story couldn't miss as it featured several big screen stars - and big ones at that: Teresa Wright (Mrs Miniver), Ian Bannen (Flight of the Phoenix), and the still-stunning and almost too-beautiful Yvette Mimieux (The Time Machine and countless others). And that they could act is an understatement. Part of the wonder of the original Perry Mason series was the creative use of senior movie stars. Here that was carried through with great effect - a wonderful relief from the mediocrity of soap opera actors who frequently populate low-budget made-for-TV movies. The story itself was somewhat reminiscent of A Place Called Midnight in the original black and white series. But here there were many new twists but still with the sinister darkness of the Nazis at every turn. This is well worth a watch for Mason fans.

This is the best film in the Perry Mason series. Wonderful guest stars like Paul Freeman and Marcy Walker bring glamour and power to he story set in Paris. A complicated case - but Perry will handle it. William R. Moses is at his best as Ken Malansky. You have to like the recurring characters like Ken, Perry and Della, and you have to accept the way the Perry Mason - movies are made. Only than you can appreciate this fine movie. Wonderful. Thank you for this one !

For it's one and only time the Perry Mason series went abroad and where better than Paris to defend the Marine son of a Holocaust survivor charged with the killing of a former S.S. captain who personally killed members of his mother's family and crippled her. It might have been nice had Raymond Burr and Billy Moses taken Barbara Hale along, but I guess someone had to tend to the office.

An old film favorite Teresa Wright plays Tim Ryan's mother and her testimony on the stand is the best part of this TV film. Her experiences going to the death camps is most moving.

For reasons I'm not quite sure, the French cede jurisdiction to the US military in this case. Ryan is a guard at the US Embassy in Paris, but the killing was definitely not in the line of duty. I would think the French would insist on trying him. In any event Perry Mason represents Ryan at a military court martial which he's permitted to have civilian counsel should he choose.

The murderer is a choice from way out of left field or in this case I should say right field. It does have to do with the events in the concentration camp, but in a most oblique way.

I think there have been better Mason films, but this one should satisfy the legion of fans of Erle Stanley Gardner's unbeatable attorney.