The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma

This episode of Perry Mason got good and personal as Raymond Burr is called on to defend his own private investigator Paul Drake on a murder charge. All because Drake has some ethics.

The Dameron family does not have any ethics, they take their cues from corrupt old family patriarch Basil Ruysdael. His son-in-law Bruce Gordon has been seeing his old girlfriend Vanessa Brown on the side. Not that he cares that much, he's like Joe Kennedy that way. But Gordon is good for the company.

But after a quarrel with Brown, Gordon leaves his love nest and runs down some poor innocent victim who was walking to a service station after his own car got a flat. What to do, but cover it up.

So Gordon hires William Hopper who does take outside jobs away from Perry Mason. He gives him a cock and bull story about staying anonymous but to deliver a $25,000.00 check for the widow. Hopper has a great scene with the widow Sheila Bromley and learns what Gordon has been feeding him.

Some private eyes have ethics and Paul Drake does not like being a messenger boy to deliver hush money. He and Gordon fight and Gordon sucker punches him and knocks him cold. It was in his love nest with Brown and when Hopper wakes up he's accused of Bruce Gordon's murder.

This was one of the best Perry Mason episodes ever done. Even defending his best friend Raymond Burr remains unflappable in his pursuit of the truth. And his final scene with Ruysdael is a great one.

Great, fun episode. Contains so many of the elements we love about Perry Mason: melodramatic courtroom procedurals, a sneaky trap set by Perry and Della to trick a witness into the truth, exterior shots in a neighborhood of old LA (which you can still look up and compare with modern LA on Google Earth), a super-Trumpy evil business family, Paul Drake punching and taking punches ... and, unlike so many episodes, this plot is actually easy to follow and makes sense. And of course, the unique crisis: Our beloved Paul Drake has his life and liberty in Perry Mason's hands. The idea of making Paul the defendant could have been hokey, but the producers made the premise believable and provided a worthy script.

Unfortunately this episode is relatively hard to find because it is one of several not available on Amazon Prime/FreeVee (where I normally watch Perry) nor on Paramount+. I was able to record it off of MeTV in cable.

This episode has some interesting legal points. The case cited on results of the paraffin test being inadmissible (Brooke v State of Colorado) is real, and was decided June 1, 1959, just months before this Mason episode first aired. Perry won the legal point. The now outdated concept of res gestae also appears. Perry has to contend with a family patriarch who spends lots of money to hide some pertinent details, which details would help Paul. The last few minutes of the episode are worth waiting for.

Definitely one of Jackson Gillis' best mysteries, and for all us fans of Paul Drake -- we want answers.

Drake basically is played for a fool, and yes, some of the most obvious cases nevertheless turn out to be complex for Perry, regardless of the client. A big shot named Thatcher (Bruce Gordon) is cheating on his wife and having an affair with a young singer (Vanessa Brown). As luck would have it, Thatcher accidentally runs over and kills a man, needing to cover it up ASAP. This is where Paul comes in, hired and used as a patsy to deliver money to the victim's widow. Paul without too much surprise has a run in with this crafty guy, he's knocked unconscience and wakes up a murderer -- his gun used to kill Thatcher.

If you're a cop show fan, you've seen this scenario played out a hundred times, however clever, it's a first here and rather intriguingly carried out. The cast deserves much credit, particularly Bruce Gordon, known for his tough roles on the UNTOUCHABLES. He fits the part. Pretty Vanessa Brown later appeared on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Simon Scott guest stars as Charles and veteran actor Robert Cornthwaite (Anders), a staple in sci fi films; WAR OF THE WORLDS and the THING.

Deep voiced, dead serious Kenneth MacDonald returns as the judge, one of our favorite barristers.

Did you catch it... Thatcher's Lincoln is in "park" while he is driving the car. Kind of surprising director William D. Russell would miss that, but still 10 Stars for atmosphere. Russell later directed most of the episodes for HAZEL.

A surprise courtoom ending, with some "thoughtful" comments from Perry. This case got under his skin. Again thanks to Jackson Gillis, writer for COLUMBO in the 70s.

SEASON 3 EPISODE 6 remastered CBS dvd box set. Vol. 1 and 2. 4 dvds. Released 2008.

This episode turns out to be a refreshing change of pace from the regular 'Perry Mason' mystery. The writers came up with a new way for Perry to defend a client who is accused of murder, even if the client is his old friend, Paul Drake.

The episode centers around a middle-aged wealthy man named Frank Thatcher. He has been having an affair with a saucy singer named Donna Kress. On a way back from one of their rendezvous, he kills a pedestrian and flees the scene.

He then hires Paul Drake, under false pretenses, to delivery money, under the disguise of winnings, to the widow of the dead man. It is not long until Paul realizes that he is being played and goes to confront Mr Thatcher.

A fight breaks out between the two men and Paul is knocked unconscious. When he awakes the police are at the door and Mr Thatcher has been shot. To make matters worse, the murder weapon was a gun that belonged to Paul.

From the jail house Paul calls Perry to defend him for charges brought by Hamilton Burger's office. So Paul is now the middle man in court sitting beside Paul and Della. Only bad thing is that he is charged with the murder.

The key to the case comes in a different situation from other Perry shows. It becomes a refreshing change from the other rehashed tales from other stories. The writers find another way to bring the case to an end while maintaining the series classic courtroom confession. -- A good episode to watch and enjoy. A good show from season three.

PS- make sure you watch the ending of this episode. After the trial Perry has some strong words for one character of the cast.