The Case of the Angry Mourner

This episode starts out as we see Mark Cushing (Eric Sinclair), an avid water-skier, showing some home-made movies to the lovely Carla Adrian (Barbara Eden). Mark must of broken his leg recently cause he has a cast on nearly up to his hip. Seems Mark is a play-boy and as the hour gets late he wants some loving. But Carla wants nothing of it. Mark gets somewhat physical and the wheelchair bound guy rips her shirt and Carla fights back with a witch-slap to the side of the head.

The next scenes is of a girl screaming, a shot and Belle Adrian (Sylvia Field), Carla's mother, being seen inside of Mark Cushing's house. When the police arrive Mark is dead in the wheelchair and no one is present to receive Sheriff Elmore's knock on the door.

Perry happens to be in Bear Valley, where all this action is afoot, and Belle goes over for some advise. Problem is through a series of strange events Belle is arrest for murder and goes before a local court to answer the charges with perry right behind her.

This episode has a complicated story-line. However, through the good acting of the guest cast you feel like you are right at Bear Valley watching this trial. Sylvia Field, as the mother, does another great job making you feel for her situation. Paul Fix, as DA Hale, is great taking the place of Hamilton Burger outside the county of LA. Jamie Forster, as the presiding Judge, does a better job than any 'Perry Mason' judge when he is more interested in the truth than ruling of objections. Barbara Eden was great to look at- but had little to do with the show after the first five minutes. What a waste of a beautiful girl.

Anyway the story was interesting and mystery played well by the cast. And with Perry getting very upset at his client- it makes for a good watch.

Note- during the first scene with Mark in the wheelchair- look how big that fireplace is. You could put a small tree in that thing and not have to chain saw any limbs.

In the first episode outside of LA County and District Attorney Hamilton Burger, Perry Mason heads off to the sea shore when Sylvia Field comes knocking on his door. She's worried about her daughter Barbara Eden who has just escaped the clutches of a lecherous neighbor. But that neighbor winds up shot to death and Raymond Burr doesn't get Eden, he gets Field as a client.

The key lies with a pair of nosy neighbors played by Malcom Atterbury and Dorothy Adams. Fingerprints and footprints dug up by the Sheriff's department headed by James Westerfield and by none other than Paul Drake of the Drake Detective Agency. William Hopper may find the evidence, but it's a matter of interpretation.

There's an interesting secondary plot as witness Joan Weldon brings in her own attorney Addison Richards to court. Richards starts by threatening Raymond Burr with abuse of due process. Does he ever get his ears pinned back.

Nice episode and the interesting part is the sheriff had a right guess as to the perpetrator, but got sidetracked.

This is an enjoyable episode with one notable, tragic exception. That would be Sylvia Field, who plays the defendant, Belle Adrian. Of all Mason's defendants this is the one I dearly wanted to get the gas chamber. Belle Adrian is simply the stupidest, least charismatic client Mason has ever had. Most of them are only briefly featured in the first act, then serve as potted plants the rest of the show. Belle, played with simpering vacuousness by Field, is featured throughout, usually to undermine her own case through utter imbecility.

It's a shame because the plot itself is quite interesting, if somewhat convoluted, with plenty of recognizable character actors turning in excellent performances.

Silly plot, rotten dialogue, bad directing....we've been here before with P. M. But, it was interesting to see an (almost) concurrent "dramatic" role by Mrs. Martha Wilson..er, Sylvia Field. Don't recall seeing her (or maybe noticing her) in any other role.

While entertaining, this episode was probably the weakest story of season one. Sylvia Field (best-known as the first "Mrs. Wilson" of the Dennis the Menace series) just seems out-of-character here -- her part is so poorly written as to almost seem laughable. Every step she seems to take puts her in more jeopardy than the one before it. Even Perry gets frustrated by her actions, but plows ahead to defend her at all costs. Malcolm Atterbury does a good job as a busybody country bumpkin. Many of the plot devices seemed contrived, but that was not foreign to the entire series run. Good bit part work by Barbara Eden of "Jeannie" fame...