The Case of the Barefaced Witness

An old client looks up William Hopper who a couple of years ago was hired to find Russ Conway who stole money from the Pinion City Bank. Conway was dating Enid Jaynes from the bank and everyone thought she was on the inside of that job though nothing was proved. Now Conway is back in town and Jaynes is still looking for the money to clear herself.

When Conway turns up dead however Jaynes is needing Raymond Burr to defend her. While doing so Burr and Hopper uncover a nice little fraud scheme involving some insider knowledge.

As we're not in Los Angeles Burr has to face folksy old prosecutor Paul Fix who tries a couple of times to appeal to the local prejudices against the slick big city lawyer. Of course this is Perry Mason so you know how that goes. And there's also a nice performance from Josephine Hutchinson playing Jaynes's aunt who has a terrible family secret which is part of the whole mystery.

I think fans of the show will like this one.

Sharp eyed viewers of classic TV shows will recognize the train station scenes were filmed at the Fillmore and Western Railway Company. The older parts of Moorpark filled in for the fictional Piñon City.

One of the two bearded men flips off the cameraman in the first scene. I was taking several pictures of the sign that Adam West walked in front in the opening scene. When I checked the pictures I had caught one of the bearded guys flipping off the camera.

(One of the two bearded men flips off the cameraman in the first scene. I was taking several pictures of the sign that Adam West walked in front in the opening scene. When I checked the pictures I had caught one of the bearded guys flipping off the camera.) (One of the two bearded men flips off the cameraman in the first scene. I was taking several pictures of the sign that Adam West walked in front in the opening scene. When I checked the pictures I had.)

Adam West appears in this one because they needed a bad actor. He is the former boyfriend of the young woman who is central to the story. Anyway, she was implicated in a major theft where the money was never recovered. It was a bad boy who pulled her in. It was thought she had the money. The story ends up with her confronting people that she should not have, putting her life in danger. Highlight: Paul Drake gets arrested for not having a beard. If that makes no sense, watch the episode.

Three years ago Fred Swan was a banker in Pinion City until he embezzled money and then faked a robbery to cover up his bad deed. He was soon convicted but the money, $33,750, was never found.

The entire town believed that his girlfriend, Iris McKay, knows where the money is located. The pressure was so great for Iris that she left the small town and moved to LA.

While in LA, Iris used the Paul Drake Detective Agency in order to clear her name. But the investigation never really lived up to the hopes of Paul or Iris.

Now Iris has received a note advising that Fred Swan had returned to Pinion City. She believes if she can talk with Fred she maybe able to clear her name. So she takes a trip back home and will be staying with her aunt Miss Sara McKay (played by the wonderful Josephine Hutchinson) to try to find out the truth about the missing money.

When she returns to Pinion City, she learns that Fred may be staying at a local campground but cannot find his true whereabouts. But she did learn that her aunt, a few years ago, had sent her a sealed folder to her LA apartment. Iris calls Perry's office, searching for Paul, in order to go to her apartment and retrieve the folder. When Perry and Paul get to the apartment the place has been ransacked and the folder missing.

Paul goes to Pinion City to meet Iris. While searching for her, he finds that Fred Swan has been murdered. And all the evidence gathered by the local police points to Iris as the suspect. She is soon charged with murder and Paul calls Perry to help defend her in the small town.

With an all-star guest cast that includes; Ms Hutchinson, Adam West, Malcolm Atterbury, Roy Roberts and Paul Fix-- along with good script-- we get a good mystery that when the credits roll we have more than one crime solved by the cross-examination from Perry Mason.

Even though the courtroom confession was rather typical, the storyline and the acting was first class. A good watch for any viewer.

NOTE- Watch the sideburns of Adam West and Roy Roberts. During the early part of the show, the sideburns are far below the ear. (Elvis style) But near the end of the show the sideburns are normal.