The Case of the Fanciful Frail

Actually in the 50s Ford was a sponsor, he usually drove dark Ford convertibles, but once in a while he would be in black Cadillac Convertibles. I found out that the sponsor was not always Ford, and when GM was a sponsor he was in a Cadillac. In fall of 60 he started driving the new Lincoln Continental Convertible that had just came out. But by 65-66 he was in Cadillacs again. Also all through most of the 60s when he was in Continentals, and Ford was a sponsor, someone important to the story was usually driving a Buick Electra or Wildcat . Sometimes in the last year of the show, the police were driving AMC cars.

I found this one a fun and fanciful late entry of the very long running Perry Mason series, and highly entertaining. It's a tale of murder, identity swapping and corporate intrigue. For much of its length I found myself smiling and occasionally laughing at the near surreal events it depicted.

It seems that the powers that be at Paisano Productions, which produced the series, allowed the stories and the characters depicted therein get more than a bit offbeat, at times downright odd as the show drew to a close in its final season. This one's better than most, and nicely acted by a fine guest cast.

I highly recommend this episode for fans of the series who possess a sense of humor. No, it's not a comedy or a send-up; more like everyone having some good clean fun, all the while keeping straight faces while doing so.

A plot too convoluted for its own good and a lead character that's truly impossible to believe characterize this Perry Mason episode. How could anyone like Pippa Scott get herself in the potential jackpot she's in.

Pippa who's a rather shy girl works in a brokerage house and her fiancé not only leaves her at the altar, but holding an empty bag where $50,000.00 from her firm is supposed to be. She takes it on the lam to get clear of the law and find her missing man.

And then she runs into Abigail Shelton who suggests they switch identities since they do have something of a physical resemblance to her. Shelton also has money and man troubles. But Shelton is killed in a car crash and buried with Pippa's identity.

So Pippa comes to Raymond Burr with this rather tall tale which he and everyone else is having trouble with. Sad to say including the audience.

I watched this episode today and it was so different from what I expect from Perry Mason that I had to look it up. I'm not a huge follower of the show but enjoy watching it with my elderly mother so maybe there are other episodes I just haven't seen before.

I've never seen them use handheld cameras like they do here. Am I mistaken about that?

Anyway, while watching I kept getting impressions of moments in David Lynch's movies and twin peaks. The whole random meeting and switching identities and tone of the entire episode of it being so ridiculous that even the characters can't believe it. It really makes me wonder is Lynch was a Perry Mason fan as a kid.

I'm baffled as to how Peggy Sutton came by the $51,000 in counterfeit money in the first place. So, she somehow stole it from the mob, who was laundering it for Ethel's boss? @_@ Then she immediately demonstrated more of her bad driving/judgement by crashing Ethel's car, getting burnt beyond recognition?

Peggy had a horrible gambling habit and supposedly was just cut off by her rich stepfather. So, where did that cash come from?

Was she laundering counterfeit money for the mob? Why did she look so blissfully happy in the opening scene, smoking in bed without a care in the world?