The Case of the Festive Felon

A dying Bebe Brent makes a living bequest of one million dollars to her nurse Anne Seymour in trust for her daughter Sherry Jackson. She's engaged to Ray Stricklyn who is Bebe's nephew.

This starts a whole commotion over the estate when Bebe passes. And when family attorney John Howard is killed, it is Sherry Jackson who is grateful she retained Perry Mason for her estate action.

This episode plays like a soap opera where among other things we learn a lot about the late Bebe Brent's history and love life. As for the murderer it is someone you would not suspect at first at all. William Hopper uncovers a lot of evidence on that one and the person dismisses Paul Drake as just another dumb shamus.

The mystery that plays like a soap opera. Perry Mason fans will love it.

I imagine Perry Mason lovers, such as myself, enjoy the surprises and twists that come out in courtroom scenes, but this episode "sets the bar" on the number of backstories, which makes you wonder what is the central story. Prepare yourself--and keep wondering who is the "Festive Felon?" Certainly, you're fixated by the opening death-bed scene of the passionate appeals by BeBe to by the most shallow, unfeeling, family members ever (that should be a sufficient hint) . I guess for that reason, watch this episode--but take Perry's lead, don't get too drawn into the central plot; remain evasive and mysterious to Paul and Della.

Most of the reviewers have rated this one pretty highly, but I just can't agree. The murderer is just too obvious from the start (although the circumstances don't become apparent until much later in the courtroom) and the plot is typically thin for a later season entry. Once again we have a hefty inheritance and the overdone storyline of lies and deception that surround it. <Yawn...> And while I like Kathie Browne in general, in this outing she seems rather hapless and scattered, and it just doesn't suit her well. Sherry Jackson plays fine, but she's just not able to pull this one out of oblivion.

I am addicted to Perry Mason right now...it's a kind of therapy for me, given some uncontrollable and horrific events in my personal life, and the state of the USA political nightmare beginning in 2016...Love to revisit my childhood (I'm 69), learning more about how life was when my parents had me.

In essence, this episode, although a typically "Perry Mason" contrived plot, has the absolutely best group of talented, well-known actors of any other episode i"ve seen...and I've seen dozens!!!

Usually I can either shop online or do chores during most episodes and still get enough to enjoy the twists and turns and "impossibly corny" rhetoric in the courtroom, but this episode is far and away the best acted of them all so far...each principal character is played by an artist who "made it" eventually as a well-known actor either on TV, in the theater, or movies, or a combination of all these categories...because of the high level of each individual performance, the drama and intrigue produced by the resulting ensemble is amazingly elevated and I am totally focused on this episode,more so than any other I have enjoyed as I relive my childhood as a senior citizen!!!

Of course, I am always online at IMDB, researching each principal actor, learning more and more about what life was like when I was a clueless youngster who happily played with my friends, unaware of the history that was happening in the 50's and 60's.

If the daughter of BeBe is engaged to the son of one of her brothers, doesn't that make an aunt engaged to her nephew? Did I miss something?