The Case of the Foot-Loose Doll

Poor Mildred Crest (Ruth Lee.) Framed by her beau Bob Wallis who stole money from the firm they both worked for.

At least he has the decency to phone her and tell her to run quickly

On her way to Los Angeles, she picks up a hitchhiker Fern Driscoll who has a suitcase with her initials. Only this Fern is an escaped criminal who pulls a gun on Mildred.

The car crashes and Fern is burnt to death. Mildred thinks it is best to assume her identity and get to LA. Only an insurance investigator called Carl Davis shows up demanding some letters to be returned.

Mildred is advised to see Perry Mason who senses that she is not telling the whole truth. Later Carl is injured by an ice pick, claiming he was attacked by Mildred. Later he dies when his injuries were not deemed to be that serious.

Now Perry has to defend Mildred for murder. Only Perry knows she cannot have killed the investigator.

Also where is the real Fern Driscoll? An escaped prisoner could not had a suitcase with her own initials. Where does the senator seeking re-election fit into all this?

No wonder both Paul Drake and Della Street have questions for Perry at the end. This is a complex story adapted for the screen. It was not always easy to follow.

Despite the twists and turns, the actual murderer of Carl Davies was easy for Perry to figure out.

Another so-so script, not bad, not good, maybe a bit above average. Some of the characters here are a bit stereotyped, but then again, that's Hollywood for you. A politician with ulterior motives, a couple of sleazy, incompetent private detectives, a woman with a secret and another with amnesia. Preposterous..? Maybe. But in this case, similarly to the previous one, it all hinges on one performance. I know I've said it before, but give the credit for this one all to Ruta Lee. She is definitely the cream of the crop in this outing. Funny how a good performer can brighten up the dullest story. This story isn't that bad, but Ruta makes it more than watchable.

My critique is simple. The Hollywood episode writers in 1959 make the characters sound like they just got off the plane from Britain. Characters sound like they're on the streets of London. A vendor will be asked "Have you any papers?" And he will answer "No, I'm sorry, I haven't any." Not "Do you have any papers?" and not "No, I don't have any."

A witness tells Mason, "I was out with a man." Mason asks, "*Has this man a name?" Not "*Does this man have a name?"

In court Mason will say to the judge "I should like to ask that this item be marked Exhibit A for the defense." Not "I would like . . . " The judge will say "It shall be so marked." Not "It will be so marked."

My complaint is, No American talks that way, not even in 1959. Americans say "Do you have any papers?" and "I would like to ask . . . ," etc. The dialogue in this episode, and in dozens of others in this series, is British English, not American English. Why were American script-writers writing British English for American actors to speak in 1959? When you watch this episode, or any others like it, the dialogue sounds contrived and artificial. It detracts from the otherwise excellent production. Someone should've said something.

There is a lot of things in this episode that does not make sense. I know we have to take some things with a grain of salt just for TV sake but this episode was full of items that was so strange even for a condensed one hour show.

The episode begins with Millie Crest receiving a phone call from her fiancé saying that he just stole some money from the firm where both of the work and it is going to look like she was an accomplice. Instead of calling the police or a lawyer, she gets into her car and drives away. Later she picks up a woman, Fern Driscoll, that was having car trouble. Fern is a troubled woman that decides to pull a gun on Millie to steal her car but the action causes Millie to loose control of the car and drive off a cliff killing Fern.

With Fern dead, Millie takes on her identity. Little does Millie know but she will find more trouble assuming the identity of Fern than keeping her own name. When she is visited by a sleazy investigator it will lead to a situation involving a Senator, some letters and an ice pick. When the investigator is killed with the ice pick it will lead to Millie confessing about her true name but this has no bearing on a murder warrant issued by Hamilton Burger's office.

But as the episode continues we find an odd twist to this mystery. People are not exactly whom they seem nor are people telling the exact truth. With the true murderer rather easy to spot the episode ends with the bailiff having to restrain someone from leaving the courtroom. Then we get a confession that is a constant of any Perry Mason episode. Even with some odd events in this episode it was still a worthy watch.

...the defendant looked familiar. Well, her acting was familiar first then her face.

She did a very good and believable job. Her crying was the most believable I've seen in the series yet.

So of course, I had to see where I had seen her from.

She plays one of the brides (Ruth) in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"! A classic and beloved musical. She was one of the more prominent brides in the film. So my memory of her is very vivid.

I'm happy I got to see her in something else. Now that I've gotten reacquainted with her work I'm hoping to come across some of her other screen work.

Also, Bray playing the private detective was pretty familiar too. I recognized him from a few westerns. Then I learned hell be in two other Perry Mason episodes. I'm looking forward to that. Will he be the victim again or maybe the perpetrator this time?