The Case of the Calendar Girl

Andrews (played by John Anderson) goes to see Perry about a car accident in which a woman may have been injured. Andrews did not report the accident to the police because it happened outside the home of a political fixer, whom Andrews had just seen. Andrews sensed something amiss in the accident, because the woman he first saw on the ground had been replaced. The fixer is found dead and Andrews is charged. Perry works through the various people, and the viewer can easily see which one of them is lying to Perry. Much courtroom time is spent on timelines and Perry presents a sur-rebuttal. The murderer's motive is not revealed until the epilog. Ralph Moody plays the hardware store owner from whom the murder weapon was stolen. There were no fingerprints on the weapon, which magically appeared in Andrews' glove compartment. Not one of the more interesting Masons. You sort of know who the villain is but not why. As for calendar girls, photography is a hobby of the fixer and his last roll of film has relevance to the timeline. Later Masons involve more advanced photography issues.

If you like courtroom testimony then you are going love this episode since we have many people called to the witness stand in order for Perry to find the true murderer and save his client from the gas chamber. It appeared that Hamilton Burger had the upper hand on Mr Mason until Perry kept asking questions which lead to the truth of the matter seeing the light of day.

The story, which is more complex than needed, centers around an owner of a construction company named George Andrews. He has been having trouble with surprise inspections and was told to go see a political Mr Fit-it, Wilfred Borden, that would solve his problem for the right amount of cash.

Mr Borden, which also had another hobby as a photographer, is found murdered after George Andrews visit which lead to George being a suspect. Then when Lt Tragg finds the murder weapon in the glove compartment of Mr Andrews' car it will lead to murder warrants.

There is a lot going on in this episode which includes a car wreck, a story of kidnap, a divorce, an injury and of course a photo. The viewer has to be one their toes to keep all the testimony separate and to find out who is telling falsehoods. Perry will finally solve the mystery when someone makes an error on the stand and will have his client walking free and the viewers feeling satisfied with the show. Good Watch.

Wilfred Borden is a political fixer and a keen photographer. Late at night he meets building contractor George Andrew (John Anderson) who is having issues with building inspectors.

George is hoping that Borden will make the problems disappear for a fee. Before George goes bust.

On his way home, George is involved in a car accident where a young woman gets injured. After he goes to get a flashlight, he notices the woman thrown from the car is different. The shoes have changed.

Fearing something suspicious he goes to see Perry Mason. Later George is arrested for the murder of Wilfred Borden.

Perry Mason, Della and George had gone to the Borden's house. Perry was sure that the originally injured woman might be in the estate looking for help.

Proceedings take place in a preliminary hearing to establish that there is a triable case.

It is clear very early on that Hamilton Burger has no triable case. You have two young women, one who has acted suspiciously. That was the least of it.

Surprisingly Paul Drake had little to do. Perry had turned photographer and managed to take pictures of a lady with bruises. It would go on to become very important.

Compared to the episode immediately preceding, this one was a bit of a letdown. Not quite sure why, it just was. The plot was unusually complicated and confusing. Too many moving parts to keep the story flowing in a linear direction. This one seemed to have been buoyed only by the photographic model eye candy. Dean Harens plays his part with alacrity, but it doesn't quite raise the bar high enough...

You know that when the participant in an automobile accident reaches first for his lawyer before calling the cops to report the accident we know there's a problem. That's what John Anderson does in this Perry Mason episode after he hits a car where the woman looks dazed and then disappears on him.

Anderson's reason for not reporting the accident is a conundrum for him at least. He just came from the estate of a well known political fixer. Anderson is the construction trade and the building inspectors have descended upon like locusts. In that most bribable of professions fixer George Neisse can make them go away, but very discreetly.

But then Neisse turns up shot to death and Anderson has a real jackpot on his hands. Good thing he's already retained Perry Mason.

My ratings of a Perry Mason mystery rise and fall on whether and how easily I can spot the real murderer. In this case it was pretty easy because the perpetrator was real shifty and declined to help with Raymond Burr's investigation for his client.

In only a preliminary hearing Hamilton Burger's case falls apart at the seams. How that man kept his job as District Attorney is truly a mystery.