The Case of the Counterfeit Crank

I really enjoy this episode: The Case of the Counterfeit Crank.

The relationship between Perry & Gus is just wonderful. They are old friends & Perry doesn't take any mess from Gus! Granted, Perry doesn't take it from anyone, but it's different here and well, kinda sweet!

Another reviewer said the characters should have been developed more and another agreed but added there was no time in one episode. I totally agree with the latter - this one would have made a great movie!

But, Perry works his magical way into the lives/workings of the players in this one and in a particularly kind & gentle way because after all, Gus is like family to Perry. It's just special.

And yes, for me, at least, it is quite fun seeing a young Burt Reynolds!

Watch & enjoy!

Otto Kruger is one of three partners and head of a company and his company can't move without all three in agreement. When he shows signs of mental aberration nephew Don Dubbins moves in to have him committed and inherit his vote and control. Dubbins has a big deal cooking and he's using some forged documents to do it. Kruger escapes from an asylum he's locked up in and Dubbins winds up dead. He has to turn to his old family attorney and you know who that is.

Dubbins is pulling a few doublecrosses and one by his wife Connie Hines of Mister Ed is being pulled on him with one of the other partners. Hines is just another one of many suspects who could have done the deed.

I'm an agreement with another reviewer who said the insanity angle wasn't developed enough. But it probably would have taken a Perry Mason Mystery two hour format to have accomplished that.

Look for Burt Reynolds as the son of Kruger's secretary Jeanette Nolan. Forgery is the key to solving this mystery.

Another old guy with a big company is taken to the cleaners by an evil nephew whom he loved. He has good intentions but acts like a nut through the whole thing and Perry has trouble defending him. One thing that would be quite an impossibility. The old guy supposedly carried the dead man and put him in a station wagon. Oh, a young Burt Reynolds appears here.

Perhaps I was expecting too much from this storyline. With the great Otto Kruger playing, August Dalgran, an aging CEO of a company that has began behaving like he may be having mental problems- I though this was a great concept. The writers went as far to show August signing his name as Santa Claus, telling his co-workers that it is Christmas time in May and then throwing money out the office building to the street below. Then the writers seemed scared to expand the interesting character any further. The mental situation became a red-herring and we resorted back to a regular mystery. And when August became upset at his nephew and said 'I'll Kill him'- we all knew where this show was going.

Sure enough the nephew, Kenneth Dalgran ends up dead and the body just happens to be found in the back of a car that August (Uncle Gus) was driving. And we are back to a normal mystery for a 'Perry Mason' show.

Not to say that the mystery was poor, but the writers had so much material that would have sent the show into many different directions. However, they chose the safe path and we are provided with much less interesting plot than they could have produced.

With that said, the acting was top-notched and episode was entertaining. We also get to see a rare event when Perry lets the defendant testify during the preliminary hearing. Good show that could have been great.