The Case of the Crafty Kidnapper

If at anytime you do not think this episode is as interesting as it should, just hold on till the ending. This episode has an ending that is shocking as any 'Perry Mason' episode in the entire run of the series. A great show.

Alex Tanner (Gary Collins) and his wife Patricia and baby, have just returned from Japan in order to take control of Pat's fathers business. He had just died and she is the one to inherit the family's good fortune. At the return party for the couple there is the cad of a reporter, Danny Shine, that in a drunken state, starts throwing out insults at everyone in the room.

Danny is taken out to his car by a woman he is having an affair with named Norma Fenn (Pat Priest). All this is seen by Danny's wife, Gloria (Cloris Leachman), as she has pulled up to spy on her husband. With Danny passed out, Greg Stanley reluctantly decides to drive him home. When Greg gets to Danny's house, he finds out that he has driven a dead man home. The guy has been shot and Greg's fingerprints are on the gun.

With Alex Tanner having an alibi for Greg, some of the prosecutions charges will be rebuffed. But when someone kidnaps the Tanner's baby, in order for them not to testify in the court hearing, it will prove rough for Perry as he defends Greg for the murder charge. But with the skill from Perry, he will try to find the reason that someone would kidnap a baby and justify a innocent person being found guilty. Plus we will find out why someone wanted to shut-up the noisy reporter.

But folks, don't take this episode too lightly. A surprise ending is in store for the viewer. Be ready to be floored when Perry finally pieces all the evidence together and the finger is pointed only to one person. One person that wanted it all. Very good show.

This is quite a different episode. We have a really nasty murder victim, a child kidnapping, a mother who is going around the bend, some threats from some bad guys, and quite the ending. Chloris Leachman is one of the women in the show; she plays the wife of the victim. It's certainly a bit of a cliffhanger.

Poor writing - especially the dialogue , poor acting, and even worse direction.....PM stumbles and staggers toward it's long-overdue demise.

Hopper, Talman, and Hale were OK bit players, at best. And Burr was a very one-dimensional actor - the only difference between PM and Ironside was Burr got to sit through Ironside - otherwise, it's the same character. I have to laugh at some of these "reviews". Collins had a "major" career? As a beauty pageant host...maybe. An acting tour-de-force? On Perry Mason? Where? I surely didn't see any signs of that. Good grief....

This was never a very good show even for it's time. But, it appealed to the masses, apparently.

Guest cast was very weak. Storyline lacked focus. Could tell end of series was coming very soon.

It was very obvious at this point that the series was ending and the writers were desperate for scripts to finish out the season. There were far too many unexplained anomalies and ridiculous situations for any of it to be believable. How do you hide a missing child for that long..? Are you that anti-social..? And a whole house full of people just ignore a constant honking car horn..? Give me a break. As another viewer has stated, the best part of this entry is the appearance of Walter Burke as a private gumshoe. Honorable mention to Anne Whitfield as an emotionally deluded mother. Throw the rest out with the garbage...