The Case of the Deadly Double

Even though not written by Erle Stanley Gardner I think this is one of the best Perry Masons ever. Constance Ford was a great actress. Unfortunately she is mostly forgotten today. When this episode comes up, sit back and prepare to be entertained.

My grandfather loved Perry Mason, so I watched it with him for yers in the 1970s. I am rewatching the series at his age then. This is the best episode of the first 25. Why? Best story.

A number of reviewers have done great recaps of the plot line here, and updated the medical component.

But trying assiduously to avoid any spoilers, i think it's as drama that this episode really shines.

Special kudos to Murray Hamilton for his superb portrayal of the "tough guy".

His performance is worthy of any of the best noirs.

That said, the episode is no doubt Constance Ford's.

Her work in this is stunning.

Watch her on the witness stand - a master class in acting.

This is one of the finest and most intriguing Perry Mason's.

Groundbreaking in it's subject matter, but still firmly rooted in exploring the human frailties that lead to disaster.

They even manage a certain melancholy for the perpetrator.

An interesting melange, well presented, and highly recommended!

Robert Crane (Denver Pyle) warns his brother in law David Reed that if he continues to try to sue to have his son taken from his mother, Crane's sister Helen Reed, that he will kill him.

It turns out that Helen Reed is a very mousy proper woman, but she has a boisterous bon vivant alternate personality, Joyce Martel. Joyce likes to hang out in bars and is having an affair with a super jealous nightclub owner. Helen is not aware of Joyce's existence, but Joyce is aware of Helen's. Joyce even has her own apartment under her name for her night life existence. Then Helen's husband is found murdered in Joyce's apartment with her brother's gun. The brother is arrested for the murder, and Perry takes the case.

By talking to Helen's psychiatrist Perry learns the facts of Helen's illness and about the existence of Joyce Martel. The good doctor tells him that Helen could not have committed the murder, but that Joyce easily could have done it. The only way Perry can get to the bottom of things is have Joyce testify, and that involves putting Helen in a trance. You can just imagine the objections coming from Hamilton Burger.

The idea of multiple personalities had been explored in "The Three Faces of Eve" the year before, but it was not commonly discussed on TV yet. And even then the show mislabels Helen Reed's illness. The psychiatrist says that she has schizophrenia when that is NOT the same as multiple personality disorder.

There is something Hitchcockian about this story as it deals with multiple personalities.

Helen Reed is a seemingly normal woman who is going through a messy divorce from her wealthy husband. Especially regarding custody of their son. Her husband calls Helen an unfit mother. Helen's brother threatens her husband.

When her husband is found dead, Helen's bag contained the gun used to kill him.

However there is another woman of interest. Joyce Martel who is a floozie and she is seeing a low rent gangster who is a bit of a shark.

Perry discovers that Helen and Joyce are the same woman with different personalities. Helen is allergic to furs but not Joyce.

There are some psychological tricks pulled by Perry such as bringing out Helen's dual personality in the witness box. However I thought the denouement was weak with the whole story being mumbo jumbo.

Murray Hamilton plays the gangster and Denver Pyle plays Helen's concerned brother.