The Case of the Reckless Rockhound

I thought I was watching "The Love Boat" seeing so many well known actors past their prime. The only difference was the names of the famous actors came in the end credits. The first one I recognized was Audrey Totter, then Bruce Bennett, Jeff Corey, Ben Johnson, Elisha Gish Jr., and finally Ted de Corsia. These six actors go back many years and were in many good movies. If this show were made in 2023 using actors with this pedigree, it would be a big deal. I imagine back then these actors were happy to get a payday. The Perry Mason show often used once famous older actors, but this episode outdid any other in the sheer number of them.

A woman who lost her husband, a man who was an irresponsible businessman, has been left to fend for herself. Suddenly, an old business partner of her husband's shows up and demands half of her business. Of course, he is going to be the victim, and she will be the defendant. Some interesting facts come to light along the way.

A very good episode with a night sky of guest stars that add to the interest of the show.

This involves Burgess Mine Company located outside LA. Mr Burgess had died and left the mine to his wife, Reba Burgess. Everything is going well until Carl Bascom comes to town.

Mr Bascom was the bookkeeper for the mine before Mr Burgess's death. He had found problems with the books and it seemed that Mr Burgess gave half ownership of the mine to Mr Bascom just days before his death. Since Mr Bascom thought the mine was going to shut down and criminal charges was forthcoming he tailed it off to South America.

After the death, Ms Burgess had some diamonds stored in the local bank's vault. She would use them for collateral to try pay off all the outstanding debts and get the mine running again. When Mr Bascom gets wind of this he is back to claim his half of the mine company. Much to the dislike of everyone in the town.

But before he can get his money he ends up dead by Ms Burgess's gun and she is charged with the murder. Perry comes in to defend her in a courtroom outside the boundaries of LA county.

Even with this simple story- the characters do a good job of making the viewer interested in the outcome of the mystery. We have bank presidents to handymen that seem to be a suspect in the case. But leave it to Perry to find the true closure to this set of circumstance.

In this we have a slew of guest guest actors. Bruce Bennett plays the bank president---Elisha Cook plays Reeling Pete---Ben Johnson plays Kelly---Ted de Corsia plays the police chief--- and some of older stars play minor roles like Ralph Moody and Lenore Shanewise (Ms Shanewise played in one of my favorite 'Perry Mason' episode in the 1958 The case of the Fiery Fingers)

This was a good show with a nice twist at the end. Good watch for all viewers.

Series writer Robb White's script is from the old school of mystery, and with a wonderful cast of veteran actors. In fact, if you're a movie buff, this is your cup of tea, and the reason I remembered this episode after many years.

Audrey Totter, in a solid performance, plays Reba Burgess, a sacrificing, hard-working widow, left to operate a mine in a small desert town, named after her husband. The mine employs lots of townsfolk, that is until a shady character named Bascam (Jeff Corey) enters the scene, and with a deed that entitles him to fifty percent of the property. Reba finds herself at odds with the scoundral, threatening to take over the mine and put everybody out of work -- until he's found dead. Did you expect it any other way?

Credit director Jesse Hibbs (and the makeup crew) for really making Corey look dead as a doornail, and putting some wry smiles on a few folks. Reba is immediately arrested and Mason takes the case. Guessing who the guilty party is, especially this prime list of suspects, is all the more fun for buffs. A surprise ending to be sure.

Outstanding cast, co-starring Bruce Bennett as Malone, Elisha Cook, Jr as Reelin' Pete, Ben Johnson as Kelly and two-fisted Ted de Corsia as Polek. Bennett, who lived to 100, often commented on the golden age of Hollywood, and it was classic tv like this that defined his experiences.

Atmospheric, thanks to writer Robb White, and the eerie music is fitting. In fact, the series through the years may have borrowed from Alfred Hitchcock's tv show, famous for its campy score. Composer Richard Shores mastered the final season episodes, later known for his work on HAWAII FIVE O.

Robb White, without too much surprise, worked on many of William Castle's prize mystery and horror films. It all fits. Additionally, some good on location work at Griffith Park and famous Bronson Canyon, substituting for the desert town.

Jesse Hibbs next project as director would be the FBI tv series.

SEASON 8 EPISODE 10 remastered dvd box set. Vol 1 (4 dvds) released 2012, Vol 2, released 2013.

The whodunit here is better than usual and I was genuinely surprised by the outcome. Nonetheless, reviewer tdickson is on target. The cast is an unusually illustrious one from the studio golden age, familiar faces from hundreds of B-movies of that era. My real purpose here is to pay my respects to them.

Too bad Audrey Totter never got the recognition her talent deserved. Few actresses of her time could do bad girl seductresses as well as she. Catch her in Lady in the Lake (1946) where she holds up beautifully under director Robert Montgomery's experiment with a subjective camera and 10 minute takes. She's not only lovely to look at but watch her many nuanced expressions.

Obviously, the great movie-maker John Ford thought a lot of Ben Johnson, casting him in a number of Ford's classic Westerns. Johnson looked and sounded more like an authentic cowboy than perhaps any other Hollywood actor. Maybe that's because he was an Oklahoma- born rodeo performer before catching on in Hollywood. Anyway, his best performance likely came as the aging cowboy in Peter Bogdanovich's non-Western The Last Picture Show (1971).

Then there's cult-figure Elisha Cook Jr, fall guy from a hundred crime and horror flicks. My favorite Cook role is from Stanley Kubrick's great caper film The Killing (1956), where the diminutive Cook is paired with buxom sex-pot Marie Windsor. Their verbal sparring over his frustrations with her allure are priceless.

Ted de Corsia was Hollywood's archetypal tough guy, gruff, bull-necked, and believably brutal when necessary. Nonetheless, I don't think I've seen any actor do sweaty fear any better than de Corsia in that crime classic The Enforcer (1951). Those first 10 minutes are a marvel of playing against type, deserving of a noir Oscar if there were such a thing. I expect the jail-house set still shows the sweat stains.

Hawk-nosed Jeff Corey is another unforgettable face, sort of a 40's look-alike of the wacky Kramer from the 90's sitcom Seinfeld. His specialty was shady urban types, such as Blinky Franklin in that masterpiece of the slick double-cross The Killers (1946). Too bad he ran afoul of the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950's that knocked a big hole in the middle of his career.

Tall, athletic Bruce Bennett may not have equaled the others in acting prowess, but he was an excellent Tarzan in Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938) and a strong physical presence. Note also, Roy Barcroft stunt man extraordinaire and bad guy from innumerable Saturday matinées, along with professional old-guy grouch Ralph Moody, veteran of some of the best early Dragnets.

None of these folks were headliners and I know I've gone on for some length for such an obscure web-site. Still and all, I'm a fan of the Mason series and this is an unusually fine cast for any of the series entries. It's sort of like Oscar night for a bunch of B-movie all-stars. Thanks Gail Patrick Jackson for getting them together in a single episode.