The Case of the Restless Redhead

This first case concerns a waitress who is chased down the highway in the middle of the night by a man with a pillow case over his head. She had found a gun in her apartment that does not belong to her, and with it she shoots two shots in the direction of pillow guy, his car swerves and goes off the road, and she continues on to Perry Mason's office. She is ultimately charged with murder. And of course there is a complex involved tale behind all of this.

The first episode establishes Mason's dedication to his clients. His office connects him to the waitress in the middle of the night when she calls wanting help. Perry is shown, suavely dressed even for bedtime, reading in his library. Of course he'll come to the office at 1 AM. I could find Vladimir Putin napping in my spare bedroom and my attorney wouldn't return my calls at 1AM.

Likewise, Perry's secretary Della Street is shown to be completely OK at coming into the office at 1AM, cheerful with handy coffee thermos in hand. Private eye Paul Drake is tossed a job to do with only an hour to do it in and of course he comes through. Lieutenant Tragg is grumpy right out of the gate, and notice he does not read anybody their rights at this point. The Miranda case is almost a decade in the future.

Perry Mason is a much more conservative lawyer as the series progresses. But here he takes some chances and walks right up to the edge of what the law allows. He plays games with the alleged murder weapon, and actually takes it out to the scene of the crime and fires it randomly into a tree just to mix things up and confuse the police.

A humorous moment occurs when Perry shows up at the scene of the accident/murder and the cop at the scene keeps saying - "Somebody get me a winch!" Hey, buddy. Nobody is interested in your dating needs right now!

I am a fan of the Perry Mason TV series, Season 1-9. However, I find Season 1 to be superior for the reasons many have stated here. I also love the film noir quality of these episodes (and to some extent in Seasons 2-3). As the series progressed this aspect was lost as the production quality became more polished; something seen on television as a whole.

In Season 1, all but a handful of episodes were directly or adapted from Gardner's books. For the obvious reason he wrote a finite number, with each season we saw fewer from his works in favor of what came from the mind of the screenwriter. Many of those are fine episodes, but there was something special (at least to me) about the scripts based on the original source material.

The Case of the Restless Redhead was a great introduction to the series and the cast. It was not the first episode filmed; which was the outstanding episode, Case of the Moth Eaten Mink.

Altho i watched many PERRY MASON episodes when i was younger - i don't recall seeing this one - so when i saw it available on my Freevee app - and that it was the debut episode of the entire series - i decided i needed to see it - and i'm glad i did

i recall being surprised during my viewings of the series - to see how Perry Mason would be so actively involved behind the scenes - visiting the scene of the crime - manipulating the people involved - to me - it seemed unrealistic - like the more recent tv series of forensics technicians or medical examiners in later tv series - where they would interact with the people involved in ways that i thought only a police investigator should

but this episode was based on a novel written by a lawyer - Earle Stanley Garner himself - if i assume it is faithful to the novel - i'll just have to accept the appropriateness of that behavior in Perry

this plot pivots on a clever trick he pulls - involving the 2 revolvers - i won't give it away - but i had difficulty anticipating the final result of that trick - and was immensely impressed

like most of the PERRY MASON episodes i've seen - this script has a simplicity and clarity - to match the visual clarity of its direction and cinematography - in the same way that the black & white photography suits the theme and style of the show.

This first entry, a good one, shows how much the series changed over the nine years (1957-1966). Note how Mason (Burr) sports a loud jacket, smokes conspicuously, shakes his devious client, and generally acts in ways contrary to his later ultra-conservative demeanor. That's understandable, since at this point Mason's not yet the embodiment of the criminal justice system that he came to be with his button-down suits, professionally serious manner, and flawless manuevering. Also, the plots do not yet follow the later whodunit formula. Note in this initial 60 minutes how the guessing game concerns the murder gun more than who used it. Note too, how several of the interviews occur outdoors, probably on the studio lot, and not indoors on a sound stage. Later episodes tended to over-use the indoors (even the same staircase set), probably for cost-cutting reasons.

As one fan of the series, I do prefer these earlier entries since they're generally livelier, more colorful, and less predictable in format. Nonetheless, it's understandable that the Mason character would have to evolve in a conservative direction with the show's success. After all, as a defense attorney who never loses, he's showing up the prosecution week after week. On one hand, such positive outcomes prove that the system works-- the innocent are exonerated when the guilty confess. On the other hand, the prosecution puts innocent people on trial week after week who might otherwise be convicted without Mason's superb skills. The viewing public would never have tolerated a wise-guy in the Mason role for very long. And it's a tribute to Raymond Burr, the actor, that he manages the changes over the nine years as well as he does.

This first entry plays more like How-can-I-get-my-client-off than the trademark whodunit. Surprise, surprise, Mason's client is a shapely redhead (Blake). At one time or another, it seems Mason rescued about every starlet in Hollywood from Berger's well-intentioned clutches. This one sets that pace.

The opening episode is a great introduction to the characters of the series. Perry is full of vigor as he is more involved than in future episode while running down evidence that will help his client. Things that would soon be given to Paul Drake, is done by Perry as he talks with witnesses and finds evidence in this episode that is fully packed.

When Evelyn Bagby finds a handgun in her apartment, she calls Perry and he tells her to leave the apartment with the gun and be at his office in the morning. On her way to a hotel she is nearly wrecked by a man with a hood driving right beside her. For some reason, she fires two shots from the gun near the car. Later the police find the man and he was shot. Perry will defend Evelyn Bagby is court against the charge of murder brought by Hamilton Burger's office.

When we go to court the proceedings, the program becomes somewhat complex as Perry introduces two identical guns that seemed somewhat confusing as we try to keep the two guns separate. But through more cross examination and some evidence twisteroo, Perry is able to get his client acquitted and the true killer arrested.

It was nice to see the first episode. It was like meeting the characters for the first time. Was not too thrilled with the case that Perry defended but the episode is worthy of a watch. For the started episode is was a good watch.