The Case of the Restless Redhead

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.

The first episode of perry mason is i beleive based off the case of the restless red head the perry mason novel by earl stanley gardner. It is a decent first episode with a decent reveal of the killer. But in the cast pf charectors in this particular story other charectors with stronger motives against the victim might have made a more interesting reveal. I did find the killers break down in court quite funny at one point though. Funny acting.

If your interested to know a full spoiler review you may find it on my utube channel. Luke's video game lets plays. It was decent for a first one but i would have preferred one of the stronger motives. Regular cast does a good job. Raynond burr is on screen the majority of the time. I think his screen time gets cut back to more formulatic scenes over the years, with the majority of the first half of the episode focusing on the guest star that will come to need mason's defense. But with raymond burr still being the star of course. I imagine the cut back of scenes must have been to not over work raymond burr who must have been exuasted from the work load. Granted this episode is just as much formulatic and procedural as the later episodes, just with more raymond burr.

And with that i conclude my thoughts on the case of the restless redhead. Case one is closed.

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!

Although not the first filmed, the premiere episode of the series has a good noir feeling to it that was lost for the most part in the later seasons. While there is a little confusion in the plot at times, it's nothing the viewer can't overcome. Perry is also shown performing some questionable shenanigans which made his character more interesting that was lost as the series got more straight-laced. All-in-all a fun start to a satisfying series...

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.