The Case of the Shifty Shoebox

Life is not easy for young Billy Mumy. First he has no Mother or Father. He has an alcoholic Uncle who seems a bit unhinged even when he is sober . His Uncle's frumpy sister really doesn't want him living with her and her brother. Even his best buddy tells him he is no good at baseball and doesn't have time to listen to him when he tries to explain that he has found a pistol in the woods. This episode is pretty interesting and easy to follow.

This episode is pretty jumbled and all over the place. Even Perry Mason is a bit weird in this one and doesn't appear in character. Billy Mumy is great though, and it's good to see Denver Pyle speak normally before he developed the cornbread 'Darling' accent he used in the Andy Griffith Show and the Dukes of Hazard. It you're picking through which episodes to watch, skip this one. I think the writers, cast, director and producer must have 3 martini lunches to get through this mess. Oh well - most episodes are great and it's very difficult to pick out whodunnit. We will allow a lemon or two out of 270 plus episodes!

Billy Mumy was a prolific little actor in the fifties and sixties. Here he plays a little foster kid who is very secretive. One day, he finds a gun that has been tossed along a fence. Meanwhile a robbery takes place where his aunt works. There are some serious clues and some good suspects, but she gets the brunt of the accusations. A modest, but entertaining episode. One glitch is Miles going to LA and finding the courtroom in one of the biggest cities in the U. S.

Compared to the previous episode, this one is a definite letdown. Billy Mumy is an orphan child thrown into the lives of a bunch of humans that are undeserving of him. The story itself is a convoluted mess, and after a stunning start to season seven, Arthur Marks falls back into his usual M. O. of ham-fisted direction. Benny Baker's Uncle Flick is a tad over-the-top, and Joseph Sirola isn't far behind. Probably the two weakest points are the "journey" to court by Mumy and the molasses-slow denouement and admission of guilt by the real perpetrator. Had some of the characters been toned down a little, and others a bit livelier, it might have worked. As-is, (aside from Mumy) it's just so-so.

Writer Jackson Gillis came up with a mystery twist, a welcome change of pace where the story centers around a resourceful kid, none other than Billy Mumy. And who can argue with a little boy, likely to tell the truth, the whole truth, which is refreshing in itself.

Billy plays Miles, an orphan now living with his aunt Sylvia (Constance Ford) who happens to be working for a trucking company where money is disappearing. Benny Baker, best at playing Runyonesque characters, gets into the action, affectionately called Uncle Flick (for Flickinger). He slips into the company office, there's a fight and he tosses his gun. Miles picks it up, stashes it in a shoe box -- and low and behold it vanishes. One of the co-owners of the business is shot to death and aunt Sylvia is accused of murder.

You can see why Billy was added to the drama, taking it to another level, including a father and son-like talk with Perry. A clever add on which goes a long way in this mystery. The cast is marvelous, Constance Ford a fine dramatic actress, for decades a soap opera star in ANOTHER WORLD. Benny Baker always a hoot, looking suspicious, even if he isn't. Denver Pyle plays Frank and keep an eye on Joe Sirola (as Bill), his gravel voice and dark features made him a splendid villain. He gained much fame as a voice-over actor for tv commercials.

FYI; Watch the faces (no matter what they say), even at the beginning of the story. Something I've learned with this show which pays dividends in the end.

SEASON 7 EPISODE 2 remastered CBS dvd box set. Volumes 1 and 2 with a classic cover. The entire series is also on dvd in a single box set. The ultimate tv gift. Thanks METV for running these prime mysteries twice daily.