The Case of the Laughing Lady

A hard and bitter Jean Hale locked up in LA County Jail for a murder she didn't commit while watching television sees the woman she thinks did the crime and hears the same maniacal laughter she heard that night. After getting out of solitary from the riot she started, Hale finds she has a new attorney in the person of Perry Mason. That should tell you right away she didn't do it.

The whole thing in this episode is identifying that same rather unique laugh and during the course of the investigation Raymond Burr and William Hopper run into Professor John Abbott who happens to be a speech pathologist. His expertise becomes invaluable.

The murderer and the laughter are identified. But wait till you see what the solution was. Rather intriguing for this episode of Perry Mason.

Others have made good comments about the plot, so I want to focus on some other points. One of the reasons I enjoy this series so much, is that it is consistently classy. Take a good look at the big restaurant where Perry & Co. Meet Hamilton Burger and Steve Drum, the new police lieutenant. That restaurant set is very carefully done; it really looks like a high-end place. The series always paid special attention to having outstanding sets, mansions, outdoor scenes, you name it. Compared to other series of its period (the color Westerns excepted) PM just did all that better than other shows.

Another point: while Perry's client this time is not some sophisticated rich person (quite the opposite!) he does have to probe into a world full of rich people, and their hangers-on. So many of Perry's cases do involve wealthy individuals, who quite often turn out to be the villains!

One of the many nice things about this series: everybody is so well dressed, especially the ladies! This series had great style!

One minor but fun point: I recognized the judge in this episode. In a 1940's Charlie Chan film, he played a pyscho killer! It took me aback to see him on the bench!

The Case of the Laughing Lady.

Episode aired Sep 12, 1965 1h.

Jean Hale!

The last scene is perhaps my most favorite of all 271 episodes.

Carla Chaney is in Perry's office settling her bill.

She figures $75 in expenses and 4 days in court at $25/day or $100 for a total of $175.

Perry has Della bring in the account.

It shows a charge of $1705.40.

He says $100 in expenses and $15/day for a total of $160.

It's a classic exchange.

Bernard Fox as Peter Stange is a nice addition. He was in a very good Columbo episode, too.

During the murder there were 3 people at the house.

The murderer, Carla Chaney, and Leona Devore, plus the shrill and squawky bird.

The case itself is interesting. A prisoner hears a laugh during a TV program and realizes it is that of a woman for whom she is serving a sentence. Perry gets a back strain from twisting and helping her amid negative evidence. All that is fine. The problem is the conclusion. It is a childish one not deserving of the show.

Again, with what some of the reviewers said, why do you watch the show at all? To be able to complain about it? Beyond me. I thought this episode was good in terms of the overall plot and the underlying mystery, including the laughter. However, there were a few holes in the plot.

First, it was never explained why the cage was sent to the victim's residence. Did he have a bird and needed a cage for it, or did he do it in connection with his blackmail scheme because he knew the cage was a counterfeit, and who owned the bird? I assumed it was the victim, and when the killer did him in, he took the cage outside in anticipation of disposing of it later. OK, but when I heard the laugh, I immediately thought "that's a bird, not a human," so it's extremely unlikely that either the female gallery owner or the initial suspect thought it was human, and how could each of them hear it so clearly anyway and each think it's the other cackling? Weak part of the plot. And did the sound expert NOT think it was a bird and not a human? He never implied that. In fact, I think he said it was a laugh caused by panic or stress. And lastly, the killer's reaction when he saw the bird (amazing how the bird kept so quiet until Paul raised the sheet covering the cage) was a bit over the top, because why would he think he was cooked at that point? Mason had just said that there was no proof of when he had been at the victim's residence. Almost like 48 minutes of good mystery and a rushed 3-minute ending. But hey, the three main characters were terrific (and Della was smashingly beautiful as always), Burger was his usual pensive spoiled bratty child (he said he wanted to beat Perry's brains in? Really?!?), and the tightly wound, tense, never smiling, angry Andy was finally replaced by a great character actor playing Lt. Drumm. Good for me.