The Case of the Vagabond Vixen

Perry Mason's client in this story is up and coming producer Robert Ellenstein who plays Irving Thalberg to his senior partner Paul Cavanaugh's Louis B. Mayer. Cavanaugh has a real reputation with a casting couch and a certain bottom feeding blackmailing columnist played by James Anderson is going to take advantage of it.

Anderson has young vixen as per the episode's title Carol Leigh working for him. She attracts Cavanaugh on the road to his house and no self respecting wolf would pass her up with her Little Red Riding Hood routine.

But later on Cavanaugh is shot to death and Anderson becomes William Talman's star witness with a grant of immunity. Anderson implicates Ellenstein.

Both Leigh and Anderson get torn to shreds by Raymond Burr. Hamilton Burger learns not to be hasty with those immunity grants. And later on a murderer you feel sorry for confesses to the deed.

Nice maneuvering by Raymond Burr in this one.

This is a complicated case because there is extortion involved. Also, a young woman who is willing to say anything. We have a murder and a connection to a Hollywood producer who is being set up. Anyway, apparently this is one Erle Stanley Gardner's books and it forces us to pay attention every minute. The conclusion is a bit ambiguous and unsatisfying.

Here is another good episode from the first season as we see Perry defending John Addison (Robert Ellenstein) for the murder of his partner Edgar Farrell (Paul Cavanagh).

Seems both men were co-operators of Fidelity Studios. And a big stock holder's meeting was approaching that was going to swing the movie studio to a single manager and leave the other behind.

But before all of that Mr Farrell, picks up the 18 year old girl on the highway and takes her to a remote house that was owned by the studio. Before Mr Farrell gets lucky- a car drives up and he sends the girl into another room. The next scene produces a gunshot and then you see the young girl Veronica Dale (Carol Leigh) running from the house. And to make matters even more strange, she is picked up down the road by Mr Addison.

And when Hamilton Burger finds all this information, plus the fact that Mr Farrell was killed with Mr Addison's gun, a warrant is issued and Mr Addsion is taken to the county jail charged with murder.

There is also a big sub-plot to this story when we learn that picking up the girl on the highway was not by chance. It had been planned by ex-con blackmailer named Peter Hansel (James Anderson). This all comes to light- but Hamilton gives Peter immunity so that he can testify in court.

The episode ends in a rather uneventful way. Actually very tamed by 'Perry Mason' standards, when we get a confession from the true murderer away from the courtroom. But not before Perry makes people's testimony tainted by revealing lies while on the witness stand.

This is a good watch for viewers but nothing really stands out. It is a simple story with a simple ending. The only thing of mention is the beauty of Ms Carol Leigh and the performance by Barbara Peppers (she played Vernoica's mom).

Notes- I know this is an early episode, but every time some nugget of information is revealed in court, you get this loud rustling sound from the spectators gallery. I glad, in later episodes, they we away from that sound. In this show you get it about five times.