The Case of the Wrathful Wraith

As a recent convert to perry mason, 3 seasons so far. I found this show to be so tedious that I fell asleep twice before powering through to the end.

In this unique and entertaining story we get a situation that is as odd as any Mason show in the collection. An episode that was excellent to watch with a story that was fascinating to the very end.

The episode begins as Perry is defending Louise Selff for a charge of murder. She is accused of murdering her husband on a yacht and disposing the body in the ocean. With the body never found and the testimony all circumstantial, the Judge throws out the charge due to insufficient evidence.

After the court hearing Ms Selff is haunted by seeing visions of her dead husband and verbal contacts from the grave. People are now believing that Louise is going insane and now telling that she actually has seen her husband. But things go from strange to bizarre when her husband is found recently shot on the balcony of the Selff estate. With Louise in possession of the murder weapon she will again go to trial for the murder of her husband.

Perry will again defend Louise Selff in court for the second charge of murder. In court, Perry will tiptoe through testimony involving a contract that will prove to be the reason for all the problems. Louise Selff is not insane nor is she guilty. The true murderer will be exposed and Perry will exonerate his client for the second time in one episode. -- One of the better shows in the last season of the series.

Best line ever from Della. I have been rewatching Perry Mason episodes and have to say season 9 has been so much better than the previous seasons 6,7,8. The past few seasons spent almost too much time on the guest stars with very little interaction between Perry, Paul and Della.. especially Della seemed relegated to the background.

This episode was entertaining and a little spooky.. Perry represents a woman (Marian McCargo) who is accused of murdering her husband and he gets her off not in the court of public opinion.

Afterwards strange things start to happen to her such as disappearing items, a strange man lurking outside her house, ghostly visitations.. the usual twists and turns. Did not care for the acting of Marion McCargo, who was too over the top and annoying, but enjoyed the plot. Over the years Perry Mason touched on some interesting topics.. tabloids, mental health, teenage angst, protests, domestic violence, unwed mothers. Perry was always had a moral compass and tried to do the right thing even when odds were against him. The characters of this show have always been endearing which to me is why the show remains a classic .. even with its shortfalls of crazy plots, courtroom outbursts and overacting guest stars.

As this episode opens up we learn that Perry Mason actually had a case that went to jury and Marian McCargo was found not guilty. That sure would have shattered the usual paradigm for Perry Mason stories as he never lets cases get that far. But no matter he gets to defend McCargo again.

Hard to prove murder without a body maybe it was the DA's fault and he never should have indicted in the first place. Only now McCargo is being haunted by her dead spouse and one night he's shot to death at their home and she's found standing over the body murder weapon in hand.

McCargo delivers a fine performance as a woman really about to lose control. Even William Talman is feeling sorry for her as he offers to take a plea for temporary insanity.

But this time Raymond Burr acquits McCargo and in true Perry Mason style.

Would have liked this episode if the client hadn't been so tiresome and irritating. I had thought Perry's client who was the probation officer that rushed to the aid of his old girlfriend was my least favorite, or Noah Berry acting as the hick husband were worse,Oh, there are so many unlikeable clients. Ms McCargo plays a hysterical, whining rich woman who is so stupid, who would care if she's framed for murder? Her character has to be really irritating if I give a one star to a Raymond Burr show. I know strong, confident women were rare in those old shows, with Della as the exception. Honey West was an exception, too, but that's another show