Perry Mason Casebook

David Martindale is a former newspaper editor who writes for various entertainment publications. The "Perry Mason" show was popular because people were interested in the system of justice. The stories were good (p.13). "Perry Mason" was a Sherlock Holmes in a courtroom. There had been a radio show for 12 years. Erle Stanley Gardner was totally involved with the series. The weekly TV shows quickly used up most of the original novels. The "Perry Mason" character is based on Erle Stanley Gardner's own experience as a lawyer (p.15). Gardner was very concerned about human rights and injustice (p.16). Chapter 2 tells how Gardner developed "Perry Mason" from two earlier novels. Gardner admired the Sherlock Holmes stories ("The Case of the ..."). Gardner was a very prolific writer in his "fiction factory"; he dictated and his secretaries typed. Gardner considered himself a good plotter, not a very good writer, but the reading public loved his books. Hollywood tampered with his stories, Gardner kept firm control in the future (p.18). The television series was as fast-paced as the novels (p.25). The cast of performers was well-matched. The stories were entertaining, not realistic. Mason even lost a few cases (p.32). Most of the episodes for the first season were based on Gardner's stories (p.33). The episodes had a costly quality, they weren't "cheap". Eventually sagging ratings ended the series after nine seasons. Did the 1973-74 season fail because of the actors (p.37)? Raymond Burr later returned as "Perry Mason" with a lighter workload (p.40). [This 1991 book does not cover the end.] Chapter 7 discusses the actors who portrayed "Perry Mason" on TV, film, and radio. Chapter 8 discusses the other actors in the TV series. Chapter 9 lists the Perry Mason novels and any television or movie version. Chapter 10 names the six novels made into movies in the 1930s. Chapters 11 through 19 document the episodes of the nine seasons and their 271 stories. Chapter 20 has the fifteen episodes of the `new' adventures (1973-74). Chapter 21 lists the 19 episodes of the last series on television (1985-1991). There is no index.