This is a list of episodes for Perry Mason, an American legal drama series that aired on CBS television for nine seasons (September 21, 1957 – May 22, 1966). The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. Many episodes are based on novels and short stories written by Gardner, with some stories having been adapted more than once.
Series overview
Episodes
Season 1 (1957–58)
Season 2 (1958–59)
Season 3 (1959–60)
Season 4 (1960–61)
Season 5 (1961–62)
Season 6 (1962–63)
Season 7 (1963–64)
Season 8 (1964–65)
Season 9 (1965–66)
Notable episodes
"The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink" (episode 1–13) was the pilot film for the Perry Mason series. It was filmed October 3–9, 1956, more than a year before it aired. Written and directed like a film noir second feature, it was a hit with CBS executives and earned the series a good time slot for the 1957–58 season.
In four episodes adapted from Erle Stanley Gardner novels — "The Case of the Silent Partner" (episode 1–6), "The Case of the Baited Hook" (episode 1–14), "The Case of the Velvet Claws" (episode 6-22) and "The Case of the Careless Kitten" (episode 8-24) — the cases are solved without ever going into the courtroom. "Although Gardner's Mason had often maneuvered so successfully on his clients' behalf that they never had to appear in court", wrote film scholar Thomas Leitch, "television episodes without such scenes are highly unusual."
"The Case of the Terrified Typist" (episode 1-38), "The Case of the Witless Witness" (episode 6-28) and the much-hyped "The Case of the Deadly Verdict" (episode 7–4) are episodes in which Perry Mason loses cases in some form or manner. He has implicitly lost a capital case in "The Case of the Desperate Daughter" (episode 1-27); Mason and Della Street are first seen preparing a last-minute appeal for a "Mr. Hudson" who has an impending date with the gas chamber.
At least a couple of actors who appeared in episodes went onto have highly successful film careers. Robert Redford is amongst the supporting cast in “The Case of the Treacherous Toupee”, while Burt Reynolds features in “The Case of the Counterfeit Crank”.
William Talman (Hamilton Burger) was fired by CBS March 18, 1960, hours after he entered a not-guilty plea to misdemeanor charges related to his presence at a party that was raided by police. The schedule was immediately juggled to minimize Talman's presence on the show. "The Case of the Crying Cherub" (episode 3-20) debuts a pared-down title sequence that omits Talman; he is credited only in the last four episodes he filmed before he was fired. Talman was defended by Gail Patrick Jackson, Burr and others, but even dismissal of the charges in June did not soften the network's position. Patrick said that the role of Burger would not be recast, but that various actors would play assistant district attorneys. CBS reinstated Talman only after Gardner himself weighed in, together with millions of viewers. Talman went back to work December 9, 1960, and Burger first returned in "The Case of the Fickle Fortune" (episode 4–15). Burger was not in the following two episodes and returns again in "The Case of the Angry Dead Man" (episode 4–18).
"The Case of the Counterfeit Crank" (episode 5-27) is a rare episode in which Perry Mason calls his own defendant to the witness stand.
"The Case of the Weary Watchdog" (episode 6–9) is a rare episode that has a jury trial, a case goes to deliberations, Della Street testifies, Perry's own client testifies, Della Street will be charged as an accomplice and Perry sticks himself into another court proceeding to free his client.
In October 1962, Gail Patrick Jackson announced that four episodes from season six would feature special guest stars who would cover for Raymond Burr during his convalescence from surgery. Perry Mason fan Bette Davis began filming "The Case of Constant Doyle" (episode 6–16) December 12, 1962. The other three special episodes are "The Case of the Libelous Locket" (episode 6–17) starring Michael Rennie; "The Case of the Two-Faced Turnabout" (episode 6–18) starring Hugh O'Brian; and "The Case of the Surplus Suitor" (episode 6–19) starring Walter Pidgeon. To provide continuity, brief scenes were shot in Burr's hospital room that showed Mason speaking on the phone to each of the attorney friends who was managing his caseload while he was in Europe.