Perry Mason (TV movies)

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Perry Mason television films
File:Perry-Mason-Returns-intertitle.jpg
Created by Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Theme music composer Fred Steiner
Opening theme "Park Avenue Beat"
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Executive producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Jeff Peters
  • Joel Steiger
  • Barry Steinberg
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time ~95 minutes
Production company(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Intermedia Entertainment Company (1985–86)
  • Strathmore Productions (1985–88)
  • The Fred Silverman Company (1987–95)
  • Dean Hargrove Productions (1988–1995)
    Viacom Productions (1985–95)
Distributor CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network NBC
Original release December 1, 1985 (1985-12-01) –
April 10, 1995 (1995-04-10)
Chronology
Preceded by Perry Mason (1957–66)

This is a list of the Perry Mason TV movies (1985–95), a successful series of 30 television films aired on NBC as a sequel to the popular CBS-TV series Perry Mason. After a hiatus of nearly 20 years, Raymond Burr reprised his role as fictional Los Angeles defense attorney Perry Mason in 26 of the television films. After Burr died in 1993, Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook starred in the remaining four that aired from 1993 to 1995.

Background

File:TheCaseoftheFatalFashion1992.jpg
Raymond Burr and guest star Diana Muldaur in The Case of the Fatal Fashion (1991)

The original Perry Mason television series was broadcast on CBS television from 1957 to 1966. Raymond Burr starred as Perry Mason, a fictional Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer. The character was created by American author and attorney Erle Stanley Gardner.

Television producer Dean Hargrove resurrected the Perry Mason character popularized in the 1957–66 television series in a series of television films for NBC beginning in 1985. Hargrove was able to bring back the two then-surviving major stars, Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale (reprising their roles as Mason and Della Street, respectively) for the first telefilm, Perry Mason Returns, in which Mason resigns his position as an appellate court judge to defend Street on a murder charge.

William Katt, Hale's real-life son, was cast as private investigator Paul Drake, Jr., the son of private investigator Paul Drake. William Hopper, who played private investigator Paul Drake in the original television series, had died years earlier; his photograph appears on Paul Drake Jr.'s desk. Katt appeared in the first nine movies.

In the later TV movies, Mason uses the services of Ken Malansky (played by William R. Moses), an attorney who works with Mason as a private investigator. Melansky's character is introduced in The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989), as a law student who is defended by Mason on a murder charge.[1]:40151

Among the few actors to appear in major recurring roles were David Ogden Stiers as District Attorney Michael Reston (1986–1988), James McEachin as police sergeant (later lieutenant) Ed Brock (1986-1995), and Alexandra Paul as Ken Malansky's girlfriend Amy Hastings (1989).

Budgeted at $3 million, Perry Mason Returns was filmed in Toronto, standing in for Los Angeles to save production costs.[2]

Fred Steiner's theme music was re-recorded by famed mystery music composer Dick DeBenedictis; Steiner himself arranged the theme at DeBenedictis's request.[3]

A total of 30 movies were made between 1985 and 1995, with Burr starring in 26. After Burr died in 1993, Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook starred in the final four telefilms from 1993 to 1995. These four films were presented as A Perry Mason Mystery, with Sorvino starring in the first film and Holbrook starring in the remaining three. Their characters, Anthony Caruso, and Bill "Wild Bill" McKenzie, respectively, are introduced as both lawyers and close friends of Mason, who is ostensibly out of town. Both Barbara Hale and William R. Moses reprised their roles for all four films; although, in the final film in 1995, Hale only contributed a small cameo with Holland Taylor substituting for her.

Hale said that continuing the series was suggested by Burr. "Raymond was so concerned that the crew keep working—we'd been with same crew for six years. He felt we must keep going as long as the audience was as kind to us as they are. It's the show that will keep going, but not the character. I do think it's a sweet memorial."[4]

Because of lower production costs, many of the later TV movies were filmed and set in Denver, Colorado rather than Mason's traditional locale of Los Angeles. Although set in Colorado, a courtroom wall shown at the end of the opening title sequence bears a Seal of Los Angeles County, California.

Perry Mason television films

Raymond Burr films

No. Title Director Writer Original air date
1 Perry Mason Returns Ron Satlof Dean Hargrove December 1, 1985 (1985-12-01)
Cast: Patrick O'Neal, Holland Taylor, Richard Anderson, Kerrie Keane[5][1]:39603
2 Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun Ron Satlof Joel Steiger May 25, 1986 (1986-05-25)
Cast: Arthur Hill, Tom Bosley, Barbara Parkins, Michele Greene, Timothy Bottoms[5][1]:39678
3 Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star Ron Satlof Anne C. Collins November 9, 1986 (1986-11-09)
Cast: Jennifer O'Neill, Joe Penny, Ron Glass, Alan Thicke, Ivan Dixon, Wendy Crewson[5][1]:39730
4 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love Ron Satlof Anne Collins February 23, 1987 (1987-02-23)
Cast: Jean Simmons, Gene Barry, Robert Mandan, Robert Walden[5][1]:39783
5 Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit Richard Lang Anne Collins May 24, 1987 (1987-05-24)
Cast: Robert Stack, Dwight Schultz, Kim Delaney, Dennis Lipscomb, Jack Bannon[5][1]:39844
6 Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam Ron Satlof Patricia Green October 4, 1987 (1987-10-04)
Cast: Daphne Ashbrook, Vincent Baggetta, Jason Bernard, Anthony Geary[5][1]:39903
7 Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel Christian I. Nyby II Anthony Spinner November 15, 1987 (1987-11-15)
Cast: Robert Guillaume, Morgan Brittany, René Enríquez, George Grizzard[5][1]:39952
8 Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace Christian I. Nyby II Lee David Zlotoff February 28, 1988 (1988-02-28)
Cast: Patty Duke, Erin Gray, Larry Wilcox, Charles Siebert[5][1]:40008
9 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake Ron Satlof Shel Willens May 15, 1988 (1988-05-15)
Cast: David Hasselhoff, John Beck, Doran Clark, George Deloy, John Ireland[5][1]:40068
10 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson Christian I. Nyby II Robert Hamilton February 12, 1989 (1989-02-12)
Cast: Brian Keith, Leslie Ackerman[5][1]:40119
11 Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder Christian I. Nyby II George Eckstein April 9, 1989 (1989-04-09)
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Jerry Orbach, Dwight Schultz, Luis Ávalos[5][1]:40168
12 Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin Christian I. Nyby II Robert Hamilton November 19, 1989 (1989-11-19)
Cast: Deidre Hall, Bruce Greenwood, Shari Belafonte, Pernell Roberts[5][1]:40237
13 Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen Christian I. Nyby II George Eckstein January 21, 1990 (1990-01-21)
Cast: Cindy Williams, Barbara Babcock, Kiel Martin, Tony Lo Bianco, David Warner[5][1]:40296
14 Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception Christian I. Nyby II George Eckstein March 11, 1990 (1990-03-11)
Cast: Ian Bannen, Ian McShane, Yvette Mimieux, Terry O'Quinn, Marcy Walker, Teresa Wright[5][1]:40354
15 Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer Ron Satlof Anne Collins May 20, 1990 (1990-05-20)
Cast: Tim Reid, Alan Rachins, Vanessa Williams, Angela Bassett, Alice Ghostley[5][1]:40422
16 Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter Christian I. Nyby II Anne Collins September 30, 1990 (1990-09-30)
Cast: Jere Burns, Robert Culp, Ken Kercheval, Kevin Tighe, Robert Vaughn[5][1]:40504
17 Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter Christian I. Nyby II Sean Cholodenko January 6, 1991 (1991-01-06)
Cast: John James, Jerry Orbach, Susan Sullivan, Philip Michael Thomas[5][1]:40575
18 Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster Ron Satlof Sean Cholodenko February 11, 1991 (1991-02-11)
Cast: Mason Adams, Michael Nader, Anne Schedeen[5][1]:40658
19 Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin Christian I. Nyby II Brian Clemens May 14, 1991 (1991-05-14)
Cast: Peter Scolari, Nancy Lee Grahn, John Karlen, Dennis Lipscomb, Julie Sommars, Kim Braden[5][1]:40721
20 Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion Christian I. Nyby II Robert Janes September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24)
Cast: Valerie Harper, Diana Muldaur, Scott Baio, Robert Clohessy[5][1]:40792
21 Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing Christian I. Nyby II Sean Cholodenko March 1, 1992 (1992-03-01)
Cast: Jane Carr, Maureen Mueller, John Rhys-Davies, Scott Valentine, David Soul[5][1]:40860
22 Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo Christian I. Nyby II Brian Clemens May 5, 1992 (1992-05-05)
Cast: Geraldo Rivera, Tracy Nelson, Priscilla Barnes, Anjanette Comer[5][1]:40920
23 Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride Christian I. Nyby II Brian Clemens October 30, 1992 (1992-10-30)
Cast: Ronny Cox, Linda Blair, Paul Dooley, Diane Baker, Stephen Stills[5][1]:41004
24 Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal Christian I. Nyby II Robert Schlitt February 19, 1993 (1993-02-19)
Cast: Carmen Argenziano, Scott Thompson Baker, Jonathan Banks, Polly Bergen, Morgan Fairchild, Michael Halsey, Tippi Hedren[5][1]:41071
25 Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host Christian I. Nyby II Joyce Burditt May 21, 1993 (1993-05-21)
Cast" Mariette Hartley, Regis Philbin, Fritz Coleman, Cristina Ferrare, G. Gordon Liddy[5][1]:41146
26 Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss Christian I. Nyby II Gerry Conway November 29, 1993 (1993-11-29)
Cast: Stuart Damon, Linda Dano, Genie Francis[5][1]:41218

A Perry Mason Mystery

No. Title Director Writer Original air date
27 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives Christian I. Nyby II Joyce Burditt December 17, 1993 (1993-12-17)
Starring Paul Sorvino as Anthony Caruso
Cast: Shelley Hack, Kathy Ireland, Maude Adams, Beverly Johnson, Kim Alexis, Paula Marshall[5][1]:41280
28 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle Helaine Head Bruce Franklin Singer, Joyce Burdit May 10, 1994 (1994-05-10)
Starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie
Cast: Robin Leach, Dixie Carter, Diahann Carroll, Robert Englund, James Stephens[5][1]:41369
29 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor Max Tash Robert Schlitt November 9, 1994 (1994-11-09)
Starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie
Cast: Tony Curtis, Ken Kercheval, James Brolin, Deborah Raffin, John Spencer[5][1]:41425
30 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester Vincent McEveety Gerry Conway April 10, 1995 (1995-04-10)
Starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie
Cast: Tony Roberts, Victoria Jackson, David Rasche, Dyan Cannon, Holland Taylor, Tina Yothers[5][1]:41497

DVD releases

All 30 Perry Mason television films are available on Region 1 DVD. They were released in five six-film sets that were initially available exclusively through Amazon.com. On June 7, 2016, the first four movie collections will be given general retail release.[6]

DVD set TV movies Release date Notes
Volume 1 1–6 December 31, 2013 [7]
Volume 2 7–12 May 13, 2014 [8]
Volume 3 13–18 August 5, 2014 [9]
Volume 4 19–24 October 7, 2014 [10]
Volume 5 25–30 March 22, 2016 [11]

Reception

Perry Mason Returns, the first television film in the series, was the second-highest-rated TV movie in American television during the 1985–86 season.[12]

Awards

  • 1988: Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) at the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards. The composer was Dick DeBenedictis.[13]
  • 1990: Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics at the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, for a song composed by Dick DeBenedictis.[13]

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Bond, Jeff (1999). The Music of Star Trek. Los Angeles: Lone Eagle Publishing Company. ISBN 1-58065-012-0.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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