csteidler People are waiting in Perry Mason's outer office; his secretary, Della Street, tells them that he is "very busy." Inside the office we see the great lawyer working—on a crossword puzzle. The level of seriousness never rises very high in this fast-paced series mystery.The plot is pretty standard but fun—a grumpy old millionaire (Harry Davenport) is sure that someone is out to kill him. His big old estate is populated by a couple of grandkids, a granddaughter's fiancé, a nurse, a caretaker….and one night the house burns down with Davenport in it. His will, it seems, was recently changed— requiring that the caretaker and the cat stay on at the house. Perry Mason, who wrote the new will for the old man, sticks around to investigate: "I represent the cat." Ricardo Cortez is pretty good as Perry Mason; he manages to shift fairly smoothly from silly to suave to serious crime-solver as the plot progresses. (Much as I like Warren William, I have to say that Cortez plays Mason in his one attempt with a little more of an edge.)The rest of the cast includes June Travis as Della, and Gordon Elliott (later Wild Bill) as a spoiled grandson who throws a shoe at the cat. The plot thickens occasionally but keeps on moving quickly, culminating in a courtroom surprise. Lots of fun for us fans of 1930s series mysteries.

ksf-2 Viewers will recognize actor Harry Davenport as the ornery, crochety old man who is bellowing and storming right from the beginning of the film. (He was "Thaddeus" in the Bachelor and the Bobby-soxer.) Here, he is Peter Laxter, who is changing his will, and insists that his heirs keep on the caretaker, "Ashton" (George Rosener) AND his cat, who keeps everyone up at night yowling. We know that Sam Laxter the son (Bill Elliot) hates the cat and wants it to "go away"...and Wilma, th daughter is opening up a waffle shop. In this Perry Mason film, Mason is played by the suave and easy going Ricardo Cortez, in the role that Warren William had been playing for several years. So at 18 minutes in, Mason finally gets involved when Ashton the caretaker needs help when someone threatens his cat. Then the bodies start piling up. Supporting roles for June Travis and Gary Owen. Da-Daaa... we're in the court-room. Interesting note - the first director Alan Crosland was in a car accident (and died as a result, making this his last picture) causing the remainder of the film to be directed by William MacGann. Plot a little overly complicated... we need a scorecard to keep up... and with DNA testing that we have today, this scenario would easily be un-covered. Not bad for a Perry Mason film, but takes a little work to keep up. They DO squeeze a lot into th short 66 minutes.

Ripshin Personally, I am not fond of this film, although Cortez is fine as Mason. The 1930s hosted a brief Warner Brothers series, with three different men in the lead. This is the only movie I have seen from the period.The plot is convoluted, with a few too many characters. I am assuming that all were in the original story - I would love to see the Burr television take that was apparently shot over twenty years later. Speaking of which, I am one of those who grew up on Burr's Mason, so it is strange to experience another actor in the role. This film wastes Della and Drake, in my opinion.Harry Davenport provides his usual supporting role professionalism, albeit in a B movie a few notches below what he was probably accustomed to.Definitely worth a viewing.

davelisalynch Excellent pre-Raymond Burr filming of a Perry Mason novel! I was lucky enough to see this on TCM (since it isn't on video). At first I wasn't expecting much, but found Ricardo Cortez to be an excellent Perry Mason! Why Warner Brothers didn't keep him for other movies in the series I don't know! That's probably why Perry Mason wasn't that successful until the tv series came along. It would be nice to see this title on DVD.