My mother was a great fan of mysteries and our home library (back when there was such a thing) was filled with them. Most of these dated from the 1930s and early 1940s because following World War II the taste for mysteries declined. As a child of the 1950s, I grew up with the PERRY MASON TV series starring Raymond Burr but my mother, also a great fan of old movies, told me Burr wasn't the first Perry Mason. That distinction belonged to 1930s character actor Warren William who starred in 4 of the 6 Perry Mason B movies made from 1934-36 by Warner Brothers. This is back when Erle Stanley Gardner had just begun writing his Perry Mason books and the character was new. In fact, my mother purchased most of the Mason books when they were first published and added them to our library collection.
Warren William's Perry Mason was very different from Raymond Burr's take on the character. Mason was rich, he was brash, had a mustache, and was somewhat conceited. He was also as much a private detective as a lawyer. This is because rich detectives like Philo Vance and Nick Charles were in vogue at the time. This suited William's screen image perfectly. Gardner was just starting out and didn't have the clout that he would have after becoming famous. As a result, these B movies differed from what Gardner had written although the plots were adhered to. It's an interesting paradox that the plots of the TV show stray even further from Gardner's books than the 1930s movies did even though, by the Fifties, Gardner was well known and should have had more creative control over his material.
The first of the 6 movies, THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG, is easily the best of the set. Perry Mason was being introduced to a movie audience and a surprising amount of care was taken with this film. It's well written (much better than the TV version of the same title), well photographed, well acted, and far more serious in tone than the episodes that followed. Up next is THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE which has the distinction of being directed by Michael Curtiz (CASABLANCA). More stylish than DOG it ends with a room-gathering revelation rather than in a courtroom. THE CASE OF THE LUCKY LEGS is easily the worst as it's played more as a screwball comedy than a mystery. THE CASE OF THE VELVET CLAWS (Gardner's first PM mystery) has ...SPOILER ALERT...Perry and Della Street getting married!
Warner Brothers then decided to cut the budgets for the remaining two films. Warren William, who was a big name at the time, moved on and so Ricardo Cortez, who played the original Sam Spade, took over the role of Perry in THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT. Despite the cuts, BLACK CAT (misnamed as the cat in the film is gray and white) is a distinct improvement over LUCKY LEGS and VELVET CLAWS as the focus once again shifts to mystery and not comedy. For my money, Cortez was the best Perry Mason but Gardner was not of that opinion so in the final film, THE CASE OF THE STUTTERING BISHOP, Cortez was replaced by Donald Woods who'd been one of the suspects from CURIOUS BRIDE. Woods also played his Perry straight and was very effective in the courtroom finale. FYI...Della goes back to being unmarried in the last two movies.
The one word to best describe these movies is...uneven. Della Street was portrayed by 5 different actresses and Paul Drake, known as "Spudsy" Drake, was used for comedic relief in the Warren William Perrys. Paul Drake finally shows up as Paul Drake in the last 2 installments as does Hamilton Burger whose last name is pronounced "Bur-jer" in the final film. Both Drake and Burg-jer were played by a different actor in the last 2 films. It should be noted that Gardner did not write any of the screenplays. This bare bones DVD-R set from Warner Archive comes with no extras but is worth acquiring for fans of 1930s mysteries and of the Perry Mason character...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Warren William's Perry Mason was very different from Raymond Burr's take on the character. Mason was rich, he was brash, had a mustache, and was somewhat conceited. He was also as much a private detective as a lawyer. This is because rich detectives like Philo Vance and Nick Charles were in vogue at the time. This suited William's screen image perfectly. Gardner was just starting out and didn't have the clout that he would have after becoming famous. As a result, these B movies differed from what Gardner had written although the plots were adhered to. It's an interesting paradox that the plots of the TV show stray even further from Gardner's books than the 1930s movies did even though, by the Fifties, Gardner was well known and should have had more creative control over his material.
The first of the 6 movies, THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG, is easily the best of the set. Perry Mason was being introduced to a movie audience and a surprising amount of care was taken with this film. It's well written (much better than the TV version of the same title), well photographed, well acted, and far more serious in tone than the episodes that followed. Up next is THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE which has the distinction of being directed by Michael Curtiz (CASABLANCA). More stylish than DOG it ends with a room-gathering revelation rather than in a courtroom. THE CASE OF THE LUCKY LEGS is easily the worst as it's played more as a screwball comedy than a mystery. THE CASE OF THE VELVET CLAWS (Gardner's first PM mystery) has ...SPOILER ALERT...Perry and Della Street getting married!
Warner Brothers then decided to cut the budgets for the remaining two films. Warren William, who was a big name at the time, moved on and so Ricardo Cortez, who played the original Sam Spade, took over the role of Perry in THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT. Despite the cuts, BLACK CAT (misnamed as the cat in the film is gray and white) is a distinct improvement over LUCKY LEGS and VELVET CLAWS as the focus once again shifts to mystery and not comedy. For my money, Cortez was the best Perry Mason but Gardner was not of that opinion so in the final film, THE CASE OF THE STUTTERING BISHOP, Cortez was replaced by Donald Woods who'd been one of the suspects from CURIOUS BRIDE. Woods also played his Perry straight and was very effective in the courtroom finale. FYI...Della goes back to being unmarried in the last two movies.
The one word to best describe these movies is...uneven. Della Street was portrayed by 5 different actresses and Paul Drake, known as "Spudsy" Drake, was used for comedic relief in the Warren William Perrys. Paul Drake finally shows up as Paul Drake in the last 2 installments as does Hamilton Burger whose last name is pronounced "Bur-jer" in the final film. Both Drake and Burg-jer were played by a different actor in the last 2 films. It should be noted that Gardner did not write any of the screenplays. This bare bones DVD-R set from Warner Archive comes with no extras but is worth acquiring for fans of 1930s mysteries and of the Perry Mason character...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.