Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Wandering Widow (1960) User Reviews

The king of thing that every convict prays for

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 5 October 2012]

The kind of thing that every convict prays for happens to Dean Harens when an alibi witness played by Max Showalter shows up and clear him of a murder that he was convicted for 7 years earlier. But there's no happily ever afterward ending for either of these two guys, especially Showalter who winds up dead in a playground.

Raymond Burr's client is Coleen Gray here who was the widow of the man that Harens was convicted of killing. She's now looking good for her late husband's murder. But it's Showalter's murder that she's arrested by Ray Collins for and it's Showalter's murder that Perry Mason has to defend her first.

Truth be told she brings a lot on herself by not being completely truthful about her relationships with all the people connected with this case. Most importantly that of her son Stephen Talbot. It turns out that is the key to solving everything.

This is one of the best plotted and most intricate Perry Mason episodes. Don't miss it.

Any episode that has Max Showalter getting killed earns 7/10 from me...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 6 January 2023]

... on the strength of that alone.

Riley Morgan has been in jail for six years for the murder of Martin Kendall when seaman Burt Stokes (Max Showalter) comes forward and says that he was the alibi that Morgan claimed to have years ago. Stokes says he was away at sea all of this time and has just now returned to the United States and heard about the case. Morgan is freed and receives a full pardon. So the question is - Who did kill Martin Kendall?

So the obnoxious Stokes starts coming around the Kendall family hitting them up for handouts, claiming it is for Morgan to get back on his feet, when it is just a thinly veiled attempt at blackmail. But blackmail for what? When Stokes is found murdered it is assumed that his blackmail attempts were what got him killed.

This episode is interesting for a couple of reasons. It is revealed that a boy's mother is concerned that it will be discovered that her son was the result of a marriage that was annulled versus one that ended in divorce, because an annulled marriage never really was valid for some reason, with the insinuation that some would consider the boy illegitimate. It just shows what a big stigma this was in 1960.

Also note that Morgan Riley had been convicted of murder but was in prison, not on death row. After six years he would have been executed by now, and an alibi would not help a corpse. The death penalty was starting to be used less and less. When Perry Mason first began airing there were constant references to being on trial for ones life.

The times, they are a changing.

As Usual

[darbski · 9/10 · 25 August 2017]

**SPOILERS** Well, I didn't see him being the smart, snoopy, mouthy little brat's father. As a matter of fact, the boy playing the snotty kid also played "Gilbert" on "Leave it to Beaver". He was one of the little finks that was always getting Beaver in trouble of some kind. I never liked him, which shows that he was a good actor; I never liked that high pitched, creepy voice of his either. I did like was the 1960 Buick Invicta that Lorraine was driving versus the low-rent Ford that Perry had. Later, the person watching over the brat was driving a "55 Chevy Nomad - excellent.

The idea that murders or murder trials in L.A. get banner headlines in that city (or nationwide) is hard to believe unless it would be a movie star or serious pillar of the community. Rich people getting bumped off; not a big deal.

It was fun to watch Perry dissect the lame "reporter" on the stand. I always love it when he either exposes them for the dirtbags that that are, or saves the ammo to use later. You can usually tell because he won't challenge on something obvious, or delay cross examination for later. I was kinda surprised that Paul didn't find out about the kid and Lorraine before Perry verbally berated her in jail, and she gave it up to him then. It HAD to be at that point Perry noticed Morgan had real weight to throw at Lorraine himself, as long as she was worried about her son finding out about his crummy "daddy".

Now, one thing that I know most of us Mason fans have noticed, is that Perry rarely (if ever) explains to his clients that he is bound by "Attorney-Client Privilege" and he cannot reveal any information his clients give him. It's a little hazy with Paul Drake investigations, though. He doesn't have that right, and if he has direct knowledge of a crime, he MUST report it to the authorities. Further, however, if his clients told him everything, we'd have far fewer cases to chew on and digest.

Good Use of Plot Twists

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 12 January 2022]

A man convicted of a murder spends seven year in prison. A man who was in the Navy at the time comes in and corroborates testimony from the past, getting him released. This leads to problems for a family that benefited from his incarceration. In the mix is a young boy. It's a well scripted episode with some real surprises.

Gilbert Gives Paul Drake The Business

[bhoover247 · 8/10 · 19 January 2023]

It was amusing to see the same brat Gilbert who was always getting Beaver in trouble on Leave It To Beaver, on a differt show. He is still being an annoying brat when he takes a shot at Paul Drake at the end of this episode.

Another amusing moment occurred that reminded me of another old TV show. When Lieutenant Tragg is on the stand he is presented with a "mulage" of shoe prints which are key to the case. I could not help but be reminded of the Andy Griffith Show when the farmer was having a plague of cow thefts from his farm. When the state man comes to help the investigation he asks Barney if a mulage had been made. Barney replied "No we decided to keep it quiet and not make a big mulage out of it.

Standing in one's Shoes

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 27 November 2016]

***SPOILERS*** Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, mind twister that has Perry not only solve one but two murders that happened seven years apart. He did this by defending Lorraine Kendell, Coleen Gray,who was found innocent of her husbands murder seven years ago as well as in finding her innocent in the murder of Burt Stokes, Max Showalter, today. Caught at the scene of the crime in Stokes murder Lorraine has no idea how it happened. She was there to pay off Stokes to keep his big fat mouth shut about her and her son Jimmie, Stephen Talbot, that she had, and kept secret from the world from another man who in fact turned out to have murdered Stokes.

The fact that Lorraine was found innocent in her husbands murder, due to flimsy evidence, made her the #1 suspect in Stokes killing who in fact at the time was blackmailing her and shaking Lorraine down for $5,000.00 that was all caught on tape. The person who murderer Stokes was in fact working with him who got greedy and wanted all the blackmail money-$10,000.00-all for himself. Not only that he was in fact in debt to Stokes for getting him off the hook in Lorraine's husbands murder!

***SPOILERS**** It was the killer's shoes that gave him away in how he tied his shoelaces on the shoes-size 9 1/2- that he took from the murdered Stokes to hide his tracks with. Under a blistering cross-examination by Perry the killer at first pleading his innocence soon fell apart and confessed his crime not only to Stokes' murder but Lorraine's husbands who she was indicted for it seven years earlier!