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Introduction


Perry Mason discussing the case with the police

Perry Mason is a crime drama set in the fifties that exemplifies the classic film noir strategies. Working in the dangerous town of Culver City, Mason utilizes cunning tactics to consistently prove the innocence of his clients by exploiting the guilt of another character.


Male Characters:

From left to right: Perry Mason, Lieutenant Tragg, Hamilton Burger



Perry Mason – Genius detective, he always finds evidence that acquits his client, and his brilliant interrogative skills always cause the truly guilty party to break down and confess in the courtroom.

Lieutenant Tragg – Stereotypical "bumbling cop", he doesn’t get in Mason’s way, but doesn’t really work with him or make his job any easier. Tragg usually suspects Perry’s client, and doesn’t look much beyond the clear evidence in opposition to the obvious suspect.

Hamilton Burger – Perry’s rival in the courtroom. He always loses the case to Mason, and his client is usually convicted as the guilty party. He’s tried to get Perry Mason in trouble, but Perry is always able to argue his way out of the situation. Also, if you slightly edit his name, you get “hamburger”

Female Characters:

On left: Della Street; Right: Gertie

Della Street - the main female protagonist of the television series. She is Perry Mason's main advisor, and most trusted confidant. She is usually able to offer some much-needed female insight and womanly intuition. Though she and Mason are very close, there is no overt romantic interest between them.

Gertrude "Gertie" Lade - Usually only mentioned in the show as "Gertie", she is rarely seen, but is mentioned in nearly every episode. She works in Perry Mason's outer office, and announces all of his visitors to Della Street, who then asks Mason if he would wish to see them. Her role in the show is minor, but important nonetheless.


DVD cover that shows pictures of multiple characters

Each of the Perry Mason episodes is concerned with an attorney at law defending a "damsel in distress" from an untrue accusation. Frequently, the damsel in undeniably gorgeous and is consistently wrongly accused of homicide. A number of other characters and their alibis are then introduced, and in the final courtroom scene, Perry Mason exposes the truth the confessions of his witnesses. It is never the fault of the damsel.

Winners: "Damsel in distress" (Left) and Perry Mason and Gertie (Right)









The winners in the show are always the victimized woman and Perry Mason. Mason is never wrong and the beautiful bombshell that is in desperate need of help is always innocent, despite the amount of evidence against her. In contrast, the police are always known as the bad guys. They never take the side of Mason, and without due evidence, they always accuse Mason's client of being guilty. Thankfully, Mason always manages to find hidden evidence to prove the police wrong and to acquit the accused.



Isolated Beach from episode "The Negligent Nymph"

The setting constructs the world of violence through its isolated locations and its setting in high class society. Some examples of isolated location is the abandoned beach house in the negligent nymph and the run down motel and empty highway in the restless redhead. Because there is never anyone around except for the damsel in distress, the plot is always set up so that the blame can easily fall on the beautiful lead and also makes it easy for a homicide to occur. With no-one around, there are no witnesses to the crime.

Actress whose jewels were stolen in "The Restless Redhead"

Also, having the crimes occur to posh families and homes allows for more
violence to occur because the rich have the means and the funds to conceal
the hostility. Furthermore, the rich do not care about the law because they
can easily pay anyone off, and because they can never get caught, they are
more prone to violent actions.

Iconic picture of Los Angeles

Furthermore, the show takes place in Culver City and around LA, which seems to be a common place for crime dramas. The crime statistics in LA are high, the murder average is 1.75 times above the National Average and robbery is 1.97 times above the National Average. Because LA is such a dangerous city it is the perfect setting for a crime drama because the number of homicides that occur in the show is believable.


Tanks used in the Cold War

The show was created during the Cold War era. This era created an anxiety in American society called the "Red Scare", and lasted between the years of 1947 to 1957. Americans feared that they were surrounded by Soviet communists who would overtake their government or be spies for their home country. The fear was heightened by a man named Joseph McCarthy, and the number of individuals who resorted to black listing and red-baiting drastically increased. Because of the amount of angst that existed, people found it hard to trust those that surrounded them. Erie Gardner expressed the high tension of the population through Mason and the other characters in his show. Gardner made his criminals unsuspecting to parallel the paranoia that was occurring through out the United States.

Though Mason is usually only seen on the job, it is implied that he does have a healthy social life


Most of Perry Mason's clients are high-class citizens, who can afford to have one of the best attorneys in the Los Angeles area. Usually, the guilty party is someone who would not typically be expected to commit such a heinous crime as murder; however, this is part of the show's theme that anyone can be a criminal, even business executives and attractive women. Though Mason often runs into good-looking women in his line of work, he is not a womanizer or narcissist. Perry Mason often does his independent investigative work outside of official police investigations, and doesn't necessarily inform the police about tips he may have received or leads that he is following. In this sense, he can be considered an outlaw; however, he cooperates with the police when it suits his convenience, and seems to be on good terms with Lieutenant Tragg.

Mason, Street, and Paul Drake review the details of a new case in Perry Mason's office
Though the only company Mason consistently keeps appears to be that of his trusted secretary, Della Street, he doesn't alienate himself from society, as it is insinuated that he is quite popular outside of work. Mason himself is peaceful, and never resorts to violence as a means to an end, and never causes physical harm to anyone on the show in an attempt to acquire information; he instead relies on his sharp intellect and accurate gut instinct. It is easy to like the smooth, cool-headed Perry Mason, especially when contrasted with his courtroom rival, the seemingly incompetent District Attorney Hamilton Burger, who constantly comes up short against Mason. In fact, the constant losses that the district attorney suffers are a commentary on the corruption of law enforcement. Though it is the job of the police to investigate every possible lead, they are quick to take a case that they believe would be easy to win, so that they can get a quick conviction and close the case file, even if it means putting an innocent man in prison. This is one of the main themes in the show, and is a driving motivation for Perry's career and his search for justice.


Perry Mason surveys the witness and formulates a strategy
Each episode opens up with an introductory scene that initially familiarizes the audience with the main conflict in the episode. Typically, this scene involves either Perry Mason being briefed in his office, or a scene in which his eventual client experiences some sort of trouble. There is a murder in every episode, thought the murder may occur anywhere from the beginning of the episode to halfway through. The fact that the audience always knows that there is a murder coming creates suspense within the plot, because it isn’t always obvious who the victim will be. Perry Mason always gets the charges against his client dropped, and the true guilty party always confesses to the crime on the witness stand, when they crumble in the face of Mason’s clever questioning. There is always some kind of evidence that Perry is able to produce that instantly exonerates his client, even when it seems that he is in an inescapable position. The courtroom scene is usually characterized by close-ups of the witnesses, with dramatic music playing when Perry begins applying pressure to them. In fact, overdramatic music is played whenever the action becomes too quiet. The plot, while following the same formula in nearly every episode, uses enough fresh ideas to keep the story from seeming stale and recycled from episode to episode.



Perry Mason's world is one of murder and intrigue, and he deals with violence on a day-to-day basis in the name of justice

One of the motifs of violence that is common in the “Perry Mason” television series is murder. Though this may not seem unique from many violent television shows today, the violence is different in that it is more implied and subtle. Though the victim is always seen after their murder, the murder is never witnessed by the viewer. Also, though there is a murder in every episode, there is never any kind of gratuitous or over-the-top violence, like a shootout or bar fight. The television series was filmed and took place during the era that the Hayes code was actively implemented in Hollywood productions, which is the main reason that the violence takes place behind the scenes. But even without open violence, it is implied that the world Perry Mason lives in is dangerous, and that there is murder lurking around every corner. The victims are usually upper-class citizens, and in most cases they don't have any kind of criminal history. The motivations for these crimes vary widely, from advancement in the business world, to regrettable crimes of passion. The victim is typically undeserving of their fate, and may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, thanks to the brilliant investigative work and legal maneuvering that Perry Mason employs, their killer is always brought to justice. In almost every case, the victim is in some way connected to a mysterious, beautiful woman, who eventually become Mason's client. These various consistencies between shows can make the plot feel rote and formulaic at times, but also builds suspense and tension throughout each individual episode.


Advertisement for the Television Series

The idea of Perry Mason began as a book by Erle Stanley Gardner. The name Perry Mason goes back to Gardner’s childhood, when he used to read the magazine called Youth’s companion, famously known for producing the original Pledge of Alliance.

Copy of the Youth's Companion: Inspiration for Mason

Owned by the Perry Mason Company, he used the magazine owner as an inspiration for his protagonist. Gardner spent more that twenty years practicing law in California and therefore was able to attribute his knowledge to his character. The character first appeared in nearly eighty novels and short stories

A picture of the novel cover

The books then turned into a popular TV series that was produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957- to May 1966. The show ran for nine seasons and 271 episodes on CBS. It is known as“televisions most successful and longest running lawyer series”. After cancelation, a radio series was created and then a second spinoff television series was created. The radio series was fifteen minutes long and continued under the name Edge of Night because Gardner did not approve.

Sample from radio show

The series also stared Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, and Ray Collins. Its theme song was Park Avenue Beat. The show was done on location in and around Culver City and a few downtown locales. Examples can including being able to see Los Angeles City Hall and the Hall of Justice.

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