Perry Mason (TV movies)
| Perry Mason television films | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Fred Steiner |
| Opening theme | "Park Avenue Beat" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | |
| Producer(s) |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | ~95 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
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| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | December 1, 1985 – April 10, 1995 |
| 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
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 |
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| 2 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun | Ron Satlof | Joel Steiger | May 25, 1986 |
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| 3 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star | Ron Satlof | Anne C. Collins | November 9, 1986 |
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| 4 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love | Ron Satlof | Anne Collins | February 23, 1987 |
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| 5 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit | Richard Lang | Anne Collins | May 24, 1987 |
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| 6 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam | Ron Satlof | Patricia Green | October 4, 1987 |
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| 7 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel | Christian I. Nyby II | Anthony Spinner | November 15, 1987 |
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| 8 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace | Christian I. Nyby II | Lee David Zlotoff | February 28, 1988 |
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| 9 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake | Ron Satlof | Shel Willens | May 15, 1988 |
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| 10 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson | Christian I. Nyby II | Robert Hamilton | February 12, 1989 |
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| 11 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder | Christian I. Nyby II | George Eckstein | April 9, 1989 |
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| 12 | Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin | Christian I. Nyby II | Robert Hamilton | November 19, 1989 |
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| 13 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen | Christian I. Nyby II | George Eckstein | January 21, 1990 |
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| 14 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception | Christian I. Nyby II | George Eckstein | March 11, 1990 |
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| 15 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer | Ron Satlof | Anne Collins | May 20, 1990 |
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| 16 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter | Christian I. Nyby II | Anne Collins | September 30, 1990 |
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| 17 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter | Christian I. Nyby II | Sean Cholodenko | January 6, 1991 |
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| 18 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster | Ron Satlof | Sean Cholodenko | February 11, 1991 |
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| 19 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin | Christian I. Nyby II | Brian Clemens | May 14, 1991 |
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| 20 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion | Christian I. Nyby II | Robert Janes | September 24, 1991 |
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| 21 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing | Christian I. Nyby II | Sean Cholodenko | March 1, 1992 |
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| 22 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo | Christian I. Nyby II | Brian Clemens | May 5, 1992 |
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| 23 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride | Christian I. Nyby II | Brian Clemens | October 30, 1992 |
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| 24 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal | Christian I. Nyby II | Robert Schlitt | February 19, 1993 |
| 25 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host | Christian I. Nyby II | Joyce Burditt | May 21, 1993 |
| 26 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss | Christian I. Nyby II | Gerry Conway | November 29, 1993 |
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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 |
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| 28 | A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle | Helaine Head | Bruce Franklin Singer, Joyce Burdit | May 10, 1994 |
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| 29 | A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor | Max Tash | Robert Schlitt | November 9, 1994 |
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| 30 | A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester | Vincent McEveety | Gerry Conway | April 10, 1995 |
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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 were 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 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Davidson, Jim (2014). "Perry Mason TV-Movies". The Perry Mason Book: A Comprehensive Guide to America's Favorite Defender of Justice (e-book). ASIN B00OOELV1K.
- ↑ Kelly, Deirdre (August 17, 1985). "Back on the Case". The Globe and Mail.
- ↑ Bond, Jeff (1999). The Music of Star Trek. Los Angeles: Lone Eagle Publishing Company. ISBN 1-58065-012-0.
- ↑ Brennan, Patricia (November 28, 1993). "Barbara Hale; Her Long Friendship with Raymond Burr". The Washington Post.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 "Perry Mason (1985–1993), The Perry Mason Mystery (1993–1995)". The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
- ↑ "Perry Mason - Wide Releases for Movie Collections 1–4, and for Double Features 13–15". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. April 5, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
- ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 1". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 2". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 3". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 4". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 5". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ↑ Grimes, William (September 14, 1993). "Raymond Burr, Actor, 76, Dies; Played Perry Mason and Ironside". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
- 1 2 "Awards Search". Emmys. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2015-04-08.