Erle Stanley Gardner. He’s the guy often used as an example, in pulp fandom circles, of a pulp author who escaped the low-paying pulps and moved on up to the slicks. And full-length novels, too, of course. He did it primarily because of Perry Mason. That’s not to belittle the impact of his other series like Cool and Lam, and Doug Selby. But Perry Mason is the one character most often associated with Erle Stanley Gardner.
And so, in this ongoing series of Perry Mason reviews, we arrive at the 13th and 14th stories in the series. These were published in 1938 and 1939, so we’re still early in the series. Forensic science was still pretty primitive, but by Gardner’s later Perry Mason books, things had really advanced. So, let’s dig right in.
In the 13th Perry Mason mystery, The Case Of The Shoplifter’s Shoe, there’s no sign of D.A. Hamilton Burger. And Lt. Tragg has never yet shown up; Sgt. Holcomb is Perry’s police nemesis in all the stories so far. The three main players continue to be Perry Mason, his secretary Della Street, and private detective Paul Drake. Law clerk Jackson is mentioned but doesn’t appear. So much for our regular cast. Now for the guest cast:
Mrs. Sarah Breel is a white-haired woman of calm and grace. She’s also a shoplifter. Perry runs into her while lunching with Della Street. It’s an innocent meeting that turns to murder before the day’s ended. Mrs. Breel is accused of murdering Austin Cullens, a family friend and gem collector. She is seen running out of his house stuffing the murder weapon, a .38 caliber revolver, into her purse. Also in her purse are gems stolen off the dead body. And there’s blood on the sole of her shoe. It’s the victim’s blood that’s on the shoplifter’s shoe…
But to complicate matters, Mrs. Sarah Breel is struck by a car as she runs from the murdered Austin Cullens’ house, and loses her memory. Amnesia! At least she says she can’t remember. Or can she? Perry is hard-pressed to defend this client, and even though he’s not up against Hamilton Burger, deputy D.A. Larry Sampson makes his job nearly impossible. But we know Perry can do it. Don’t we?
This story was adapted for Raymond Burr’s Perry Mason television series, and was broadcast Jan. 3, 1963, the 13th episode in the sixth season. Thirteen, again. A coincidence? Yeah, probably.
Former child-star Margaret O’Brien had a guest role in this episode. And so did future Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy. Hey, you might want to search out a video of this one.
The Case Of The Perjured Parrot is the 14th Perry Mason mystery, which showed up a year after the previous. Can a parrot lie? Well, this one keeps saying, Put down that gun, Helen! Don’t shoot! Squawk. Squawk. My God, you’ve shot me! And Helen says she didn’t do it. So it must be perjuring itself, right? Cuz, after all, if you can’t trust a talking parrot, who can you trust?
Wealthy Fremont C. Sabin has been murdered in his mountain cabin. His son, Charles, engages Perry Mason to keep his step-mother, Mrs. Helen Watkins Sabin, from taking charge of the estate. In his investigations, Perry discovers that old Fremont was in the process of getting a divorce from Helen. And he had prematurely married a young librarian by the name of Helen Monteith. Both named Helen! And his parrot, Casanova by name, keeps spouting, Put down that gun, Helen! Don’t shoot! Squawk. Squawk. My God, you’ve shot me! The police are most interested, but which Helen is it? Or is it just a bird talking?
Another excellent Perry Mason mystery, this one has a nice twist ending. Perry, Della Street, and Paul Drake are all back for another adventure. No sign of Hamilton Burger or Lieutenant Tragg. But a most satisfying mystery, anyway.
So, did this one make it to TV? Of couse it did! Didn’t they all? (I think they did.) This one was shown on Dec. 20, 1958, as the 11th episode of season two.
Now, watching the television adaptations is just fine. I’ve seen them all, myself. But there’s nothing to compare with actually reading the books. It’s a much more satisfying experience. So watch the TV episodes if you wish, but please do search out the books and read them. These two, reviewed here, are excellent and are to be recommended for all pulp fans… and others, too!
