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)
  • Jeff Peters
  • Joel Steiger
  • Barry Steinberg
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time ~95 minutes
Production company(s)
  • Intermedia Entertainment Company (1985–86)
  • Strathmore Productions (1985–88)
  • The Fred Silverman Company (1987–95)
  • Dean Hargrove Productions (1988–1995)
    Viacom Productions (1985–95)
Release
Original network NBC
Original release December 1, 1985 (1985-12-01) – April 10, 1995 (1995-04-10)
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 used the services of Ken Malansky (played by William R. Moses), an attorney who worked with Mason as a private investigator; in Moses' first appearance as Malansky, he played a law student who was defended by Mason on a murder charge.[1]

Among the few actors to appear in major recurring roles were David Ogden Stiers as DA 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 and guest star Diana Muldaur in The Case of the Fatal Fashion (1991)

Television films starring Raymond Burr

# Date Title Notes
1 December 1, 1985 Perry Mason Returns [5]
2 May 25, 1986 Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun [5]
3 November 9, 1986 Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star [5]
4 February 23, 1987 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love [5]
5 May 24, 1987 Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit [5]
6 October 4, 1987 Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam [5]
7 November 15, 1987 Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel [5]
8 February 28, 1988 Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace [5]
9 May 15, 1988 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake [5]
10 February 12, 1989 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson [5]
11 April 9, 1989 Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder [5]
12 November 19, 1989 Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin [5]
13 January 21, 1990 Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen [5]
14 March 11, 1990 Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception [5]
15 May 20, 1990 Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer [5]
16 September 3, 1990 Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter [5]
17 January 6, 1991 Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter [5]
18 February 11, 1991 Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster [5]
19 May 14, 1991 Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin [5]
20 September 24, 1991 Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion [5]
21 March 1, 1992 Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing [5]
22 May 5, 1992 Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo [5]
23 October 30, 1992 Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride [5]
24 February 19, 1993 Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal [5]
25 May 21, 1993 Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host [5]
26 November 29, 1993 Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss [5]

A Perry Mason Mystery

# Date Title Notes
27 December 17, 1993 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives Starring Paul Sorvino[5]
28 May 10, 1994 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle Starring Hal Holbrook[5]
29 November 9, 1994 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor Starring Hal Holbrook[5]
30 April 10, 1995 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester Starring Hal Holbrook[5]

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 will be 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

References

  1. ↑ http://www.greatdetectives.net/detectives/perry-masons-final-tv-cases/
  2. ↑ Kelly, Deirdre (August 17, 1985). "Back on the Case". The Globe and Mail.
  3. ↑ Bond, Jeff (1999). The Music of Star Trek. Los Angeles: Lone Eagle Publishing Company. ISBN 1-58065-012-0.
  4. ↑ Brennan, Patricia (November 28, 1993). "Barbara Hale; Her Long Friendship with Raymond Burr". The Washington Post.
  5. 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.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 1". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  8. ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 2". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  9. ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 3". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  10. ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 4". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  11. ↑ "Perry Mason - Movie Collection Volume 5". TV Shows on DVD.com. TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  12. ↑ Grimes, William (September 14, 1993). "Raymond Burr, Actor, 76, Dies; Played Perry Mason and Ironside". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
  13. 1 2 "Awards Search". Emmys. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2015-04-08.

External links

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