The latest set of Perry Mason DVDs is out (Volume 4 season 1) and as usual, they're a great deal of fun. Perry (Raymond Burr) and his colleagues Della Street (Barbara Hale) and Paul Drake (William Hopper) solve mysteries a plenty for Perry's clients. While the question is not whether Perry's clients are guilty (with one exception, in this batch the answer is always "no"), it's who actually did the deed. Perry is never faced with having to face representing a guilty client. In the one ugly case represented in this set in which the client is guilty, that individual admits his guilt in the case and in another, and Perry is "off the hook." If this series stands for anything, it stands for justice.
As usual, each episode has its iconic moments: the guilty individual admits guilt, usually in the courtroom, either on the stand, or elsewhere, because of Perry's steeltrap mind and questioning. The D.A., notably not Hamilton Burger (William Talman) in these episodes, but his associates (maybe he's tired of having to lose personally to Perry?) tries hard to put on a good case but always has a losing cause. The police, represented by the wonderful Ray Collins, do their investigation and arrest Perry's client and then Ray, playing Lt. Tragg, takes the stand and answers honestly and without bias. One wonders if sometimes Tragg wishes he could work for the Drake Detective Agency, if only to be on the winning side in a Perry Mason case. Still, when Mason's not at the defense table, he and Burger probably do all right.
Ultimately, the series provides lasting entertainment because of its message. Perry and his friends, Burger, Tragg, and the judges (some of whom appear several times throughout) represent the best of the legal system. They work hard to make certain that the right person is convicted. Even when Perry tries his "tricks" as the prosecution often says, the DA will often also mention that he (and it's always a "he") has no objection as long as justice is served. He's interested in justice, not in getting a conviction, he points out. That's as it should be. For his part, Perry tries his "tricks" in the interests of his clients. He may send a woman who looks like his client out to test the memory of a witness, but he never actually says they are the same person. The point is not to lie. The point is to test the limits of the system. Erle Stanley Gardner knew what he was doing and so did the creators of this series.
For more about Perry Mason, see Francis Nevins' essay about the show in the new book published by the ABA, Lawyers in Your Living Room! (full disclosure: my essay on the show Damages is also in this publication).
