Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Bashful Burro (1960) User Reviews

Perry calls a burro to testify to save a young man from prison

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 31 May 2012]

A young couple, Gerald and Sally Norton, own a piece of land that a local landowner, Ken Bascombe, wants to buy. The Nortons' do not want to sell because there is an old mine on the property that Gerald was told contained gold. However according to the local assayer, Crawford Wright, the mine contain little if any value.

After a nasty visit from Ken Bascombe, the Norton's were outside by a campfire when someone shoots up the fire. Plus like some situation out of 'Scooby-Doo'- we get this spooky voice say "GET OUT GET OUT". According to an old prospector named Amos Catledge, who has a burro named Sheba, told the Norton's that he saw Mr Bascombe riding away right after the shots were fired.

Perry is in town on business. He is looking for Amos Catledge on an old property dispute in another county. He meets the Norton's at a local bar where Mr Bascombe and Gerald get into an argument where Gerald threats Mr Bascombe.

The next evening more shots are fired at the Norton. Upset Gerald gets his rifle and goes out to investigate to see if he can find Mr Bascombe. Only this time he finds Mr Ken Bascombe dead, shot in the back. Of course, after the threats, Gerald Norton is charge with murder and Perry decides to help out the young couple.

There is no shortage of suspects in this episode. Ms.Bascombe is having an affair with the ranch foreman, Roy Dowson and both would not mind seeing Ken dead. Amos Catledge, the prospector, has some secrets that he may reveal and may cash in on the secrets if the right people will pay.

With some clever tactics, Perry, with the help of testimony from Sheba the burro, weaves his way through the mounds of testimony to find the true murderer. It may not be the most obvious person but a regular Mason fan can provide a good guess from the first few minutes of the show.

Maybe not the best show- but a good mystery.

Donkey runs away with it

[Bills3511 · 7/10 · 28 January 2021]

Sheba the donkey ran away with it in this episode. Once the donkey come walking in things began to make sense. As a sidenote, the donkey was later fined $100 for contempt of court.

Fun country tale with a satisfying conclusion

[Jelevision · 8/10 · 4 May 2024]

It's always fun when Perry gets out of town and into the country. This time Della even gets to come along - although she doesn't get to do much besides grudgingly go on a distracting lunch date.

The plot and conclusion actually make sense, which doesn't always happen, so I appreciate that. And the young wife of Perry's client is Gidget's friend!

As an aside ... Has there EVER been a Perry Mason episode where someone on the stand doesn't do that thing where they accidentally call someone by their first name and then - embarrassed that they sounded too intimate - quickly correct themselves to say Mr. Or Mrs. So-and-so?

In this episode it went like this: "... those empty cartridges that Hazel - Mrs. Bascombe - found ..." Did people in 1960 really stress out so much about first names??

Unfortunately this episode is relatively hard to find because it is one of several not available on Amazon Prime/FreeVee (where I normally watch Perry) nor on Paramount+. I was able to record it off of MeTV on cable.

Come Back, Little Sheba

[darbski · 10/10 · 8 August 2017]

**SPOILERS** I'm givin it a 10 because I liked the Burro, and Sue George is lookin good. Besides that, They made a big deal about buying a button for frontier days or getting arrested for NOT wearing a beard. Well, right after they made that point, the sheriff, two deputies, the ranch foreman, Paul, and half of the rest of the town weren't wearing beards OR Buttons! One bad thing is getting old; one good thing about getting old, is remembering certain things that were real important way back when. Like Uranium, and the interest in finding it for nuclear development. It was paying BIG. If there was no gold, why not "U"? Ya had to be there, I guess.

Of course, the star of the show is the sweet little burro, Sheba. After all the good service she had done for Amos, the guy who'd taken a payoff from the dead guy's cheating slut wife (kinda hot, too), was never gonna abandon her, was he? Well yeah, kinda. After all, he DID leave her tied to a bush without unloading her, didn't he? Did he feed and water her then? Nope. He just left her. One thing these Directors and Producers always overlook is that you DO NOT want to park your horse, mule, or burro next to your well, or your campfire (flies, understand?). A good friend like Sheba should have had a regular place to be corralled whenever Amos wasn't around, and feed and water as well. Another thing that these guys usually overlook is currying off; I'm gonna say that I hope Sheba got more respect after she saved Perry's client's bacon.

Then, too, Amos HAD to come back and get her at some point because she walked in Bascombe's blood, didn't she? So they HAD to know Amos was still around (hiding in the mine). Burros are afraid of rattlesnakes, and someone should have seen to that, too, you know?

Anyway, with the cat out of the bag, so to speak, Hazel (dead guy's old lady) and Roy (dirtbag foreman) may hang together for awhile, but probably not; just look up how well dirtbags do at relationships. One part that mystifies me is that fact that Bascombe DIDN'T want the mine, or property, just water. So why not lease it to him? Perry Mason was a genius at arranging such contracts, wasn't he? However, the presence of Uranium AND WATER made Perry's clients incredibly wealthy. IF they had any brains, they let him do ALL the legal and financial work for them.

Kudos to Della for being there, Paul for giving Perry a little grief, and, of course, Sheba.... for saving the day.

Sheba nails the perpetrator

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 18 September 2012]

With the assistance of a burro named Sheba, Perry Mason is able to nail the murderer in this episode of the series which moves Perry out of Los Angeles and into northern California and the mining country. Of course even without Hamilton Burger as his foe, Perry does just fine in the rural courtroom setting. Fortunately for the defendant Raymond Burr happened to be in the area on other business.

Ray Stricklyn and Sue George are a young married pair who are working an old and supposedly played out mine left by Stricklyn's uncle. Rancher Hugh Sanders wants the property bad for water rights connected to said property. Later when he's shot Stricklyn is looking good for it.

Because a certain witness is missing and in a kind of reverse disguise the defense bogs down. That is until Perry Mason calls the burro Sheba as a witness. In true animal fashion she identifies the missing witness and from there Burr brings home another acquittal.

The burro scene was amusing and that makes this episode worth a look. Without it though, it's one of the weaker Perry Mason shows.

Get Out! Get Out! Get Out!

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 21 September 2014]

****SPOILERS*** In him trying to buy up the Norton's Gerald & Sally, Ray Stricklkyn & Sue George, worthless gold mine rancher Ken Bascombe, Hugh Sanders, uses every trick in the book to get them to sell it to him at a bargain basement, $7,500.00, prices. It's when young Gerald Norton had enough and was about to confront Bascombe outside the mine he found him shot twice in the back and killed!

Perry Mason,Raymond Burr, who just happened to be in town to clear up a matter with old prospector Amos Catledge, George Mitchell, gets involved in defending Gerald Norton who's been arrested for the murder of Ken Bascombe since he earlier threatened to kill him if he didn't stop pestering him and his wife Sally over not selling him their gold mine. During all this Amos, who saw the person who murdered Bascombe, disappeared from sight leaving only his faithful mule Sheba behind. It's Perry who uses Sheba to dig up or identify Amos who, with a bath shave & haircut, was at the trial in disguise.

***SPOILERS*** We soon get the picture that it wasn't gold in that mine that lead to Basocombe's murder but something else. Something much more valuable then gold that his killer was after. And by getting Gerlad to take the blame for Basocombe's murder he was now home free to get his hands on the mine by legal, not criminal, means. The only problem for him was that Parry, who smelled a rat in all this, was on to him. And it was Perry using a homing device that eventually smoke him out.

Hooo boy......

[pmike-11312 · 1/10 · 14 October 2022]

PM hits a new low in utter ridiculousness and, frankly, stupidity. A donkey in the courtroom? That was the only way to identify the man? The donkey wasn't the only jackass involved with this one....

PM hits a new low in utter ridiculousness and, frankly, stupidity. A donkey in the courtroom? That was the only way to identify the man? The donkey wasn't the only jackass involved with this one....

PM hits a new low in utter ridiculousness and, frankly, stupidity. A donkey in the courtroom? That was the only way to identify the man? The donkey wasn't the only jackass involved with this one....

(Thirty-eight more characters...now seven.)