Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Dodging Domino (1962) User Reviews

Trick or Treat

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 31 October 2013]

Perry Mason's client in this episode is David Hedison a college professor and sometime songwriter who is being blackmailed for a melody that James Forrest wrote. Other than writing a nice tune, Forrest has very little else to recommend him insofar as character is concerned. And when he winds up dead a good circumstantial case gets Hedison arrested and indicted for murder. And of course Hamilton Burger once again thinks he has an airtight case.

This was a Halloween episode on the Perry Mason series and the clue to unmasking the real culprit is the testimony of bungalow manager Lloyd Corrigan who swears that only Hedison could have done the deed. Some trick or treating children are the real clue to unmasking the culprit. And being the wonderful character Forrest was there are plenty who would love to have seen him dead.

You have to like the way Raymond Burr 'unmasks' the real killer.

Halloween Episode

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 31 October 2011]

This episode has a timely Halloween theme to the plot. Just when you thought kids treat-or-treating is a nice way to meet neighbors they run this show. Maybe I should not have watched Halloween morning.

The episode deals mainly with a song, 'Pearls and Jades', that is going to be a headline in a play. The problem is that the person that wrote the lyrics did not write the melody. And now we are left with blackmail, lies and murder so someone can get the rights to use the song in the play.

We are introduced to a slew of characters throughout the show. But to make a long review short we only need to be introduced to a few. Begin with the actual writer of the song Phil Schuyler (James Forrest) who seems to be a lazy good-for-nothing person who steals from his step-brother. Alex Chase (Jeff Morrow) who claims to be the writer and is married to a drunk. Mona White (Ellen Burstyn) the singer of the song, and her husband Damion White (David Hedison) that is being blackmailed by the original writer, Phil Schuyler. (I know sounds confusing) The actual writer ends up dead and Damion goes on trial after being seen leaving the apartment by a number of witnesses. (He is killed in a shocking way) Perry is left to defend Mr Damion White and a hill full of evidence going against the case.

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD Since it was Halloween, the manager of the apartments where the writer was killed, was outside watching their children make their rounds. He claims that the only man he saw leaving the dead guys apartment was Diamon White. But with some courtroom antics and some get-ups, Perry bring children to the bar all dressed in their Halloween costume. (Must to the disgust of Hamilton Burger) The apartment manager can identify all the children in the costumes since all live around the area. Yet when he gets to one- it turns out to be an old man. The old man fits the description of someone in the courtroom. And like many 'Perry Mason' episode we are left with a courtroom confession to tidy up the show. The man wore a Satan costume and killed the writer. His last words were so true- "It wasn't Satan it was a fool's mask."

Even though I liked the show, it had too many useless characters. Two or three were written in what I believe was 'time-killers'. They appeared to make the show last the entire 50 minutes.

And we had one SUPER odd incident. When one person is on the witness stand giving testimony- all of the sudden in the background we get music with someone (I guess Mona) singing 'Pearls and Jades'. Yes, behind the testimony we get a background song. Heck, I thought my clock radio had been set incorrectly. I had to mute the show to find where that music was coming- but found out it was part of the episode.

The Halloween theme and getting to see Hamilton Burger called down by the judge made the program a good watch. Not great but better than most everything else that could be on TV.

That Song Sounds Familiar

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 28 January 2022]

We get to see the young Ellen Burstyn. She was as attractive as a twenty-something as she was later. Here we have the story of a song, one that has a confusing history, that leads to all kinds of gyrations among the Broadway crowd. It brings about efforts at extortion to see who is first in line. Al Hedison appears here, later in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. And Beaver's friend, Larry Mondello, as one of the kids. One of the kids that could talk Beaver into things that got him in trouble.

Larry Mondello

[davjazzer-43068 · 9 November 2018]

One of the kids in the Costume scene at the trial's end is none other than Robert "Rusty" Stevens-alias Larry Mondello of "Leave it to Beaver".

Everybody's Singin'

[darbski · 8/10 · 15 November 2017]

**Spoilers** I gotta agree with another reviewer in that there were too many characters. It also seemed like there were a couple of people in the show that ALSO claimed to have written the song, in this case, just the music. In these cases, I think the normal procedure is to go ahead with the recording, and let them sue, if they can. That's exactly why production studios, and record companies have lawyers. It's just too close a call to try to claim it's yours unless you have copyrights and publication dates to back up your claim. Besides which, Perry's client had as much as said the same thing, and had renounced any claim to the song. Yanks the rug out from under the motive, don't it? Perry's client's girlfriend starts everything with her nose out of joint over the song's actual ownership rights. Well, she ain't the only one, and as things spiral down into confusion and murder, Perry tries to stop the slide; NOPE.

They all land on their butts in court, and Perry and Paul have to get legally creative to save their client. As usual he (the client), makes the wrong move at the wrong time. I still can't figure out just what the deceased dirtbag could possibly extort from a guy who didn't even care about the song. Too busy for any more than an 8.

Time to take a bath?

[supermandisco · 10/10 · 23 April 2020]

Why would anyone take a bath when receiving a visitor and so early in the evening during the peak of Halloween? And why didn't Damien lock the door on his way out knowing full well his meeting was with someone taking a bath and presently unable to tend to trick or treated? You mean he left the door open on the way out? In a way, he is responsible for the murder allowing opportunity to enter the door. Personally I wouldn't take a bath until all the trick or treated left the area and stopped banging on my door. But guess what? The door was open. That's even worse.

Confusing and loud but a glimpse at a hedonistic lifestyle

[lucyrf · 7/10 · 9 October 2020]

A community of showbiz types live in a bungalow "village" on the beach. Many sport beards and Hawaiian shirts. How can they afford their lifestyle? How can they drink whisky for breakfast, dinner, lunch and tea? Why do they never pass out?

It's all about a song one of them wrote - or two of them. Or three of them, or... We never get to hear the song in its entirety, so we can't judge the magical qualities the whole cast ascribe to it. It saved a show, it's going to save a career and make everybody LOTS of money.

The song, or its backing, frequently backs the dialogue - and drowns it. When the music isn't playing, we get the booming surf from the crashing waves on the beach. There's a rather elderly beach bum with a transistor radio. But at least we get to see a young, and stunning, Ellen Burstyn dancing through the surf.

A Song to Remember

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 6 January 2015]

****SPOILERS*** Very confusing Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, episode that seemed to be shot on video tape not the usual film has Parry get involved in a murder that had to do with this song "Pearls & Jades" that was a flop as an instrumental but a monster hit when lyrics were added to it. This had the writer of the song Phil Schuyler, James Forrest, to demand big bucks for it to be put into an off Broadway musical that eventually lead to his, by being electrocuted in his bathtub, murder!

That fact that this all happened on Halloween night was a big factor to the storyline that we saw at the conclusion of the episode. The killer used that evening as cover to do his dirty work on the unsuspecting Schuyler who's song he wanted for himself and thus, by bringing him in millions, saving his floundering career. There's also a very sexy looking Ellen Burstyn as retired Broadway queen Mona White who was to star in the musical that she was to sing the very groundbreaking, in knocking everyone in the audience dead, song.

****SPOILERS**** With Mona's husband Damion as the prime suspect in Schuyler's electrocution, he was seen entering the bathroom with an electric heater, it was up to his lawyer Perry Mason, who else!, to prove him innocent. Perry uses some neighborhood kids who went trick or treating Halloween night to smoke out Schuyler's killer by having the house caretaker Rudy Mahisted, Lloyd Corrigan, identify, with their Halloween masks on, each one correctly. In they were the only ones besides White who were at the scene of Schuyler's murder. And as it turned out it wasn't any of the kids that turned out to be the killer but a five foot four inch, with his elevator shoes off, adult who in fact did Phil Schuyler in! Perry had no trouble getting Schyuler's killer to confess in that by now, with him being exposed, his life in show business or anywhere else wan't worth a plug nickel anyway!

A Courtroom Confession - whodathunkit?!

[pmike-11312 · 2/10 · 29 October 2021]

Realistic, well-written, wonderful plot-lines, intriguing.....all adjectives that do not apply to any PM episode. Ridiculous, poorly directed, awful dialogue, laughable.... THESE fit.

This one has another snickerfest of a conclusion / confession scene with the line "It wasn't Satan. It was a fool's mask.". Just too much! I did give it one extra star for the inclusion of Rusty Stevens as one of the costumed children. He was saved from having to recite any insipid lines from these writers, but it was interesting to see a post- Leave it to Beaver job from him.