Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Negligent Nymph (1957) User Reviews

The cast does a great job of holding this together.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 20 December 2011]

This is one of those episode where the activities away from the murder-of-the-week are more interesting than trying to find out who will be spending time in jail.

A beach-comer finds a note in a bottle accusing George Alder (David Lewis) of killing his Aunt Agatha aboard the small boat called the Sea Witch. (Her death had been ruled an accidental drowning) The beach-comer goes to Mr Alder residence and demands some blackmail money. When Mr Alder pays the money it makes everyone in his household, Karen Alder his wife and alcoholic, and his personal secretary Sally Fenner , believe what everyone had been thinking since the death- that he murdered Agatha.

For some unknown reason, when Mr Alder receives the note from the beach-comer, instead of destroying the note he places it inside his money box. That night the secretary, Sally Fenner, goes to his room takes the note out of the box to give to the police. But when running away she is seen by the security guard that release a dog making her run into the ocean.

It just so happens that Perry and Paul are fishing and sees the women in distress. They come pick her out of the water where she explains her story to them.

Later we learn that George had been murdered. And it was near the same time that Sally ran from the house. So she stands trial for the murder of her employer George Alder and Perry will be defend her in court.

The trial ends when one of the witnesses slips up while on the stand. Then we get one of those corny confessions that the series is famous for producing.

Away from the actual murder and court scenes we get some good action from the cast. It is nice to see Perry and Paul on the water and away from the office. We get a nice scene when Sally is pulled from the water and slips into a bath robe aboard Perry's boat. We also get some good lines from Lt Tragg when he deals with Perry. During one portion Della is taken downtown by Lt Tragg for possible charges. And we get some comic relief thanks to some hot peppers attacking Paul Drake.

Overall the mystery was fine but it was the encounter of the cast that made this a good watch.

More like message in a bottle...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 27 November 2022]

... than "Negligent Nymph". Perry Mason episode titles usually fall into two categories - titles named after some object that is central to the case, and titles that indicate that a beautiful woman is at the center of the story to pack in viewers/readers (in the case of the original stories). But I digress.

A beachcomber finds a bottle washed ashore with a message in it. The message says it is written by an heiress who drowned at sea while aboard her yacht, and who indicates that she was actually murdered by her nephew for her money.

The nephew, George Alder is a piece of work, regardless of whether or not he is a murderer. He does pay off the beach comber since he only wants a hundred dollars. And he has no problem slapping his perpetually drunk wife around in front of said beach comber AND his secretary. His secretary quits because of Alder's bad behavior. Later that night she sneaks back into the office to try and find that note, because she has always suspected that Alder did kill his aunt for the inheritance. She is discovered by the guards on the premises and chased away. What she didn't notice was that her ex boss' murdered body is behind the couch in the office, obscured from her view.

Perry, nearby on his boat on a sea bass fishing expedition, rescues the girl from the Dobermans, who are in hot pursuit. It seems Perry can't even go on a trip at sea and not end up with a client. The best part of this episode, at least to me, was the Hispanic woman who was Alder's aunt's maid. She works in a restaurant now, but she also likes to make melodramatic speeches that are too much even for attorneys.

You Don't Need My Review, but One Thing Makes This Episode Memorable

[Absalom1991 · 8/10 · 15 March 2018]

I am watching all the "Perry Mason" shows from the start and am enjoying them immensely. The semi-soft hard-boil of the TV-noir style is perfect.

The subtexts able to be read into Mason's life, combining a true-enough take of Gardner's character with the now-known details of Burr's life (Had enough hyphenated adjectival phrases?) offer interesting glimpses into show business in closeted times. Just how many gay actors and young men of a certain type could they squeeze into the episodes?

Great scripts, tight formula with enough variety and dry humor to keep things interesting, and perfect casting. The show plays lightly with all the noir bits, except of course having Mason, Street or Drak ever seriously involved with anyone personally, but never tips into camp. At least overt camp.

But as I've said, you don't need me to post all this. The main reason I'm posting this is to remark on the amazing dress the negligent nymph of the title wears in her first scene. It appears black, is very well cut, but has a bizarre strap across the bosom in which appears to be an oversize table napkin folded in half. The strap appears large and secure enough to hold a secretary's lunch in place. Any insights into this style, which I've never seen before?

Thanks!

Interesting and well acted.

[antjerpar · 10/10 · 14 October 2020]

Ironic that the actress playing the secretary died of a drinking problem in real life, yet her character defending a alcoholic wife.

Beach Dogs, True Lies

[darbski · 10/10 · 28 April 2017]

As usual, there will probably be spoilers.This is one I'd missed somehow. Fortunately, I've got it in my collection (Amazon). I liked it, even though the murderer was obvious, and really not that sympathetic, being too willing to throw her friend under the bus. Tragg, and Mason both said in Perry's office that the case was probably pretty straightforward, even though Burger seems to have missed the logical alternate theory of the crime. Sally is described as being 5'4", when 5'8" is more accurate (when she is in heels, she dwarfs Mrs. Alder). One real serious difference in this episode, is when Sally readily admits (on Perry's boat, before she is actually his client) that she lied, and then tells him the truth right there. This is very different from almost ALL his other clients, who always want to lie themselves right into the gas chamber. In many cases, I've thought that some should absolutely have been fast tracked into the chamber at San Quentin JUST for telling such stupid lies to the one guy who can save them, but, hell, that's just me. Della gets to drive Paul's Corvette to spirit Sally to Perry's place for safekeeping. Naturally, Tragg finds her there and arrests both Sally and beautiful Della. By this time, Perry has broken the law by assisting someone who just confessed to a crime (he's an officer of the court), hidden the same individual when the police inform him in his office of her identity, and then concealed her, and her crime from them; still another crime. I think he did this because she told him the truth right away, and besides I like a lawyer who plays poker with the law. This is a previous version of another story that involves a dog, water, a damsel (client) and a rescue by Perry. One more thing: the beachcomber was played by James Griffith; one of many character actors, cameo/bit players who are part of the group of completely professional artists who can fill in at almost any role given them. These thespians are some of the very best actors who are almost always overlooked and which the story depends so distinctly. High praise is due them for total craftsmanship in their field; thanks to the Screen Actors Guild for their deep lineup of these wonderful artists.

More Dangerous Sober

[biorngm · 8/10 · 14 October 2020]

The episode was worth watching again simply to view Peggie Castle as the defendant and the brief appearance of an actress playing a stenographer to Burger. Castle was always a looker and the legal secretary has more appearances throughout her Hollywood lifetime than anybody to date, Bess Flowers had 960 credits. The loopholes are minutia here the doberman follows the woman into the water; how it was supposed to bite while paddling is trivial. Maybe it not being seen as Drake entered the water is the explanation, might have been put off with a former Navy frogman saving the damsel in distress. Tragg is more an irascible individual in these earlier seasons than he came off to be later in the series' tenure. It is fun to see a slimmer Perry in the 1950's and Della never aged, always the perfect secretary. The story is plausible with a grumpy victim, a second portraying the beachcomber and humor with Paul Drake at the restaurant, twice. Perry's comment to Della at the epilogue about the murderer being most dangerous when sober rang true; it made the story believable with the guilty party seeking revenge for a life she did not deserve, alcohol aside. The restaurant owner's statements were plausible with her receiving a cash gift which she used to open the dining spot. For the series run, there were more favorable judges, a pleasing and acceptable demeaner while orchestrating the proceedings. The slide projector is a great touch making the two-hour time limit Tragg put on the photographer; developing film for slides consumes the same efforts as do prints, i.e. it is the developing taking minutes to process. Season One or later seasons, this episode was enjoyed through a revisit.

Also Done I Season 9 (The Case of the Impetuous Imp)

[jmaass-48529 · 6/10 · 28 May 2018]

This story was re-done in Season 9 as 'The Case of the Impetuous Imp'.

Perry in that one is alone in the boat, and the accusation is against a husband who supposedly killed his wife on a boat, which sank, rather than his aunt.

Odd Episode

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 16 November 2021]

This one is a little suspect. A secretary is accused of killing her boss. He is an abusive husband with an alcoholic wife. The secretary sticks up for the woman. She tries to steal some evidence and ends up in the bay where Paul and Perry pull her out. The boss is killed without her knowledge. There are so many plot holes here but it is OK, I guess.

Did you ever think of someone typing a letter without a single mistake in the middle of a storm? Neither did the murderer.

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 17 March 2013]

***SPOILERS*** Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, got unexpected help from the D.A Hamiltion "Ham" Burger, William Talman, who was prosecution his client Sally Fenner, Peggie Castel, in a murder case. It was in fact "Ham" Burger who exposed the person who murdered the man that Sally was indited for murdering George Alder, David Lewis, without him realizing it until it was too late. Thus opening the door for a grueling cross examination by Perry that had Alder's killer break down and admit his or her crime in open court. In fact George Adler's murderer was somehow connected to the mysterious drowning death of his Aunt Agatha Alder who disappeared off Alder's boat the "Sea Witch" and was later found drowned on the shores of Catalina island.

All this started when local beatnik like beachcomber Arthur Dorian, James Griffith, found an empty whiskey bottle washed up on shore with a typed letter accusing George Alder of murdering his Aunt Agatha without any proof or signature as to who wrote it. Going to see Alder, when he was still alive, in order to get a pay off, a big $50.00, to keep his mouth shut Alder seemed to have taken Dorian's letter seriously and paid him off without as much as as having him thrown out of his home and reporting Dorian to the police for trying to extort money out of him! This made you think right away that Alder did in fact murder his Aunt Agatha. But when he himself was found murdered in his house off Paradise Cove it turned out that it was his loyal secretary Sally Fenner who was at the scene of the crime who was the one who did the guy in by bashing in his skull with a fireplace poker.

Perry uncovered a number of facts in the trial that really had nothing to do with who killed George Alder. One that seemed to make no sense at all is who really owned a popular Mexican restaurant in L.A the Las Chalupus and if the person, a waitress at that restaurant, was married or not to the owner! This all had to do with the missing $10,000.00 that Aunt Agatha was supposed to have had on her when she fell or was pushed off Alder's boat and drowned.

***SPOILERS**** It took a while but Perry with Hamlton "Ham" Burger' help cracked the case wide open by getting George Alder's killer to not only admit that he in fact murdered him but also typed the letter falsely accusing George Alder of murdering his Aunt Agatha as well! As for Perry's good friend and in house private investigator Paul Drake, William Hooper, he had his own problems. That in him trying to keep from chocking to death from the super hot Mexican dishes that he was foolishly, in him trying to show everyone just how macho he is, gulping down at the Las Calupus Mexican Restaurant.

Did you see what Paul and I caught?

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 5 June 2012]

Work follows Perry Mason wherever he goes. While on a fishing trip he and Paul Drake spot a woman being chased into the water by a man with a gun and a guard dog who goes in after her. It turns out to be Peggie Castle and William Hopper has to go in after her. Later on her employer, the rich and arrogant David Lewis is murdered that night in fact he was dead in the house while she was looking for an unsigned note that accused him of murdering his aunt several months before. She has the note and Raymond Burr has her as a client. Talk about fishing for clients.

This was not one of the better Masons. In fact all that David Lewis had to do was throw beachcomber James Griffith out on his ear when he came with an unsigned note to his place asking for blackmail money. I'm still not sure why he didn't. The real murderer is rather obvious in this one and that's my Perry Mason rule, no surprise it's below average.

The Case of the Negligent Nymph

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 10 August 2021]

George Alder is a nasty sort. His wife is a drunk because of his behaviour and is kept indoors by him. Alder might have also murdered his aunt for her money.

In fact Alder is being blackmailed by a beachcomber who found the incriminating note in a bottle.

Later Alder is found dead. Perry Mason and Paul Drake who are on a fishing trip fish out Sally Fenner who is Alder's secretary.

Well it was certainly convenient that Mason and Drake were out in the boat.

There is a comical scene where Drake boasts that he can eat hot Mexican food.

As for the blackmail note. It was pretty poor, the beachcomber managed to get some money for an an unsigned note and it was also a photocopy. Alder might have had nothing to hide regarding his aunt's death.

Not too many alternative suspects regarding the murder of Alder, so the murderer is rather easy to guess.

Mason would've been disbarred....

[pmike-11312 · 1/10 · 30 June 2022]

This show is SO devoid of realism to any degree (OK, I suppose the actors ARE real humans...). Mason's investigative illegalities would've been enough to disbar him, but it's compounded by his horrendous courtroom behavior (can anyone say "badgering the witness"?).

Perry and Paul should do more fishing - they always seem to run into trouble - and clients - when doing so!

Always poorly written, poorly directed, and poorly acted. All is normal in the world of Perry Mason!