Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Potted Planter (1963) User Reviews

Back to basic investigation in this nice episode

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 8 October 2012]

In this full-plated episode we get Martin Walden who is a wealthy nursery owner accusing his wife, Andrea Walden, of having an affair. This was not the first time that Martin has accused her of cheating but it seemed this time Martin was ready for a divorce.

There was some evidence that Andrea may be cheating. One was with a nephew of Martin named Roy Mooney and the other was radio station owner Nelson Tarr. Young Roy had actually been hired to make like he was the other man in Andrea's life while Nelson was an old friend that Andrea still talked with at times. This caused lots of talk with the people in the community.

Nelson had bought the radio station from Martin but when Martin sold the loan to the bank, the bank officials wanted payment to avoid foreclosure. When Nelson goes out to talk with Martin they get into a scuffle with Martin receiving a fist to the face. Later the police are called to the scene and Martin is dead. He had been hit, with great force, by a flower pot from the nursery. Nelson is charged with murder and Perry will defend him in court.

During court proceeding it is determined that Martin Walden was nearly bankrupt. He supposedly had been withdrawing money from the bank and gambling in Las Vegas. But Perry believes there is more to this case than what-meets-the-eye. And after Paul Drake does some investigating in Nevada, Perry's client will hopefully receive a satisfactory result.

This episode is more 'old school' than some of the previous shows. It is back to basic investigation is this nice mystery. Good Watch

A Nice Twist

[kdspringer-72759 · 8/10 · 22 May 2020]

First, I want to correct some misinformation in another review. Perry's client is NOT Martin Walden, played by Robert Bray. Martin Walden is the murder victim. Instead, Perry's client is Nelson Tarr, played by Joe Maross.

Next, I want to note that this episode has a very nice cast of familiar faces - leaving the viewer with plenty of suspects. Mark Goddard, Constance Ford, and Diane Brewster portray but a few of our suspects (we know that Joe Maross' character is innocent, because . . . Perry is defending him!).

The plot is a bit complicated with all of the various characters and their relationships, so I won't write the lengthy summary which would be necessary to do that justice.

Instead, I will note that the victim was a very unpleasant person, as in MANY Perry Mason episodes, who pretty much got what he deserved. But that also means he did a lot of folks wrong, so we have a lot of suspects. Sometimes on Perry Mason we can sympathize with the killer when the victim is such a rotten person. Will that be the case here? You'll have to watch to find out - as answering that would be too big of a clue.

What makes this episode somewhat special is that it has one of the better twists to be found in any Perry Mason episode. If you see it coming, you're more clever than I am. But we find out something about the victim very late in the episode due to Perry's big brain putting some clues together and Paul Drake uncovering some facts. And once we do, the true motive for the murder is revealed from left field, and at that point the likely culprits are winnowed down to only a couple of candidates.

Very good later episode. Recommended.

A Quick-witted Murderer

[miketypeeach · 9/10 · 3 May 2019]

I'll get to the point: this murderer is adept at thinking on his/her feet, and extraordinarily so. This is one of those stories that has you pondering what was set before you after it ends. I was suspicious of the character from the beginning, but how the murder was accomplished was, as you'll discover, left up to the viewer. It's the timing that threw me off. Once you see this, you'll understand why I say that. If I say more, I'll spoil it for you.

However, I will say that what made me suspicious about the murderer was that he/she was too congenial, and overly facilitative. Yes, the murderer was just too nice. Oops, I may have just told you who the murderer is!

Oh, and Perry gets a little rough with a potential suspect! That was unexpected! I've given this a 9 because, though a good show, the bit about the timing was never explained. You'll understand what I mean.

I know that my baby's cheating on me

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 24 January 2013]

Robert Bray is a wealthy and troubled man, he knows that his wife, former film starlet Diane Brewster is cheating on him, but who is the question. He's settled on Joe Maross who recently purchased the town radio station from Bray. So Bray decides to fix his wagon by getting the bank to call in the loan Maross used to buy the station. That gives Maross enough reason to want to murder Bray and need the services of Perry Mason.

The murder weapon was potter and Bray was killed in his greenhouse. Right at the beginning Raymond Burr in his cross examination of the medical examiner elicits that the high temperature that the greenhouse was kept in could have skewered the time of death. That opens the field to any number of possible suspects including Davey Davison Maross's daughter who discovered the body.

Here's a hint, the perpetrator is someone who was looking to benefit from what Bray was doing to skirt California's famous community property laws. And it's not who you think.

This was a really clever Perry Mason episode.

Great Perry Mason Episode

[gerrythree · 10/10 · 8 April 2015]

This Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Potted Planter," is one of the best in the series. It starts off with one character, teenager Melinda Tarr, riding a motor scooter down a dimly lit road, wearing a party dress. From there, the episode zips along in Robert Dennis's great script. One character is played by Diane Brewster, who looks so good wearing large wide brimmed circular hats that she wears two styles of such hats during her court appearances. I thought courts told people in the room to remove their hats. I have all the Perry Mason episodes on DVD and I transferred them to XviD avi format, to watch them using my media player. Until two days ago, I never got around to watching this episode. This episode has plenty of rotten characters, most of them concerned with money. At one point, Perry says about his client, that he stands to lose his $29,000 investment spent buying a big share of a radio station. Those were the days, when a dollar was a dollar. Robert Hager was the DP for this episode and, boy, did he like photographing Diane Brewster and the shadows her big hats cast on her cheekbones. With several day for night scenes, this episode is one that would look good when Paramount releases Perry Mason on Blu-ray. Assuming Viacom doesn't spin off its Paramount subsidiary, now that parent company Viacom is falling apart (in April 2015). Even in DVD format, "The Case of the Potted Palm" is recommended viewing from one of television's finest series.

Above Average

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 4 February 2022]

A woman is maligned by her community because she is a successful actress and it is rumored that she is sleeping around. What is amazing is trying to figure out what she ever saw in that sober, abusive guy. Throw in some teenagers and a dose of jealousy and it works pretty well. Not so far fetched as some of these have been.

Planeted Evidence

[zsenorsock · 8/10 · 6 May 2008]

Good script by Robert C. Dennis presents Perry with a client named Martin Worden (Robert Bray, last seen horribly miscast as an astronaut on another episode) who believes himself guilty of manslaughter and confesses. When the charge is changed to murder, Perry has his hands full trying to prove his client didn't do it.

Bray, who would go on to be the Ranger that owns Lassie once Timmy goes the way of Jeff in the long running Lassie series, is much better in this episode. His wife is played by Diane Brewster, who went on to greater fame as the wife (and victim!) of another man falsely accused of murder--Dr. Richard Kimble on the "Fugitive" TV series. Msrk Goddard of "Lost in Space" fame and Paul Fix, who played the doctor in the second "Star Trek" pilot, help with strong performances. In fact, I wonder if Fix might not have made a good replacement for Tragg to replace the ailing and infrequently seen Ray Collins.