Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Purple Woman (1958) User Reviews

Some of the best courtroom scenes are in this episode

[kfo9494 · 9/10 · 23 April 2013]

This episode has one of those endings that the series is so famous in producing. A person is tripped up by Perry and the house of cards comes falling down as the person confesses to the crime. Classic Mason episode.

It begins when an art collector, Varner, has bought a painting from the Girard Gallery called 'The Purple Woman'. He discovers that the painting is a fake and goes to see the owner of the gallery Milo Girard. When Milo tells Varner that he will have to report this to the newspapers, Varner backs off since he is a well known art collector and might damage his reputation.

Milo Girard is one of those real cads. He hires a talent drunk to paint a forgery, then he sells the painting plus he is also running around on his wife Evelyn- just an all-out rotten guy. So it is not too painful when his secretary, who he has been seeing, finds him murdered in his office. But the bad thing is that it was one day after his wife had threaten to kill him over some letters he found that was addressed to her. So as you can tell Evelyn will be the first suspect that Hamilton Burger's office will seek to issue warrants for murder. Thank goodness Perry will be around to defend Ms Girard.

A nicely written episode with some fantastic acting that really hold the viewer's attention. The courtroom scenes are some of the best work we have seen in some time. With the great ending this episode was top notch. Good watch.

Very Good Acting

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 22 December 2021]

This is a neat plot with a couple holes. It is Mason's foray into the art world. It would be interesting to know how many masterpieces out there are actually fakes. This settles around the pomposity of a couple of big time art collectors who clash over a painting thought destroyed years ago. There is also a man who is a masterful forger and a masterful drunk. Good courtroom drama with the usual suspects.

Vanity thy name is vanity

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 27 August 2019]

The art world is the setting for this Perry Mason story. In it George MacReady makes the first of several appearances on the show, in this one an art dealer. He sells a bogus rare painting off on collector Rhys Williams. Williams is like the king in the emperor's new clothes, so proud of his reputation as art collector that he won't go to the cops to expose MacReady.

Then there's Robert Harris who thinks of himself as a great artist on his own right but can't get any other work than as a high priced forger of great works. He's who MacReady hired to make the forgery he passed off on Williams.

But when MacReady is killed it's his estranged wife Bethel Leslie who becomes the Perry Mason client. She's been seeing art critic Donald Murphy. MacReady not one to let grass grow under his feet has Doris Singleton for comfort.

So lots of folks had reason to do in MacReady who is his creepiest best in a true George MacReady part.

It is vanity and Raymond Burr has to overcome that to gain Leslie's acquittal. The perpetrator is definitely in the top three you might suspect.

Hack criticizing a hack

[darbski · 10/10 · 13 June 2017]

**SPOILERS** Don't be alarmed; just get the episode from Amazon and watch it before you read this review. The episode begins with two of the great arrogant boors in movie history: George Macready, and Rhys Williams; two of the best actors in Hollywood, and in this case two self-important, preening snobs; propped on their own vanity.

They are completely, brilliantly, outdone by Robert H. Harris; who, in this case played "Hubble"; the dissipated, booze swilling crackpot who is convinced of his own greatness; a delusional buffoon, to be sure, but on one point, he is incisively correct. He asks Perry (in his office) "Who painted that?" referring to a so-called painting behind Perry's desk. Perry replies "Paul Davis" to which Hubble says "He's a hack-get rid of it". One does not have to be an art critic or an interior decorator to see that the person who designed the sets had to be a loyal fan of horror movies who also dabbled in hallucinogenic drugs. I've commented on not only the wall decoration, but the walls themselves, and everything else in this business domain. "Get rid of it" - absolutely! Nine years of a hellish working environment; tragedy on a terrifying scale, even with the threat of nuclear holocaust looming.

Perry's client is, of course, the murdered creep's wife. She is, by necessity, completely stupid and even though she is the daughter of an "important churchman", obviously doesn't believe in confession and redemption; One wonders if she was ever saved from her own foolishness. Perry got her off, but she still had to live with her own cross, didn't she? The real important art critic is named Kovak, and I was immediately reminded of the bird in Robin Williams' great movie "Mrs. Doubtfire". The voice he used was fantastic, and I couldn't forget it when watching this great episode. When he examines the portrait, he examines the model's right eye, and when on the stand says the girl had a slight cast in her LEFT eye. A Director's mistake. There is a beautiful brunette sitting next to Gordon, the client's boyfriend in the front row of the gallery. I've wondered before if these young beauties were from the studio, or a modeling school?

The whole show was about vanity, and Perry, exposing it to the harsh light of the truth must remind us that "The mirror always lies" (Rush). Perry gives Hamilton a very graceful credit in the last lines, with no humor involved. A great episode. Acting was impeccable. Kudos to the S.A.G. for their deep pool of talent. Kudos to IMDb for giving us the reference to these world class talent's histories.

Vanity

[ebertip · 7/10 · 21 July 2020]

The group of suspects suffered degrees of vanity.

At the final scene, Perry quotes a law review article by Hamilton Burger: a well-tried criminal case is a credit to all involved ..." as Hamilton is invited to sit down with the Perry gang.

At the end of the hearing, the judge says adjourned, rather than dismissed.

The Case of the Purple Woman

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 12 December 2022]

Perry Mason enters the art world. More specifically the world of art forgeries.

Rufus Varner is a proud art collector. He has paid $86,000 for the painting, The Purple Woman through art dealer Milo Girard.

However an art expert takes one look at the painting and tells Varner that it is a forgery. Girard got frustrated artist Aaron Hubble to produced the forged painting. In return Girard promised Hubble a one man exhibition if his forgery could would fool Varner.

Fearing humiliation that he might end up looking like a chump. Varney demands his money back from Girard.

When Girard is found dead, his wife Evelyn is arrested. She hated her husband and was having an affair.

Perry Mason runs rings around Hamilton Burger. The latter wants to shy away from the subject of forged paintings but Mason forces him to open the door a little.

Mason also uses psychology to get one deluded person to open up. The confession was abrupt and too sudden, but normal for the course in these Perry Mason episodes.