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Only on Columbo could one find such an intricate murder process. While I was entertained, the chances of pulling this off were so slim. Still, Burger must have had the week off so that country guy, whom we've seen before, got into the act. The guy who stole the money was really taking a risk. He was doomed early on. He bought an Edsel.

Perry gets a call from Dr. Blane, who is being blackmailed by his son-in-law Jack Hardisty, who is married to Sue. Jack has stolen about $100k from the bank of which Blane is chairman. An audit is coming. The deal: Jack will return $75k if Blane makes up the rest and everybody keeps quiet. Although Blane was wise to call Perry, Blane also tells his neighbors the Stragues and nature photographer Beaton. Before Perry gets there, Jack is shot, and Paul finds Blane with the body. Perry defends Blane against a pleasant prosecutor Hale (played by Paul Fix). Perry suspects the $75k is the motive, and the hidden clock/camera relate to an alibi that does not pan out. Beaton's camera has an f3.5 lens and he shoots at f4.5 with flash triggered by a tripwire. The culprit takes one picture and then resets the aperture to f22 to f33 allowing a second (blank) shot, tiggered by the trip cord connected to a mechanical clock winding key, to be taken at a later time. Of course, the culprit would have to return to disconnect from the clock and reset to f4.5. Here, the culprit was running a badger game (a frequent Mason theme) and decided the $75k was more lucrative. The idea that scopolamine was a truth serum was largely discredited by the time of the episode. It was being used for motion sickness. Because it causes the victim to lose focus (and possibly hallucinate), it would not be the drug of choice to get a quick reveal of money location. In more current times, scopolamine has been a date rape drug. Toward the end, Perry notes that cross-examination is like prospecting. When you find a vein, you go with it. In this episode, Della gets to show off her reasoning abilities.

This is one of the many episodes that were adapted from one of Gardner's Perry Mason novels, the Case of the Buried Clock. That is actually one of the my favorite Mason novels. It is quite complex, involving more characters and situations than could be put into a fifty minute TV program. A lot of compression and abridging was done by the writers of the TV episode -- so much that it ends up being unbelievable.

There are holes in the plot. The clock is introduced very late, unlike in the book. It's not explained how Perry found the clock. It's not explained why Beaton didn't discover what was going on.

Read the book!

The ending of this episode is rather confusing. It involves a flash of a camera that was rigged at a different time than a witness stated he saw the flash. From the testimony, I was confused about how many flashes went off and how the rig was set up without being spotted by a person that claimed to be an experience tracker. It was a nice story if you are able to bypass a near unbelievable series of events.

The story involves a real cad named Jack Hardisty that steals about a hundred grand from a bank where his father-in-law, Dr. Blane, got him a job. He even brags to Dr Blane about the theft knowing that the fine doctor would not want any scandal to follow his daughter, Sue.

Dr Blane contacts Perry about being blackmailed by Jack and Perry agrees to make the trip outside LA to Sierra City to check on things. But when he arrives, Jack Hardisty has been killed and all the evidence is pointing to Dr. Blane as the murderer. Instead of blackmail, Perry will be defending Dr Blane for murder in a courtroom outside the usual setting.

A suspect will emerge as Perry reveals some suspicious facts about a witness right near the end of the show. Perry, with little if any evidence, will rig a camera that sets the courtroom ablaze when Perry gets the finger pointed at another person. The entire circumstance seemed forced and improbable but it ended the show within the required minutes and provides us with something to remember.

Note- this episode does contain one of my favorite Judges in the series. Jamie Forster plays the residing Judge in his usual country manner. He makes about four appearance as Judge through the run.

This Perry Mason episode derives its title from the fact that a clock is used to set up an alibi. Just one of those old mechanical windup clocks that you rarely see today. It means the murder as planned could not be done today.

Fredd Wayne is the no account husband of June Dayton and he's just embezzled over $100,000.00 dollars from the bank he works at and where his father-in-law got him a job. It's the father-in-law Don Beddoe who brings in first Perry Mason and then Paul Drake to get to the bottom of the story and avoid a scandal.

But when Wayne turns up dead, it's Beddoe in the jackpot and who needs Perry Mason. Of course Perry unravels the the prosecution's case and the real perpetrator discovered.

Paul Fix made one of five appearances as an alternative prosecutor to William Talman. Perry's not in the jurisdiction on this case of Los Angeles county and Hamilton Burger. Of course Fix has no more success than Talman ever did.

I'm not sure this trick would actually have worked in real life in any event. You'll have to watch the episode to see what I mean.

Dr Blane ends up being blackmailed by his slimy son in law Jack Hardisty who has embezzled $100,000 from the bank that the father in law got him a job at.

When Hardisty is found dead. Perry Mason defends Bane.

Mason figures that an important clue is a buried clock used to trigger some wildlife photography.

The story based on a novel by Erle Stanley Gardner did not make much sense in the condensed television version. Even the method of setting up the murder was far fetched.

It was always going to come down to two suspects. At least Mason admits he was prospecting in the hope he would hit bonanza.