The Case of the Pint-Sized Client

The pint-sized client of the episode's title is a 14-year-old boy who shows up at Perry's office, asking hypothetical questions about the "finders, keepers/losers weepers" concept of the law. The plot that ensues is interesting enough while recycling the all-too-familiar tropes of Tragg and Burger acting all smug and supercilious with Perry in the beginning, only to end up bested by him in court; an innocent client implicated by evidence and testimony, and the reveal of the real culprit(s) at the episode's climax to boot. The headline for this review, however, refers to the difference between 14-year-olds then and 14-year-olds 50+ years later. I was astonished to discover that young Bobby Clark, who played the client, was actually 14 at the time of filming. He was remarkably small for his age, looking more like a 9-year-old than his real age. (Clark had a short, but fairly prolific career playing kids on TV, including one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes "Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid.") More remarkable than Clark's size, however, is the way he's treated by everyone, especially Della, who hugs and pets him as if he were a 3- or 4-year-old. I dare say that not many 14-year-olds would stand still for Della's behavior (other than her feeding him) except in a "hot for teacher" way. What a difference 50 years has made in our society!

You know if young Bobby Clark hadn't just walked into Perry Mason's office asking about the legality of the concept of 'finders keepers' his grandfather might have wound up with some legal aid lawyer and gotten convicted of murder. Instead this turned into one of Perry Mason's charity cases.

What Clark found was the stolen loot from a robbery of a finance corporation in which he holds back $12,000.00 after the cops recover the rest. Ray Collins concludes that Clark's grandfather Eduardo Ciannelli was in on the heist. When the brains of the gang James Anderson is found dead, Ciannelli gets charged with the homicide.

Some nice performances are in this one besides Ciannelli and Clark, two that stand out are Elisha Cook, Jr. as another one of the robbers whom Anderson forced into the heist and Nita Talbot the not too grieving widow. Raymond Burr uses her to discredit Cook on the witness stand.

But who really stands out for me is Eleanor Audley who worked at the finance company and who is so positive Ciannelli was there even though all the robbers had nylon stockings over their heads. Something she says and that Burr notes when he visits the scene of the crime turns William Talman's case upside down and the real murderer is identified.

So is finders keepers a real legal concept?

Without giving anything else away, a loud air conditioner nails the killer. I tend to favor the episodes that are actually based on Gardner's writings. However, this one (which is not) is quite good. Some characters right out of "Noir Alley," including Eisha Cook.

Another reviewer says that Bobby Clark, who plays Nicky in this episode, played the Gorn in the classic Star Trek episode "Arena." But that was a different Bobby Clark

A fourteen year old who hangs around an old shed finds thousands of dollars hidden under the floor boards. He goes to see Perry Mason for legal advice. But this is the prelude to a wrongful accusation of an old man who has now crossed some gangsters. The great Elisha Cook is a safe cracker. He is caught in the middle of the gangsters and is used to get to the truth. The plot is quite silly but it is always nice when Perry lends a hand.