Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Silent Six (1965) User Reviews

Interesting mystery about six silent people

[kfo9494 · 9/10 · 2 January 2012]

This episode begins at an apartment complex with a girl screaming for help. The camera then begins to show people in their apartments either trying not to hear the screams or trying to cover up the noise of the screams. Thus we get the title "The Silent Six".

It just so happens the women screaming is Susan Wolfe (Chris Noel) her over-protective brother Dave Wolfe (Skip Homeier) works with Lt Drumm in homicide at the LA Police Department.

Susan has had trouble with the apartment manager named Joe Oliver. He had been making passes at Susan much to the chagrin of Sgt David Wolfe. He went so far as to tell Mr Oliver that he would 'get' him if it ever happened again.

And guess who is the first car to arrive at the screaming-- yes Lt Drumm and Sgt Wolfe. He goes running up to his sister's apartment and enters the door. He then gets hit over the head and dropping the gun to the floor. Next thing Sgt Wolfe knows is he is waking up and Mr Oliver has been shot six times with his duty weapon. And now he is charged with the murder of Mr Oliver. And Lt Drumm ask Perry to handle the case.

Mr Oliver was not the most likable person. We learn through Paul Drake that just about everyone that were the so-called 'Silent Six' had some kind of hatred for Mr Oliver. Everyone is a suspect until Perry examination of a certain witness reveals that all six were not as silent as we were lead to believe.

I like the way the story centered around people that did not want to get involve. Only after Ms Wolfe was beat to the brink of death did everyone wish they would have acted in some way. A good story and good show. Very interesting characters and all carried some type of baggage that adds to the story.

Note- I sure this has happened before but this is the first episode in the LA courthouse that I remember Perry and Hamilton Burger's table were on opposite sides. Perry is to the left of the judge and Hamilton sits to the right. Usually it is the other way around.

I Cared! I Cared! That's more then any of you can say! I Cared!

[sol1218 · 8/10 · 19 January 2013]

***SPOILERS*** As previous reviewer Richard ,Fuller 1 brought out this Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, episode is very similar to the true life murder of 28 years old Kitty Genovese back in Mrach 1964 in Queens New York. That's when Miss Genovese was brutally murdered by deranged lunatic as well as serial murderer, he later admitted to two previous killings, Winston Moseley. It was then where 38 witnesses just stood by and watched, out of their apartment windows, never bothering to even pick up the phone call the police to help the poor women who was stabbed to death over a dozen times!

In here we have Susan Wolf,Chris Noels, screaming for help as the people in her apartment complex just stood by and did nothing as her assailant beat her into a coma. It's Susan's brother L.A police Sergent Dave Wolf, Skip Homeier, who tries to come to her rescue only to get hit over the head and knocked out with Joe Oliver, Dale Van Sickel,the complex manager found shot to death with Sgt. Wolf's gun! Not really wanting to take on the case, his book of cases was already full, Perry Mason is asked by his good friend in the LAPD Let.Richard Drumm, Richard Anderson, to defend his fellow cop as a favor to both him as well as Sgt. Wolf. Whom Let. Drumm feels he killed Oliver in self defense or in preventing him from murdering his sister Susan!

Perry feels that one of the persons in the apartment complex was responsible for Oliver's murder since everyone had a grudge against him and may have used the incident of him beating Susan to whack him but which one? As the episode unfolded it become very certain that there's more to Oliver's murder then meets the eye. Not only in who murdered him but who in fact brutally worked over Susan Wolf! which in fact seems to be two different persons!

***SPOILERS*** One of the better late Perry Mason episodes that in fact has you feel not only for the murder victim,Joe Oliver,and the person whom he supposedly was responsible for putting into the hospital in a coma, Susan Wolf, but even more the person who murdered him! A tragic case of misidentification led to all this and the actual assailant of Susan Wolf ended up getting away with his crime Scot-free!

As for Joe Oliver's killer himself he in fact did the right thing, unlike those in the apartment complex, to get involved. But tragically mistook the wrong person,Joe Oliver, with whom he got involved with and sadly, in him trying to do the right thing, had to end up paying for that tragic mistake.

Good Episode with Undeserving Characters

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 2 March 2022]

A hot headed cop goes off half cocked and a man is killed. He is there to protect his sister. He becomes Perry's client, so we know he will get off. In the apartment building, numerous persons had a chance to come to the aid of the girl and that is an overriding issue here. Things eventually get resolved but that cop was a jerk and should have faced serious discipline. That he got off was lucky for him.

One of the Best

[slydude07 · 10/10 · 12 June 2019]

Good writing and great acting, especially by Virginia Gregg. Watch her on the witness stand as Mrs. Oliver. Nuanced, and compelling. But the whole cast was great.

One of the best episodes, almost like a movie of the week rather than TV show

[tomntempe · 10/10 · 18 March 2019]

This episode plays out like a movie of the week much more than a TV show. Burr in particular is far more animated and engaged in this episode than he has been for several seasons. Rather than the lumbering and often disinterested delivery of his lines that he fell into around season 7 he seems actually interested in being part of the show.

Also unlike most episodes the courtroom portion doesn't play out in a preliminary hearing but as an actual trial with a jury.. A jury which Mason addresses with a significant amount of dialog.

While the guy who plays the accused cop delivers an over the top performance as he chews on the scenery the eventual guilty party, played by David Macklin, delivers an "I did it" that's far more extensive and nuanced (in the characterization of how he tried to help while others did nothing) than the usual way the guilty party just blurts out "I did it" and buries their head.

In my view this was one of the very best episodes of the series if for no other reason than it departs, in a good way, from the established routine and rhythm that by the last couple seasons made the show too predictable.

Goofballs

[bhoover247 · 9/10 · 30 May 2020]

This episode was an interesting character study about a number of people who hear screaming in an apartment , but do nothing about it.. Oddly enough the 2 people who do respond to the woman screaming, one ends up shot to death and the other becomes an accidental murderer. This gives a pretty good rational as a reason not to get involved in other peoples problems.

A highlight for me was the actor Cyril Delevanti as the old guy who was a gambling bookie. He was a great character actor who seemed to always be play a thoughtful old man. I especially liked him in the film Night Of The Iguana where he played the oldest poet in the world.

What kind of an animal are you?

[BigSkyMax · 8/10 · 29 January 2017]

This story was loosely inspired by the infamous Kitty Genovese murder in New York City in 1963. But it's a feeble allusion, as Kitty was brutally stabbed to death and here, the girl lives and a man dies instead, shot by a gun. If you've ever met anyone who's been shot to death six times with a gun, they will tell you it's not so bad as being stabbed. Anyway, the story zips from caring less about who beat up the living girl to who killed the dead guy.

The girl is played by the beautiful Chris Noel, who, even with bruise makeup on her face, still looks gorgeous. You should look up her bio in IMDb, what a life of public service she's had.

There are no less than four possible ways the killing could have gone down, we find out in scene two or three maybe, and Paul Drake is just the sleuth who can suss them out, after he receives his clever instructions from Perry.

Do we spot a hint at a gay relationship between Ron and Hamp Fisher? These two hunky good- looking males were "just driving around" together when the attack on the Babe and the killing took place. Homosexuality was dangerous in 1965, as Raymond Burr and everyone who cared for him knew. Perhaps the characters are just gay for the slay?

Luckily we have Good Old Judge Kenneth MacDonald on bench to keep Perry and Hamilton in check with his best "Now See Here" arguments. There'll be no stoogery in this courtroom!

In the end the Guilty Killer's dramatic confession speech tries to tie it all back to Kitty by blaming big city fears and inhumanity as the cause for his actions. I guess that works, even if the "38 passive observers" in the Kitty Genovese story was debunked in a 2016 film made by her brother.

It's Hampton Fancher!

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 23 October 2023]

The screenwriter of blade runner.

And he has a major part in this very interesting and relevant Perry Mason episode.

Very relevant to the time it was filmed, in comparison to the real life Kitty Genovese incident in New York.

And very relevant to today's world as well.

This was 1965. The world was rocking and rolling, the Beatles were still around. The Vietnam War was acting up.

And so Perry Mason was the Star Trek of its era. Every season was Rife with episodes steeped in social commentary. Very relevant social commentary which is still relevant to this very day in many cases.

This "case" here, involves the new police Lieutenant Steve Drumm, and his friend David. Played by the guy with the cauliflower ears from the Star Trek episode with the hippies. The guy is actually a brilliant character actor who played nemesis very well, here, he is the defendant, this is one of the first times I ever saw that actor play a nice guy.

This was before he played two evil guys in Star Trek.

But the interesting thing here is the kid "Hamp", would later pen one of the most popular science fiction films of all time and then 40 years later would pen a sequel to that.

Every Perry Mason episode has the defendant, the decedent, and then the actual murderer, which Perry manages to eek a confession out of in most of the cases. As far as I know, there were only three cases where Perry did not manage to reveal the actual murderer.

Perry. Mason scrutinizes every possible "angle", this was back when you were rented an apartment house, you were also renting the furniture and everything else in there. I remember those times, this was very common. This apartment complex was a small community, and as we go through the case and Perry interviews possible murderers, we get to see all kinds of people. In today's world, Hamp would have been a member of a punk rock band. As well as the other guys who were downing "goofballs" aka reds, or downers. And then there were actresses, a book maker, in today's world, this would be a guy with instead of three telephones, he would have three computers serving websites. And then the manager of the apartment who initially is getting around on a wheelchair but then later reveals she can walk just fine, Virginia Gregg, who was in many other perry Mason episodes.

Just like any other normal red blooded American community, heh?

In the end of the episode, Hamp gives us a court room outburst, which rings in our ears: doesn't anybody care? Will not anybody help?

Hopefully this does not happen as much in real life as it used to happen back when this episode was produced.

Wrong Assumptions

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 20 April 2012]

The Perry Mason paradigm was shifted just a tad in this episode. Not that Perry did not have an innocent client. In this one however we don't meet the victim at all who is usually murdered in the second quarter of the one hour show format. Here he's murdered right at the beginning of the show.

Richard Anderson who played LA Homicide detective Steve Drumm in the last year of Perry Mason asks Raymond Burr to defend Skip Homeier his fellow detective who is charged with the crime. It seems as though the deceased was beating on his sister Chris Noel who lived in that same apartment. But Homeier swears he didn't do it even though his service revolver was emptied into the victim.

An investigation shows that everybody in that small apartment had something against the deceased so alternatives are plentiful. But this episode has a particular note of tragedy in that the perpetrator made some wrong assumptions about the deceased and that was what led to his demise.

I had this one figured wrong. If you see this film I think you'll think as I did about who the perpetrator was. But it was one big tease.

Procedural Nightmare

[zsenorsock · 6/10 · 15 August 2008]

This is not William Best's best script and its not helped by some of the over the top acting by Skip Homeier, but the biggest problem for me is with the depiction of LAPD procedure and Lt. Drumm (Richard Anderson).

Drumm and his partner Sgt. Wolfe (Homeier) respond to a call of a domestic disturbance where Wolfe sister lives. Why two investigators respond to the call instead of a black and white with uniformed officers is not explained. When they arrive, Drumm warns Wolfe to control his temper and not go off half-cocked. Yet that's just what Wolfe does, angrily yelling that its his sister up there! He jumps out of the car and rushes to the scene. So what does Drumm do? Does he get out of the car and rush after his emotionally out of control partner and keep him from going alone into a possible dangerous situation? No, Drumm makes sure to park the car in an open space. He takes his time doing so, as Wolfe arrives at the scene, is knocked unconscious from behind, a guy runs away from the scene right out the front door, Wolfe's gun is used to fire six shots into a victim and then the shooter also gets away. Wolfe then brings himself to his feet, picks up the gun and staggers to the balcony where he sees Drumm just now getting there where he finds the body of the victim, who plunged over the second floor railing. This would indicate Drumm is a pretty bad cop...or at least an incredibly slow one.

So Wolfe is charged with murder and Drumm begs Mason to defend his friend...who Drumm is supposed to investigate despite the fact they are good friends AND he was a witness to the events of the evening. This is a HUGE conflict of interest and the press would roast the LAPD if ever they allowed such a thing.

One of the nice things we do get to see in this episode is how busy the Mason office can be and we even see a rare appearance of one of Mason's legal clerks coming out of his law library early in the episode (proving his office isn't just Perry, Della and occasionally Gertie).

Kitty Genovese

[richard.fuller1 · 7/10 · 18 January 2013]

This odd little episode is loosely based on the murder of Kitty Genovese in '64 and the phrase "I didn't want to get involved" came into being to describe New Yorkers, when up to 30 people who watched or failed to summon help.

The set-up here, with the 'silent six' is to put reasons behind the failure to call the police, resulting in a truly odd concoction.

When the killer is revealed, he is compelled to yell out at the assembly that he did what none of them would do, so they are just as guilty of murder as is he.

Clearly blame being hurled at the Genovese bystanders.

Rather clumsily done, but could have been a little sharper with the mystery, which just kind of ventured off a bit too much.

Each one who was suspected of a crime it seems didn't really do it.

K-O'd

[darbski · 7/10 · 31 July 2018]

***SPOILERS*** For REAL !! Spoilers. First, the cop who was with Steve Drumm should NEVER have been anywhere close to that event. The initial complaint was just not serious enough to warrant his involvement beyond a brief warning. Second, Drumm just let him go without even raising his voice above medium. He should also have been up on charges for letting his subordinate loose on the scene. He was a day late and a dollar short. It should cost him a pay grade at least. Third - back to #1 Dave (brother of the beaten girl) was too stupid to be a cop. Barging into a room without checking to see who else was there? not being able to control his temper? Picking up his weapon before he was fully conscious? Shooting his mouth off to the papers? Arguing with Perry? DUMB. One thing that always bothers me is that when a person is knocked out, NOBODY checks to see how badly they were hit. It happened to Paul Drake in another episode, and when you're hit hard enough to K-O you, there's gonna be a serious lump, and probably a lacerated scalp wound, to boot (unless the guy is a Judo expert, and uses a hand blow to the back of the neck - that can also kill). Anyway, a knockout is not just a concussion, it's also a mini-coma; a serious blackout. You do not recover instantly. Disorientation, dizziness, unbalance, pain - a real bad headache - are the order of the moment - end of rant (it's happened to me, is how I know).

Hampton Fisher Hamp? Really? A Warren Beatty wannabe is also a stinking cowardly rat who was beating a girl almost to death. Now HER concussion was more like reality. He HAS to get at least the max for aggravated assault with intent to do great bodily injury. Must be at least a "B" Felony, and time in a lockup with some guys that will be happy to have such a pretty little morsel to play with - Just rewards.

Ron Peters, pretty boy #2 Too bad for him. He shot an unarmed man, and then ran away, lying about it all the way up until Perry traps him. He's gotta get at lest Man1. He didn't bring a weapon, was trying to defend the girl (but ran away, again), and was gonna let another man take the blame for his actions. He'll have the same problem that the Hampster has. I did NOT like the ending. Even though Dave (stupid cop) got off, he was still in hot water for a complete dereliction of duty. Suspension. Maybe he'll get back on, but even if his sister can get him a free ticket to Hawaii, it has always cost a lot of money to vacation there. I was and am totally unsympathetic to his character, I'll give it a 7 there was NO wasted time in this episode.