Prior to Raymond Burr playing Perry Mason in 1957 on TV, there were 6 "Perry Mason" movies made between 1934 and 1937. The first four starred Warren William, while Ricardo Cortez and Donald Woods played Mason once. Pictured here is the original cast from the TV series: William Talman, Ray Collins, Barbara Hale, Raymond Burr, and William Hopper.
Perry Mason Now on DVD!
On July 11, 2006, the first episodes of the original TV series of Perry Mason were released on DVD starting with the first 19 episodes of the first season (1957) on 5 discs. The most recent set (4 dics) is the second half of Season 5, released on November 16, 2010.
A special 50th Anniversary Edition box set was released on April 8, 2008. With 4 dics, this included the only case Perry lost (The Case of the Deadly Verdict), but eventually wins; the only color episode (The Case of the Twice Told Twist); the final episode (The Case of the Final Fade-Out) with Dick Clark - the murderer, and Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner as the trial judge. Numerous special features include intros by Barbara Hale (aka, Della Street) and William Talman's (aka DA Hamilton Burger) Anti-Smoking message.
Orders and information can be found at the following links:
Books
My best information yields that the following books have been published about the TV series (links open to a new window):
Any comments will be appreciated. Email me at:
© 1995-2010, Howard M. Berlin. November 30, 2010
