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#147: The Case of the
Melancholy Marksman
Original Airdate: 03/24/62

Summary Edit

From The Perry Mason TV Show Book
When Ted Chase finds out that his very unpopular second wife, Irene, may have killed his beloved first wife, he wants revenge. Ted contemplates knocking off this Jezebel who has caused him so much pain, but someone gets to Irene first and takes her out for other reasons.

The chase is on for the killer and the police accuse Ted of the crime. Perry comes to the rescue with evidence of Irene’s sordid past and many enemies. Ted is shocked to find his late second wife was even more corrupt than he had imagined.

Credits Edit

Opening

Starring Raymond Burr
in The Case of THE MELANCHOLY MARKSMAN
Based upon characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, Ray Collins

Trailing

Directed by Jerry Hopper
Written by Robb White

“Perry Mason”
Art Seid| Producer
Gail Patrick Jackson | Executive Producer
Jackson Gillis | Associate Producer
Produced by The CBS Television Network in association with Paisano Productions
Samuel Newman | Story Consultant

Raymond Burr as Perry Mason
Barbara Hale as Della Street
William Hopper as Paul Drake
William Talman as Hamilton Burger
Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg

Cast

Paul Richards as Ted Chase
Jeff Donnell as Sylvia Dykes
Mari Blanchard as Irene Chase
William Schallert as Len Dykes
Ann Rutherford as Ellen Chase
Wesley Lau as Lt. Anderson
Peter Baldwin as Tony Benson
Jesse White as Cecil
Edward Ashley as Charles Vale
Cindy Robbins as Mabel Richmond
S. John Launer as Judge
John Harmon as Expert
John Straub as Doctor
Jon Lormer as Medical Examiner
Betsy Hale as Betty Chase
Shari Lee Bernath as Anne Chase

Crew

Director of Photography … Robert G. Hager
Art Direction … Lewis Creber
Assistant Director … Gordon Webb
Film Editor … Richard H. Cahoon, A.C.E.
Casting … Harvey Clermont
Makeup … Irving Pringle
Hair Stylist … Annabell
Wardrobe Supervision … Ed McDermott, Evelyn Carruth
Set Decoration … Charles Q. Vassar
Properties … Ray Thompson
Production Sound Mixer … Herman Lewis
Script Supervision … M.E.M. Gibsone
Sound … Glen Glenn Sound Co.
Automobiles Supplied by … Ford Motor Company
Titles and Opticals … Pacific Title

Perry Mason \ A Film Presentation
A CBS Television Network Production

Trivia Edit

In one scene, Cecil the bartender (Jesse White) is just telling the punchline to a joke: “So, he says, ‘If it would a happened one minute sooner, I’d have had a fractured skull.’” This evidently was an in-joke of the writer’s because this is the punchline of a vulgar joke known variously as “Lucky Louie” or “Lucky, Lucky, Lucky.” Submitted by Henry McNulty, 6/5/2003. [Jokes morph all of the time and searches on those names may not easily find this one so, as a public service, here is a similar joke.]

Another epsisode in which Lt. Tragg is credited but does not appear. Submitted by gracep, 12/23/2010.

The tune sung before Irene’s picture is “Goodnight, Irene,” which was a folk song that many popular artists had covered by the time show aired, and probably most grown-up viewers in the 1960s would have recognized it. Submitted by gracenote, 7/20/2011.

Comments Edit

During the preliminary hearing, at about 33:00 on the 2010 Paramount DVD, Perry gets the Expert to concede that the fatal bullet could have been fired from a handgun and not necessarily from the rifle in evidence. Thirty seconds later, when Hamilton is questioning the Medical Examiner, Hamilton asks, “That means that that rifle must’ve been fired from a considerable distance away from Mrs. Chase?” Perry says nothing, even though his client is charged with using a rifle, not a handgun. Why didn’t Perry object? Submitted by masonite, 24 November 2010.

Good point about the handgun/rifle. Although I’m not an attorney, I think Perry should have objected since he’s established it’s not clear whether a rifle or handgun was involved—an ambiguity clearly beneficial to his client. Perhaps we should listen to how it’s referred to after? Perhaps Burger read his line wrong, deviating from the script? That aside, I really can’t imagine anyone using a rifle in this situation at all. I realize we have to make allowances for it being TV etc., but there was hardly any distance at all between the roof of the adjacent building and the apartment. A handgun would have been more than adequate. Using a scoped rifle really seems like overkill. Plus it would have increased the chance of the bullet passing through the room an striking an unintended target. In fact, it seems to me that some sort of test could have been fashioned to determine whether the bullet came from a handgun or rifle based on velocity, impact force or what-not. Submitted by billp, 28 November 2010.

Mason makes an interesting comment as he and Paul pull up in front of Benson’s apartment building: “The only solution to the parking problem in Los Angeles is to get rid of the cars.” Submitted by gracep, 12/23/2010.

In the end, they conclude that Irene killed the first wife. But it is not clear how they came up with that, or when it supposedly happened? There has to be more evidence than just the note? Also, in what scene did Betty Chase appear? I think that was eliminated in the syndication print I just watched. Would that make Irene’s murder of Betty make more sense?

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