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#149: The Case of the
Borrowed Baby
Original Airdate: 04/14/62

Summary Edit

From The Perry Mason TV Show Book
Perry and Della return to the office after dinner to finish up some work and are startled to find a four-week-old baby boy in a basket on Perry's desk. Perry perceives someone to be in trouble, since he doesn't believe in storks.

Before long, the alleged mother shows up, with a trail of trouble behind her. She is arrested for murder, but not before Perry finds out that this little baby that he and Della have been caring for may be the heir to the vast Kerrick fortune.

Credits Edit

Opening

Starring Raymond Burr
in The Case of The Borrowed Baby
Based upon Characters Created by Erle Stanley Gardner
Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, Ray Collins

Trailing

Directed by Arthur Marks
Written by Jonathan Latimer

“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
Wiliam Talman as Hamilton Burger
Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg

Cast

Hugh Marlowe as Jarvis Baker
Maria Palmer as Florence Wood
Corey Allen as Lester Menke
Nellie Burt as Mrs. Holly Cosgrove
Kaye Elhardt as Ginny Talbot
Gregory Morton as Dr. Paul Hogathy
Sara Taft as Mrs. Leander Kerrick
Joan Petrone as Lenora Graves
El Brendel as Court Manager
Charles Thompson as Antique Car Man
Kenneth MacDonald as Judge
Ed Stoddard as Gun Clerk
Lee Miller as Sgt. Brice
Charles Stroud as Court Clerk

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 by … Pacific Title

Perry Mason \ A Film Presentation
A CBS Television Network Production

Trivia Edit

Charles Thompson makes his only Perry appearance here playing the car man. Mr. Thompson was unique in that he was almost 60 years old before he ever began acting. Most people best remember Mr. Thompson as Asa Breeney, the inept security guard on The Andy Griffith Show. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 2 September 2009.

Yet another triumphant appearance by Della’s monogrammed dress! It does seem to fit a bit more snugly each time, though. Submitted by Ed Zoerner, 7/9/2010.

Location: The brick stairs seen when Perry has a chat with Lester Menke are also seen in the Magic Donut scene in #101, “TCOT Wandering Widow.” Submitted by daveb, 12/29/2010.

Della serves coffee to Perry and Paul at her temporary quarters using the Curious Coffee Set. Submitted by daveb, 12/30/2010.

Character Names: The first name of Mrs. Leander Kerrick is Dolly. The Antique Car Man is Mr. Barry. Submitted by gracep, 1/3/2011.
+ Antique Car Man’s (ACM) first name “Amos” was dropped by Paul when Perry asked him if he knew any antique car people. I did hear Perry address ACM by name but I heard it as “Mr. Berry” which, in hindsight, I prefer because Perry’s & Paul’s consultation with the hard-of-hearing old Crank was absolutely NUTS! Perry really asked for utter confusion, verbal chaos and a razz-berry when he started off by asking ACM “Can you tell us the name of the electric broom on this Saint Cristopher Medal?“ (The “broom” being a “brougham”). The conversation went straight downhill from there. I wonder what 1962 TV audiences without home recording/playback made of this comedy scene. Submitted by Gary Woloski, 13 October 2011.
+ Interesting point re Barry vs. Berry; I was simply using the spelling provided by the closed captions. Submitted by gracenote, 26 November 2011.

Although credited, Ray Collins does not appear as Arthur Tragg. Submitted by gracep, 1/3/2011.

Sightings: Distinguished Gentleman #1, sporting glasses, sits in the back row of the courtroom gallery, while “Miss Carmody” sits on the front. Read more about these two and the other recurring spectators. Submitted by gracep, 1/3/2011.

Goof: When Perry leaves upon the conclusion of his discussion with Mrs. Kerrick, he asks for the medallion back and clearly takes it with him. Yet shortly after, Mrs. Kerrick has the medallion when she visits Della! Submitted by Ed Zoerner, 7/16/2011.
+ Agree. First, I was surprized that Mrs. K gave it back to Perry without comment since it was clearly a Kerrick family heirloom and was really her property. Then Mrs. K’s magical repossession had me shaking my head again for a while. Maybe the Script Supervisor was so discombobulated by Perry’s & Paul’s madcap scene with Antique Car Man that he/she went to pieces! Gary Woloski, 12 October 2011.
+ Correction: When the scene concludes outside the house, and Perry has had Paul follow Menke, Mr. Baker and the secretary exit the house and get into a car and leave—watched by Perry. He then gets another idea an climbs the stairs to re-enter the house, presumably to talk again with Mrs. Kerrick. It is then that he would have ostensibly given her back the medal. Posted by dwhite, 12/3/2011.

The ultraviolet lamp used by Perry looks very much like the “Black-Ray” from a previous episode, namely #114, TCOT Blind-Man’s Bluff. Submitted by gracenote, 7/20/2011.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong. This episode has the only final wrap where Della cries at the end. Submitted by Mason Jar, 7/28/2011.
+ And I don’t remember any other episode in which Della dropped so many strong hints that she’s ready to settle down and raise a family. That makes almost five years that she’s been “hinting” but the guy still hasn’t got it. Della’s “Baby Formula” (see item below) isn’t working! Submitted by Gary Woloski, 16 October 2011.

Mrs. Cosgrove, the cleaner for the Mason law office, praises Perry while being questioned by Burger on the witness stand. In response, Burger hops up onto his soapbox and grandly proclaims: “This seems to disprove the old theory about no man being a hero to his cleaning woman!” Don’t miss the following quick shot of Burr’s facial expression portraying (perhaps) simultaneous amusement and humility! Submitted by Gary Woloski, 13 October 2011.

Sgt. Brice (Lee Miller) is Burger’s first witness, just past half-way through the show. The scene is more than 30 seconds long and he answers three questions from Burger in about 50 words. There is also a very fine facial close-up of him. This is the longest speaking part for Lee Miller that I can recall and the only one with an extreme facial close-up (much better than Episode #59 and without his hat!). Submitted by Gary Woloski, 14 October 2011.

Della’s Baby Formula: Della hands the notes she found pinned to the baby's blanket to Paul, which he reads as “My name is Leander. Please, Please, don’t let anybody, not even the Police, take me away. EVM13-W19-CRON S2T.” (The “M” may have been an “N”, audio was indistinct) In response to Paul asking what the code is, Della replies, “That’s his formula, Paul.” Submitted by Gary Woloski, 16 Oct 2011.

Location: Opening street scene you can see Beefeaters Inn which is long gone. It was at 170 North La Cienega in Beverly Hills. Submitted by Eric Cooper, 19 December 2011.

Comments Edit

It’s curious that Perry recognized an antique electric car when he saw one, especially now that electric cars are making a comeback! There was a recent film about the old electric cars and their demise. Find out Who Killed the Electric Car? here or here.
+ What Perry immediately recognizes (from a distance of 6 feet!) as “an electric automobile” is a line-engraving of a car on the reverse of the 1-inch-diameter St. Christopher medallion that Della found in the baby’s basket. We viewers are given a fine close-up of the engraving, displayed in Paul’s open hand. The engraving is further ID’d by Antique Car Man (ACM), who gives some historical details of this 1915 or ’16 “Detroit Electric” car and a lead to a current local owner (Mrs. Kerrick) who still uses hers, which her departed husband built for her. We also see the actual car in two scenes of the episode. The engraving, some of the “facts” given by ACM and the glimpses of the car elsewhere in this episode correspond to an actually existing car: the Detroit Electric Brougham; read about it here! ACM gives the name of the hobbyist-builder of the car as “Leander Kerrick” and gives some details, a few of which seem to be drawn from the life of Henry Ford!

• Henry Ford was an engineer and Chief Engineer at the Detroit Edison Illuminating Company from 1891 to 1899. Ford and Thomas Edison had a long friendship.
• Detroit Edison supplied batteries for electric cars in the early 20th Century, including to Detroit Electric cars. Edison also helped Ford develop an electric starter for the Model T.
• Henry Ford actually did build two or more experimental or "hobby" electric cars about 1914.
• Henry Ford bought at least two Detroit Electric cars for his wife Clara, the first in 1908. Here he is stepping into her 1914 Detroit Electric Model 47 Brougham. Here is that car in 2010 at The Henry Ford museum.

Here, with some technical details, is a Model 31, which may be the model filmed in this episode (closing scene shows that the car does not have wrap-around rear-corner windows). Finally, here is a 1917 Model 62 - don't miss the last paragraph of the write-up (regarding the mystery novel)!
Contrary to the "about six" cars that ACM says Leander K built, Detroit Electric was the most successful electric vehicle of the Twentieth Century, with over 12,300 cars and 535 trucks being produced up to the mid-20's.(see here). I'm left wondering why this Episode's writer, Jonathan Latimer, didn't have Mrs Kerrick's first name as "Clara"! Submitted by Gary Woloski, 13 Dec 2011.

That is the BIGGEST four week old baby I've ever seen ... times have changed, it's more likely that a baby closer to that real age could be used in a tv show. MikeReese

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