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#164: The Case of the
Fickle Filly
Original Airdate: 12/13/62

Summary Edit

From The Perry Mason TV Show Book (Revised)
Brad Shelby jilts Jennifer Wakely to marry the older, richer, and wiser Madelon Haines. Jennifer feels even more alone when her dad dies and her Uncle Emmett breaks the news that she is penniless—a shock to her since she has always lived in comfort.

The only possession the girl has left is her racehorse, Tiger Lil. Brad Shelby manages to crush that little ray of sunshine for Jennifer when he works a deal with Uncle Emmett to buy the filly. He pays far more for the horse than it’s worth, so maybe he was doing Jennifer a favor after he jilted her. No matter, Jennifer doesn’t see it as a kindness and when Shelby is murdered, the police arrest her for the crime. Watch for the late Jim Davis, Jock in Dallas, in this episode.

Credits Edit

Opening

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

Trailing

Directed by Allen H. Miner
Written by Bob and Esther Mitchell
Art Seid | Producer
Gail Patrick Jackson | Executive Producer
Jackson Gillis | Associate Producer
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

Lisabeth Hush as Roberta Harper
Jim Davis as George Tabor
Mort Mills as Sergeant Landro
Joan Freeman as Jennifer Wakely
Jennifer Howard as Madelon Haines Shelby
Strother Martin as Joe Mead
Bartlett Robinson as Emmett Pierson
Bob McQuain as Brad Shelby
Frederic Worlock as Judge
Bill Quinn as H. B. Durell
Tom Geas as Victor
Earl Brown as Stable Hand

Uncredited Actors
Bert Stevens as Racetrack Spectator (spotted by gracep 1/15/2011)

Crew

“Perry Mason”

Director of Photography … Robert G. Hager
Art Direction … Lewis Creber
Assistant Director … Robert G. Stone
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 … Cosmo Genovese
Theme Composed by … Fred Steiner
Automobiles Supplied by … Ford Motor Company

Perry Mason
Produced by the CBS Television Network in association with Paisano Productions

Trivia Edit

Location: About 8 minutes in, there is a quick shot of the entrance to Hollywood Park Race Track. Submitted by Eric Cooper, 21 May 2010.

Sightings: From the back row of the grandstand, uncredited actor Bert Stevens and the ubiquitous “Miss Carmody” enthusiastically watch Tiger Lil in her first race. In subsequent races, only Stevens turns up. Distinguished Lady #2 might be the jail matron. Courtroom spectators include Quiet Old Man #1 and possibly Distinguished Gentleman #1. Submitted by gracep, 15 January 2011.

Location: I can't say for sure, but based on the power lines in the background which I believe are at Reseda and Lassen, I think the ranch featured in this episode is part of either one of two farms that raised thoroughbreds. Barbara Stanwyck and Zeppo Marx jointly formed the 140 acre Marwyck Ranch. (Later it was sold to comedian Jack Oakie.) Their ranch started at Devonshire and Reseda and continued toward Lassen. However, since the land is flat here and the power lines look very close I’m going to say this is Northridge Farms which, according to The Valley Observed, continued all the way to Lassen. Submitted by Eric Cooper, 27 July 2011.

Comments Edit

Watch for the scene in the first half where Paul reports to Perry from a phone booth. Isn’t that booth just a little peculiar? Submitted by Mitch English, 1/13/2005.
+ Good catch on the phone booth. The short scene starts at about 22:58 on the 2011 Paramount DVD. I had to watch it a few times before seeing the chuckle-worthy peculiarity. Submitted by masonite, 10/19/2011.
+ It took me a couple of viewings to spot the “peculiarity” of the phone booth Paul calls from. Without giving anything away, I‘ll just say viewers should focus their attention on Paul’s right arm. Submitted by Kenmore 1/10/2012.

Strother Martin (Joe Mead) was in many of the TV shows we are familiar with: Dick van Dyke, Bonanza, etc., but he is most famous for the line “what we have here…is a failure to communicate!” in Paul Newman’s terrific Cool Hand Luke. Submitted by CGraul, 8/29/2011.
+ Strother says “What we’ve got here is…failure to communicate” in CHL, which also has the quote with an “a.” (The also-terrific novel doesn’t have the quote.) Strother is always fun to watch, and to listen to, though too many of his performances in a row could leave you a little less laid-back than Tiger Lil. Submitted by masonite, 10/19/2011.

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