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#216: The Case of the
Betrayed Bride
Original Airdate: 10/22/64

Summary Edit

From The Perry Mason TV Show Book
When Nellie Meacham returns from Europe with a new husband, her relatives are surprised, to say the least. Nellie had left for the continent with her first husband, who died suddenly during the trip. Nellie’s new husband is a very young, very handsome Frenchman named Pierre. Her family immediately hates him, suspecting that he has married Nellie for her money. As part of a bizarre scheme to get rid of Pierre, the family hires a young French maid. But, unknown to them, the maid, Marie, is actually Pierre’s jilted wife. As usual, events turn ugly. Pierre is clubbed to death and found floating in the swimming pool. As the family’s attorney, Perry just happens to be on hand to see Marie run from the scene and steal his car.

Credits Edit

Opening

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

Trailing

Directed by Arthur Marks
Written by John Elliotte
Arthur Marks \ Art Seid | Producers
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
Wesley Lau as Lt. Anderson

Music Composed and Conducted by Richard Shores
Music Supervision by Herschel Burke Gilbert

Cast

Anne Farge as Marie Claudet
Dianne Foster as Elaine Meacham
Michael Forest as Pierre Dubois
Jeanette Nolan as Nellie
Guy Stockwell as Jimmy Meacham
John Larkin as Todd Meacham
Jacques Aubuchon as Roger Brody
Neil Hamilton as Victor Billings
Paul Dubov as Monsieur Arnaux
Grandon Rhodes as Judge
Joey Wilcox as Boy
Lee Miller as Sgt. Brice
Robert Gormley as Officer

Uncredited Actors
Don Anderson as Jostled Man, as Courtroom Spectator, and as Café Patron
Robert Wegner as Bailiff

Crew

Director of Photography … Howard Schwartz, A.S.C.
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 … Carl Biddiscombe
Properties … Ray Thompson
Production Sound Mixer … Herman Lewis
Script Supervision … Marshall Schlom
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

Uncredited Actors: During the opening scene, a demonstrative, flower-carrying Roger Brody runs into an annoyed Don Anderson in the airport terminal. He also plays a courtroom spectator sitting directly behind the widow Nellie, and he reappears in the final scene in a café in Paris! Robert Wegner is a bailiff in the courtroom. Submitted by gracenote, 4/5/2011.
+ If I've correctly ID'd Don Anderson in the final café scene, then he's the gent with the well-tanned face wearing the suit & tie and seated facing the camera at the table in the near-background toward the right of the screen. This final scene is the second of two Paris café scenes with exactly the same table arrangements and far-background Paris street. That is, it's the same café and the centre of the camera's attention is the same table in both scenes! The first scene is the one in which Paul interrogates Marie's former Private Detective, Monsieur Arnaux. Don Anderson is seated in exactly the same chair and place at the same table wearing the same clothes in both scenes! At least three other cast extras also do double-duty in the two scenes, although they move or are positioned differently:

• a beautiful blonde wearing an elegant white skirt-suit (who gets considerable attention from Paul & Arnaux in the earlier scene),
• a pretty young woman with medium colour hair dressed differently in the second scene, and
• Arnaux, seated with back to camera in the final scene but recognizable by his hat and dark suit.

Production Expedience or Playfulness? Both, I think. Submitted by Gary Woloski, 24 Jan 2012.

Location: This episode boasts several shots of Paris. About halfway through the syndication print, for example, is a rather sweeping one with the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and other sights. Submitted by gracenote, 4/5/2011.

Sightings: In the courtroom on the prosecutor’s side we find Quiet Old Man #1 and Distinguished Gentleman #1. Meanwhile, Little Old Lady #1 sits two rows behind Nellie. And as Burger stands to make an objection, we can see Pencil Mustache Man looking intently on. Please read more about these favorite frequent faces. Submitted by gracenote, 4/5/2011.

Although credited, Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg does not appear. Submitted by gracenote, 4/6/2011.

Murder Day. In court, Perry firmly states that sunset on the day of the murder was at "a quarter to eight". Taking that to the nearest minute as 7:45pm and the year as 1964, the day of the murder must be one of Tues 12 May, Wed 13 May or Tues 11 Aug. See these LA sunrise/sunset calendars for May and Aug 1964. DST was in effect on all those dates & is included. Sunrise/Sunset Calculator for place & month of your choice is here (note utility at top for inserting predetermined Lat and Longs). Darn! I can't find any unusual LA weather or other real news events for those dates. Submitted by Gary Woloski, Fri 13 Jan, 2012.

Jimmy Meacham, Hockey Fanatic. Under cross-examination by Perry about events on the night of the murder, Jimmy surprisingly states "I had the television on. There was a hockey game." An Ice Hockey game on LA TV in May-Aug 1964 is doubtful because the ice hockey season was over:

• Game 7 of the 63-64 NHL Stanley Cup Final had been played on 25 Apr 64, with Toronto defeating Detroit 4-0.
• LA did not have an NHL team until the '67 LA Kings, but in 64 it did have the LA Blades of the minor-pro WHL. The WHL season was over before May, too (The Blades had a good 63-64 season, making the WHL Final but were defeated by the SF Seals.).
• "World Hockey" was still non-pro (Junior). Hockey at the earlier 64 Olympics held in Jan-Feb had doubled as both the World and Olympic championships.
• This episode aired on 22 Oct 64, so perhaps Jimmy's hockey fandom was a nod to the LA Blades 64-65 season which was then underway, or

Maybe Jimmy was tuned in to a diffent type of hockey! Submitted by Gary Woloski, 19 Jan 2012.

Comments Edit

Night-Owl Mason. A few minutes prior to the exact time of the murder, Paul, who is on a case for Jimmy Meacham, coincidentally makes an unplanned phone call to Perry's office from Paris, asking Perry to relay his URGENT report to Jimmy (Paul can't reach the Meacham hacienda because a phone is off the hook).

• Outside the window behind Paul, the Paris street is bright and busy with pedestrians and auto traffic. The street activity suggests that the local time must be at least 9am, but to fit with the timing of events in LA revealed later, it must be earlier, say 7am Paris time (Paris sunrise was 6:13am if 12/13 May or 6:37am if 11 Aug).
• Outside Perry's office window it is dark.
• Paris clocks were (are) nine hours ahead of LA clocks, so it is no earlier than 10pm of the previous evening in LA and Perry is still at work (Stretching timings, it might be as late as LA midnight, 9am Paris).

Perry makes a crack about Paul being up early but it's not Paul that's keeping onerous hours; Perry is burning the midnight oil again!
In my opinion, the busy street scene behind Paul is a stock-footage "Continuity Glitch"; the scene should have portrayed less activity for early morning. Submitted by Gary Woloski, 14 Jan 2012.

JetSet Drake. During this episode Paul makes two round trips to Paris and return, on one of which (Paul tells Arnaux) he makes a side trip to Nice!! The apparent allowances for travel time are incredibly tight and Paul does other duties at destination and between trips such as sleuthing, tracking down Marie in Glendale and chauffeuring Perry, Jimmy and Marie in the big Lincoln convertible. He looks so fresh after warping through the time zones that he must have had the Star Trek Transporter! Yet Paul's effortless and almost-instant travelling works well as a plot device, even today when we are more familiar with global travel than people in the '60s. Part of the reason may be that the pace of the storytelling, implemented through the seamless editing, leaves the viewer with no time to even begin to question how Paul gets around so quickly. Also, 1964 audiences only had one chance to see the episode straight through with no replays. It's the Magic of Television! Submitted by Gary Woloski, 21 Jan 2012.

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