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#29: The Case of the
Hesitant Hostess
Original Airdate: 04/05/58

Summary Edit

From The Perry Mason TV Show Book
Perry offers to defend a man free of charge because he knows the guy is still hurting over the accidental death of his wife and kids eight years ago. It pays off when Perry turns up a heroin- smuggling ring at the Danceland Ballroom.

Credits Edit

Opening

Starring Raymond Burr
in Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Case of The Hesitant Hostess
Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, Ray Collins

Trailing

Directed by Christian Nyby
Teleplay by Al C. Ward
Ben Brady | Producer
Produced by CBS Television in association with Paisano Productions
Gail Patrick Anderson | Executive Producer
Sam White | Associate Producer

Cast

Karen Sharpe as Inez Kaylor
Fred Sherman as Albert Sanders
June Vincent as Martha Rayburn
Les Tremayne as Fred Archer
Ned Wever as Joe Gibbs
Betty Utey as Kim Lane
Robin Raymond as Secretary
Gil Frye as Det. Ralph Faulkner
Jacqueline Holt as Christine
Michael Mason as Larry Coles
Fay Roope as Judge
George Cisar as Mr. Wickett
Robert Karnes as Det. Purvis
Paul Serra as Court Stenographer
John Alvin as Sam Walsh

Uncredited Actors

Lee Miller as {	Sgt. Brice
	Courtroom Spectator

Don Anderson as {	Ballroom Dancer
	Courtroom Spectator

Crew

Gene Wang | Story Editor

Production Supervisor … J. Paul Popkin
Director of Photography … Frank Redman, A.S.C.
Art Direction … Lyle Wheeler, Lewis Creber
Assistant Director … Art Marks
Editorial Supervisor … Art Seid, A.C.E.
Film Editor … Clarence Kolster, A.C.E.
Makeup … Mel Berns
Hair Stylist … Annabell
Wardrobe Supervision … Dick James
Set Decorations … Walter M. Scott, Charles Q. Vassar
Properties … Ray Thompson
Production Sound Mixer … Robert O’Brien
Script Supervisor … Cosmo Genovese

This has been a CBS Television Network Production
Filmed in Hollywood by TCF Television Productions, Inc.

Trivia Edit

CARS: 1957 Mercury 4dr hardtop, 2-tone: light & medium colors, 1957 Ford 2dr sedan, light color. From The Cars by Greg Cockerill.

Kim Lane’s death is front-page news in the Los Angeles Star-News. Normally the Los Angeles Chronicle is the newspaper of choice for the Perry Mason show. Submitted by PaulDrake33, 6/3/2009.

Uncredited Actors: Don Anderson plays two more extra roles in this episode. Early on he’s seen on the dance floor at the ballroom. Later he’s a courtroom spectator at the robbery trial. Submitted by FredK 25, Oct 2010.
+ I caught a sighting of Don Anderson showing some fancy footwork on the dance floor in the opening scene. It’s the camera view from above; he’s under the “dance floor ball” to the right of the sailor and his dance partner. The guy had moves! From Kelvin Chambliss via email, posted by daveb, 5/15/2011. + Unacknowledged but identifiable courtroom spectators include Lee Miller, who may still be playing the Sgt. Brice role he played earlier in the episode, and boxer-turned-actor Tom Kennedy, who never stops chewing gum.

Location: About 31 minutes in we see the exterior of the building where Universal Model Agency is located. If you look closely you can see First Trust Building etched on the side. This building, built in 1927, is on the National Register of Historic Buildings and is located at 595 E. Colorado Blvd in Pasadena. Recent picture here. Submitted by Eric Cooper 11 January 2011.

Sightings: Distinguished Gentleman #1, Distinguished Gentleman #2, and Distinguished Lady #4 are among the courtroom spectators today. More on this page. Submitted by gracenote, 9/2/2011.
+ (Also Continuity Error:) Earlier, a passenger in the elevator is Distinguished Gentleman #2, who then impossibly appears in the courtroom when Drake walks in. He also magically floats around the courtroom, appearing on one side and then the other. Submitted by gracenote, 9/2/2011.

Comments Edit

In Episode 15 (TCOT Fan Dancer’s Horse), Robert Bice plays Detective Faulkner. But here in Episode 29—the same season—Gil Frye plays Faulkner. Submitted by Ed Zoerner, 6/8/09.

This show contains no murder trial. Perry is still working on a robbery trial when the identity of the guilty party is revealed. Submitted by PaulDrake33, 6/3/2009.

It seems implausible that, even in 1958, someone would think it a cost-effective method of smuggling heroin by flying someone to Rio to bring back a few grams of the stuff, for it would seem that's all the "secret compartment" in the handbag could hold. Submitted by francis, 1/17/12

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