<< Jaded Joker | Episodes | Stuttering Bishop >>

#58: The Case of the
Caretaker's Cat
Original Airdate: 03/07/59

Summary Edit

From The Perry Mason TV Show Book (Revised)
Peter Baxter had a plan to test the loyalty of his heirs. First he would pretend to change his will, cutting all of them out and leaving the estate to his caretaker, James Hing. Then Hing was to burn down Baxter’s house and Baxter would substitute a medical cadaver for his own body. If anyone contested the will, he or she would really be disinherited. Hing does as his employer planned, but the body found in the ashes is really that of Peter Baxter. Tragg and Burger don’t believe Hing’s wild story, but Perry does. It’s just too fantastic to be a lie. That means one of the heirs overheard Baxter planning, and really did kill him. The question is: Which one?

Raymond Bailey (Mr. Drysdale of The Beverly Hillbillies) plays John Hilliard in this show. Also, science fiction movie fans will recognize actor John Agar playing Kenneth Baxter.

Credits Edit

Opening

Starring Raymond Burr
in The Case of THE CARETAKER’S CAT
Based upon characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
Barbara Hale as Della Street
William Hopper as Paul Drake
William Talman as Hamilton Burger
Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg

Trailing

Directed by Arthur Marks
Teleplay by Richard Macaulay and Seeleg Lester
Ben Brady | Producer
Produced by CBS Television in association with Paisano Productions
Gail Patrick Jackson | Executive Producer
Sam White | Associate Producer

Cast

Benson Fong as James Hing
John G. Agar as Kenneth Baxter
Robert Knapp as Stuart Baxter
Maxine Cooper as Edith Devoe
Judy Lewis as Winifred Oakley
Dick Crane as Dr. Douglas Keene
Raymond Bailey as Mr. Hilliard
Anthony Eustrel as Gordon Roland
Barney Biro as Judge
Bill Erwin as Paint Store Clerk
Michael Fox as Autopsy Surgeon
Anthony Jochim as Peter Baxter
George E. Stone as Court Clerk
Jacqueline Lee as Nurse Watson

Crew

Gene Wang | Story Consultant
Seeleg Lester | Associate Story Consultant
Production Supervisor … J. Paul Popkin
Story Editor … Alice Young
Director of Photography … Frank Redman, A.S.C.

Art Direction … {	Lyle Wheeler
	Lewis Creber

Editorial Supervision … Art Seid, A.C.E.
Film Editor … Otto W. Meyer, A.C.E.
Assistant Director … Robert G. Stone
Casting … Harvey Clermont
Makeup … Richard Hamilton
Hair Stylist … Annabell, S.C.H.
Wardrobe Supervision … Dick James
Set Decoration … Walter M. Scott, Charles Q. Vassar
Properties … Ray Thompson
Sound Editor … Gene Eliot, M.P.S.E.
Production Sound Mixer … Roy Meadows
Script Supervision … William E. Orr

Perry Mason
Filmed in Hollywood by TCF Television Productions, Inc.
A CBS Television Network Production

Trivia Edit

CARS: No cars. From The Cars by Greg Cockerill.

Sightings: Our little dark-complected friend with the pencil-thin moustache—who often sits in the courtroom gallery—appears again in this episode. He is in the right rear corner behind Perry, and again whispers. The difference this time is that when Winifred Oakley and Dr. Douglas Keene enter Beverly Hills Doctor Hospital early in the episode, he is also sitting in the waiting room. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 24 July 2008.
+ He is also drinking at a restaurant where Perry and Paul meet. We see the Pencil Mustache Man as the camera pans from the waiter making Caesar salad (with raw eggs) over to Perry and Paul’s table.

Judy Lewis makes her only Perry Mason appearance playing Winifred Oakley. Judy Lewis was the daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable, the result of an affair on the set of the movie Call of the Wild in 1935. At the time Clark Gable was married to Maria Franklin Gable and Miss Young was unmarried. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 24 July 2008.

Maxine Cooper plays Nurse Edith Devoe in this episode and portrayed Nurse Gladys Strome in “TCOT Fugitive Nurse” (#22). These were her only PM appearances, and she played a nurse in both episodes. Submitted by Charles Richmond, 10/24/2008.

Does Mr. Hilliard, the banker, look familiar? He might. That's Raymond Bailey who later achieved fame as banker Milburn Drysdale on The Beverly Hillbillies. Submitted by daveb, 5/14/2010.

Character Names: Attorney Gordon Roland’s middle initial is “T”. It appears on the door to his office though it is omitted from the credits. Submitted by gracep, 8/20/2010.
+ Indeed there are more omissions. In previous episodes, the Autopsy Surgeon played by Michael Fox was Dr. Hoxie, though this name is omitted in the credits in this one. Additionally, the “Paint Store Clerk” is in fact A. J. Nelson, the proprietor of the paint store, who displays the stamp at the bottom of his paint can. Submitted by gracenote, 4/28/2011.

The Siamese cat owned by Hing (the eponymous caretaker’s cat) is named Monzu in the story, but the little feline did not receive any acting credit. Submitted by gracep, 8/20/2010.

Sightings: Through the courtroom door we see Little Old Lady in a Hat pausing in the hallway after the court recesses. One may see a glimpse or two of her during the hearing as well. Submitted by gracep 8/20/2010.
+In the same hallway view mentioned above, we can also see “Miss Carmody”, who shows up on the front row, prosecution side, during the proceedings. Other spectators include Distinguished Gentleman #1, Distinguished Lady #3, and of course, as pointed out in a trivia item above, Pencil Mustache Man. Submitted by alan_sings, 16 Oct 2010.

Monzu looks like the traditional, round-headed kind of Siamese cat. Around the time of Perry Mason (the 1950s), Siamese breeders started favoring more extreme triangular/wedge faces, and now a purebed traditional is rare. Submitted by gracenote, 4/28/2011.

Comments Edit

This is without a doubt the most convoluted episode of all the Perry Mason shows. To think a wealthy man would try to come up with a cadaver, then burn down his own mansion with all of his relative's possessions contained within only to test his heir's fidelity defies belief. How about trusting your own judgment? Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 7/24/2008.

Both “Caretaker’s Cat” and the previous episode “Jaded Joker” open with a piano tune. In “Jaded Joker,” Bobby Troup seems to be improvising a tune. In “Caretaker’s Cat,” Judy Lewis is playing a finished composition. I may have a tin ear, but it seems to me both these tunes are very similar. Perhaps, they are different parts of the same tune? Submitted by billp, 2/22/2009.
+ At the end of episode #57, Bobby Troup is credited with composing and performing the “Jaded Joker Theme.” It could well be the same tune played in the next episode, but there is no mention of it in the credits for episode #58. Submitted by gracep, 8/22/2010.

At two points during his examination of Nurse Devoe, Perry refers to an earlier conversation he had with her. This seems to have been edited out of the TV print I saw, though. I often wonder whether key clues have been edited out! Submitted by Ed Zoerner, 2/26/2011.
+ Indeed! I compared the DVD version of this show with one taped off the Hallmark Channel and found that the entire 1 minute 55 second scene where Perry talks with Ms. Devoe in her room is missing! I didn’t watch enough of the episode to know if there were any key clues, but there was a lot of talking. Submitted by daveb, 2/27/2011.

The burning of the house interposed with a cut of the burning of the newspaper announcing the millionaire’s is very dramatic and effective and well done. Submitted by gracenote, 4/18/2011.

<< Jaded Joker | Episodes | Stuttering Bishop >>