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#78: The Case of the
Artful Dodger
Original Airdate: 12/12/59

Summary Edit

From The Perry Mason TV Show Book (Revised)
Devious Allen Sheridan, soon to inherit $162,000, has just as many enemies as dollar bills. Since he’s hurt a lot of people, and owes money to many more, when he turns up dead (murder weapon: an ashtray) his killer could be anyone.

It turns into a family affair—and a job for Perry when Sheridan’s aunt Sarette becomes the prime suspect.

Credits Edit

Opening

Starring Raymond Burr
in The Case of THE ARTFUL DODGER
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 Robert C. Dennis and Jackson Gillis
Story by Robert C. Dennis
Herbert Hirschman | Producer
Gail Patrick Jackson | Executive Producer
Seeleg Lester | Associate Producer, Story Consultant
Produced by The CBS Television Network in association with Paisano Productions
Arthur Marks | Associate Producer

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

William J. Campbell as Allen Sheridan
Patricia Donahue as Joyce Fulton
Lurene Tuttle as Sarette Winslow
Jerome Cowan as Victor Latimore
Peter Leeds as Lou Caporale
Douglas Henderson as Ralph Curtis
Nelson Leigh as Judge
Michael Fox as Autopsy Surgeon
Vera Marshe as Maid
Ken Patterson as Technician (Fred)
George E. Stone as Court Clerk
Terry Loomis as Doris
Max Wagner as Gate Officer
Cosmo Sardo as Maitre De

Uncredited Actors
Lee Miller as Sgt. Brice (added by gracep 9/16/2010)

Crew

Art Seid, A.C.E. | Assistant to the Producer

Production Supervisor … Dewey Starkey
Director of Photography … Frank Redman, A.S.C.
Art Direction … Lewis Creber
Film Editor … John D. Faure
Assistant Director … Morris Harmell
Casting … Harvey Clermont
Makeup … Irving Pringle
Hair Stylist … Annabell, S.C.H.
Wardrobe Supervision … William Zacha, Evelyn Carruth
Set Decoration … Charles Q. Vassar
Sound Effects Editor … Gene Eliot, M.P.S.E.
Music Editor … Gene Feldman
Properties … Ray Thompson
Production Sound Mixer … Herman Lewis
Script Supervision … M.E.M. Gibsone

A CBS Television Network Production

Trivia Edit

Character Names: Michael Fox, listed as Autopsy Surgeon, is called Dr. Hoxie.
+ He has played this character before and will continue to do so for many episodes. A search of his name in this Wiki reveals them all. Submitted by gracep, 9/16/2010.

Jerome Cowan makes the final of two appearances on Perry here playing Victor Latimore. Jerome was a long time movie actor and his most famous part was as Miles Archer, the partner of Sam Spade on the 1941 Maltese Falcon. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 23 October 2009.

Location: The address that Latimore gives Mason for actor-posing-as-gambler Lou Caporale is 1040 Las Palmas, Apartment 4. In #89, “TCOT Crying Cherub,” 1040 N. Las Palmas is the address that appears on the registration card in the auto belonging to artist David Lambert (Joe Maross). Another Mason show in-joke? Submitted by FredK 10 November 2009.
+ The 1040 N. Las Palmas address is used again in episode #100, “TCOT Lavender Lipstick”, this time for Karen Lewis (Pat Breslin). Submitted by FredK, 26 November 2009.

Location: FredK (above) is correct about the address being a Mason in joke because 1040 N. Las Palmas Los Angeles, CA 90038, is the address of what is now Hollywood Center Studios. In the 50s it was called General Service Studios, and you guessed it… was where Perry Mason was shot. (Apartment 4 might have even been a reference to Sound Stage #4 but that is just a guess on my part. Depends on how clever they were being.) The studio has a very impressive history with hundreds of TV and game shows being shot there. The first few seasons of I Love Lucy as well as most of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet were shot here. Posted by Eric Cooper, 21 January 2010.
+ Also if you put the address in Google Map you can see the guard gate of the studio which was used I’m pretty sure several times in episodes that involved Perry driving on and off studio lots. Globe Studios in this episode is shot at the 1040 N. Las Palmas address. If you go to Hollywood Center and then go to “history” and “timeline” then scroll down to the 1980s you can see the guard gate that Perry walks to about 30 minutes into the episode. It looks exactly the same in the 1980s photo on the website as it does in this episode… with the stop sign and everything. So giving out the address where they were shooting this episode, within the episode itself, was I’m sure quite amusing the the writers and actors. Posted by Eric Cooper, 21 January 2010. More about this address and the Studios there can be found on the Location Trivia page.

Of course, the writers derived “artful dodger” from Charles Dickens, who wrote Oliver Twist (1838), a novel about an orphan of that name. The artful dodger in the novel is Jack Hawkins, a pickpocket and gangleader who befriends little Oliver. Submitted by gracep 9/16/2010.

That’s right, Star Trek fans! The man playing Sheridan is William Campbell early in his career. You know him better as powerful but prissy Trelane in “The Squire of Gothos” and the sinister and far less effiminate Klingon Koloth in “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Read more about him and see some cool pix at Memory Alpha. Submitted by gracep 9/16/2010. Find more Star Trek folk on the TV Trivia Lists page (scroll down to the show).

Sightings: Distinguished Gentleman #1 appears ever so briefly as Rudy, a waiter at the beginning of scene when the maître d’ addresses him. In the final scene he re-emerges in the background taking an order. Now in the courtroom gallery, Distinguished Lady #3 makes a steady appearance. Quiet Old Man (#1) sits across the aisle on the prosecutor’s side. The Little Old Lady in a Hat sits discreetly behind Burger as he makes an objection. And after a long absence, Pencil Mustache Man has decided to grace us with his presence in the gallery. Read more about them and the other recurring extras here. Submitted by gracep, 9/16/2010.
+ Rudy the waiter, that is, the aformentioned Distiguished Gentleman, also appears briefly behind Allen Sheridan (William J. Campbell) and his confederate as they are talking at the bar. Submitted by gracenote, 11/4/2011.
+ Distinguished Gentleman #2 also appears briefly as a waiter in the last scene. Back in the courtroom, both Distinguished Lady #2 and Little Old Lady #2, along with Cute Young Lady appear in the gallery. Submitted by gracenote, 11/4/2011.

Location: Amost 4 minutes in, there is a quick shot of the exterior of the Hotel Knickerbocker located at 1714 Ivar Ave in Hollywood. It’s the hotel that Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft had their romantic tryst in The Graduate. Submitted by Eric Cooper, 5 February 2011.

Uncredited Actors: A blurry Don Anderson walks behind Allan Sheridan (William J. Campbell) as the latter is talking at the bar. Submitted by gracenote, 11/4/2011.

Comments Edit

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