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#87: The Case of the
Singing Skirt
Original Airdate: 03/12/60

Summary Edit

From The Perry Mason TV Show Book (Revised)
An episode with good shots of the street hustle and bustle of the fifties, but also troubling for how easily men could abuse the women who worked for them during this period, especially in entertainment.

The Big Barn is a legal gambling casino where "everybody is happy" under the orders of the big boss and laughing boy George Anclitis. That is, until second banana Slim Marcus botches a crooked card game and is exposed for cheating.

When Slim's girlfriend is killed, Anclitis plants a gun and marijuana on Betty Roberts, one of the "skirts" that works for him. Betty knows too much and Anclitis wants to use her to take the heat off his club and his "boys." Perry takes Betty under his wing and goes to great lengths to put the real criminal where he belongs.

Credits Edit

Opening

Starring Raymond Burr
in Erle Stanley Gardner’s
The Case of THE SINGING SKIRT

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 Jackson Gillis
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

Joan O’Brien as Betty Roberts
Henry Lascoe as George Anclitus
Allison Hayes as Sadie Bradford
H. M. Wynant as Wilton (Slim) Marcus
Jeanne Moody as Vivian Ennis
Fredd Wayne as William Gowrie
Chris Warfield as Manning Ennis
Robert B. Williams as Police Captain
Richard Gaines as Judge
Stafford Repp as Frederick Halstead
Byron Morrow as Thomas Ranger
John Harmon as Frank Wilton
Michael Fox as Autopsy Surgeon
Harry Fleer as Detective
Ken Walken as Parking Lot Attendant
George E. Stone as Court Clerk

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
Assistant Director … Morris Harmell
Film Editor … John D. Faure
Casting … Harvey Clermont
Makeup … Richard Hamilton
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
Sound … Glen Glenn Sound Co.

Perry Mason \ A Film Presentation
A CBS Television Network Production

Trivia Edit

Anomaly: Byron Morrow, listed as Thomas Ranger, is called George Ranger in court by Burger. H. M. Wynant, listed as Wilton (Slim) Marcus, is called Joseph Marcus in court by Burger.

This show would air on Saturday night, 12 March 1960. Later on that night, (actually in the early hours of 13 March 1960), William Talman would be arrested by Los Angeles police. Reports were that he was involved in some sort of sex and marijuana party, and that he was found in the nude. The charges were later dropped, but because of the adverse publicity it would be almost a year before he would appear on the Perry Mason show again. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 5 May 2009.

Character Names: George Anclitus addresses Chris Warfield’s character as Manning Ennis III—the name suffix is omitted in the credits (and he signs his checks wihtout it). Submitted by GraceP, 9/30/2010.

Sightings: In the gallery, Quiet Old Man #1 moves his head in the shot just as Burger whispers to Tragg. The Little Old Lady in a Hat never quite comes into focus, but she is intently watching from the back row. Read about all the courtroom regulars here. Submitted by GraceP, 9/30/2010.

Holy Flashback! That’s Chief O’Hara, er, Stafford Repp, as the ballistics expert, years before his stint on the 1960s Batman. But where’s his thick Irish brogue? Submitted by GraceP, 9/30/2010.

In this episode, Perry mentions that certain types of gambling are legal in the City of Rowena. Was there a complaint about an earlier episode? In “The Case of the Dangerous Dowager” (episode #65), Perry says that some card gambling games are legal in the City of Gardena. This was and is true; Gardena was issued the first legal card club license in the State of California in 1936, and card gambling, with some restrictions, is legal in Gardena to this day. In this episode, draw poker is legal, but stud poker is illegal in the City of Rowena, which is an entirely fictional place. Submitted by Fifty Niner on 4/9/2011.

Comments Edit

+This show features two different scenes inside Perry's law library. Della is shown opening the safe inside the library. Submitted by PaulDrake 33.

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