Show144
According to IMDb, Ray Collins once again did not appear despite being billed as Lt. Arthur Tragg. (I forgot to note this at the time I watched it, so I am not sure if this is so.) Submitted by gracep, 1/7/2010.
+ Having just seen the episode, I can verify that Ray Collins does appear in the episode. He has a rather amusing scene at Della’s desk with Perry as he learns about the fingerprints left on the rental car. Submitted by Kenmore 1/15/2011.
Not only does he appear, he gets to pull Perry’s stunt of getting a call on someone else’s phone. DOD 12/02/20
+ and he does so over Perry's objection: Tragg reaching to answer Della's ringing phone while perched on Della's desk, "May I?", in response to which Perry answers,"No." Tragg answers Della's phone anyway. jfh 08Aug2022
Lt. Anderson appears in court but plays no part in the story. DOD 12/02/20
"Maid" was played by an actress named "Maidie". According to IMDb, "Maidie Norman was born Maidie Ruth Gamble on October 16, 1912, in Villa Rica, Georgia, to Louis and Lila Gamble. She received a B.A. from Bennett College in 1934 and a master's degree from Columbia University three years later." jfh 08Aug2022
That staircase set from the previous episode appears again. A subtly racially diverse episode - the gallery features some African American and Asian spectators, and the bailiff is Af-Am.
No testimony as to the cause of death, which we never learn.
We get a good view of Della’s unique filing system - separate drawers for each of the first eight letters of the alphabet, but not in order. DOD 11/06/18
+ The cause of death was a blow to his head using a heavy rock. jfh 08Aug2022
Very unusual episode in that the murder victim is someone who appears in exactly one scene, and doesn’t seem to be very important (at least not at first). But it is thoroughly enjoyable, as the Summary says, with plenty of surprises. Submitted by gracenote, 7/19/2011.
I agree - in all the series, I think this episode has the most unexpected villain and victim. DOD 12/17/31
It really was a kinder, gentler time. You can bet if Perry gave a set of car keys to a group of youths in LA today, he would likely not return to the car with the tire changed. Submitted by Mason Jar, 7/21/2011.
There is some very clever camera work in this episode: at 41:20, as Perry mocks the police interrogation techniques, we see the pertinacious Tragg watching dispassionately, just over Mason's right shoulder, and shortly thereafter Lt. Anderson and the uniformed bailiff join the camera picture; I give another example below the spoiler bar. Submitted by 10yearoldfan, 19 July 2013.
At the risk of stating the obvious, Kathie Brown is very easy on the eyes. Submitted by 65tosspowertrap, 10/19/2013.
+ as are Raymond Burr and William Hopper. jfh 08Aug2022
Susan was working on a day the business was closed. Why was the suite door unlocked? Carlton was able to walk in. Submitted by H. Mason 11/25/14
I wondered the same. While Susan is working alone on Saturday, the building is unlocked, the office is unlocked, and the safe is unlocked. And after she puts a large sum of cash in the safe, she still doesn't even bother to close the safe door. Maybe people were more trusting in those days, or maybe I am just overly paranoid. --yelocab 26MAR19
I don't know how often Della discovered a dead body, but she sure seemed rather blase about the situation. Submitted by WJones 2/21/16
At the end of their meeting, Lowry tells Paul about being instructed not to talk to anyone but that he knows something is wrong and he "aims to tell plenty of people". If so, why was he so reluctant to talk to Paul when he first arrived? Submitted by Paul's Operative. 1/18/2024.
One of the women is kidnapped and sequestered several days before the preliminary hearing. When Tragg and company locate her during the hearing, drugged and on a bed, her hair and makeup including lipstick still look well cared for. I guess that the kidnappers took good care of her appearance because they didn’t know if or when the police would drop by unannounced. Submitted by masonite, 23 November 2010.
+ That’s actually not too farfetched. I remember seeing a TV show based on a Graham Greene story; a British businessman was arrested in the old USSR and accused of spying. (I think he was, but the story initially portrayed him as innocent.) Just before his trial “in camera” came up, they served him a big meal, and he said, “Ah, they want to fatten me up for the spectators.” (Not verbatim.) He tucked right in to it. Submitted by MikeReese, 12/1/2011.
Another example of clever camera work in this episode: at 28:00 ff. in the foreground (!) we see Cindy Hastings (the kidnapper) working at the Car Rental Agency before Perry even surmises her existence! Submitted by 10yearoldfan, 19 July 2013.
It's also clever writing to have the guileless child begin the episode shouting, "The pirates are coming!" before the eventual killer enters the screen, searching for him. Submitted by 10yearoldfan, 19 July 2013.
I'm a big fan of Perry, and I like the episode, but there are a number of holes in this plot:
- How did the governess, Elizabeth Dow, find out that the mine was failing when Mr. Campbell himself did not know this information?
- As a place to hide the money, why would Elizabeth Dow choose Mr. Campbell's closet, where either he or Carlton could find it?
- Why would Elizabeth Dow not recognize her own shoebox and be sure to get it back from Carlton or from Susan Fisher?
- How did Elizabeth Dow find out that Mrs. Corning had arrived a day early?
- How could Elizabeth Dow fake a passport quickly enough to fool Paul's operative?
- How could there possibly be only two sets of fingerprints in a rental car? The ladies hadn't planned to kill Ken Lowry, so why would they wipe the car clean before the crime, and if they had wiped the car clean after the crime, how were Lowry's prints on it, and how could they possibly have done such a careful job?\\-<
Submitted by 10yearoldfan, 19 July 2013.
+ You're absolutely right about the points you made, especially the passport. The women were supposed to be acting in desperation. To get a fake ID good enough to fool Paul and his operative would cost money (they lost their cash) and it would take connections. Submitted by H. Mason 11/26/14
++ Hands off The last point is fairly easy to explain: remember this was the early 60's...women routinely wore gloves; so it's not hard to imagine the victim's prints being present, but not the perp's (the complete absence of any other prints is less logical....U-drive must do a thorough cleaning!) But if we've taken away one problem, let's add another: what, exactly, were they planning to do with (the real) Mrs. Corning?? And why kill Lowry, when he really had far less in the way of incriminating info that either she or Susan?? Notcom 051623.
Yes, like so many episodes, this plot does not stand close scrutiny. I'm not sure the passport would have been necessary, though. The impostor would sim[ly have to be at the airport and claim to have just gotten off a plane. DOD 11/06/18
Other Questions: Why was the money kept at the Campbell house? Couldn't Perry or Paul have checked airport records to see the second (phony) Amelia Corning didn't arrive from South America and the first (real) Amelia did? Submitted by H. Mason 11/25/14