Show210
The idea that Sumner Hodge would have any say over his wife's inheritance from her late husband is infuriating. It's also surprising that the first husband didn't make a provision for his daughter in his will. Crazy that it was still legal that the new husband would be able to take control of another man's assets just because he married the guy's widow. It did sound as though Mrs Hodge signed off on the arrangement in exchange for "being taken care of" by her new husband. And that her trust was misplaced since he was in the process of using that money for his own ends.
The folk club scenes were a bit comical. The overdubbed singing was poorly mixed so it sounded much too loud. Con is sitting on a stool with his girlfriend so close she is almost sitting in his lap. If he is getting paid to sing there, wouldn't it be better to sing to the entire crowd? This is the second time PM featured a folk singer covering "This Train." The first was Adam West's awful rendition in a previous season. Con's singing voice sounds a bit like Dean Martin. Definitely not the folky sound that would come out just a few years later.
Anomaly: Why does the judge say "Jury dismissed" at 47:12? There is no jury in the courtroom. - Submitted by 10yearoldfan, 28 September 2014.
+ The judge said: "Hearing dismissed. Deputy, take this man into custody. Court adjourned." Added by H. Mason 4/3/15
Character Names Miss Young's first name is Sally. jfh 19Jan2017.
+ Why is Irma's last name "Hodge" since Sumner was her step-father? Had she been adopted by Sumner, he would've been her father. jfh 04Mar2021
++ Even after adoption and changing of their surname, most times the non-biological parent is still called "step-" OLEF641 7/17/21
Bad Impression: Maybe Con should change his name. Would you want your daughter to go out with a guy named "Con"? Submitted by H. Mason 4/2/15
That's a very realistic face on the bust in the study, almost like a mask. jfh 25Jan2018.
+ In the close-up of it shattered on the floor, it appears to be a bust of Napoleon Bonaparte, appropriate considering Irma's outburst about Sumner in the previous scene! OLEF641 7/17/21
Double Standard: Trudy didn't consider Sumner to be her father but did recognize his brother as "Uncle Adrian." Submitted by H. Mason 4/2/15
+ I'd say this difference is more about affection than relation. I grew up with a woman who has long called me 'Big Brother' because of the affection between us. She has TWO blood-related brothers (one deceased, but she calls/called them brother, too, no double standard there) and her mother calls me 'Son.' Submitted by MikeReese, 5/30/2016
++ Irma and Adrian explain Adrian's closeness to Irma and her mother predates Sumner's marriage to Mona. jfh 25Jan2018.
The court hearing was held in Los Angeles. The exact location of Lake Ganado was never established, but in a phone conversation Irma said it was a 90 minute drive from L.A. Wouldn't that put the case it in another jurisdiction?
+ Not necessarily: remember the venue is the county, and LA County, in its 4058 sq mi, stretches far into the mountains (a wag might note that w/ traffic as bad as it is these days it might take Perry 90' just to drive from his office to the courthouse!!). Less credible, perhaps is why Andy is on the case, since he's LAPD...but we've seen before that the show has a very elastic definition of police beats. Answered by Notcom, 042817.
That staircase set appears yet again - third time in the last seven episodes. This time, however, what is usually an exterior door leads to Sumner's study. Con tells Perry that he and Irma used his scooter to make their getaway because he found the brakes on the Lincoln a bit mushy. In order to know this, he would have had to drive the car a bit , something that someone surely would have noticed and mentioned to the police. Sorry, but the line about a "part time itinerant folk singer" sounds like something from a Carol Burnett sketch. Ann Rutherford makes her fourth PM appearance. A very busy actress during MGM's heyday, she insisted, against Louie Mayer's wishes, on playing Careen O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind'. She later declined to audition for the role of Old Rose in 'Titanic'. DOD 1/25/18
Since the killer admitted stealing the formula (presumably from Leo's brother) was Leo Lazaroff entitled to any money? After the case Leo left the courtroom instead of approaching Perry or Mr. Burger to ask if he could make a claim. Submitted by H. Mason 4/2/15
Andy on the Spot this episode has one of the show's more remarkable(-ly absurd) examples of police work: Andy appears in Perry's office demanding to know Con's whereabouts so that he can be questioned in connection with a murder; we later learn that the only reason anyone (even) knows there's been murder is because Andy himself had suggested it. Which means that he either
(1) found out about the crash even before Sumner's family had been notified, or
(2) advanced his concerns to the sheriff's office simultaneously with the crash happening.
Altho these kind of plot holes were sprinkled thruout the show's run - even in the earlier seasons - as the years wore on, and the constant recycling of actors, plots and staircases allowed our attention to wander, they became glaring. Notcom, 070620.