Show33
At about 29:30 into the episode, we see Della fiddling with the Dictaphone Time Master (cf., Substitute Face et al.). You can see the belt-shaped recording medium which was made of acetate. The acetate could be quite colorful, e.g., blood-red. A stylus was used to inscribe the audio. Later models used magnetic media. I wonder if this was an example of product placement? Submitted by billp, 1/19/09.
Odd, but this is the only episode I recall in which we actually see a murder committed. DOD 07/29/22
+In the last season of the show--perhaps in an effort to juice up the action--we saw a murder committed in seven episodes: TCOT Candy Queen (#244), TCOT Silent Six (#252), TCOT Golfer's Gambit (#259), TCOT Scarlet Scandal (#261), TCOT Fanciful Frail (# 265), TCOT Unwelcome Well (# 266), and TCOT Final Fade-Out (#271). A big difference between those later episodes and this early one is that in this one we immediately know who the murderer is. Submitted by BobH, 31 July 2022.
Mr. Garvin, Sr.’s alligator briefcase is identical to Mr Brent's briefcase in the Gilded Lily. Submitted by billp, 1/19/09.
Note how skillfully Mason negotiates with Castle. Mason's initial asking price is $225,000; Castle counters with $150,000. After Perry gets Castle thoroughly tied in knots, he gets Castle to agree to $225,000. Castle's initial offer to Stephanie Falkner was $90,000. Submitted by 65tosspowertrap, 19 April 2014.
I found it odd that such a cool character as Castle should get so flustered dealing with Perry - and we never do find out why the deal was so important to him that he was willing to commit murder. DOD 06/17/19
+Castle had paid $50,000 on some sort of option (?) and he was going to lose that money if he wasn't able to obtain and sell the Faulkner property to the other property developers in the next few days. Faulkner didn't want to sell, so by killing him, he thought he could get his daughter to sell him the property. I think Castle was a bit flustered because he was now dealing with someone who knew what they were doing and couldn't be intimidated. He was desperate to buy but kept seeing his profits disappear as Mason raised the selling price. —yelocab 27NOV19.
+ After this successful negotiation with Castle, Perry is in a phone booth outside Castle’s apartment building placing a call to Paul Drake when Stephanie arrives in a taxi. Perry tells Paul to hold a moment and exits the phone booth to get a good look at Stephanie, but makes absolutely no effort to call out to her and then returns to the phone booth as she goes up to Castle’s apartment. Given the fact that Castle has just agreed to Perry’s terms and is coming to Perry’s office in the morning, it seems ridiculous that Perry would not have called out to Stephanie to stop her from going up to meet Castle on her own. Added by Dan K, 24 May 2019.
Move To Strike As Being Incompetent And Unresponsive: As Perry is driving Stephanie away from Castle's apartment and Tragg intercepts them, Perry asks Tragg, "What are you doing in this neck of the woods?", to which Tragg replies, "We work around the clock, you know that." jfh 17Jun2019.
Professional COURTESY: I like the scene where Lt. Tragg apologizes for interrupting Perry/Della's lunch & does the "Favor" of telling Perry his client wants to see him. Despite their different perspectives, the two adversaries RESPECT each other. Mike Bedard 5.5.15
In the background of that scene is some type of office building. I suspect we are on the studio grounds.
Apparently Stephanie was allowed to keep her purse while in custody.
Another title with a very tenuous connection to the story. How about “TCOT Three Gun Monte”? DOD 06/30/20
\\So tenuous the MeTV summary says two long legged models ended up on slab in the Morgue. Very inventive. Wick
And RUDENESS I found this episode to be rather unpleasant: the characters spend a great deal of time berating each other (Perry accuses Stephanie of hiding something after having earlier suggested to her father that he was doing the same, Junior while on the stand accuses Perry of duplicity, and in return Perry suggests his wife may be the killer) and the "happily ever after" ending (see below) I found to be more creepy than endearing. Critiqued by Notcom, 082416.
I've been listening to the old X Minus One radio shows, and Joe De Santis plays a number of roles in several episodes .. and that distinctive voice is quite versatile. They're well worth a listen just to hear him!
Submitted by MikeReese 7/22/13
Della's file cabinets (you know, the ones with a separate drawer for each letter) sure do get around - they show up in the offices of both Garvin senior and junior. DOD 06/17/19
Target Practice: About Perry shooting the gun in the office - does any of us know how they might have accomplished that? Actually shooting a gun, even with a reduced charge, that would make that sort of mark on a desk, with a couple of actors and no doubt several crew nearby, seems pretty dangerous. JohnK, 14 Juillet 2021
In this episode, the characters are pretty casual about handling guns. Maybe it's because there are so many of them to point at other people. When Perry gives Stephanie the gun from Michael Garvin, Jr. she points it right at Perry's gut. We know it is loaded as Perry has recently fired it and purposely left the other bullets in it. A course of gun safety would be good for all of the characters. Submitted by Paul's Operative on 12/31/2023.
Joe De Santis was both a murderer and a victim. Submitted by daveb, date unknown.
+ That was stated in the Summary. Submitted by 65tosspowertrap, 4-23-2014.
Joe De Santis has the unique distinction of getting murdered twice, here in this episode and in Episode #54 TCOT Borrowed Brunette, in the same motel (the same exterior shot of the motel was used in both episodes).
Submitted by Kenmore 2/02/11
The Tale of the Guns: THIS IS STILL SPOILER TEXT! (Killer named below.) Are you confused about who has what gun when? Here's a summary:
- Holster Gun, customarily carried by Michael Garvin, Sr. ("Senior") in his shoulder holster. For a while, he loans it to Stephanie, then he retrieves it to his holster, leaving the Vault gun at Stephanie's in its place. This gun is not fired during the course of the story, nor does it appear in court.
- Vault Gun, normally kept in Senior's office safe. Eva borrows it from the safe, kills Castle, and returns it to the safe. Senior then carries it to Stephanie's apartment in place of the Holster gun. Next day, Stephanie places the Vault gun on the table when she hides the Junior gun. The police confiscate the Vault gun off of the table, and it becomes Exhibit A in court, proven ballistically to be the murder weapon.
- Junior Gun, normally carried by Michael Garvin, Jr. ("Junior"). Mason fires this gun across Junior's desk, then he and Junior leave it on Stephanie's table. (The Vault gun is still out of sight somewhere in Stephanie's apartment as Mason and Junior leave.) Afraid to implicate Junior, Stephanie hides the Junior gun and puts the Vault gun in its place on the table, just before letting the police in. In spite of this precaution, the police find and confiscate the Junior gun as well, and it becomes Exhibit B in court, identified by means of Junior's initials scratched on it.
Submitted by alan_sings, 11/27/2014.
Ending: Happy or Creepy? Stephanie ends up marrying Senior, thus becoming the stepmother of her former boyfriend; although obviously there is no technical wrongdoing, the resultant relationships seem almost incestuous. Sermonized by Notcom, 082416.
You think that’s a bit creepy - read up on Gloria Grahame. DOD 06/30/20
And, following Notcom above, more Stephanie creepiness: Poor Mike Sr, he was set up to take the fall by the woman he loved: Stephanie, in leaving the vault gun out for the police to find, though she thought that Mike Sr had used it in the murder. And Stephanie added insult to injury by instead hiding the initialed 'junior' gun that Mike Jr (and Perry) had given her! As Della and Perry tell us in the wrap, the police in that first search found only the vault gun. (Of course, the initialed junior gun does finally turn up and is introduced as evidence by Burger). Then, with expert dexterity, Stephanie turns around and marries Mike Sr --- a strong move financially. Perry was right about Stephanie leading everyone up the garden path. Fred Flintstone 12/20/2020
That ricochet bullet must have hit Mike Jr on the head, in the wrap-up he cannot remember having been shown in court the gun (which had his initials on it) that he (and Perry) had given Stephanie. Nice of Della and Perry to humor him and play along (smirking emoji) Fred Flintstone 12/20/2020