Show40
Does anyone else find it odd that Tragg calls Mason to identify the body, rather than the man's wife? If Tragg knew Mason had been the man's attorney years before, he must have known of the existence of the wife. cgraul 3.26.12
+ Tragg wan't familiar w/ Mason-Beaumont's business relationship, he called him b/c Mason's name was found in the room. (As for not calling the wife, perhaps she had the phone off the hook during her brief convalesence.) Countered by Notcom, 090216.
We get a brief look at that staircase set in its new configuration - the slight curve at the bottom has been straightened. It will soon become one of the hardest working sets in the series. That motel room set gets a lot of use as well, but the diagram shown in court does not correspond to the room as shown. DOD 06/13/18
Jeanne Cooper somehow always looks guilty of something. DOD 11/01/23
Perry goes to Laura Beaumont’s office ostensibly to see if she wants some old files related to George’s estate. She doesn’t, or intimates she doesn't. As Perry is exiting the office, you can plainly see a light-colored (white?) tripod bowl next to a lamp. Both objects are on a credenza or shelf adjacent to the door. These tripods turn up in various places in the series. Perry’s office for one, e.g., on a low bookcase on the "mystery or long wall" roughly opposite the balcony. See pictures 3 and 4 from episode 47 here. Also in evidence is a pottery figure of a dog (less probably a pig). I think both the tripod bowls and the dog are inspired by pre-Columbian forms, e.g., Colima and what-not. I say inspired because the tripods appear highly finished and likely modern interpretations. Also note in picture 3 the bowl or dish on the wall above the bookcase, I propose this is the same object that appeared on the wall near Perry’s desk before the “African Mask” took up residence. Submitted by billp, 12/30/2008.
It would be a very odd use of an attorney's time to hand-deliver a document in this manner. Laura would have been very questioning of Mason's reasons, one would think. cgraul 3.26.12
Another problem with George Beaumont’s air travel?: Early on we learn that he survived because he missed his flight. Surely American Eagle Airlines had to verify that each passenger had a passport before allowing them to board, so that AE had an updated passenger list at the airport. Even if AE made a mistake on its list, wouldn’t Beaumont have gone to an AE ticket counter to get a ticket on the next available flight? Or, if AE’s list were correct and Beaumont just skipped town after missing his flight, then wouldn’t investigators be looking for him as a possible suspect in the plane crash? Submitted by masonite, 12/02/2011.
On a more-upbeat note, I love the ending of this episode with Perry, Della, and Paul. Credit goes, I assume, to Don Brinkley and Gene Wang for deftly foreshadowing it. Submitted by masonite, 12/02/2011.
I believe this is the first time they used the Style P opening, and it's a very strange opening. Why does Perry open the folder and read a little bit and smile, when he already knows what the documents contain? And why does Perry tuck the folder under his arm to carry it such a short distance? And my main objection: Since the documents are in a folder (unlike the first opening, where they were loose) then why don't Della, Paul, Burger or Tragg open the folder and glance at the documents, like Perry does? Do they have X-ray vision? Ray Collins' expression says it all; the opening makes no sense.
Submitted by scarter, 8/10/14
+ I have to add here is that the other thing that makes this opening 'odd' for me is Paul's reaction, or lack of it as Perry hands the document to him, and then to Della. He just stares into space without changing his facial expression, or even body movement. Wonder what that was all about?? Submitted by MikeReese, 8/16/2014.
++ It may not make sense in the real world but it does in the reel world. First it eliminates the impossibility of all four characters sitting at the same table and gives the actors a "promotion" by showing them separately in pairs. This, however, gives them less screen time so there was no time for them to actually look at the document. As far as Mason tucking the document under his arm, it just looks better than to have him carry it over in one hand. I wonder how long this opening would have been used if William Talman hadn't been fired near the end of the third season. (That interim end-of-3rd-season opening was worse with Mason's smile looking more like a grimace and moving the document around until the freeze frame mercifully takes over.) What really makes the opening of this episode odd was the last appearance of the first season theme music which didn't fit the new video. If I'm not mistaken, I don't believe this version was shown in the original syndication package where many first-season episodes had the second-season music dubbed over the opening credits. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 8/16/14.
+++ Paul may stare blankly (IMHO he knows that a quick look at a legal document may mean little to him), but Tragg opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, looking to me like a guppy out of water. jfh 26Jun2019.
++++ Some comments on my view of the opening sequence relative to other's comments above:
1. There is no evidence that Perry has seen the file before the judge hands it to him (the judge is holding it as the scene opens), so his pleased smile does make sense, to me anyway.
2. While Della and Paul don't open the file, there are a couple of words on the front cover; they apparently seem significant to them both, although Della does a better job of expressing this wordlessly, Paul does hold his stare at Perry a bit long, but I don't find it completely "blank".
3. I do have to agree about Tragg's guppy impression -- I have thought that for a long time. But he and Burger do also seem to find the file a bit of a surprise, or at least whatever it says on the outside. OLEF641 11/21/2]2]
Was the $7,000 returned to Ruth? She needed it to pay Perry. Submitted by H. Mason 10/10/14
Name that Crime Much is made of the premise that Beaumont is facing prosecution for insurance fraud, but is that really the case ?? He didn't collect the money, and the person who did didn't act fraudulently since she actually thought he was dead...hmmm...(Perhaps those more familiar with the statutes on this issue can tell us if there is a crime in allowing insurance to be wrongfully claimed.) Pondered by Notcom, 090216.
+ He did not personally profit illegally, but did knowingly arrange for his wife to do so. Although she would not face prosecution, I don't doubt she would be ordered to return the money. Insurance fraud, in any degree, is one of the hardest things to get away with. DOD 06/13/18
Real FEMALE Judges: In 1928, President Coolidge appointed Genevieve Cline to the US Customs Court; in 1932, Florence Allen became the 1st woman appointed to a Federal Appeals Court [blogs.loc.gov/law]. Mike Bedard 5.23.16.
Extraneous sound: Perry, Paul and Della talking in the office. Just after Della says "I can be stubborn, too." there's a crashing sound off camera. Kilo 7/1/2020.
Della on a six week vacation? Was that for maternity leave? Submitted by HamBurger, 6/13/2021
Altho it allows for the demonstration of that nifty - albeit implausible (could one really get the top of an envelope that open without either tearing or ungluing it?) - check extraction device, the whole idea that McKay even opened the envelope makes little sense (or let's just say it was unnecessary): he recognized the initials on the outside, so he would have been pretty much known what was inside; and the address was in the return, also on the outside...so what was to gain by opening it?? (Might he have thought that George and Laura were conspirators and wanted confirmation ?? Perhaps; but writing to the office would be remarkably stupid for George to do if that were true, so even that doesn't seem entirely plausible) Notcom, 112120.
+ I don't understand why Baumont sent the letter to his wife's office rather than to his wife's home. Submitted by catyron, December 13th, 2020.