MovieChat Forums > Perry Mason (1957) Discussion > Didn't Deserve to Die

Didn't Deserve to Die

posted 8 years ago by DontBogartMe
9 replies | jump to latest

In most episodes, the murder victim had a checkered history (blackmailer, extortionist, embezzler, even a murderer), deserving of some retribution.

Name an example or two of a victim who was relatively blameless.

In The Case of the Angry Astronaut, James Coburn played a cool, efficient head of a space program, sort of a Derek Flint without the charm. He was murdered but not for any nefarious conduct on his part. (He washed out the Angry Astronaut from the program, but at the end the astronaut grounded himself, vindicating Coburn's action).

[–] indy_go_blue44 8 years ago

The grandfather in TCOT Nine Dolls. The only thing he did "wrong" was to terminate his butler for participating in the scheme to keep his granddaughter from him (I'm not sure if he knew about the blackmail, though that didn't make any difference.)

TCOT Sulky Girl. The uncle was a hardarz toward his niece, true, but that's didn't have anything to do with why he was murdered.

[–] barrpub-115-548099 8 years ago

SPOILERS
Marie Windsor's character was fatally poisoned by accident in The Case of the Madcap Modista. So, she didn't deserve to die.

[–] davetruman68 8 years ago

As far a I know there are only two reasons for a person to be murdered on the Perry Mason Show.

1. The character is so despicable or evil, that they are murdered (or killed) to stop their evil doings by someone who is normally a good person.

2. The character is not a bad one, but is killed by someone who is, so as to cover up their illegal or evil doings.

[–] pc-privconfounder 8 years ago

Sorry, dave, but reason #1 is a wash. Lots of no-good murder victims are killed by someone equally no-good. That precedent was set in the first episode, "Restless Redhead"; a swindler and burglar was knocked off by his greedy accomplice.

[–] davetruman68 8 years ago

I see your point about who kills him. I should not have been that specific, when I mentioned what kind of person kills him. The main idea was that the person who gets murdered is either real bad one or a good person. If it's a good person getting killed, it's by a bad person.

[–] jamesbwill 8 years ago

TCOT Sleepwalker's Niece.

The victim only had a few scenes but was depicted as a good guy who was killed to further a strange inheritance scheme.

[–] DontBogartMe 8 years ago

Thanks, that's one of the first episodes. I've been DVR-ing PM twice daily on METV, both strings which are past the first season. But I think I have it on DVD.

[–] indy_go_blue44 8 years ago

Its on S1 set 1 disk 1, the second or third show of the premier season. That one totally threw me; I had no idea...

[–] DontBogartMe 8 years ago

Check. For some reason I have DVDs of the first half of each of the 1st three seasons (probably because at the time (10-15 yrs ago) those were cheaper on Amazon).