The popular black&white TV show from 1950s and the 60s is a crowd pleaser again in 2014.

THEN AND NOW, THE TWO REFUSED TO LOSE,
DEFEATING THE RUTHLESS AND POWERFUL
WITHOUT HAVING TO RESORT TO VIOLENCE

Timeless entertainment starring Raymond Burr & Peter Falk,
resurrected for viewing pleasure on current Baltimore TV
 
By David Maril
 
It’s been almost 50 years since CBS cancelled the weekly “Perry Mason” (1957-66) show. However, the program remains alive on Baltimore television.

WBAL offers the legendary legal series, along with a lineup of classics, and a few creaking losers from yesteryear, through MeTV (Memorable Entertainment Television) on Digital SubChannel 11.2, Comcast Channel 208 and Verizon FIOS Channel 460.

On weekdays a Perry Mason fanatic, here in the Land of Pleasant Living, can watch two different episodes. One is on at 10 a.m. and the nightcap is presented at 11:30 p.m.

But the survival of Perry Mason isn’t just a local oddity. A few years ago a Brockton, Mass.-based national office supply company, W.B. Mason, was using courtroom clips of Raymond Burr from the classic series in television commercials.

And if all this isn’t enough, one of the nationally syndicated Sunday mailbag columns recently featured a letter inquiring how many members of the cast from the Perry Mason show are still alive. The answer, as most “Mason” fans know, is Barbara Hale, 92, who played Della Street, his trusted secretary.

It’s true that interest in the show was revived when Burr, who was also popular as the star of “Ironside,” a crime drama that ran on NBC from 1967-75, teamed up with Hale to make 26 two-hour Perry Mason movies between 1985 and 1993.

But while those lengthier productions drew decent-sized audiences, they have not generated the lasting power of the 271 original weekly episodes, a top-rated show for its 10-year run.

Perhaps as amazing as the longevity of Perry Mason is the immortality of the “Columbo” series. MeTV airs “Columbo” every Sunday at 8 p.m.

“Just one more thing,” the rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) declares, decades before the phrase was popularized by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

In contrast to the production format behind “Perry Mason,” which ground out 271 weekly episodes, “Columbo” (1968-78 on NBC, and 1989-2003 on ABC) grew into one of television’s all-time favorites, starting off as a semi-regular entry in NBC’s Mystery Movie series.

While the weekly network mystery series was popular, none of its other entries, such as “McCloud” and “McMillan & Wife,” achieved the Hall of Fame status of “Columbo.”

Another contrast with Perry Mason is that viewers know, even before Lt. Columbo, who commits the murder. Each show opens with us witnessing the murder in the opening scene.

The appeal of the story-line is how the unorthodox sleuth determines the suspect and figures out a motive and how to build an airtight case before making the arrest.

With Perry Mason, we don’t know who the criminal is until the final minutes of the episode. The lawyer clears his client by determining who the killer is, usually trapping the guilty party in court.

Most often, it is the least likely suspect.

Right up through the final Columbo episode, aired on ABC in 2003, the then-75-year-old Peter Falk was as rumpled, confusing, and entertaining as ever, matching wits with slick, wealthy suspects.

His hair had turned gray and he didn’t have his untrained Basset Hound with the deadpan expression. But he still was driving the battered Peugeot, wearing the wrinkled raincoat, and utilizing a persistent manner of disorganized questioning that threw his adversaries off.

Although at the end of the series run on ABC, Falk was only doing one or two Columbo shows a year, the reruns, which were being shown on cable outlets, remained popular. No matter how many times you have seen an episode, it’s worth watching again just to see the lieutenant humorously go through his tireless routine of acting totally confused while being 10 steps ahead of the suspect.

Why do these two ancient (for television) shows remain so popular?

One reason is, in our world where so many issues are shades of gray and it’s difficult for people to find common ground, these two very likable and people-oriented iconic characters offer clear and acceptable solutions.

Both are trustworthy and refuse to be influenced by politicians and corporate executive types. Audiences revel in the fact that Mason and Columbo are always able to defeat the ruthless and powerful.

L.A. District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman, left) couldn’t win for losing against television’s most formidable defense attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr).

Despite being the most famous high-powered defense lawyer in the country, Mason takes clients from all walks of life who need help and is more concerned with justice than fortune and fame. He cuts through all the red tape of the legal system, saves the taxpayers money with speedy trials, and aids the police by tracking down the real murderers.

On Columbo, no matter how scientific and clever a murderer tries to be, the lieutenant with no first-name is always able to pounce on a mistake or slight oversight.

Ironically both Burr and Falk began their acting careers playing thugs and criminals in crime and gangster movies. However in the lengthy histories of both shows, neither lead actor uses guns or relies on violence to enforce the law or achieve justice.

Both shows maintained high standards in selection of cast and guest stars.

“Perry Mason” drew from a very respectable group of seasoned lead- and character-actors who had been successful in the movie industry during the 1930s and 1940s.

Tune in a Mason show from the 1950s and you will run into stars like Bette Davis, Michael Rennie and Walter Pidgeon, along with character actors such as Barton MacLane, George Macready and Jackie Coogan.

Ray Collins, the leering Lt. Arthur Tragg, was a member of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre group.

In the final show of the series, Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the Perry Mason mysteries — who had been instrumental in Burr’s selection for the lead role — plays the judge.

There were also “up and coming” talents like Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Ryan O’Neal, Cloris Leachman, James Coburn, Leonard Nimoy, Gary Collins, Gavin MacLeod, Jerry Van Dyke, Daniel J. Travanti, Barbara Bain and Adam West, just to name a few.

Lt. Columbo’s Basset Hound, known as “Dog” — shown here riding in the front seat of the rumpled detective’s beat-up and battered 1959 Peugeot convertible — often accompanied Falk on murder cases.

In Columbo productions, Falk rubbed elbows with the likes of Rod Steiger, Ann Baxter, Jack Cassidy, Dabney Coleman, Janet Leigh, John Cassavetes, Robert Culp, Ray Milland, Leslie Nielsen, Patrick McGoohan, Roddy McDowall, José Ferrer, Johnny Cash, Ed Begley, William Shatner, Robert Vaughn, Dick Van Dyke, Eddie Albert and Ida Lupino.

However in both Perry Mason and Columbo, the lead actors are crucial to the success of the shows.

It’s a certainty that no network or production company will ever try to make new Columbo movies, introducing a replacement for the late Peter Falk.

Falk, who was a terrifically talented actor and had success away from television, is Columbo and nobody else could ever assume that role.

In 1979 NBC tried a short-lived series (13 episodes) supposedly based on Columbo’s wife solving cases, that failed miserably.

CBS attempted to launch a new Perry Mason series in 1973, starring Monte Markham and Brett Somers, but it fizzled quickly and was cancelled in the first season.

The two TV classics have proven to be timeless winners. Nostalgia is no doubt a big factor with many older viewers.

But perhaps there is an appeal to a new generation of viewers because Columbo and Mason offer such a contrast to much of the realities today related to the complexities, confusion and differences of opinion regarding crime, law enforcement and the legal system.
 
davidmaril@voiceofbaltimore.org
 
“Inside Pitch” is a weekly opinion column written for Voice of Baltimore by David Maril.
 
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