# Things I Learned Watching the original Perry Mason **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [July 9, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814 "2023-07-09T14:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/1 "2023-07-09T14:42:31Z")
1. People’s hands are like magnets-if they see a pistol lying on the ground, it will almost leap into their hands. 2. Things like “I wish you were dead!” and “I’ll see you dead!” etc are said a lot more often than I expect. 3. George Takei has always had a sexy voice. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/2 "2023-07-09T14:46:39Z")
When you never lose a case, you get to drive a really sweet convertible. Jackie Coogan played really sleazy characters before becoming Uncle Fester. Paul Drake got by owning just one sport coat. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/3 "2023-07-09T17:35:46Z")
Really bizarre coincidences (like someone finding an abandoned murder weapon and chucking it into the automobile of the prime suspect, who was really innocent) can explain major plot holes. Finding out that the murder victim wasn’t who everyone thought he was (i.e., an imposter) can exonerate the defendant. (Or at least result in a mistrial.) A potential client can immediately pick the lawyer out of the 10 or 15 other people breakfasting on the terrace of a hotel. The murderer is _always_ the last person known to have seen the victim alive. Coffee makes everything better. ☕😊 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/4 "2023-07-09T19:07:07Z")
There were a lot of characters who only showed up once that I’d love to have seen on their own show. Like that lady detective who climbed into Perry’s office. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/5 "2023-07-09T20:40:45Z")
If you go to Perry Mason for any legal matter, even something like a business contract, you will be charged with murder. You’ll get off, but who needs that stress? Anyone who’s nasty and arrogant in the first half hour will be dead by the second half hour. The murderer will always explain everything once Perry shows their guilt. No one ever says, “I want to talk to an attorney.” The motive is usually monetary. No one actually kills a lover or spouse. When someone goes to a fancy restaurant they only order steak. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/6 "2023-07-09T20:47:38Z")
I was sort of disappointed the crooks usually either got killed or murdered someone. Perry never defended a forger or a racketeer. I suppose the censors didn’t want the bad folks to profit or get away. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/7 "2023-07-09T21:31:33Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The murderer will always explain everything once Perry shows their guilt. No one ever says, “I want to talk to an attorney.” **Corollary:** It’s common for murderers to confess spontaneously in open court even if they’re not the person on the stand. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/8 "2023-07-10T13:13:37Z")
If Perry goes on vacation, there will be a murder where he is staying. Paul Drake employs a bunch of men (always men) to help with investigations. They are never seen.\* Invisible? That would make Drake especially effective. \*Gertie, Perry’s receptionist, is occasionally mentioned, but did appear in a few episodes. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/9 "2023-07-10T13:21:22Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > If Perry goes on vacation, there will be a murder where he is staying. Yeah, this is part of the Jessica Fletcher-Father Brown-Miss Marple Curse. If you check into a hotel and Perry or one of the aforementioned is staying there, check out immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/10 "2023-07-10T13:26:52Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Paul Drake employs a bunch of men (always men) to help with investigations. They are never seen.\* Invisible? That would make Drake especially effective. In point of fact, they’re sometimes seen and not always men, which I liked. I wish he’d used lady operatives more often (it was rare and they were usually doubling as someone else or as a companion for a female witness or client) but it was of the time, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/11 "2023-07-10T20:07:13Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Paul Drake got by owning just one sport coat. That’s a common technique in series – it allows them to re-use film of him, since he’s wearing the same clothes. The Cartwrights on Bonanza owned a huge chunk of land, but also only had 1 set of clothes apiece. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/12 "2023-07-11T14:54:00Z")
If you stumble upon a dead body, especially if it’s someone you know, you will run and never report it to the police, often after leaving identifying evidence at the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/13 "2023-07-11T14:59:16Z")
Oh that’s not just Perry Mason. I roll my eyes when, in NxNW, Roger Thornhill not only pulls the knife out of the guy’s back, but then runs off with it! And gets his picture taken, holding the knife, standing over the dead body! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/14 "2023-07-11T20:41:49Z")
Objection Your Honor! That question is incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/15 "2023-07-11T21:05:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The murderer is _always_ the last person known to have seen the victim alive. Nevermind ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/16 "2023-07-11T21:48:22Z")
And not proper cross-examination! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/17 "2023-07-11T22:48:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Objection Your Honor! That question is incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial! I can’t take it! I did it! I killed her! ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/18 "2023-07-12T00:45:43Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I can’t take it! I did it! I killed her! “Bailiff! Take them into custody!” A very appropriate screen name for this thread, really. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/19 "2023-07-12T13:36:42Z")
The judge will always order a recess or adjournment whenever Perry needs to leave the courtroom to investigate something - even if not asked to. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814/20 "2023-07-12T14:38:19Z")
Naming your child Hamilton Berger is just cruel. No wonder he’s hard on criminals. On a side note-why is Tragg a Lieutenant, not a Detective? Or am I backwards and Lt outranks a detective? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-watching-the-original-perry-mason/986814.md?page=2)