User Reviews

This Perry Mason episode is borrowed in part from the famous 20th Century Fox film A Woman's World. That's the one where Clifton Webb is looking to promote one of three executives to a Vice Presidency and invites the three with their wives to put them through their paces.

Neil Hamilton doesn't quite do that but he lets it be known that the next promotion is between Alan Hewitt and Arthur Franz in his brokerage house. Good enough for the men, but Hewitt is married to Patricia Huston who wants that job and prestige and money that go with it. She hires Joyce Meadows to play a prospective investor who gets Franz to make housecalls to discuss the investment portfolio to be. Then she bugs the room and edits a tape trying the old badger game. It's Meadows that winds up dead and Franz in the jackpot needing the services of Raymond Burr.

Some juicy parts for women are featured in this crackerjack Perry Mason story. Meadows and Huston are terrific as a pair of ruthless women and they dominate the story.

**SPOILERS** I'm not gonna criticize the other reviews, I only want to make a couple of observations. First; the electronics guy HAD to know what he was doing was illegal. Even thought they didn't bring it out in court, it is illegal to record someone without their knowledge unless there is a court order. Furthermore, the playing of such a recording in court may involve a separate hearing to determine it's admissibility. Once it's determined that the original had been altered in any way, Perry could have petitioned the court to have it disallowed as evidence as having been tampered with. Hamilton HAD to know that the tape itself was dynamite, and producing it for evidence of any kind was dangerous; would he really have done it?? The tapper's (Connors') business license would probably be yanked, at least; his reputation, if he has one worth anything, is ruined.

If the coin is so valuable? why is Vanaman carrying it around? What kind of idiot drills a hole in an ancient coin, anyway? If he even suspected eavesdropping and taping, why didn't he call Perry right then? Well, because if he had, we wouldn't have had a show, would we? If the reputation of Noble and company is so important, WHY is Vanaman toting around valuable financial information? Why didn't Vanaman call police immediately when he found Welles' body? So Noble would've been compromised as far as reputation, but everyone has a higher duty, don't we? Vanaman completely disregards Paul's advice about following Bunny to try and get the coin back, and this, right there, after Perry had told him he was being played. This is typical of Perry's clients. I've written a brief paper explaining in detail the general requirements necessary to be a client of Perry's, and this idiot fits them to a tee.

Mr. Hale visits Perry to explain his side of things, and Perry and Della know then that he's infatuated with Welles. She's not bad looking (anyway, when she was alive, she wasn't), but not beautiful enough to wreck a marriage. The Judge (one of my favorite judges) is again a member of the no-gavel loud pencil consortium. Mr. Petrie's wife is neck deep in the conspiracy to frame Vanaman, as shown to the court by Perry's questioning of her and Connors. She lies on the stand; perjury, should be prosecuted, Perry should push Hamilton for this. Mr. Petrie is in competition for the same job Vanaman is. Really? Yup. He does have honorable intentions, though.

They play tape in court, Perry traps killer, client is cleared. Well, A foregone conclusion, isn't it? What's interesting is HOW he does it. I'm NOT gonna tell you. I will say this: it is very interesting testimony.

There is NO WAY either applicant could possibly be considered for promotion in Noble Co. Why? Vanaman is an idiot, and Petrie's wife is utterly untrustworthy. Noble had already fired Vanaman, as he should have, but Petrie, although not unworthy has made a totally unacceptable choice for a wife; she's a dishonest witch. Maybe after he divorces her, (and ruins her financially, of course) he can stay employed at Noble, but advancement is gonna be a question. Good episode, not enough of a part for Della, Paul almost creams a VW bug with his 58-9 T-Bird, ending is weak at best.

The old gent liked the 24 yer old to kill her? No, he just wasn't plausable as the murderer. Good acting though. The wife of Hewitt's role ws a bit over the top as well.

Perry has the spliced tape played and the culprit confesses.

But the culprit did the murder on hearing the real conversation through the peephole. Although the victim appears as a bad person in the real conversation, the real conversation showed the victim was not having an affair with Perry's client (eg reference to badger game), counter to the spliced tape. The confession based on the spliced tape is unbelievable.

Also, Perry telegraphed the ending after the culprit's last comments in Perry's office.

At the end of the episode it is claimed that Elliott Hale stood outside of the door to Sylvia Welles' apartment and overheard the edited tape of Richard Vanaman and Welles being played. This edited scurrilous tape, arranged by Doris Petrie, was intended to be used to damage Vanaman's reputation at his investment firm. It was Doris Petrie's hope that her husband would then be given the position of VP at the investment firm. The problem is that this tape was not edited until after Sylvia Welles had been murdered. Elliott Hale could never have listened through a peep hole as claimed to the tape being played. A huge and rare oversight for a usually consistent Perry Mason script.

Hotel manager supposedly in jealous rage kills Sylvia Welles after overhearing doctored reel to reel tape recording of Sylvia getting amorously friendly with another man. Problem is the tape had not been cut and spliced yet.