jamesraeburn2003 A world famous illusionist called David Katz (Peter Scolari) is arrested for the murder of his assistant Kate Ford after a magic trick involving a floating glass coffin goes horribly wrong. Katz is a married man but had a one night stand with the murdered woman who attempted to blackmail him when she became pregnant with his child. Witnesses overheard an argument between them in which Katz threatened her, and as always, the prosecution believes it is an open and shut case. Yet, with ace defence attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) on the case, there is most certainly going to be several other people with motives for wanting the selfish, mean and vindictive Ford dead coming out into the open. They include Katz's wardrobe assistant Betty Farmer (Julie Sommars) whose sister was fired from the show at Ford's hand. Then there is Max LeMar (Dennis Lipscomb), a rival magician and former Katz mentor, who believed that Katz was plagurising his work and wanted revenge. And Katz's wife, Judy (Kim Braden), was enraged that Kate Ford was pregnant with her husband's child...A standard, strictly to formula but still very enjoyable Perry Mason revival TVM. If you can get around the predictable plot development it is quite satisfying with a very good denouement with Burr still a commanding presence as the world's best defence attorney. As ever the client is an old friend of Perry's - 'How many old friends could he possibly have?', you will doubtlessly ask . Nevertheless, there is a more emotional centre to it this time since as well as trying to clear Katz for murder, Perry is also helping him to save his marriage to Judy which had been on the rocks for quite some time.William R Moses' Ken Malansky's action man part is more enjoyable here than usual. This time he is hounded by a young, attractive, rookie private eye called Terry Weidner (played by Kate Vernon who turns in a likeable performance) who thinks she can give her career a boost by helping Perry Mason crack his case. Of course, Ken is not too keen and doesn't like people getting in the way and stealing his thunder. Yet, the budding private eye is always one step ahead of him and stumbles upon important leads before he does and even saves his life. The pair journey to a rural Colorado town called Hastings where the murdered woman grew up to gain evidence for the defence. The result is some amusing knockabout as they have to do battle with the close knit community who don't like outsiders poking their noses in and turn some heavies on them to drive them out of town. Kate Ford's father owns a salt mill, which provides the town with its prosperity, and many years before, a crime connected to the murdered woman was covered up due to her father's position. Could it be connected to the murder? The feel for the close knit town and its hostility to outsiders is nicely conveyed in Brian Clemens' (The Avengers) script, and combined with some nice location work, is very effective under Christian I Nyby 11's direction.The acting, writing and all other technical aspects are up to par here and Clemens' script plays fair with the audience with all the clues running neatly into a logical whole so that the impact of the solution is not diluted by plot holes and absurdities.

bkoganbing Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin finds Raymond Burr defending David Copperfield/Rick Blaine like magician Peter Scolari from a murder charge involving one of his assistants. A trick involving a suspended glass coffin in midair goes awry and the body of Nancy Grahn comes a tumbling out.Nancy was one of six female assistants who work with the act and we learn two things about her. First in a moment of drunken weakness, Scolari got seduced by her and she claims she was impregnated. Secondly she is living under an assumed name and had a secret from her past.Billy Moses who probably never thought he'd be doing such rough stuff back in law school gets to tangle with a couple of good old boys when goes seeking the truth in Grahn's home town. A little more action than usual for Ken Malansky, he almost gets himself killed. One big flaw in this mystery is simple forensics. The medical examiner's report should have provided concrete evidence that the victim was killed in such a way that Scolari could not possibly have done the deed. The police should have been looking in a different direction for the killer. When you see who the killer is you won't blame the individual, but you'll also see how the investigating officer James McEachin got it wrong from the start. It kind of spoils this particular Mason film.

rew3211 This babe has got to be the most appealing woman I have seen anywhere in a long time. I think she is just absolutely wonderful on the Matlock series. Thank goodness they are still running Matlock.. So wholesome, so exciting, such interesting stories.

bob the moo David Katz is a famous stage magician who is putting on a charity show to benefit a children's charity supported by Perry Mason. On the day of the show one of his assistants, Kate Ford, tells him she is pregnant due to an affair they had, and tries to blackmail him. Later that night a trick appears to go wrong and Ford is killed and Katz arrested. Mason takes the case and tries to find out who else had a motive for murder. Meanwhile Ken Malansky travels out to Ford's hometown to get background information, only to find that some people want to cover something up.If you've seen one of these things then you've seen them all. The legal realism of these shows are always very doubtful but the drama is still enjoyable. Here for example the whole court is moved to the scene of the crime for some reason or other! Mason does his usual ripping into the witness stuff which is good but can get a bit tiresome because you know that they're all red herrings and the real person is only really examined at the end. Ken's investigation is better than usual here and it does have a genuine feel of PI work as facts are uncovered which expose the truth. It's nothing special but enjoyable.Burr, Hale and Moses are all very comfortable and don't try too hard. Moses loves his role as he gets to be an action hero and jump around despite his daft hair. The support cast all skulk around looking a little guilty in attempts to try and throw us all off the scent – they do alright. The usual `surprise face' in the Mason TVM's this time is Bob Gunton who does a good job as the Asst DA, but I always felt David Stiers was a better foil for MasonOverall this is nothing special and is pretty basic when compared to much more sensational courtroom dramas.