Leofwine_draca THE CASE OF THE KILLER KISS is a notable PERRY MASON movie insofar as it marks Raymond Burr's last screen appearance before his untimely death in 1993; there's a tribute to Burr after the final scene. It's a shame his last movie couldn't be a bit better, but then that often happens with our long-running TV show heroes (COLUMBO LIKES THE NIGHTLIFE wasn't up to much either). Burr is clearly frail here, forced to sit or lean for all of the production, but there's no faulting his acting.The problem with this production is just how predictable it is. Once again the setting is a TV studio in which the philandering jerk of a male lead is killed by persons unknown. There's an obvious suspect, but Perry digs a bit and soon uncovers a conspiracy of lies and hidden plots. I found the writing quite lazy here, with the security guard sub-plot shoe-horned in just to give William R. Moses something to do and count for some action and suspense scenes. The final reveal is unguessable due to information being withheld from the viewer. Stuart Damon, one-time star of TV's THE CHAMPIONS, plays in support.

jamesraeburn2003 Perry Mason enters the world of TV soap operas to defend Mile High star Kris Buckner (Genie Francis) whom has been framed for the murder of her co-star, Mark Stratton (Sean Kanan). Somebody spiked actress Charlotte Grant's (Krista Tesreau)lipstick with walnut nut oil knowing that the actor would kiss her in a scene and, as a result, has an allergic reaction. The crew fetch his allergy kit but that had been spiked too and he dies. The police figure that Buckner killed her co-star because, on the day before he died, Stratton demanded that her part in the show be drastically cut by having her character go into a coma. In a rage, Kris struck Stratton on the face saying "I could kill you for this." To make matters worse, a duplicate allergy kit of the murdered man is discovered in her dressing room and she was seen re-entering the studio on the night before Stratton died. Mason learns that Stratton was detested by all who worked on the show and many had reasons for wanting him dead. They include production assistant Mimi Hoyle (Karen Moncrieff) who was once Stratton's lover and she became pregnant with his child. But, he demanded she have an abortion and threatened to have her fired if she did not. The show's producer, Evan King (Michael Tylo), also had a strong motive for murdering Stratton because it turns out that Stratton was putting pressure on the production company to axe him from the show so that he could take over completely. Mason is puzzled as to why Stratton appeared to have so much control over the running of the show because, after all, he was only the leading man. Mason sends Ken Malansky (William R Moses) to the rural town of Cedar Grove - Stratton's home town - where an unsolved old murder from thirty years ago could hold the key to the killer's real identity.This was Raymond Burr's final appearance in his most celebrated role as the Los Angeles defence attorney Perry Mason in what seemed like a never ending series of revival movies that began with Perry Mason Returns in 1985. Burr sadly died in 1993. Basically, with these films, if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. However, there was a few exceptions where the series successfully broke away from the routine courtroom drama formula, but this is purely standard fare. If you love the series, as I do, then you will love it and for somebody who has never seen an episode before then its not a bad place to start as the storyline has enough to keep one engaged for a couple of hours and the script generally plays fair with the audience. The supporting cast, while undeniably second league, is more than competent and Arleen Sorkin is good as an irritatingly obsessive soap fan, Peg Furman, who gets under Malansky's hair as he does his usual heavy lifting in order to track down vital witnesses and clues for his boss - as ever, risking his life in the process. Only Furman, as much as Malansky wanted her out of the way, turns out to be useful as she unwittingly holds a vital clue to the killer's identity as a result of her sneaking into the TV studio and stealing a copy of Mark Stratton's script. A coffee stain bearing the indentation of the murdered man's personalised mug on the script helps Mason unravel the mystery.

bkoganbing This final film of Raymond Burr finds Burr as Perry Mason defending a soap opera star, Genie Francis, who is accused of murdering her arrogant co-star who was having her character put into a coma and effectively out of the show. The kicker is that her contract would have prevented her from seeking work elsewhere. Of course the victim, Sean Kanan was doing these kinds of things any number of others are prime candidates as a potential killer.The title Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss stems from how the victim died. Seems as though he was allergic to walnuts so a script calling for him to plant one on Genie Francis was given him and her lipstick given some walnut oil. Then his allergy medicine was spiked with enough to put him into anaphelaptic shock. Effective indeed.The Case of the Killer Kiss follows the usual Mason formula, but the real story here is that the film was made at all. Knowing that the series rose and fell with him, Burr signed for the season knowing how ill he was, but also knowing that NBC would have to make the rest of the season quota somehow or pay Barbara Hale and William R. Moses in any event. Hence the 'Perry Mason' movies with Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook that followed.A lot of the footage involving Burr was filmed with him seated or in rear projections or behind something he could lean on, all to disguise the pain he must have been enduring in making The Case of the Killer Kiss. But it was completed and gave Hale and Moses some additional work because of the contract.I always thought that was one of the classiest things I'd ever read about anyone in show business. I wish that The Case of the Killer Kiss was as worthy of Raymond Burr as The Misfits was for Clark Gable or The Shootist for John Wayne. Still, I suppose just doing the character for which he was most known and loved for is in itself a great tribute.

bob the moo On the set of a popular daytime soap opera `Mile High', actress Kris Buckner is being forced off by co-star Mark Stratton. When she says that she'll `kill him before she leaves the show', she makes herself the prime suspect when Stratton is murdered by someone poisoning him. As an old friend, Perry Mason comes to the help of Kris and agrees to defend her. Meanwhile Ken goes in search of information with the help of fan of the show.The final Perry Mason film which starred Burr in the title role, this is a fairly typical entry in the series that gives the audience all we would usually expect from the films. The plot is OK but it seems a little bit more forced than in other films in the series. The film enjoys poking fun at the soap opera types - although not as gleefully as I would have expected a TVM series to have done!Mason does his usual stuff - ripping through TV actors in small roles as red herrings etc. Burr is good in the role as one would expect from someone in the role for so long. Moses has his usual stuff to do - chasing thugs with an useless female sidekick, but it is a little lame this time and the autograph hunter is very irritating. The supporting cast contains nobody of note and none of them really excel themselves, just delivering by-the-numbers performances.Overall Mason fans will like this because it goes through the formula well and has all the usual stuff. The lack of stronger actors and characters in the support cast is a problem, but essentially the film does what all it's predecessors have done - deliver the usual story in a build up to an average scene of minor fireworks where the real killer is revealed.