BaronBl00d
Warren William, as affable a Perry Mason as one is likely to find in film, is replaced by Ricardo Cortez, and, while I prefer William, Cortez does a charming job making his Mason successful. Why they didn't make more films with him as Mason I shall never know. Anyhow, this time Mason is working for a crotchety, crippled millionaire who believes he will die soon amidst a cast of relatives "devoted" to him in that death way. We get a butler with a spotted white/gray cat(no black cat here - you think they would have done something about that huh?)who walks with a cane and has the cat who must be looked after even, by the words of the will, after the millionaire is dead. We get a young niece who is disinherited and starts a waffle shop(No, I am not making this up), and a couple other nephews both wanting money and a nurse with the name of a lounge singer - Louise De Voe. Cortez has style and grace and charm. Many of the supporting cast do very nice turns as well with much-worked character actor harry Davenport as Peter Dexter - old moneybags and George Rosener as the caretaker giving better-than-average performances. The female lead Jane Bryan is both lovely and talented. The gal playing Della Street unfortunately has all the personality of a pencil. Shame about that as the chemistry between Mason and her should be electric rather than static. This Mason film has solid acting, a good dose of humour and intriguing plot twists, and at its core a purrrfect mystery.
petermalizia
In the 1950's I faithfully watched Perry Mason on TV and as many of my generation came to think of Raymond Burr AS Perry Mason. However I will confess that until very recently, I had never read any the novels. I started to read them more or less chronologically by copyright date beginning in the 1930's. I was delighted to view a copy of The Case of the Black Cat. Although Ricardo Cortez was a bit more charming than the literary Perry Mason, I found the story and style to be vintage Erle Stanley Gardner. I hope that if film ever revisits Perry Mason that homework is done and this film is viewed, and perhaps set as a period piece. Certainly,at a time when so many remakes are being done, there is room for a new (or rather an Old )treatment of this literary icon. Erle Stanley Gardner wrote over 100 Perry Mason novels over a thirty year period, a wealth of idea's to draw from.
mrsastor
Because no actor has ever been more closely associated with his character than Raymond Burr as Perry Mason, modern audiences are often unaware that Earl Stanley Gardner's books and character predate the television series by over twenty years.It is unfortunate indeed that the actor most commonly associated with the role of Perry Mason in the 1930's is Warren William, not at all attractive and with an annoying tendency to play Mr. Mason as a less-than-scrupulous drunken buffoon of whom one marvels he was even able to find his way out of a gin joint, let alone find a murderer. With each successive Perry Mason film, Mr. William's portrayal grew more drunken and buffoonish, probably an attempt to cop the fantastically popular Thin Man of the day.Sorry folks, but Ricardo Cortez IS Perry Mason. In the only Mason film to cast Cortez in the lead role, Mr. Cortez ruins the role for all others and particularly blows Mr. Warren out of the water. Cortez is everything Mason is supposed to be; beautiful, rich and elegant, sophisticated and brilliant. No drunken buffoon here.As for the story, I remain clueless why the American version of this film was re-titled "The Case of the Black Cat". The book, and the episode of the television series some 25 year later, were named "The Case of the CARETAKER'S Cat", and even the cat that appears in the 1936 movie is not black. Aside from this peculiarity, this is a great story and well worth the watch. Easily the best of the Perry Mason movies produced during this time period, it compares favorably to the Philo Vance and Thin Man serials of its era.
davelisalynch
Excellent pre-Raymond Burr filming of a Perry Mason novel! I was lucky enough to see this on TCM (since it isn't on video). At first I wasn't expecting much, but found Ricardo Cortez to be an excellent Perry Mason! Why Warner Brothers didn't keep him for other movies in the series I don't know! That's probably why Perry Mason wasn't that successful until the tv series came along. It would be nice to see this title on DVD.
AD
