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The Best Episodes of Perry Mason Season 1

Every episode of Perry Mason Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Perry Mason Season 1!

Binge this in 21h 57m•Peaking at 8.6/10

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 1 - The Case of the Restless Redhead
    8.0/10(892 votes)

    #1 - The Case of the Restless Redhead

    S1:E1

    Perry drives to the scene of a shooting and finds the police recovering the body of Harry Merrill from a car that went over the side of a mountain. MerriIl has a bullet in his body and a pillowcase over his head. Meanwhile, Perry's client, Evelyn Bagby, claims she was chased by a hooded man in a car near the same cliff that day. She fired two shots at the man's car to scare him off, and now the police want her for murder.

    Director:William D. Russell
    Writer:Russell S. Hughes

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  2. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 2 - The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece
    8.0/10(680 votes)

    #2 - The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece

    S1:E2

    Peter Cole is caught one night sleepwalking with a letter opener and standing over his wife's bed. His wife Doris is afraid and decides the next day to file for divorce. Exactly one year later, when the divorce is to be finalized, Frank Maddox, Peter's business partner, meets with Doris Cole. That night Frank Maddox spends the night at Peter Cole's house and exchanges bedrooms with Phillip Kendall, Peter's stepbrother. The next morning Phillip Kendall is found dead in bed and Peter Cole is accused of murder.

    Director:William D. Russell
    Writers:Laurence Marks, Gene Wang

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  3. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 3 - The Case of the Nervous Accomplice
    8.0/10(604 votes)

    #3 - The Case of the Nervous Accomplice

    S1:E3

    Sybil Granger hires Perry to help her buy stock in her estranged husband's oil company on the sly. By this, Sybil hopes to force her husband's latest girlfriend, Roxy Howard, out of the company and his life altogether. Things get complicated when George Lutts enters the picture and gets shot to death.

    Director:William D. Russell
    Writer:Stirling Silliphant

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  4. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 4 - The Case of the Drowning Duck
    8.0/10(613 votes)

    #4 - The Case of the Drowning Duck

    S1:E4

    Donald Briggs is an unscrupulous private investigator hired by Clyde Waters to uncover information about Marv Adams, his daughter's fiancé. Later, Donald Briggs is found dead in his motel room, and Marv Adams is accused of the murder because he had a fight with Donald Briggs the previous morning.

    Director:William D. Russell
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 5 - The Case of the Sulky Girl
    7.7/10(552 votes)

    #5 - The Case of the Sulky Girl

    S1:E5

    Fran Celane feels her uncle, Edward Norton, is too restrictive as the executor of her father's spendthrift trust. He also wants her to wait 18 months until her 25th birthday before she gets married. Later, Norton is found dead and Rodney Gleason, Fran's fiancé, is identified as the perpetrator.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 6 - The Case of the Silent Partner
    7.7/10(564 votes)

    #6 - The Case of the Silent Partner

    S1:E6

    Harry Marlow owns a florist business and wants to own a part of Mildred Kimber's orchid business, but Mildred Kimber is not interested. So, Harry Marlow makes an arrangement with a local club owner, Sam Lynk, to cheat Mildred's husband, Bob Kimber, out of his share of the business in a card game. When Sam Lynk is found dead in his home, Mildred Kimber is accused of the crime.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Donald S. Sanford

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  7. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 7 - The Case of the Angry Mourner
    7.9/10(577 votes)

    #7 - The Case of the Angry Mourner

    S1:E7

    Carla Adrian is having trouble fending off amorous neighbor Mark Cushing. When another neighbor hears a shot and a woman's scream, then witnesses Carla's Mother, Belle Adrian, in Mark Cushing's cabin—it's not long before the police discover Cushing’s body and arrest Mrs. Belle Adrian.

    Director:William D. Russell
    Writer:Francis M. Cockrell

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  8. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 8 - The Case of the Crimson Kiss
    8.3/10(579 votes)

    #8 - The Case of the Crimson Kiss

    S1:E8

    In a few day’s time, Fay Allison is getting married to Dane Grover. Her roommate, Anita Bonsal, is having a clandestine affair with a married man, Carver Clement. Fay Allison is later accused of Clement’s murder when the police find her fingerprints on a glass in his apartment.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 9 - The Case of the Vagabond Vixen
    8.0/10(514 votes)

    #9 - The Case of the Vagabond Vixen

    S1:E9

    Hollywood producer John Addison picks up an attractive young woman hitchhiker. Far from being innocent, she turns out to be a blackmailer—and a witness to a murder that Addison is charged with.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 10 - The Case of the Runaway Corpse
    7.9/10(507 votes)

    #10 - The Case of the Runaway Corpse

    S1:E10

    Ed Davenport learns that a sandwich he requested to be tested by a lab contains arsenic and blames his wife Myrna. When he confronts her about his suspicions, she denies it. He leaves for a business trip and falls ill. Dr. Renault is called to treat him at a motel where Ed Davenport later dies. Before he dies he claims his wife poisoned some candy.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Malvin Wald

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  11. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 11 - The Case of the Crooked Candle
    7.8/10(525 votes)

    #11 - The Case of the Crooked Candle

    S1:E11

    While Martha Bradford is waiting for her appointment at a beauty parlor, she meets Rita Bradford who apparently is also married to her husband, Joe Bradford. Joe is found dead on his boat the next morning and Martha Bradford is accused of his murder when her fingerprints are found on a candle located on the boat.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 12 - The Case of the Negligent Nymph
    7.9/10(531 votes)

    #12 - The Case of the Negligent Nymph

    S1:E12

    Perry Mason and Paul Drake are on a fishing trip when they spot a young woman named Sally Fenner being pursued by vicious guard dogs on an island estate. The only way Sally can avoid being chewed up by the dogs is to jump into the water and swim for it. Perry and Paul pull Sally out of the drink, and Perry ends up defending her on a murder charge.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 13 - The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink
    8.6/10(655 votes)

    #13 - The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink

    S1:E13

    Restrauteur Morey Allen, a friend of Perry and Della's, has a problem: his waitress, Dixie Dayton, was struck by a car while fleeing the restaurant after spotting a man stalking her. The only item she left behind was a moth-eaten mink. When the stalker is found murdered, Morey and Dixie both eventually get arrested for the murder. The case also ties in with the murder of a young policeman several months before.

    Director:Ted Post
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 14 - The Case of the Baited Hook
    8.1/10(519 votes)

    #14 - The Case of the Baited Hook

    S1:E14

    Robert Dawson confronts Albert Tydings, his partner, about $80K missing from Carol Stanley's trust account. Albert Tydings admits he embezzled the money and blackmails Robert Dawson to keep quiet or he will reveal some scandalous facts about Carol. Later, Carol calls and makes an appointment to meet Albert Tydings at his office to discuss the trust account. She arrives to find Albert Tydings dead.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Richard Grey

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  15. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 15 - The Case of the Fan-Dancer's Horse
    7.8/10(553 votes)

    #15 - The Case of the Fan-Dancer's Horse

    S1:E15

    Perry and Della witness an automobile accident which leads Perry to defend an exotic dancer charged with murder.

    Director:William D. Russell
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 16 - The Case of the Demure Defendant
    7.8/10(482 votes)

    #16 - The Case of the Demure Defendant

    S1:E16

    Nadine Marshall lives with her Uncle Martin and Captain Hugo. She comes home excited with the news of her engagement to John Locke. When she tells her Uncle Martin, he shows her some papers about her family which upset her. Later, Nadine is accused of poisoning her uncle.

    Director:László Benedek
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 17 - The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary
    8.3/10(555 votes)

    #17 - The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary

    S1:E17

    Arlene Dowling reports the theft of all her belongings, including a diary she is anxious to get back.

    Director:Ted Post
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 18 - The Case of the Cautious Coquette
    8.2/10(502 votes)

    #18 - The Case of the Cautious Coquette

    S1:E18

    Perry has to navigate his way through a hornet's nest of murder, hit-and-run, secret marriage, and a missing witness in this episode.

    Director:László Benedek
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 19 - The Case of the Haunted Husband
    8.5/10(551 votes)

    #19 - The Case of the Haunted Husband

    S1:E19

    Claire Olger, a hitchhiker, is picked up by Michael Greeley. He loses control of the car and has an accident due to his being intoxicated. Eventually, her friend, Doris Stephanak, asks Perry Mason to help. When Perry is unable to contact Claire at her hotel, he goes there and finds Michael Greeley dead in her room.

    Director:Lewis Allen
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 20 - The Case of the Lonely Heiress
    8.2/10(522 votes)

    #20 - The Case of the Lonely Heiress

    S1:E20

    Heiress Marilyn Cartright places an ad in a magazine in order to find love and companionship. In reality, Marilyn is looking for the con artist who swindled and drove her sister to suicide. Marilyn eventually finds the man, Charles "Country Boy" Barnaby, and turns on her ample charm in his direction hoping to get the goods on him. But when Barnaby is found poisoned to death the police theorize that Marilyn killed him as an act of revenge.

    Director:László Benedek
    Writer:Donald S. Sanford

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  21. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 21 - The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister
    7.9/10(440 votes)

    #21 - The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister

    S1:E21

    Arthur West, a disreputable private investigator, has found J. J. Stanley in a cheap motel. He knows Mr. Stanley and his partner, Ned Bain, were involved in the embezzlement of the Texas National Bank. He wants to blackmail Ned Bain into giving him money to keep quiet. When J. J. Stanley is found dead in Arthur West's hotel room, Harriet Bain, Ned Bain's daughter, is accused of the murder.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Richard Grey

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  22. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 22 - The Case of the Fugitive Nurse
    8.2/10(509 votes)

    #22 - The Case of the Fugitive Nurse

    S1:E22

    Janet Norris is charged with poisoning her doctor husband just before he flew to his death in his private plane. Further investigation reveals that Dr. Norris did not die in the plane crash and that he is in Mexico with his nurse mistress. The man killed in the plane was actually one Dave Kirby. This means that Janet still has to stand trial for murder.

    Director:László Benedek
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 23 - The Case of the One-Eyed Witness
    8.2/10(484 votes)

    #23 - The Case of the One-Eyed Witness

    S1:E23

    Della and Perry's dinner at a fancy French restaurant is interrupted by a phone call and an envelope containing $500.00 from a mysterious woman named Marian Fargo. Later, Marion's husband and the man blackmailing her, Sam Carlin, both turn up dead.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 24 - The Case of the Deadly Double
    7.9/10(517 votes)

    #24 - The Case of the Deadly Double

    S1:E24

    When Robert Crane is charged with the murder of his sister's estranged husband, Perry needs the testimony of sister Helen Reed to clear him of the charge. Unfortunately for all concerned, Helen suffers from multiple personality disorder.

    Director:Andrew V. McLaglen
    Writer:Sam Neuman

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  25. Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 25 - The Case of the Empty Tin
    8.1/10(463 votes)

    #25 - The Case of the Empty Tin

    S1:E25

    Doris Hocksley is shown a personal newspaper ad in a Los Angeles newspaper for locating the daughter of Adam Hocksley and providing proof of same. A friend, John Lowell, suggests she pursue the idea to prove she is the rightful heir to the Adam Hocksley estate.

    Director:Andrew V. McLaglen
    Writer:Seeleg Lester

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"The Case of the Restless Redhead" is the best rated episode of "Perry Mason" season 1. It scored 8/10 based on 892 votes. Directed by William D. Russell and written by Russell S. Hughes, it aired on 9/21/1957. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece".