The Best Episodes of Perry Mason Season 2

Perry has all kinds of troubles in this one when a murder brings him into the tangled financial and personal affairs of the wealthy Balfour family.

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

Evelyn Forbes escapes from a mental institution only to be charged with murder. The key to the case is a dog that continues to howl no matter what.

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

Perry returns to his office late one night and finds an attractive woman climbing into his balcony window. She claims to be Virginia Colfax, the secretary of Ed Garvin who has an office next door to Perry's. Ms. Colfax says that she climbed into Perry's office in order to escape from Garvin's hot tempered wife but Perry later learns that Garvin is married to two women. Garvin and second wife Lorrie are sent to Mexico by Perry until he can clear up the matter but when Garvin's first wife, Ethel, is murdered there's an even bigger mess on the scene. And just who in the world is Virginia Colfax, the woman climbing in the window?

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

Robbers lift a bundle from the Hargrove Finance Company and Frank Anderson is murdered in the aftermath. Anthony "Pop" Renzi is identified as one of the robbers and charged with both the robbery and the murder. Perry sets out to clear him of both charges.

Director: Buzz Kulik

Writer: N/A

Two troubled women, Millie Crest and Fern Driscoll, switch identities. Millie, posing as Fern, stabs shady private eye Carl Davis in the arm in self-defense. Davis then turns up dead from poisoning of the stab wound to his arm. Millie then gets Perry to help her in return for a 38 cent retainer.

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

Wealthy Peter Baxter decides to test the loyalty of his heirs. He pretends to change his will cutting them all out and leaving his entire estate to groundskeeper, James Hing. Hing is then supposed to burn down Baxter's house and Baxter would substitute a medical cadaver for his own body. If any of the heirs contested the will, they would be disinherited. Hing does as he is instructed. He burns down the house but the body discovered inside is really that of Peter Baxter. Perry tries to sort through this muddled mess and arrive at the truth.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A

An art collector, Rufus Varner, is told by a reputable art critic that one of his most prized art paintings named ""The Purple Woman"" is a forgery. Varner visits the art dealer from whom he purchased the painting, Milo Girard. After he finds out the dealer knew it was a forgery, he realizes the news would damage his reputation as an art collector. At the Girard home, an artist Aaron Hubble, tells Evelyn Girard, the wife of the art dealer, that he painted a forgery of The Purple Woman for her husband. Milo Girard is found dead in his office the next morning and his wife Evelyn is charged with his murder.

Director: Gerd Oswald

Writer: N/A

Ruth Prescott wants to divorce Walter Prescott so that she can be with her true love, Jimmy MacLaine. After a brush with death, Ruth becomes convinced that Walter is trying to kill her rather than give her the divorce. Walter then turns up dead and the police are convinced that Ruth shot him but Perry, as usual, doesn't think so. A lame canary and unusual bruises on the victim hold the keys to the puzzle.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A

The courtroom action in this episode takes place at a coroner's inquest as a parrot holds the key to freeing suspect Ellen Sabin from blame in the murder of her husband.

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

Bishop Arthur Mallory is met in his hotel room by Wallace Lang, an associate of a wealthy man named Charles Burroughs. He is warned thru physical violence to stop looking for the real granddaughter of Charles Burroughs. Carol Delaney helps the bishop with his wounds and hears an incredible story that she may be the real granddaughter, Janice Burroughs. She doesn't believe him at first but changes her mind when she is also visited by Wallace Lang and warned to drop this idea. Carol is invited to meet Charles Burroughs and later the same night he is found dead. Carol is accused of his murder when the knife used to murder Mr. Burroughs is found to belong to her carving set.

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

A building contractor is charged with the murder of a wealthy political Mr.fix-it.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A

Perry receives a telephone call from George Beaumont, a man who supposedly died in a plane crash nearly three years before. In reality, Beaumont missed the plane and after hearing about the accident decided to disappear leaving wife Laura with his life insurance money. Since then, Beaumont has been cavorting with girlfriend Ruth Whittaker and living under an alias. He has grown tired of this life and wants to return home but someone cuts short his return by sticking a letter opener in his back. Ruth is then charged with the murder.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A

Major Frank Lessing, a payroll officer on an Army base, is found murdered and Sgt. Joseph Dexter is charged with the crime. The case hinges on a payroll robbery committed in the Phillippines years before. It seems as though some of the bills from that robbery were turning up on the base.

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

Rhoda Reynolds is charged with murdering her blackmailing ex-husband, Arthur Kane. At the trial, Perry moves the proceedings to the room in which Kane was murdered in order to re-enact the fatal night.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A

Eva Martell is hired out of numerous candidates by Melvin Slater to impersonate a woman named Helen Reynolds. Eva is paid extremely well and given a nice apartment to live in with her Aunt Agnes as long as she continues with her impersonation. Both Eva and her aunt suspect a rat and seek Perry's advice. Then Melvin Slater turns up dead in the apartment.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A

Rollins and Wyatt have discovered a cure for gill fever. As they plan to market the product, they find that Jack Huxley has bought the aquarium business and owns all patents and intellectual property. Huxley is murdered; Wyatt is charged.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

An heiress to her uncle's fortune is charged with the murder of a female private investigator during a search for her missing uncle.

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

Playwright Ernest Royce is found shot to death in the same manner as a character in one of his unproduced plays. The play dealt with characters very close to real people and the real life murder of a New York underworld figure years before. Perry's client, Frank Brooks, is charged with Royce's murder and Perry must find the missing final act of the play in order to clear Brooks.

Director: Gerd Oswald

Writer: N/A

Dr. David Craig discovers that tapes of conversations with his psychiatric patients are missing and being used for blackmail purposes. When the suspected thief and blackmailer, Mark Douglas, turns up murdered, the good doctor is charged with the crime.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A

Young Jimmy Morrow can't seem to catch a break. Already on probation for car theft he's charged with stealing a valuable Spanish cross and killing its owner. Perry feels sorry for the kid and decides to take the case.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A

Martin Ellis is sent to jail for stealing the sum of $300,000.00. Ellis is later exonerated thanks to evidence discovered by his wife and the real thief, Charles Brewster, is arrested for the theft. Brewster manages to get out of jail on bail but later turns up dead. Ellis is charged with the killing.

Director: Arthur Hiller

Writer: N/A

A District Attorney is charged with the murder of a chairman of the bids committee to a defectively built hospital whom he is investigating for a series of bribes being passed around.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: Seeleg Lester

Martin Selkirk is a major league rotter who wants Claire Allison in the worst way even though she's dating Dirk Benedict. Selkirk has Dirk's jaw broken and begins sending Claire threatening mail. Then Selkirk is murdered in his beach house and Claire is arrested for the crime. Perry takes the case and finds that the evidence points in the direction of Selkirk's five year old son. Or does it?

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: Seeleg Lester

Slimy Jack Hardisty embezzles $100,000.00 from his father-in-law, Dr. Blane. The greedy Hardisty then tries to blackmail the good doctor for more. Perry is hired by Dr. Blane to put an end to Hardisty's machinations but before he can swing into action the rogue turns up dead. Dr. Blane is charged with the murder forcing Perry to do some intricate courtroom work involving a wildlife camera triggered by a buried clock which took misleading pictures of the actual killer.

Director: William D. Russell

Writer: N/A

A moonlighting school teacher is charged with the murder of a male acquaintence he had taken home after the acquaintence had earlier raised a disturbance at his night job at a cafe.

Director: Arthur Marks

Writer: N/A