FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

jbacks3 If I recall my movie history, CAPTAIN BLOOD was released 8-1/2 months after this second Perry Mason programmer. Given the fact that Flynn receives 7th billing without any lines and what appears to be :30 screen time at the end of the picture (is that really him under the sheet earlier?) it leads me to believe that his role was largely left on editor Terry Morse's floor. It has an unsatisfying plot (go back to the first one for murderer's defense) and is padded with annoying scene fades. The camera trickery gets old fast and it's almost as if Curtiz is showing he's stooping to work on a make busy B-assignment. Cute Claire Dodd is wasted, but the Dellas in these things are eye candy. Uber WB character actor Allen Jenkins does his best to butch up Warren William's entourage. Mayo Methot, just 13 years away from her liver explosion in a cheap Portland hotel appears sober. There's elements akin to Nero Wolf (the food fetishist) and S.S. Van Dine here and some awesome mid-30's Lincolns on screen but ultimately it's a time waster, only of any real interest for a peak at Errol Flynn. Just don't sneeze or you'll miss him.

Spondonman There seems to be a wide divergence of opinion on the quality or otherwise of this one, whether it's poor and dull or witty and fast. I plump for the latter, even though Warners' portrayal of the lawyer left something to be desired, turning him into potentially yet another run of the mill private eye for the b market. But the production values in this were pretty high and it was directed by Michael Curtiz with panache.Woman comes to Perry Mason played again by William Warren for help because her first husband she thought dead has come back to shake her and her new rich husband down. Her first husband gets his instead, from then on the game is on to find whodunit and why, with some witty if sometimes improbable plot twists along the way. From the outset with Perry and his laconic coroner friend buying lobsters for the creation of a new gastronomic sensation to Errol Flynn's flashback appearance it carries you along on a tide of incessant lighthearted repartee and swift soft focus fade out's and in's. Typecast Allen Jenkins plays Perry's helper the brash and loyal Spudsy in what must be one of his finest performances ever, he weaves in and out of the story as a perfect counterpoint to his boss. Favourite bits: The all-too-short scenes in Luigi's restaurant on that "nutty night"; Perry and the coroner's continual smart ass one liners; the cosy relationship depicted between Perry and the newspaper men; Jenkins getting knocked out by the 2nd husband; Flynn's bit.It should be a great watch for fans of b&w 30's detective films (and maybe screwball comedies too), I certainly have always enjoyed this 2nd entry in the series. But not to be taken too seriously.

MartinHafer This is one of several Perry Mason films made in the 1930s starring Warren William. In this case, an old girlfriend is accused of killing While this film bears almost no similarity to the Perry Mason TV series, this isn't why I didn't particularly like the film. The main problem is that the film had a limp and poorly written script--with a lot of really awful dialog and logical errors. It was as if the studio just didn't care and rushed this into production. Even as a B-movie, this film has an awful script. Part of the reason I know the script is bad is that Warren William made some dandy "Lone Wolf" detective films and this one just doesn't even come close in quality or watchability.So, if the movie is a dud, why did I keep watching the film. Well, I am a bit of a film history fan and I wanted to see two interesting supporting players--Mayo Methot and Errol Flynn. Methot was the wife of Humphrey Bogart and she rarely got significant roles--here she got a bigger than usual part. Also, while Flynn became a huge star, this film was made just before his breakout film, CAPTAIN BLOOD (also 1935). I was actually surprised that he received such high billing or billing at all, as his part lasted about 5 seconds and he didn't even speak. The studio must have realized they had a star and so they lied and made it look like a Flynn film--a common practice among the wily studios of the day.So, unless you want to see Flynn or Methot, don't bother. Giving the film a 4 was probably charitable.

chyde This is the best of Warren William's performances as Perry Mason, well directed by Michael Curtiz. This is nothing like the PM you've seen from Raymond Burr, and not exactly like the PM in the books, either.many scenes are hilarious, the french accent and the onion scene being prime examples. Olin Howland as the coroner is priceless.