“This is the sort of stuff that drives you nuts in this business,” Drake said. “I have two dozen men on the job. It gets around to the slack time and I start calling them in. Then something like this breaks. I’m like a runner with too short a lead on first base with the … Continue reading THE 50’S BEGIN SWIMMINGLY: The Case of the Negligent Nymph
THIS ONE’S A BUTTE! Sweet Spot by Kemper Donovan
Author Kemper Donovan has made no secret of the influence that Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, has had on his own writing. You can hear it in every episode of his podcast, All About Agatha. Likewise, I’ve made no secret of who myfavorite author is, and it’s a tribute to our shared passion for the Dame that … Continue reading THIS ONE’S A BUTTE! Sweet Spot by Kemper Donovan
THE PERRY MASON/BATMAN CONNECTION, PT. 3: Victor Buono
It’s interesting to consider the all-too-short life of Victor Charles Buono, whose career included Shakespearean stage roles, an Oscar-nominated turn in the movies, and some colorful villains on multiple TV series. Up to a point, one can find comparisons to another large-sized, larger-than-life performer named Orson Welles: both men had colorful childhoods, and both burst … Continue reading THE PERRY MASON/BATMAN CONNECTION, PT. 3: Victor Buono
THE PERRY MASON/BATMAN CONNECTION, PT. 2: Neil Hamilton
Of all the actors who we are fortunate enough to have seen on both Batman and Perry Mason, the most prolific of them all was Neil Hamilton. He played Police Commissioner James Gordon on every episode of one series and faced off against Perry on seven episodes that spanned nearly the entire series, from Season One through Eight. Born … Continue reading THE PERRY MASON/BATMAN CONNECTION, PT. 2: Neil Hamilton
ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in the Novels and Stories of Agatha Christie, Chapter 7: Scene Study: The Deadly Duos
It is a truth universally acknowledged that in a murder mystery everybody lies. They lie about their motives, and they lie about their alibis because they don’t want to appear guilty in the eyes of the police. Naturally, the lies of the innocent make them appear guilty, and it is up to the sleuth to sort around … Continue reading ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in the Novels and Stories of Agatha Christie, Chapter 7: Scene Study: The Deadly Duos
HOLY ACQUITTAL!! The Perry Mason/Batman Connection
I’ve been having so much fun exploring all the actors who appeared on multiple episodes of Perry Mason. Since I'm covering the adaptations of the novels as I read them, here I’m focusing on the 144 episodes created from original teleplays. The bonus is that I get to shine a light on actors who you may … Continue reading HOLY ACQUITTAL!! The Perry Mason/Batman Connection
THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 3: Dennis Patrick
In the early, pre-Barnabas Collins, days of Dark Shadows, the show tried to behave like a normal soap opera, albeit with Gothic trappings. The main storylines centered around Victoria Winters, a grown-up orphan who had come to Collinsport to take a job as governess to the young Collins heir because of a hint she had received that … Continue reading THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 3: Dennis Patrick
THE HONKAKU OF NOTRE DAME: She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo
Reading Seishi Yokomizo’s work, you'd think you would know, seven volumes in, what to expect of this most famous of honkaku authors: a seemingly cursed and highly dysfunctional family, a series of bizarre and bloody murders, a lot of history about post-war Japan and inter-family dynamics woven into a lengthy opening chapter, frequent meta-fictional allusions to classic crime fiction, and a … Continue reading THE HONKAKU OF NOTRE DAME: She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo
THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 2: John Lasell
Hollywood cemeteries are strewn with the graves of thousands of forgotten actors and, for most of us, John Lasell is one of them. He had a respectable twenty-five year long career, mostly on television where he hit the ground running in 1960 and made single appearances on a wide variety of classic shows. One of … Continue reading THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 2: John Lasell
CREATIVE HOPSCOTCH: The Perry Mason/Dark Shadows Connection
You all know how much I love Erle Stanley Gardner, especially his most famous creation, defense attorney extraordinaire Perry Mason. For the past few years, I’ve been weaving across the Mason canon and, as is my wont, whenever I review a novel, I like to cover any film adaptations that exist. On that score, I tend to … Continue reading CREATIVE HOPSCOTCH: The Perry Mason/Dark Shadows Connection
Ah Sweet Mystery! 