The first and best of the Perry Mason Movies

This one was just shown today on The Hallmark Movie Channel at 1100 AM Central Time. They are running the Perry Mason movies in place of the 2 episodes of the series, which are usually seen in this time slot.

This is the best of the Perry Mason Movies, if, for no other reason, it gave PM fans a taste of the old days when the series was at its zenith. Too bad that William Hopper, Ray Collins, and Bill Talman had passed on. I just wish that they had explained how Perry and Della split up in the first place. Why didn't she go with him when he became an appeals court judge?

Here are some of the scenes that I found memorable about this movie:

1 - Della hard at work in the office of a boss not named Perry Mason.
2 - The scene of a freshly-strip-searched Della, with a look of true shock on her face, being led down a hallway by a female officer.
3 - The first look at Perry with a beard.
4 - Seeing Richard Anderson, who hadn't aged a bit, playing a character who was not his original Lt Steve Drumm.
5 - The intoduction of Paul Drake, Jr., played by Barebara Hale's real life son, William Katt.
6 - Introducing several action scenes involving Paul Jr, completely unheard of in the original series.

Of all the Perry Mason movies of the 1980s and 90s, this is my favorite, but I still prefer the series.