Perry Mason The Case of the Violent Village (1957–1966) Online

Phil Beecher comes back home after spending a year in jail for a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death of Aggie Norris, the local sheriff's daughter. The day that Phil comes back into town Sheriff Eugene Norris's other daughter, Charlotte Norris, ends up shot and all the evidence points to the ex-con Phil Beecher.

But thank goodness that Perry happens to be visiting the small mountain town on vacation. He is there for a hunting trip with Sheriff Norris. Perry finds that the entire town is ready to lynch Mr Beecher and since Perry loves a good case, he agrees to represent Mr Beecher to the chagrin of the entire town. It puts a stain on Perry's relationship with the community including his old friend. Sheriff Norris.

Outside the confines of the LA courtroom, Perry has to deal with a small town wanting instant justice. Perry has to deal with a bias special attorney and a community that wants blood instead of criminal prosecution.

Everything looks bleak until Perry finds out the true intention of one of the witnesses. And this piece of testimony brings down the entire house of cards for the prosecution.

This episode is interesting and entertaining. A good mystery that will have you glued to the show for the entire 52 minutes. Good acting and casting really brings this show together for the viewer. Richard Hale as the store clerk and Jacqueline Scott as Ms Beecher are great in their performance. Even Ina Victor, who only has a few lines, makes you believe something is sinister right from the start of the episode with her portrayal of the murder victim, Charlotte Norris..

Good show.

The episode was worked on by a team of several writers and they must have worked pretty well together as it holds up pretty well as it ages. There was a tragic accident in town in which the sheriffs daughter dies. It is said to be a DWI caused accident and the man at the wheel winds up going to jail for a few years.

Then he comes back to a town where everybody hates him. He wants to take his lady love and leave town, but she refuses to go. By coincidence the sheriff is a friend of Perry Mason's and Perry just happens to come to town the same day. The sheriff has another daughter and the first night he is back, the second daughter is murdered.

Even though the first is considered an accident and the second is a murder, the evidence is strong enough for the distraught sheriff to ask for a murder charge to be brought on the same man who just came back to town. The girlfriend begs Perry Mason to defend him and Perry goes to court against a stacked deck.

Luckily the court has a fair judge but Perry trying to find the truth in a small town without willing witnesses and without Paul Drake or Della is quite a challenge. A solid episode to be sure as a payroll and buried money are involved too.

***SPOILERS*** Perry Mason, Raymond Burr,taking some time off to go on a quite hunting & fishing trip to the out of the way town of Fawnskin still has trouble or murder cases following him. Phil Beechen, Ray Hemphill, the most hated man in town has just been released from jail after serving a 10 month sentence for vehicular homicide. The people of Fawnskin feel that he should have been sent straight to the San Quentin gas chamber. It was a year ago that Beechan after getting into a fight with his ex-girlfriend Aggie Norris the daughter of the town sheriff Eugene Norris, Barton MacLane, that he after having a few, Beechen claimed he only had one, drinks drove Aggie home and instead drove off the road ending up killing her.

With Beechen's wife Kathi, Jackie Scott, wanting to have nothing to do with him and him having no place to stay he goes to the nearest hotel to get a room for the night. Confronted by Aggie's sister Charlett, Ina Victor, Beechen is surprised how friendly she is to him when everyone else in town what's him dead. What Beechen doesn't realize is that she together with her married, not to her, lover Norman Thurston,Burt Burns, are planning to rob their company The Fawnskin Saw Mill Lumber Yard of it's payroll and frame him for it! But something goes terribly wrong with Charlotte ending up dead and a wounded, by whoever shot Charlotte, Beechen now on the run with everyone in town looking to get a piece of him especially Charlotte's father Sheriff Norris!

Taking time off from his hunting & fishing trip Perry Mason takes the case, at his now loyal wife Kathi's urging, of Phil Beechen making Perry next to Beechen the most hated and marked man in the town of Fawnskin. It's here where Perry looks like he'll finally lose with no jury willing to acquit Beechen and hot shot local D.A Everett Ransome, Terry Beeker, looking to make a name for himself in being the one person who can finally beat the great Perry Mason at his own game: In the court room.

***SPOILERS*** Perry seeing what he's up against, the whole town of Fawnskin, goes to the heart of the matter or case which is what happened to the $43,000.00 payroll stolen the night that Charlotte was murdered. And even more important the serial numbers which were kept on file by the bank of the money, or 20 dollar bills, that made up the payroll! Perry's strategy is follow the money and you'll find Charlott's Norris' murderer!

Despite it's complex plot "The Case pf the Violent Village" is one of he most thought out and well written as well as acted of all the Perry Mason episodes. There's no stone left unturned and no loose ends here. Everything is fully explained and makes complete sense unlike in some, especially the later ones, of the Perry Mason episodes that in most cases make little sense at all and close with schlock like and confusing endings. The highlight here was Perry dueling it out with D.A Ransome and showing the young and arrogant whipper snapper just who's boss in the court room.

**SPOILERS** Hand over what, you ask? Well, the "Special Prosecutor's" butt, being handed to him; that's what. The first thing that's wrong is the deputy sheriff attacking Beecher in the hotel lobby and NOBODY (even Perry), doing anything about it; except for the plotting sister of the girl Beecher accidentally killed. Which is just what starts this whole ball of wax rolling. After this case is closed, either that deputy must be heavily reprimanded, or fired; it WAS assault and battery from a law enforcement officer. He even wants to set up an escape so he can gun down Beecher in the attempt. Kathi Beecher was a witness.

Mr. Tepper looks like a skull with a grouch on for the world; a miserly, hard, small business owner that Perry uses to trap the killer because of a discrepancy in serial numbers on the payroll theft. Thurston is caught, and admits to the plot against Beecher on the stand, and then watches his wife try to lie to protect him; letting her take the blame for the killing. There is ZERO sympathy for rats in my book.

Perry shows that you'd need to use TWO hands to open the locked office door, if all other testimony is true. Beecher had just been shot in his left arm. He's proved right there that Beecher couldn't have done it. Simple deduction from there. I usually like to figure who I'm gonna blame for the killing (this IS Perry Mason, after all), and then try to justify why I was wrong later. In this case I was pretty sure that it had to be the vicious deputy. Well, he was still guilty of some pretty dirty stuff; good for a prison term, at least, I think. Maybe just run out of town for professional malfeasance.

What I usually object to is the "Happy Ending" syndrome that I see so regularly in this and other series on television. It goes so far in this case that the Sheriff actually is with Perry and the exonerated couple. How far can forgiveness go? Beecher WAS driving the car when Aggie was killed. Had it not been for that, well, .... Put on top of that that his deputy was just a bomb with a short fuse, and his second daughter killed. The Beechers will NEVER be welcome in "Fawnskin" after all this sadness. This ending should have been done better.

We are treated to a host of great actors in this episode, including Ann Rutherford, Barton MacLane, Richard Hale (Mr. Skull), and Willis Bouchey; one of the best Judges on the series. No Della, except for a small cameo. Picturesque little village; I'll bet the T.V. reception was terrible, though; that's a joke, son.

Although this episode was populated by a great cast of seasoned character players the Perry Mason paradigm holds for me, if I can figure out the murderer before it is revealed than the episode is an inferior one. Even with some good performances.

Ray Hemphill arrives back in town after he has served ten months for involuntary manslaughter of the sheriff's daughter, the sheriff being Barton MacLane. MacLane's surviving daughter works out a scheme to frame Hemphill for a payroll robbery of the town mill where he and everyone else just about worked. Except that Ina Victor gets caught up in her own scheme and is shot to death.

Of course Hemphill is looking good for it and even if he wasn't there is enough sentiment in the town against him to guarantee that any other lawyer would ask for a change of venue. Not Perry Mason though. He rolls the dice and elects to proceed here.

Except for a conversation on the phone with Barbara Hale, none of the other series regulars are in this episode. Raymond Burr gets to face off with a special prosecutor appointed by the California Attorney General. Terry Becker who is best known for playing Chief Sharkey on Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea is one arrogant, full of himself prosecutor. You really love seeing Burr tear him apart.

Still it really is obvious who the murderer is.

I did not understand why it was necessary for the two serial number pages to be replaced in the payroll being robbed by older payroll pages; this only seemed to draw attention to the culprits! Can anyone explain as Mason never seemed to explain this. The killer described that he did this but never was clear as to how this helped the theft.