English, John

Perry Mason - Season Two, Vol. 2

We strenuously object! Raymond Burr was conspicuously and criminally missing on Entertainment Weekly's list of the top 100 TV icons. This is a TV Land injustice, but this four-disc set of episodes that complete season 2 lays the groundwork for an appeal. Burr was honored with an Emmy for his commendable work this season as Los Angeles defense attorney Perry Mason, as was Barbara Hale, who portrayed his faithful secretary Della Street. Who knows how many impressionable viewers Burr inspired to become lawyers with his masterful portrayal of the unflappable, incorruptible Mason? No matter how much evidence district attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman) and Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) collect, and no matter how damning it is, it will usually collapse once Perry gets the real guilty party to break down on the witness stand or, in one case, in a beatnik hangout. In "The Case of the Lame Canary," a woman is discovered over her dead husband's body, gun in hand, and burning a stack of letters. "If she has any sense, she's at the airport waiting for the first plane out of the country," someone cattily remarks. Nope, she has better sense than that; she's at Perry's office.

Filmed in black and white, Perry Mason has a seductive noir sensibility. Here in sunny California are convoluted cases involving corruption, blackmail, scandal, revenge, and greed. Perry, with the help of private detective Paul Drake (William Hopper), sorts it all out, and in the episode codas, further parses the evidence ("I still don't see what put you on the right track" is a typical query) in inscrutable ways that invite replay. Beyond the pleasure of watching an actor thoroughly embody his character, it's also fun to spot familiar character actors. "The Case of the Petulant Partner" stars Will Wright, who played mean old Ben Weaver on the early seasons of The Andy Griffith Show, and that's a rather fetching Marion "Mrs C." Ross from Happy Days in "The Case of the Romantic Rogue." The episodes crackle with some old-school, hard-boiled dialogue. Almost worth the price of the set is hearing Lt. Tragg make with the beat talk in "The Case of the Jaded Joker." "I'm one of the cool ones," he jokes with Della and Perry. "I don't dig slick chicks trying to goof me up, daddy-o." Once again, this set is guilty of providing no extra features, but we'll let them off with a warning. This time. --Donald Liebenson

Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.

Perry Mason - Season 2, Vol. 1

There's something about Perry! Perry Mason, as a canny 14-year-old remarks in the episode "The Case of the Pint-Sized Client," is "the best lawyer in town." Here's the evidence. In 15 chronological second-season episodes from the classic series by which all lawyer shows are judged, Los Angeles attorney Perry Mason successfully defends a host of clients so seemingly guilty that Nancy Grace would have had them incarcerated by the first commercial break. Created by Erle Stanley Gardner, Mason was already a popular character in books, films, and radio before coming to television in 1957, and Raymond Burr, usually typecast as a heavy in feature films, did Mason justice (Mason was ranked 28th on the Bravo network's list of television's 100 best characters). Punctuating his sentences with that dramatic intake of breath, Burr's Mason exudes gravitas and expertise. He gets capable support from Barbara Hale as his secretary, Della Street, and William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake.

In what may be television's most thankless role, William Talman costars as district attorney Hamilton Burger, who nearly every week loses what looked to be an open-and-shut case, usually as the result of some dramatic surprise witness (in one episode, a parrot!), an unorthodox legal maneuver, or a cross-examination courtroom confession ("I didn't mean to kill him, your honor"). There is no delving into Mason's private life, although one episode hints at Mason being something of a ladies man. When Della suggestively tells him a new client is in his waiting room, he replies, "Blonde or brunette?" Cleverly plotted, and infused with a palpable noir sensibility , Perry Mason holds up as more than TV Land nostalgia, although it is fun to see such familiar faces as Jesse "the Maytag Repairman" White, Edgar Buchanan (Petticoat Junction), and Joseph Kearns and Herbert Anderson from Dennis the Menace. No extras, but these entertaining episodes will definitely please the court. --Donald Liebenson

Perry Mason - Season One, Vol. 1

There was a time when the defense attorney was a heroic everyman, not the butt of bad jokes; think Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and, of course, Raymond Burr's incomparable Perry Mason. The first season of Perry Mason, which launched in 1957 on CBS, shows just how dramatic a "law and order" show could be. Shot in lush black and white, on film, the episodes have been lovingly restored (including lost minutes hacked from reruns to accommodate commercials). The story arcs and atmosphere feel more like film noir (Perry Mason + Philip Marlowe = separated at birth?) than early TV. The cast was stellar, including Burr's Emmy-winning Perry Mason, the indefatigable lawyer who takes tough cases no one else will touch. Burr's chemistry crackles from episode 1 with his costars, including Barbara Hale as secretary Della, William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake, and William Talman as Hamilton Burger, the well-meaning but overmatched district attorney. While it's true that the last-minute witness-stand confessions strain some credulity, the case-cracking, character development, and dialogue set a high bar for the legal shows that followed. "The Case of the Negligent Nymph," for instance, involves a comely young woman--and murder suspect--fished out of the Pacific; Mason deadpans to Drake, "Call off the search, Paul; we've landed our mermaid." The shows unfold at a leisurely pace, and yet don't rely on the overly expositive dialogue that, say, Law & Order does; the viewer learns a lot about each case simply as it happens. The set contains the first 19 episodes of the first season and will hook you, even if you're not a procedural buff. --A.T. Hurley

Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.System Requirements:Runtime: 1000 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 097368878143 Manufacturer No: 887814

Perry Mason - Season One, Vol. 2

The second volume of season 1 of Perry Mason fleshes out the splendid entire first year of the show, a masterpiece of '50s film noir and crisp, savvy TV writing. Raymond Burr's unflappable defense attorney Perry Mason is equal parts P.I., father confessor, and yes, judge, jury, and executioner. The crimes include murder most foul, and lots of that sordid specter that haunted people pre-internet: blackmail. Everyone has a motive, and everyone in the harsh light of Los Angeles seems to have something to hide. The boxed set contains the remaining 21 episodes of the first season, with highlights like "The Case of the Lonely Heiress," in which detective and Mason sidekick Paul Drake tracks down a rich woman, who is then suddenly accused of the murder of the man who tried to find her. Some episodes haven't aged well (one involves Mason interviewing a "schizophrenic" woman on the witness stand, interviewing "both" her personalities). But overall, the writing and the assured ambience of the series, and Burr's commanding presence, make Perry Mason among TV's topnotch armchair crime series. --A.T. Hurley

The defense never rests as Volume 2 of the classic series Perry Mason returns to DVD with 20 more episodes from the groundbreaking first season!

Adventures of Captain Marvel

Daniel Boone - Season One

Wholesome fun for the entire family!Fess Parker stars as Daniel Boone in this timeless classic series. Daniel Boone America's classic frontier hero begins his journey right here with this first Season box set on DVD. Digitially restored and re-mastered from it's original televison presentation in 1964 in classic black and white. Set in and around Kentucky and Virginia during the colonial period preceeding the American Revolution Daniel Boone takes us on suspensful action adventures with his fellow frontiersman and women Yadkin (played by Albert Salmi) Mingo (Ed Ames) Rebecca (Patricia Blair) Jemima (Veronica Cartwright) and Israel (Darby Hinton).Special Features Include:- Exclusive Interviews- Photo Gallery- Visitor's Guide to Fess Parker's Los Olivos Winery & Spa ResortSystem Requirements:Run Time: 1455 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 743452200825 Manufacturer No: GH2008

Perry Mason - Season One, Vols. 1 & 2

Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097361196848 Manufacturer No: 119684

Wagon Train

Drums of Fu Manchu

In order to gain complete control of the barbaric bond of Asia, the nefarious Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon) must acquire the fabled scepter of Genghis Khan. To find the lost tomb housing the scepter, he must first locate and assemble the Cardack segment, which will disclose the location of the tomb. Opposing him is his old nemesis, Sir Nayland Smith (William Royle) and Allen Parker (Robert Kellard). The adventures range from the United States to Asia, and contain some of the most fiendish cliffhangers ever put on film. "William Witney, the greatest director of movie serials considered this to be his and Republic's best work. A gem from the golden age of movie serials: slick direction, the look of a big budget production, a diabolical villain, and lots of imaginative cliffhangers." - Hank Davis, BIG REEL Magazine. Bonus Features: Video Commentary by Scarlet Street Publisher, Richard Valley| "History of Fu Manchu" Booklet Insert by Eric Hoffman| Photo Gallery| Bios| Chapter Menu. Specs: 2-DVD9s; Dolby Digital Mono; 269 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1940; SRP - $19.99.

The Roy Rogers Show, Vol. 2

Roy hits a bullseye with this populsr televsono series that premiered inh 1951. The King of Cowboys was joined by his wife and bumbling sidekick Pat Brady in his fight for law and order in the contempory West. Four features in one and all exciting as the next.