Raymond Burr's portrayal of the crime-solving attorney Perry Mason began on CBS television in September, 1957. Ever since, it's difficult not to see Burr's face in our minds any time we hear the name Perry Mason.
But Erle Stanley Gardner's ace murder-solving attorney had several different faces some twenty years earlier on the big theatre movie screens around the world.
Warner Bros. / First National Pictures produced a total of six Perry Mason movies from 1934 - 1937 with three different actors playing the attorney.
Warren William portrayed Perry Mason in:
THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG (1934)
THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE (1935)
THE CASE OF THE LUCKY LEGS (1935)
THE CASE OF THE VELVET CLAWS (1936)
Warren William
Ricardo Cortez appeared as Mason in:
THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT (1936)
Ricardo Cortez
Donald Woods played the lawyer in:
THE CASE OF THE STUTTERING BISHOP (1937)
Donald Woods
All of the six stories, except THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT, would later be filmed as episodes of the television series as well.
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| CAPITOL THEATRE March 8, 1935 |
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| CAPITOL THEATRE November 3, 1935 |
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| CAPITOL THEATRE November 12, 1936 |
Future dashing leading man Errol Flynn made one of his earliest screen appearances in THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE. He played the corpse.
