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Mysteries

Perry Mason Season 1, Volume 2 DVD Announced

September 9, 2006

CBS Home Video has announced that volume two of season one of Perry Mason, the popular 1950s-’60s TV series based on the character created by Erle Stanley Gardner will go on sale on November 21. The five-disc set will include the last twenty episodes of the first season. Volume 1 included the first 19 episodes. That is all the information about the new DVD set available at this time. For information on the Perry Mason Season 1, Volume 1 DVD, click here. For more on Perry Mason and author Gardner, see my Weekly Standard article on "The Case of the Bestselling Author" here. For more information on the Season 1 Volume 1 DVD and an important addition to my Weekly Standard article, see this Karnick on Culture post. Here’s the cover art for the DVD edition:

“Golden Age” Detection Fiction

September 2, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

Looking for something to read over the three-day weekend? I have some writers for you to investigate. Jon Jermey, a mystery aficionado and moderator of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction Mailing list on Yahoo, has composed a set of humorous rules for the writing of Golden Age detection fiction, the sort of tale that was made immensely popular by authors such as Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Dorothy Sayers, John Dickson Carr (aka Carter Dickson), Erle Stanley Gardner, H. C. Bailey, Rex Stout, and so many others during the 1920s and ’30s. The Golden Age, traditional, puzzle mystery style thrived in Britain and America between the two world wars, but was driven out by publishers and critics after World War II when it was arbitrarily decided that a pretense of realism should be paramount in the genre. I say a pretense because the styles that superseded the puzzle form, the hardboiled and police procedural approaches, were just as much romances (in the literary sense) as the puzzle form was. In addition, the importation of ambitious literary devices (as in the non-series novels of Ruth Rendell) to create Serious Crime Fiction did nothing to change the fact that the books were

Psych Finale—Finally Satisfying

August 27, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

Finally, the USA Network comedy-mystery Psych came up with a fully satisfying episode, last Friday night. The season finale hit all the right notes: it had a solid mystery at its center, including a couple of pleasing, unexpected twists; the setting, a comic book convention, was interesting and unusual and was handled well, especially in revealing that a couple of the top supporting characters were comic book fans; the setting was tied in very strongly with the murder mystery, particularly in the way it is used to place clues to the mystery throughout the episode and motivated the crimes; the way Sean, the main character and fake psychic private detective, used his persona as a psychic in order to obtain clues from a convention hall full of people and expose the murderer in public; Sean’s attempt to romance one of the suspects was handled with greater humor than usual, because his lack of progress was funnier and more dramatically interesting than the greater immediate success he usually seems to have in this part of the story; a subplot involving the prima donna nature of even the most minor celebrities (guest actor George Takei from Star Trek); the angry police lieutenant

Fox’s “Vanished”—A Good Start on a Fiendishly Complex Story

August 22, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

Fox’s “Vanished”—A Good Start on a Fiendishly Complex Story

The only reviews I’ve seen of the new Fox TV series Vanished have been negative, although in the promo at the end of last night’s premiere episode there were quotes from positive critiques of the show. I just haven’t seen any. The critiques I’ve read all complained that the show was too complicated and that the characters weren’t likeable enough or interesting enough to capture the critics’ attention Too complicated? Boohoo. Characters not likeable or interesting? Rather a matter of opinion, that, eh what? I don’t like the characters in The Sopranos, but critics managed to find that one interesting. I thought Vanished was quite well done and very interesting. The story, about the kidnapping of a senator’s wife, unfloded into increasing complexity as the episode progressed. New questions and mysteries arose every couple of minutes, as we learned more about the characters’ pasts and the niew information conflicted with what we and the characters in the story thought they knew. The very identity of the kidnapping victim came into question, increasing the mystery regarding why she was kidnapped and raising the question of whether she was even abducted at all. The lead FBI agent was certainly likeable, as

Buster Keaton, Detective

August 3, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

On his Classic Images website, Charles Mitchell offers this fascinating little morsel of information: during the late 1930s, Mitchell claims, the great silent comic Buster Keaton was being "considered for a series of light comedy/mysteries about a low key Midwestern sheriff who always wound up solving the crime." Mitchell does not tell us which studio was considering this, nor how far the idea ever got, but it is an extremely interesting notion—and sounds like a tragically lost opportunity. As it happens, Keaton had made a silent comedy-mystery in 1924, Sherlock, Jr., and it is not only one of Keaton’s best films, it is one of the greatest silent comedies ever made. Set in small-town America (as the proposed 1930s mystery-comedy series was planned to be), the story features Buster as an ambitious young movie-theater projectionist who is studying to be a detective. After being falsely accused of theft, Buster, back at his job as projectionist and watching an adventure film, falls asleep and dreams that he walks into the screen (an impressive visual effect) and becomes the brilliant and invincible detective Sherlock, Jr. as the adventure story of the film actually being shown in the theater takes on, in his

Mr. Moto Returns

August 3, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

Although 20th Century Fox is not exactly shouting it from the housetops, The Mr. Moto Collection, Vol. 1 is now available on DVD. In the series of Mr. Moto films from the late 1930s, Peter Lorre played the title character, a Japanese secret agent who solves crime mysteries. Lorre was absolutely brilliant in the role of the small, slight, unobtrusive, exceedingly polite master of jiujitsu and deductive logic. The films were made on B-level budgets, but the directors definitely got the most out of the investment. The stories were more action-oriented and hard-edged than most detection series of the time, such as the Charlie Chan films, and they hold up surprisingly well. Peter Lorre deserves admiration for his performance as Mr. Moto. Although he was very ill and fighting off the overuse of morphine to combat gall bladder pain, Lorre brought great charm to the character, which was lacking in the Moto novels of J. P. Marquand, on which the series was based. In the books, Moto is something of a mystery himself, as Marquand tells us little about him other than his doings as an agent, and he is always seen from other characters’ point of view. Lorre’s

The Fine Art of Thievery

August 2, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

The season-ending episode of Hustle, one of the very best programs currently on television, will be broadcast tonight at 10 p.m. EDT on American Movie Classics. AMC will begin cycling through all 18 episodes of the BBC-AMC co-production again on September 20, so feel free to drop in tongiht and see why I think this program is so good. Set in present-day London, Hustle has a terrific mid-’60s feel to it, from the animated opening credits to the charming, rougish central characters (including Robert Vaughn of The Man from Uncle fame) and on to the very concept of the program: a group of English confidence tricksters target deserving bullies and con them, to take away a bit of their money and as much as possible of their arrogance. The plots are tricky, sophisticated, and morally challenging, and they usually include a nice twist or two at the end. The con artists are likeable despite the questionable morality of their enterprise. Consider them to be avenging angels if if makes you feel better. I’ll write more about Hustle later, in particular drawing attention to the tradition of rogue heroes of which it is the latest noble installment. For now, watch and

The Case of Perry Mason—and an Important Addition

August 1, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

The Case of Perry Mason—and an Important Addition

Speaking of Perry Mason as we were yesterday, you might be interested to know that the first 19 episodes of the long-running TV series are now available on DVD. The series, as noted yesterday, often had an interesting noir-like atmosphere, and the characters, including the victims, suspects, and other non-recurring ones, were sharply drawn, and the incidents and conflicts handled with a nicely perceptive eye. The author of the original series of nearly 90 Perry Mason novels, Erle Stanley Gardner, oversaw production of the program, and it was very good television, especially during its first few years. The theme music to the show, by the way, is probably one of the most widely recognized TV themes of all time, and brilliantly sets the tone for the episodes. Upon hearing it I always reflexively feel a sense of anticipation and excitement. I wrote a long essay a couple years ago about Erle Stanley Gardner, "The Case of the Bestselling Author," for the Weekly Standard, and it is available on their website here. I’ve included a few extracts in a posting below, to give you a sample. The one thing I must add is that in the process of editing the piece

From “The Case of the Bestselling Author”

August 1, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

From “The Case of the Bestselling Author”

Here are some extracts from my article on Erle Stanley Gardner, "The Case of the Bestselling Author," for the Weekly Standard, which is available on their website here. OVER THE YEARS, Perry Mason has become an American archetype: the wily lawyer who always gets his client off regardless of the niceties of legal procedure. Yet in the eighty-two books Erle Stanley Gardner wrote about his lawyer detective, published between 1933 and 1973, Mason remains largely an enigma beyond the work he does, and (unlike, say, Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple) he never reveals much of a persona beyond his professional one. Indeed, Gardner’s work rarely showed much concern for characterization, writing style, or moral ambiguity–which is probably why he was utterly ignored by the literary establishment and generally slighted even by his fellow mystery writers. Nonetheless, for many years Erle Stanley Gardner was commonly listed as the bestselling fiction writer of all time (though the perennial Agatha Christie has now surpassed him), his books having sold well over 300 million copies. . . . The Mason books differ greatly from the television series, even though Gardner personally supervised the show. When the first installments appeared in the early 1930s,

Perry Mason Returns . . . Again

July 31, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

Starting tonight the Hallmark Channel is presenting a week of Perry Mason movies, each weeknight at 9 p.m., to kick off the station’s August "Month of Mystery." Between 1985 and 1993, Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale, who played Perry Mason and Della Street, respectively, in the long-running TV series, reprised their roles in a series of more than two-dozen TV movies. The films are entertaining and diverting, though not nearly as interesting as the original TV series, with its interesting, often noirish atmosphere and sharply drawn characters. The Mason movies are rather reminiscent of Matlock, which is not a surprise given the involvement of Matlock creator and longtime TV mystery writer-producer Dean Hargrove. They’re worth watching and are enjoyable if you can accept that they don’t greatly resemble the TV series.

William Powell on TCM

July 31, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

OK, forgive me for being a little late with this, but Turner Classic Movies is showing films featuring the great William Powell all day today, including two entries in the delightful Thin Man series. Powell was a witty, urbane leading man in 1930s Hollywood who starred in numerous films, some of which are true classics of their forms. The Thin Man films and his performances as detective Philo Vance (whom he manages to make quite likeable, as opposed to the obnoxiously smug Vance of the S. S. Van Dine novels on which the movies are based) are fun mysteries; Libeled Lady, My Man Godfrey, Love Crazy, and I Love You Again are among the greatest screwball comedies; The Great Ziegfield is a splendid biography with music, Manhattan Melodrama is a superb crime and morality drama, and his performances in Life with Father and Mister Roberts are standouts. Powell was born in Pittsburgh and raised in Kansas, and as the photos here indicate, he was not a conventionally handsome movie-star type by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, he started out in films by playing villains in silent movies. However, his class, sophistication, and innate gentility soon became evident with

Charlie Chan, Bourgeois Detective

July 25, 2006

By S. T. Karnick

Those who have an interest in the meanings behind the Charlie Chan films are cordially invited to take a look at my December 31, 2001/January 7, 2002 article on the topic in the Weekly Standard. Subscribers and potential subscribers can read it here, and others may read a longer version of it here. The article explains why so many politically motivated persons have taken such an intense dislike toward this exemplary character, and it shows the rich layers of meaning we can find in seemingly simple genre fiction. For example: In his best films, Charlie is an almost ideal human being, in terms of personal character: wise, calm, observant, humble, polite, patient, affectionate, and generous, but also, when necessary, crafty, devious, and merciless. He frequently uses subterfuge to trick the killer into revealing his or her guilt, as in Charlie Chan at the Circus, where he sets up a fake operation on an injured circus performer to lure the murderer into trying to finish the job. Comedy helps the films avoid sappiness. Near the beginning of Charlie Chan in Egypt, we see the great detective awkwardly riding a donkey and unceremoniously falling off. In Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum

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Mysteries

Perry Mason Season 1, Volume 2 DVD Announced

“Golden Age” Detection Fiction

Psych Finale—Finally Satisfying

Fox’s “Vanished”—A Good Start on a Fiendishly Complex Story

Buster Keaton, Detective

Mr. Moto Returns

The Fine Art of Thievery

The Case of Perry Mason—and an Important Addition

From “The Case of the Bestselling Author”

Perry Mason Returns . . . Again

William Powell on TCM

Charlie Chan, Bourgeois Detective

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