Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace (TV movie-1988)
Mom and I have lots of Perry Mason books by Erle Stanley Gardner. Some were donated to charity, but some went to the hands of future lawyers and whodunnit enthusiasts. We still have some left and we're happy about that fact.
When mom was younger and I wasn't born yet, she watched the original Perry Mason series with Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale(1957 to 1966) so when it was reimagined with Perry Mason now a judge and an occasional defense lawyer and Della Street older as well from 1985 to 1995(more or less twice a year), we were glued to the screen whenever it was shown or if we got to rent some episodes to watch via the VCR/Player or Laser Disc or whatever.
William Katt, Barbara Hale's son, plays Paul Drake Jr., the son Paul Drake. The actor, William Hopper had passed on in 1970 so he couldn't reprise the role so THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO became Paul Drake Jr.
In the 1985-1995 TV movie series, Mason and Street have some sort of sexual tension. Sometimes it's just like that. You wait and wait and wait and it doesn't happen. Sigh.
THE CASE OF THE AVENGING ACE(1988)
Directed by
| Christian I. Nyby II | ||
Writing Credits
| Lee David Zlotoff | ... | (written by) |
| Erle Stanley Gardner | ... | (characters creator) |
Wanting badly to have a break from all those Hallmark films I have been watching when I get stumped from research or when I want to take my mind off things when I am not supposed to worry, I thought of getting one of my old books, but the letters were too small, so I just searched youtube.com for old TV movies because... let's just say the old videos are nowhere to be found, but even if they were available, the players are already obsolete.
We found this case at Violet Flower's youtube channel. Just like old times, mom and I watched it, tried to guess who the killer or mastermind was, et cetera. We are not certain if we just forgot about this or if it was the first time we've seen this episode. The characters are based on the ones Erle Stanley Gardner created, but since the master has crossed the great blue yonder a long time ago, he was no longer the author of this story.
The familiar guests were Patty Duke as Mrs. Althea Sloan, Charles Siebert as Jason Sloan, Erin Gray as Captain Terry O'Malley, Regine Krueger as Shannon Parks and Larry Wilcox as Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Parks. All of them were believable.
I'm just so happy that I was able to see this TV movie with my mom.
We will surely watch another one in the future. Whether we've seen it before or not, it would surely be like the first time.
The Cast:
main characters
Raymond Burr ... Perry Mason
Barbara Hale ... Della Street
William Katt ... Paul Drake Jr.
guests
Erin Gray ... Captain Terry O'Malley
Larry Wilcox ... Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Parks
Charles Siebert ... Jason Sloan
James Sutorius ... Mark Egan
Arthur Taxier ... Ellis Milbourne / Frank Johnson
James McEachin ... Police Sergeant Clifford Brock
Don Galloway ... General Hobart
Richard Sanders ... Chester Lackberry
Gary Hershberger ... Lieutenant Wilkins
David Ogden Stiers ... D.A. Michael Reston
Patty Duke ... Althea Sloan
James McIntire ... Daryl Herley
Joel Colodner ... Lester Mc Carren, (the 2nd murder victim)
Pam Ward ... Judge Eleanor Daniels
Tony Higgins ... Lieutenant Grahm
Regina Krueger ... Shannon Parks
Dotty Coloroso ... Amy Beth Sawyer (the 1st murder victim)
Michael X. Martin ... Captain Petersen
Caitlin O'Connell ... Denise Mc Carren
Sue Hoffman ... Laundress
Tupper Cullum ... Deputy #1
Wendelin Harston ... Jury Foreman
Burt Goodman ... Judge Hoffman
Laurence Kirchmar ... Prisoner (uncredited)
Antonino Garcia Tony ... Henchmen (uncredited)
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