User Reviews

While very much in formula, this episode benefits from a stronger story than many episodes. It involves a victim who drowns at the beginning of the show, only he does not drown. He stages it because he is suffering from a terminal disease. He does it because he wants to provide for his widow from a Double Idemnity Insurance Plicy.

When the Insurance Company stalls paying on the policy, the Widow is looking for money when she visits Mason because the partner in her husbands business is supposed to be buying out her husband for $10,000. Mason gets her the money, but the other partner has a scheme, to buy out the business but not have the widow share in a $500,000 bonanza that the business owns. He is going to marry his hot younger secretary with the money from that.

Then, the widow is shocked for the second time in the episode to get a phone call from her dead husband 8 weeks after he drowned. Trouble is when she goes to meet him, he drowns again, but this time someone has shot him before he goes in the water. In effect, he has died twice, & now Mason has to sort out who killed him & why. The widow is accused but we know as Mason's client that she can't be guilty, can she?

A detailed courtroom presentation on handwriting is part of this one & critical in the case.

**SPOILERS** One of the other reviewers used the term "Glorious Gloria Talbott", I agree. she's one of my favorite actresses, and of course, a real beauty. One thing that I've noted in some other reviews is that the Hairdresser for this series (Annabell), is remarkably good at translating the latest trends and styles into presentation; certainly for Barbara Hale, and some others on this show. Gloria was one of these recipients; I'm gonna say that her own hair may have been hard to tame, but on this show, it's very pretty. Gloria was one of the most attractive and popular of the cameo/support players in this era; she's beautiful. She and Barbara WERE the beauty in this show.

Now, there is another small issue to discuss. Evie (Gloria) was to inherit her huz's estate; who else? After all's said and done, nobody. Nesbitts's partners, who have committed forgery, perjury, illegal transfer of funds, conversion of contracts for financial gain (the company), have almost certainly ruled themselves out of any profits from ownership of mining properties. Of course, they could get their own lawyer, but, I'm pretty sure Perry would chop them into dog food in court. They're gonna be spending a lot of money trying to separate themselves from the actual killer. Think they can do it? It's gonna be tough, given that castle's wife spilled the beans about knowing Ottis did the deed.

Now, Ottis might claim that Nesbitt attacked him after a heated argument, and it was self defense, but moving the body and putting it in the lake? Not reporting it in the first place? Yeah, he's taking a fall for Murder 2. His accomplices? Tough luck; they had their chance to come clean, too. Not doing so sticks all the bad stuff to them like Testor's cement. Back on this soon.

Nesbitt's son? Who so obviously had the hots for Evie? I'm betting that Perry would point out to Evie that he had his chance to come down squarely on her side, but saw his own opportunity to strike it rich. Evie had made her opinion of him quite clear earlier, calling him "Vile", in reference to his sly, sexist references to her. Whether or not he had anyone who could verify what he saw the night of the homicide matters not in the least; he was of no help. Perry will surely recommend that he be cut out of any will or testaments. Revenge for rejected horniness is expensive, ain't it?

Now we can get a little juicier, do the accomplices have any financial recourse in the issue of the mining interests? That's a sticky one, isn't it? Of course, this is where Perry shows his legal fangs. Does anyone think that he's gonna let them get their sticky paws on Evie's rightly earned fortune? He'll file the right writs and motions to disconnect any future interests of Evie's opponents to the profits of criminally gained property. There's a lot of Legal Latin involved, but they'll be run through the criminal Veg-o-Matic, and unless they want to lose everything, they'll cooperate completely, and probably take care of any corporate expenses out of their end of any profits. In fact, they may well turn on each other in the interest of self preservation.

The totally dirty maid, Fanny Werbler? She has no redeeming qualities or interests at her disposal, so she'll take a long fall in Women's State Prison, Corona; the wages of sin, clearly noted.

One thing that is NEVER brought out was pointed to by beautiful Della when she said that Perry was a lawyer, not an accountant. He must employ, as a regular accounting representative, a State bonded C.P.A. to verify all fiduciary concerns, but they leave this detail out of all of Perry's cases.He would have no time to handle these complex issues.

***SPOILERS*** Lost while going out fishing during a violent rain storm Willard Nasbitt, Les Tremayne, decides to do a disappearing act and fake his death with his body washed out to sea or whatever body of water it was in. Willard got the bad news from his doctor that he doesn't have long to live due to his heart problems so he decided to first make out a double indemnity life insurance policy for his old lady or wife who's young enough to be his daughter that juicy Georgia peach Eve Nesbitt ,played by the glorious Gloria Talbatt, so she'll be set financially for the rest of her life. While on the lamb or pretending to be dead working as a handyman at a Navada motel Willard sees a newspaper report that the mine that he together with his partner Llyod Castle, Edward Binns, owns struck a mother load of gold worth as much as a half million dollars! It was in fact Castle who had advance knowledge of the strike who forged Nasbitt's name to a contract giving him full control of the gold mine for a scant $10,000.00!

Nasbitt suddenly coming back from the dead and trying to get his financial matters straightened out by getting his wife Eve full control of the gold mine is found shot to death with Eve, who had the most to gain if he's alive, the prime suspect in her husband's murder! Amazingly the case goes to a pre trial hearing with the only evidence against Eve in her husband's murder is that she was married to him! And the great Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, who was handling Eve's finances ends up defending her! Everything at the trial hinges on Nesbitt's signature on the contract with Castle giving him full control of the gold mine. As for Eve's involvement in her husband's murder all the prosecution can offer is this daffy dame Fanny Werbler, Naomi Stevens, claiming under oath she saw Eve leaving her husband's motel room the evening he was found dead. It's the bird brain daffy Fanny's eye witness testimony, which was obviously false, that was totally destroyed by Perry's cross-examination within two minutes after she was put on the witness stand! So who in fact murdered Willard Nasbitt if Eve didn't do it?

****SPOILERS*** It took a lot of probing by Perry Mason to come up with Nasbitt's murderer but it wasn't him who got to murderer to stand up and confess. It was Llyod Castle's lover Jenny Bartlett, Carol Ohmart, who in a dramatic moment at the trial pooped up out of her seat and fingered the killer who, after being exposed, looked as if he were struck by lighting! It's Nasbitt's killer Who in fact wanted to clear the entire matter up by giving Eve a share in the gold mine. But with a stubborn Nasbitt not willing to go along with the deal which seemed very reasonable he ended up murdering him!