***SPOILERS*** I've already expounded on Joyce Bulifant In my review of
"The Surplus Suitor". Maybe I was too hard on her, maybe it was just the part she was given. Either way, again, her character does everything possible to screw things up for Perry, and there is one point they didn't cover; later. First; $27 ?? When the horse paid out at $57 to win? and she had win tickets? Perry made a bad deal, there. Next, her way of picking a horse isn't outrageous at all. Most bettors will play at least one hunch every time they're betting. However, one thing that baffles me, is HOW in blazes did Fremont know WHEN Perry was going to be at the track? Which window? How could he possibly have guessed that it WAS Perry collecting for Nancy? Either Santa Anita, or Los Alamitos is going to be a very large window crowd, before, during, and after the windows close.
Doughboy? GREAT name for a horse. Nancy did everything she could to protect her brother? With that kind of protection, it's a wonder that HE didn't get convicted of murder. The trout farm scheme must have blown a few guys' cover for how they spent their fishing trips ; as far as their wives went, anyway. One thing that I found hilarious was when Hamilton gave immunity to Rodney so he could testify against his sister, and then blew a gasket at the result. Right there, kiddies, is just exactly HOW Burger keeps losing to Perry. He moves too fast, and is greatly overconfident. Back to Nancy. Why wasn't she charged with obstruction of justice at least for trying to move the dry ice containers? Did she get her winnings back? both of these points could have been easily handled in the last lines of the show. Dabs Greer does his usual great job of interpreting his character's traits, and shows why he was one of the most sought after actors on these shows., Della is beautiful, of course, and this episode gets a 9 from me.
8 Reviews
Off to the Races
zsenorsock30 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
You wonder why Perry takes this case. Usually when he gets a client that lies to him, withholds information and tries to set him up, Perry drops the case like a hot potato. Or potatoe, if you're Dan Quayle. But maybe its because Nancy Banks (Joyce Bullifant) is blonde and shapely, Perry sticks with her.
She first shows up with some tickets from the track she wants Perry to go cash in for her in the morning. One of the reasons this is strange is the race has not run yet. She offers Perry $27 for his services.
Sure enough the horse comes in, paying $14,000. When Perry and Paul go to collect they find the police waiting. They suspect Banks' brother (Richard Davalos) of embezzling $1000 and using his sister to bet on this race. Later, Nancy tries to trick Perry into discovering the body of Marvin Fremont (Arch Johnson) in the shower stall of her bathroom.
The second half of this is where the gold is buried. There's some good courtroom scenes as Perry tries to discover what really happened. Joyce Bullifant's child like voice is again one of those matters of taste. I know it can drive some people crazy (another reason I thought Perry should refuse her case) or come off very phony. But that's her persona. Phillis Coates (the former Lois Lane on "Superman") is particularly good as the dead man's wife, Inez, and there's some funny stuff with Paul being attracted to Nancy, not because she's a shapely blonde, but because she claims "the horse looked at her" and let her know it would win the race. The episode ends with Paul taking Nancy to the track.
She first shows up with some tickets from the track she wants Perry to go cash in for her in the morning. One of the reasons this is strange is the race has not run yet. She offers Perry $27 for his services.
Sure enough the horse comes in, paying $14,000. When Perry and Paul go to collect they find the police waiting. They suspect Banks' brother (Richard Davalos) of embezzling $1000 and using his sister to bet on this race. Later, Nancy tries to trick Perry into discovering the body of Marvin Fremont (Arch Johnson) in the shower stall of her bathroom.
The second half of this is where the gold is buried. There's some good courtroom scenes as Perry tries to discover what really happened. Joyce Bullifant's child like voice is again one of those matters of taste. I know it can drive some people crazy (another reason I thought Perry should refuse her case) or come off very phony. But that's her persona. Phillis Coates (the former Lois Lane on "Superman") is particularly good as the dead man's wife, Inez, and there's some funny stuff with Paul being attracted to Nancy, not because she's a shapely blonde, but because she claims "the horse looked at her" and let her know it would win the race. The episode ends with Paul taking Nancy to the track.
Courtroom scene saves this episode
kfo949413 October 2011
The main character in the episode is Nancy Banks (Joyce Bulifant) who begins with some horse-racing tickets that she wants Perry to keep her. The tickets pay off but when Perry goes to cash the tickets for Nancy we begin the mystery of the week which leads to robbery and murder.
Maybe this is wrong of me, but every time I see or hear the voice of Joyce Bulifant I am reminded of the Saturday morning sitcom of "Big John Little John". Even though it was made for children it has to be an embarrassment whenever she remembers that show. It was one of the worse shows ever made for TV and Joyce will forever be remembered for starring in that series.
However, Joyce Bulifant does a great job as the young women caught up in a situation beyond her control. And all the time trying to keep her brother Rodney Banks (Richard Davalos) from going to jail for a number of bad choices.
In this episode we also get some of the best courtroom exchanges we have seen since the first two seasons. In fact DA Hamilton Burger even loses his cool during testimony and has to apologize to Perry. The courtroom scene also produces Inez Fremont(Phyllis Coats) on the witness stand talking about her dead husband. Her testimony is darling. The episode alone is worth seeing just for the courtroom exchanges.
We can be thankful for the courtroom scene because this story is mostly dull. One even starts to lose interest before Inez gets on the stand. We are brought back to life and the mystery play out right in the courtroom for all to see.
This episode could have been a lemon- but with good acting by the entire cast it ranks as a viewable show.
Maybe this is wrong of me, but every time I see or hear the voice of Joyce Bulifant I am reminded of the Saturday morning sitcom of "Big John Little John". Even though it was made for children it has to be an embarrassment whenever she remembers that show. It was one of the worse shows ever made for TV and Joyce will forever be remembered for starring in that series.
However, Joyce Bulifant does a great job as the young women caught up in a situation beyond her control. And all the time trying to keep her brother Rodney Banks (Richard Davalos) from going to jail for a number of bad choices.
In this episode we also get some of the best courtroom exchanges we have seen since the first two seasons. In fact DA Hamilton Burger even loses his cool during testimony and has to apologize to Perry. The courtroom scene also produces Inez Fremont(Phyllis Coats) on the witness stand talking about her dead husband. Her testimony is darling. The episode alone is worth seeing just for the courtroom exchanges.
We can be thankful for the courtroom scene because this story is mostly dull. One even starts to lose interest before Inez gets on the stand. We are brought back to life and the mystery play out right in the courtroom for all to see.
This episode could have been a lemon- but with good acting by the entire cast it ranks as a viewable show.
$27.00 retainer
bkoganbing19 February 2013
Joyce Bulifant who specialized in playing innocent if somewhat airheaded blonds long before Suzanne Somers became Chrissy Snow on Three's Company makes her second appearance on Perry Mason in this kind of part. She was not as good in this second appearance.
I suppose that her child like innocence is supposed to intrigue people like Perry, Della, and Paul. But in this trip out Bulifant was just too much. When she hands Perry a $27.00 retainer I thought I would heave.
For said retainer he's to take these tickets from the track and cash them in if they prove to be winners. And Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale do it and promptly get accused by Arch Johnson of taking these from one of his employees who embezzled money for betting. The employee is Dick Davalos and Bulifant is his sister.
Later on Johnson is found dead and Bulifant really needs Perry Mason.
Even with the usual Perry Mason paradigm of no guilty clients for Perry, you know Joyce could never have done it. Besides Davalos there are others as usual.
Still Bulifant's unreal character, so Jessica Simpson like, just annoyed in this episode.
I suppose that her child like innocence is supposed to intrigue people like Perry, Della, and Paul. But in this trip out Bulifant was just too much. When she hands Perry a $27.00 retainer I thought I would heave.
For said retainer he's to take these tickets from the track and cash them in if they prove to be winners. And Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale do it and promptly get accused by Arch Johnson of taking these from one of his employees who embezzled money for betting. The employee is Dick Davalos and Bulifant is his sister.
Later on Johnson is found dead and Bulifant really needs Perry Mason.
Even with the usual Perry Mason paradigm of no guilty clients for Perry, you know Joyce could never have done it. Besides Davalos there are others as usual.
Still Bulifant's unreal character, so Jessica Simpson like, just annoyed in this episode.
All too familiar
jbirks10614 May 2014
There seems to be a propensity of writers to include "dumb blondes" in at least one episode per season, invariably accompanied by the usual oboes, clarinets and muted trumpets that scream out to the viewer "stoopid girl hahaha" and of course she couldn't possibly be guilty.
These episodes are cute once -- maybe, as comic relief. They are bloody annoying by the second or third iteration.
The courtroom sequences somewhat rescue this one (I suspect this was ESG's contribution), if only because we hear less of the dumb blonde and see more plot development and some pretty strong acting. Unfortunately, anyone who's seen enough Mason episodes and is familiar with the regular stable of character actors will know who the guilty bastard is -- at least I did, because this actor is almost always the baddie.
One final gripe: does anyone really take William Hopper seriously as a ladies' man? He's almost 50 here, and gaining weight almost as quickly as Raymond Burr, yet the producers time and again employ Hopper as bon vivant, gigolo and comic foil. Maybe it was easier to buy 50 years ago, but it is just ridiculous to these modern eyes.
These episodes are cute once -- maybe, as comic relief. They are bloody annoying by the second or third iteration.
The courtroom sequences somewhat rescue this one (I suspect this was ESG's contribution), if only because we hear less of the dumb blonde and see more plot development and some pretty strong acting. Unfortunately, anyone who's seen enough Mason episodes and is familiar with the regular stable of character actors will know who the guilty bastard is -- at least I did, because this actor is almost always the baddie.
One final gripe: does anyone really take William Hopper seriously as a ladies' man? He's almost 50 here, and gaining weight almost as quickly as Raymond Burr, yet the producers time and again employ Hopper as bon vivant, gigolo and comic foil. Maybe it was easier to buy 50 years ago, but it is just ridiculous to these modern eyes.
A Day at the Races
sol12186 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS*** Very confusing and "Three Card Monte" like Perry Mason,Ryamond Burr, episode that's about as hard to figure out as who's to win in a field of a 12 horse first time starter maiden claimer race at Suffolk Downs. With an almost unrecognizable and non shrieking former Lois Lane Phyllis Coates as the murder victim's Mavin Fremont,Arch Johnson, estranged wife Inez and the abused brother of James Dean, Aaron, in his first motion picture "East of Edan" Richard Davalos as Fremont's admitted killer Rodney Banks. There's also the very annoying and squeaky sounding Joyce Bulifant as Rodney's sister Nancy who's indited in Fremont's murder whom Perry ends up defending in court.
It all started when Nancy ran into Parry Mason's office with a slew of winning racing tickets from Hollywood Park for him to cash for her. Little did Perry know at the time that those tickets were bought with money embezzled by her bother Rodney from his employer Marvin Fremont. This lead to Perry himself being accused, when he later cashed the tickets, of being involved in embezzling Fremont's antique business when Fremont caught him cashing them. But things get even worse for Fremont not Perry when later that evening he was found shot dead in his motel room with Nancy, who was the last person to see Fremont alive, being indited for his murder.
The murder trial sequence really went nowhere with a number of mindless accusations that among other things the claim that Nancy used dry ice to cover up her murder of Freemont. And there's also the startling admission by her brother, when he's offered total immunity, in him falsely admitting that he not Nancy murdered Fremont to get her off the hook.
***SPOILERS*** The going nowhere and going nowhere fast Perry Mason episode was finally salvaged for Perry and all involved when the real killer of Marvin Fremont finally broke down on the whiteness stand and confessed his crime. Which in fact by it not really making any sense at all actually confused the issue,Fremont's murder, even more then it already was. In that you could see it didn't take Perry that much to get a confession out of him. In that he was more then willing to implicate himself in Fremont's murder with out any real proof of him committing it! He seems to just what to get the whole thing over with and finally go back home and go to sleep!
It all started when Nancy ran into Parry Mason's office with a slew of winning racing tickets from Hollywood Park for him to cash for her. Little did Perry know at the time that those tickets were bought with money embezzled by her bother Rodney from his employer Marvin Fremont. This lead to Perry himself being accused, when he later cashed the tickets, of being involved in embezzling Fremont's antique business when Fremont caught him cashing them. But things get even worse for Fremont not Perry when later that evening he was found shot dead in his motel room with Nancy, who was the last person to see Fremont alive, being indited for his murder.
The murder trial sequence really went nowhere with a number of mindless accusations that among other things the claim that Nancy used dry ice to cover up her murder of Freemont. And there's also the startling admission by her brother, when he's offered total immunity, in him falsely admitting that he not Nancy murdered Fremont to get her off the hook.
***SPOILERS*** The going nowhere and going nowhere fast Perry Mason episode was finally salvaged for Perry and all involved when the real killer of Marvin Fremont finally broke down on the whiteness stand and confessed his crime. Which in fact by it not really making any sense at all actually confused the issue,Fremont's murder, even more then it already was. In that you could see it didn't take Perry that much to get a confession out of him. In that he was more then willing to implicate himself in Fremont's murder with out any real proof of him committing it! He seems to just what to get the whole thing over with and finally go back home and go to sleep!
"Nancy, your hands are ice-cold."
coolplanter24 February 2021
The episode ends with a complicated set of facts concerning the numbering of bills--which is incongruous to the ridiculous acting of "bubbly" Joyce Builfant in her final of two Perry Mason appearances (thankfully). I would blame MeTV for their editing of the episode, but we never know too much about the relationships of the characters, until the courtroom--or their places of "business," just the omnipresent Dabs Greer who has some accounting relationship with Martin, the decedent, that knows "Lorraine" and her boy friend, Rodney. I don't know if watching this again would solve any question. In short, "Nancy" is trying to protect her big brother from embezzlement charges, and bet's everything she has on a long-shot, so there $14,250 winnings with Rodney's $50 bet--that have little or nothing to do with $30,000 missing which we never see recovered. I still don't know why Nancy's hands were "ice-cold."
Stupid Selfish Brother/Dippy Sister
Hitchcoc9 February 2022
Joyce Bulifant is a one trick pony. She is that vacuous eternal child with that awful voice. This story is just too much to fathom, starting with the winnings at the track. By the way, what would it cost to hire Perry Mason. Twenty-seven dollars seems a little low, even for the Sixties.
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