Actors like Elisia Cook, Marie Windsor, Steve Brodie, Marvin Miller and Audrey Totter were among many familiar noir actors who made multiple appearances during the series run.  With all the usual suspects it felt like Saturday night at the movies.  Again, timing was in Gardner’s favor as so many actors were available as the drop off in film production continued.   Additionally, Perry Mason established a reputation for its writing and production values which undoubtedly attracted actors who may not have otherwise appeared on the small screen.

 

The final element that gave the show its noir relevance was the cinematography. Like any long running series there would be multiple directors and cinematographers,  each having their own style.  Like film noirs themselves, the use of lighting and camera angels varies given the circumstances of each storey but no doubt influenced to a degree by the particular director and cinematographer.  For instance, Frank Redman who was behind the camera for a number of episodes was an old hand at noir whose work went back to the early 1940s.  Again, the higher standards and longer shooting schedules played a part, allowing for more creativity than had been the norm in episodic television.  This was also a factor in the location shooting, which the show made appropriate use of.   These all contributed to the shows noir ambiance.  To the average viewer in the late 1950s, it was more like watching a good “B” flick on a double feature than a television show.    

 

Perry Mason  continued for nine seasons, an accomplishment few shows ever achieve.  In the end it succumbed to many of same factors that ended the film noir genre on the big screen.  When Perry Mason went on the air in 1957 all of prime time television was broadcast in black and white.  By 1966 virtually all shows were in color. If the show was going another season then CBS wanted it in color.  To that end, The Case of the Twice-Told Twist  was filmed in color and aired in February, 1966.  If you watch this episode you understand why film noir can only exist in the black and white realm.  The same characters  in the same setting and similar story, yet it doesn’t even seem like your watching the same show. Gardner and CBS probably knew it as well, but it was never mentioned as a reason for the show not renewing.  The official reason was  low ratings, but that was not necessarily true.  

 

Although the show had been out of the top 25 for several seasons, it was still popular and profitable for CBS.  Even so, there were those within CBS who were undoubtedly wrapped in their demographic surveys which Perry Mason no longer fit.  Gardner himself didn’t seem to care.  He was then 76 years old and had achieved just about everything he ever wanted to.  The character he created some 35 years earlier (which some argue was his alter-ego) was now a household name.  Ironically the show immediately went into reruns and syndication and has been showing continuously on a station somewhere ever since.

 

Raymond Burr reprised his role as Perry Mason in 1985 in what would become a series of two hour dramas.  Three or four shows aired each year until Burr’s death in 1993.   These shows had good ratings as Perry Mason fans were undoubtedly happy to see Burr and Barbara Hale back together but the show had little relevance to the original series.  

 

So, there you have it.  In the parlance of Perry Mason, the evidence has been presented and the jury is left to interpret the facts.  But in this case it would be hard to discount the connection between film noir and Perry Mason however you want to make of it.  The series benefited by that connection and was most certainty  a factor in its success.