Classic Cars of Perry Mason (Season 1)

[@FusionKidd]

*Classic Car Merch on Amazon* - amzn.to/3YSDKNq

[@pudnbug]

I absolutely loved this! I've always been a car nut. I was a kid in the 50's, and every year I would go to the dealers to see the new cars. 50's cars are so great, because of the over-the-top styling and the excess! The other night I watched a Perry Mason where Paul drove a Corvette Stingray.

[@1106gary]

It is called Product Placement. In some episodes the credits say cars provided by Ford. Though later in the series Paul Drake has a Corvette.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

I've owned four 1957 Buicks, including a Special Convertible. Driving all these cars made me feel proud and confident of myself growing up. Today's cars don't meet that tier of satisfaction! These Fords Buicks, Chevrolets, Mercurys, etc. all had distinct personalities that drew you into them!

[@markwomack1561]

Sad was the day when the automobile in some way, was an Identity for some. If an automobile has made you feel, these wonderful things . Please write a book for us .

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

@@markwomack1561 I have; several, in fact. But it depends on how you define 'sad'. I love all my cars and feel sadness because I don't have them anymore. If you never gave a whit about cars, you will never understand the emotional attachment these brought. It's the same as having a cat or a dog you're crazy about. In that case, you might as well drive a Prius, or some ugly load that's long overdue for the crusher.

[@MatthewWilson-vl7qc]

Yep , Any Buick convertible ,Always a Treat.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

@@MatthewWilson-vl7qc Except 1958!

[@mickeyclark5315]

Perry Mason's show inspired me to tackle one last car project - in the form of a 1952 Lincoln Capri convertible. It's the car that one at the Baja races in the fifties.

[@dongrant5827]

Looks like the ‘57 Lincoln Premier is the most often featured car. And I own a ‘57 Premiere!

[@billolsen4360]

Those gigantic rear fins were damn sexy.

[@divyarajsingh97]

Great cars they were American cars at its best keep up the good work I was very young at that time.

[@JStrike42]

These videos are very interesting. I love watching old shows to see the fashions, cars, architecture, manners, etc..

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

I like them too, for the same reasons. Ever notice how every time someone walks into a room the first thing they do it open up some booze and pour themselves a drink? Or puff away one some stinky cigarette? Hilarious! And those old telephones, too look like fun.

[@mikeflores2000]

Don’t forget the timeless classic beauties like Barbara Eden and Leslie Parrish.

[@mohammedcohen]

...yeah...the manners, especially...no bratty kids - with the exception of Dennis...

[@bigbubba4170]

@@mohammedcohen What about Larry Mondelo?

[@jec1ny]

Sometimes I watch these old shows and wish I could just step through the screen and land in 1957.

[@CStewart75204]

I’m 67, born in November 1956. I watch Perry Mason as much for the cars as I do for the drama and story. This clip was brilliant!!! I often try to look up what cars I don’t recognize in the series. Were convertibles really that prevalent in LA in the 50’s and 60’?

The '57 Dodge Royal Lancer was one of 1957's most beautiful cars !. Looks even more beautiful today.

[@CustomerPayment]

1 of 1167 Imperial Crown convertibles made!!!!! super rare!!

[@billolsen4360]

I'd love to look in my sideview mirror someday and see a fin reflected in there.

[@zxtenn]

GREAT channel i stumbled upon, I am 69 so i remember the classic cars as well as the TV shows!!! VERY smart idea to combine both the TV shows and their vehicles featured!

[@DannyO-j4q]

I have Season 1 on DVD. I've always liked the film noirish mood of the opening set-ups. Add the heavy dialog and courtroom maneuvers, and you have a TV drama that, after 65 years, has yet to be bettered. And the cars always added to the atmosphere. Thanks so much for including Perry Mason in this series.

[@mikefannon6994]

Agree with all your observations, and would add the unique music in all episodes. We watch reruns every night, I enjoy trying to identify the different cars.

[@dannycalley7777]

UI8............the lighting the angles , close ups , those old movie crews were in their elements ????

[@tippimail1]

@@mikefannon6994 Same here-ch.82 on Dish TV.I started watching it because of the cars.

[@johnfranklin5277]

I have the 58 Cadillac my parents bought in 1960 from a Doctor friend of theirs. I was one year old then. Lifelong Southern California car, mom gave it to me in 1982. It's still on the road.😊

[@andresinsurriaga1082]

@@johnfranklin5277 Very nice!

[@greenmtnman7714]

Great job, I really enjoy these. I was born in 1961.

[@gcfifthgear]

At 10:40, notice the "Level Air" on the rear of the 1958 Chevy Impala convertible. It has the rare air-suspension option, which was offered only on the 1958 and 1959 model Chevies

[@1940limited]

Good catch! I missed that one.

[@dannycalley7777]

GFG ...........Good Spot !!!! my neighbor girl Shirley ,dad had one

[@bobt5778]

Notice when these cars come to a halt, how the suspension rebounds several times. These cars were softly sprung for a floaty smooth ride, but not for pitching around a corner quickly.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

When I was a kid in the sixties, these weren't classic cars; they were just......cars.

[@williamdonahue6617]

Most of the cars on PM were much nicer than the average car even then. Lincolns, Mercurys, higher end Fords, even a Citroen DS.

[@dancingtrout6719]

got it

[@JackF99]

As a kid I recall that with the clean, crisp car styling in the '60s we thought these cars from the '50s quickly looked very old fashioned.

[@jamesrecknor6752]

The 59 Fin Master 500 was a instant classic

[@dancingtrout6719]

@@JackF99 if WW2 didnt happen the sixties woulda been in the 50's

[@robinchiang6252]

Wowee! If cars could talk they might have greeted each other with their make, model, year just like in this delightful synopsis of Perry Mason TV episodes. A minor point at around 11:35, a more appropriate word might be "implicated" instead of "implemented", but I barely noticed it. Thank you for this.

[@raymontalbano8045]

Love this! Especially fond of American cars out of the mid and late fifties! Thanks.

[@billolsen4360]

Jet plane fins!

[@raymontalbano8045]

@@billolsen4360 curved glass and plenty of chrome, too!

[@smooches1368]

One of my recliner hobbies is naming the cars I see on old black and white TV shows just like this video does. I just love late 30s to late 50s. Highway Patrol is, to me, a cornucopia of classic model examples. I now have this video on my computer along with my car pictures collection. A most satisfying documentary.

[@josephwarren3498]

God, that was wonderful! All those decades of watching Perry saying, O! That's a... And here you are filling in the blanks. Thank you.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Another TV show you could set the plot to a stopwatch was "Murder She Wrote". And they never had any exciting cars, either.

[@blockcl]

Nice mix of lux rides, price leaders, and oddities.

[@philpots48]

The range of years, of the car's manufacturing date, is something I don't see on today's TV shows.

[@HOTICE976]

Excellent work. many thanks. I can't wait for the other seasons...the cars in that car lot would are all classics too..

[@grahamjohnson2494]

TOP QUALITY HISTORICAL REVIEW. FEW VIDEOS ATTAIN SUCH EXCELLENCE.

[@mikegalvin9801]

As a 70 year old retiree I swore I wouldn't end up watching daytime TV. My exception is that after I walk the dog I cook my and husband's oatmeal and then from 8-9 we watch Perry Mason. I can tell by the cars what season it is. I note Paul was fond of Tbirds, Rivieras and other "sporty" cars.

[@rss1956clipper]

Excellent video! This is why I suggested Perry Mason as a subject for these videos. Cars played a very important part as set pieces in this series, and there was a great variety of them throughout the 9 seasons.

[@billolsen4360]

And Paul Drake always had some sexy little convertible. Chevy Corvette, Ford T-Bird.

[@garylangley4502]

Great Job! I particularly like the "voice of Perry Mason" narrating! BTW I have a '59 Ford Fairlane 500 2 door hardtop. Not a Skyliner however.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

... also known as a Club Victoria. And one gorgeous car!

[@jamescalifornia2964]

My father purchased a new 1958 Ford Fairlane 2-door hardtop. Nice memories of riding in the back seat 😊

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

@@jamescalifornia2964 NICE car!

[@OldRustySteele]

I always preferred the wraparound back window of the ‘59 Fairlane 500 over the more formal roofline of the ’59 Galaxie 500. My dad had the ‘59 Galaxie 500 when I was a kid.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

@@OldRustySteele From a stylist's perspective, the blind quarter roof design that characterized the Galaxie was an embarrassing afterthought: the '59 was announced with the claim, "Full circle visibility", a virtue the Galaxie instantly violated. Worse, the harmonious style-tone paint splits of '55-'58 fit beautifully on the '59, but the conventional 2-tones, to which the Galaxie was restricted, only reduced the car to looking more like the competition. When the Galaxie was introduced in November, 1958, production of the Fairlane 500 ceased.

[@larryaldrich4351]

The narrator does a good Burr voice.

[@jerrywood4508]

Thanks for such a detailed and accurate identification of the cars of Perry Mason. I love seeing the variety that they used.

[@AlanToon-fy4hg]

In the one (1) color episode of the show, Perry Mason is driving a 1966 ( or so) Lincoln Continental. He takes Della Street out to dinner. When they finish they find the Lincoln on blocks, the car having been stripped!

[@tomservo56954]

1965

[@garylangley4502]

Also, they ride on the Pacific Electric "Angel's Flight" funicular.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Excellent presentation - thank you for posting. Amazing how this producer always used whatever plates were assigned to the cars without changing them! PS: The 1939 Ford "Tudor" is pronounced "2-door".

[@SteveLomas-k6k]

Right, the Ford 'Tudor' was the one with the stucco panels, wood trim and thatched roof. 😀

[@joehammond2586]

Priceless! Loved the show and all these cars made it even better. Couldn't wait to see what Perry would be driving next.

[@CDKDC]

Great stuff. I will watch old shows just for the cars.

[@geralderdek282]

Thanks to your well done and narrated video,I've finally got to see the classic cars of Perry Mason after past attempts at watching TV episodes but seeing nothing but inside scenes,usually a court house!😊

[@TheVictor0911]

this is the best, I love the Perry mason shows they are great, know thing like that these days

[@kevinhamblin951]

It’s amazing that the episode where the car gets run off the road . I seen it this morning 😊thanks Fusion Kidd

[@kevinhamblin951]

After the wreck Perry finds a package a package that contains Ostrich feathers 😮 he try’s to stop the car that rescues the woman driver …but 😅

[@MichaelAdams-nf4xx]

I’m an old age man age 75, and have vivid memories of watching Perry Mason, plus Della and Paul who played big parts in PM show. I loved to watch them drive the hot cars, especially Perry and Paul. Did Della ever drive ? My mom allowed me to watch and I liked that my bratty brother didn’t like watching cars. I decided I can’t type much since now since it’s too much work for this old guy. I have great memories of this show.

[@jimmangum7566]

There was an episode where I remember Perry sent Della somewhere in his 60 Galaxie 500 convertible.

[@tractordave9300]

It Doesn’t Matter What Brand, all of the vehicles were works of Art. Chrome everywhere. Inside and out. Definitely a different time and mindset

[@billolsen4360]

And those old optimistic two-tone paint jobs.

[@samiam5557]

I liked Perry Mason as little kid in the early 60s, good show and cool cars.

[@braised44]

Hey Kidd.... This is a great series!

[@gregjo5141]

Another excellent video. They really had a variety of vehicles makes and models. I have a brother who had a '57 Pontiac Star Chief and another brother who had a '57 Cadillac Fleetwood in the later '70s It kinda hard to believe those two cars were only 20 years old back then.

[@fredthegraycatt]

Outstanding cars. It even sounds like Raymundo Burr is narrating. This show had great style. Barbara Hale was gorgeous.

[@craigpennington1251]

Excellent show but tore up now with excessive commercialling. Great times with fabulous cars. Drove a lot of those cars. Very nice they were. Real car with real steel & lots of chrome.

[@tomservo56954]

The Restless Readhead changed to a Black-Eyed Blonde...changing from a 1948 Ford convertible to an Oldsmobile--but being the same person, Whitney Blake--credits including co-starring with Shirley Booth in HAZEL, mother of Meredith Baxter (Birney), and co-creator of ONE DAY AT A TIME with husband Alan Mannings.

[@retrothingz]

What a great idea! One of the most interesting voice overs scripts I've ever heard. ' 57 Plymouths were easily "wrecked". All you had to do was drive over a couple of weeds... and they were cactus !

[@johngraves6878]

Fun and relaxing. Cars back in those days sure were HUGE! I must say your voiceover has a dry, retro quality, almost like a police report.

[@TheSchmed]

I never watched Perry Mason as a kid in the 70s, after seeing this, now I want too.

[@myronfrobisher]

The last Buick was Roadmaster superb video - well done !!!

[@grand73am]

I believe it's a Century. I think I can make out the "C" on the "Century" side script. Century also had 4 fender ports.

[@higgs923]

Look closely at the rear window of the Lincoln at around 11:19. It has a power center rear window. You could roll it down for serious flow-through ventilation. About Buicks: I was a car crazy Highschooler in SoCal in the Sixties. Then it was widely held that old guys drove Buicks but cool old guys drove Rivieras.

[@kc4cvh]

2:32 Look at that classic railroad track! 39-foot jointed rails, wooden crossties, we can’t see the signal but it’s likely a “searchlight” type

[@1940limited]

Interesting. No concrete ties or welded rail back then. There's still a lot of wood tie/jointed rail in service.

[@kc4cvh]

@@1940limited I didn’t think to mention the coded lines, or telegraph poles as they were often called

[@Porsche996driver]

Guess Mercury was a sponsor - they made some slick unique cars.

[@ericg4042]

I've often wondered why, not only on Perry Mason, but on other TV shows why the driver would often slide across the front seat rather than exit via the drivers door. Perhaps so that the lights didn't reflect back into the camera. Also, a 4 door sedan - yet 3 people pile into the front seat.

[@it1988a]

My wife noticed the same thing and thought it was weird.

[@Greatdome99]

That easy! Because they COULD on those smooth bench seats! Folks used to do that all the time.

[@anthonyangeli256]

Bench seats. Your gf could always cozy on up to you. Buckets? So why would you want them on anything but a Corvette?

[@gibby100]

I think it was to consolidate camera angles and there was also a safety aspect back then where people didn’t want to step out into the roadway. It’s common in a lot of 50’s and 60’s shows/ movies

[@OldRustySteele]

Note also, that these people park their car, leave the convertible top down, or the windows wide open and never lock the car. You couldn’t do that in SoCal nowadays - it would be stolen or vandalized! Heck, for that matter, not just SoCal - pretty much everywhere - shows you how our society has degraded.

[@DaveFoster-q1g]

Great video! Very well done you should do a second video that gets into the 1960s. I think the series went until 66.

[@theprinceofsnj]

Very good. Looking forward to season 2

[@SallySallySallySally]

This was great! Ahhh, the good old days when men were men and wore proper clothes complete with ties and hats and drove proper real american cars! LOL. Perry Mason is the longest-running syndicated series ever. In fact, KPTV in Portland, Oregon ran these reruns for a whopping 46 years, usually at noon.

I'd take the '55 Chevy Nomad ! , the best looking year for Nomads !.

[@kevinguitar1224]

You only got through season one, eight more seasons to go!

[@madmike2624]

some damn fine content my brother!!!!!~~

[@MichaelWeaver-wo8qo]

They liked the Lincoln! The show 's audience was more mature (ie, over 35 years old) so "aspirational" and more expensive vehicles featured. There was likely a contra deal in which Lincoln or Ford provided vehicles for use by the "good guy" - whereas the "bad guy" often drove something else. Great to see a 1957 Citroen used by the studio - very unique.

[@billolsen4360]

Still remember Hamilton Burger questioning the witness, "You drive a 1957 Citroen sedan, correct?"

[@bozodog428]

Great trip down memory lane!

[@glennnickerson8438]

Enjoying the series! How do you get the voiceovers to sound like the main characters? They have been spot on (the only one I could tell that didn't sound exactly like the main character was The Beverly Hillbillies and Irene Ryan--Granny).

[@tompastian3447]

When cars looked like cars and not like lozenges.

[@johntrembly2905]

I can't wait for you to start doing some episodes of "Highway Patrol"

[@1940limited]

Excellent car IDs. Especially the foreign stuff. I wouldn't have been able to ID them. The 56 Buick at the end isn't a Special. Notice 4 ventiports in the front fender. Looks as if it might have been a Super. Otherwise, you're 100% spot-on! Nice work. I always liked Perry Mason. Every year he got a new black Cadillac convertible. Usually everyone had the top down, too.

[@grand73am]

I believe it's a Century. I think I can make out the "C" on the "Century" side script. Century also had 4 fender ports.

[@trudygreer2491]

...a new black Cadillac every year... until 1960, when he started to drive a 1960 Lincoln, apparently in white. And don't forget his annual Ford convertible, up until 1962..

[@1940limited]

@@grand73am Yes, I just looked at it again and it appears to be a Century.

[@1940limited]

@@trudygreer2491 These car shots are simply amazing. It's hard to believe the cars we drove at one time.

[@viscount757]

The 1956 Buick at 12:18 is a Century, not a Special, based on the 4 "ventiports" on the front fender. The base model Special only had 3. Century, Super and Roadmaster had 4 from 1955 through 1957. Prior to 1955 only the top-of-the-line Roadmaster had 4.

[@tomservo56954]

An owner complained that lower level models had gotten 4 ventiports...

[@bozodog428]

Agreed. The script on the quarter panel spelled Century also.

[@grand73am]

This is excellent, and the voice of Raymond Burr makes it really special. Really well done! Of course, as an old car guy, I must point out an error. At 1:17, parked next to the curb is a 55 Chevy 150, not a 57.

[@thatsmrharley2u2]

Good eye, but I'm pretty sure it was a '56.

[@stevenj8628]

Excellent identification job! All the way up to the very last car. It’s a 1956 Buick alright, but not a Special, which only had three portholes.

[@anthonytripp2251]

The Continental Mark II is a rare car.

[@Mk-qb2ny]

Current year Cadillacs, Lincolns, Continentals (not just Lincoln Continentals), Imperials, Turnpike cruisers... they got some pricey rides on that show!

[@anthonycassata5152]

Cool video. The narrator almost sounds like Perry himself!👍🏻🥸

[@rogerd777]

Can you do the Cars of Highway Patrol (with Broderick Crawford)?

[@adammarkowitz7944]

Thanks!

[@RandyTheWildHorse]

Lots of convertibles in the 1950's and I wish I can afford one.

[@carlupthegrove262]

This is soooo cool.... I'd love to see the other 8 seasons If this is a computer simulation of Raymond Burr's voice is a pretty darn good one

[@Super_Chief]

You should say in the video title that this is narrated by Raymond Burr himself! You would get much more people to watch it! That was a very pleasant surprise to find out! 😉

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Great vid!!!!!!!!

[@kevinhamblin951]

And then there was ZIV productions Highway Patrol ….they only had about 10 vehicles plus the bosses cars . Funny every once and a while you’d see a Chrysler Imperial 😊

[@mexicanspec]

I doubt you would see a Chrysler Imperial on that show.

[@peterrollinson-lorimer]

Impressive!

[@TheSchmed]

11:34 “Implemented” in the murder ? Not implicated ?

[@mohammedcohen]

...these vee-hickles are one of the reasons I enjoy these old shows (including Leave it to Beaver) on MeTV...

[@utbob2010]

I wish I could out where they filmed all the location shots over the 9 years P.M. was on TV.

[@andresinsurriaga1082]

Wow! And that was just season one.

[@roscoefoofoo]

If Trump's "hair" were a bald cap.... 12:26

[@tomfields3682]

Loved Paul's 57 TBird! His 62 TBird? Not so much!

[@joedidit3233]

Except for one episode where the car actually did belong to one of the characters in the cast, the same rare 1955 Chevy Nomad wagon would show up as a vehicle driving by or parked in episodes of season one all the way through season seven. It showed up often enough that a lot of people speculated that the car may have been owned by a production executive or crew member. Nomad wagons from 1955 thru 1957 were rare, even when new. In the 1950's, unless you had a neighbor that had one or worked with someone who had one, you could go days or weeks without seeing a Nomad on the road. One reason was that they were the most expensive Chevrolet made at the time, except for the Corvette. To put it's rarity into perspective, there were about 8,500 1955 Nomads sold, and 118,000 1955 Cadillacs sold.

[@tjd1956]

Will we see classic cars from Get Smart?

[@JohnWilliamson-qd4px]

I'm curious as to what Perry was paying Paul Drake to afford all those cars.

[@ericg4042]

I also noticed he had quite a few different cars, didn't he? The Drake character was head of his own detective agency. A P.I. probably had to have several cars so as to be able to be discreet while following people.

[@AlanToon-fy4hg]

​@@ericg4042 Absolutely. Paul Drake had many clients besides Perry Mason. And one could rent different cars if you wanted...

[@TheSchmed]

That lil 4cyl Willys pulled that trailer !?!?! That thing was like 60HP

[@tomservo56954]

7:28 Next to a 1956 Ford Sunliner

[@zxtenn]

Were all those cars owned by the studios or maybe some by the Actors like the higher end ones, Cadillacs and imperials, etc.?

[@TheSchmed]

So many different models back then.

[@patrickallsman4753]

Hey! What about the 1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible that Perry drives in a few episodes? Don't you think that deserves mention?

[@LBG-cf8gu]

thanks!

[@tomfields3682]

Used to wonder what brand of car Burger drove. Maybe a Nash Rambler or an English Ford Anglia. Tragg? Looked like a Packard man to me. 😮

[@alcoholic2412]

Wow! The narrator sounds like Raymond Burr

[@larryaldrich4351]

This show was subliminally selling cars the way it was selling cigarettes.

[@davidkastin4240]

Objection. Sustained. 😊

[@dancingtrout6719]

over ruled

[@manhhilston4827]

You missed the most significant auto of that series .... a 641/2 Mustang Convertible shot at a gas station scene first mustang shown on a television show

The Imperial Crown of that era was more classier in my opinion than either the Lincln or the Cadillac.