Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Renegade Refugee (1961) User Reviews

Blackmail, murder and war crimes make this episode a nice surprise

[kfo9494 · 9/10 · 8 August 2012]

A newspaper journalist visits Space Associates Ltd. with a bit of information concerning that one of their employees is an ex-Nazi criminal named Max Keinermann. The journalist just needs a little time to find out exactly which employees is the one that wrote a note from the company to his dying wife.

One employee, Harlan Merill, has a past that he wants hidden and becomes the main suspect of the investigation. During a religious retreat for the employees of Space Associates, the journalist ends up dead and all the evidence points to Harlan Merill as the murderer. It is apparent to all that Mr Merrill has a secret that he does not want revealed.

Perry will defend Merrill is court against not only the murder but also the Nazi claim. And with many witnesses this will prove difficult. But with help from Paul Drake, Perry will get to the bottom of Merrill's past and reveal his hidden identity.

The episode is full of suspense and surprises. This show proves to be more than just a murder case but also revealing of war memories. Some of the memories may have been faded but by the end of the show all will be well in the office of Perry Mason. Very good show.

My absolute favorite episode so far!

[jillwhite06 · 10/10 · 15 October 2021]

Of all the episodes of Perry Mason I have seen up to this point, this episode is, without a doubt, my absolute favorite! It is definitely the best! What a great episode!

The one episode where even my eyes were misty with joy at the end.

[Carycomic · 10/10 · 20 May 2021]

Frankly, I don't know why Mr. Kapelusnik was so muddled. I had no difficulty following the plot.

Lawrence Vander was a muck-raking reporter looking for a Nazi war criminal working at Space Research Associates. Harlan Merrill is the assumed name of a man who thinks he's a U. S. Army deserter from the Battle of the Bulge (circa Dec. 1944). Although, he can't be sure since he claims to have amnesia! Those two plot elements are not mutually contradictory as, at the time of that turning point battle, there actually were a lot of Nazi soldiers who slipped behind Allied lines _posing_ as American GI's. So, from Vander's point of view, Max Kleinermann could have quite plausibly smuggled himself stateside, post-1945, using just such an excuse. And, from the LAPD's point of view, that fifty-five thousand dollar embezzlement would have given Vander's killer enough money to buy himself a much better new alias than "Smith" (down where the palm trees sway and non-extraditable fugitives play).

Of course, Raymond Burr as Perry Mason triumphs in the end. Using that seemingly hypnotic power he has to make the truly guilty confess on the witness stand before Chief DA Burger et al. In this case, the real Max Kleinermann...and the real killer of Lawrence Vander.

As to the eye-moistening happy ending I alluded to, earlier? The only way it could have been improved is if Mr. And Mrs. Merrill had gotten remarried right there, in Perry's office, with that Franciscan father officiating. Just to doubly affirm the miracle of Lt. Philip Kuyper's return to the Land of the Living!

Della Would've Known Better

[darbski · 10/10 · 13 October 2017]

**SPOILERS** Kapelusznik 18 Said it right. On the stand, the killer's breakdown was great, from a great character actor. The only thing missing were tears; Crocodiles don't count. In the breakdown, he was also allowed to testify as to the nature of the homicide. No taking it back now, Burger. It won't help him, of course. Homicide in the furtherance of an ongoing crime is Murder, First Degree. He WAS using coercion and bribery to frame an innocent man , and then later fingering him for murder. There'll be a few legal bumps, but then it's the tall slick slide into the gas chamber at San Quentin.

I KNEW who the Nazi was right away, trumped-up accent or not; it was obvious. Gideon should've asked Della for advice, she would've known what to do; and I'm NOT just saying that because she's fantastic (R.I.P., Barbara). The quasi-holy music wasn't too bad, but the lettering on the St. Francis Retreat sign looked like one for a cheap 1970s steakhouse.

The way the Nazi assumed another identity and was able to move through society actually has been seen in our history. Some of these scurves were very smart. They're STILL Scurves, Creeps and Cruds. A very good episode with a few of the necessary twists and turns to keep us on our toes. Very good acting, (R.I.P., Mr. Pyle).

THE EXECUTIVE NAZI?

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 4 May 2023]

I agree with the last reviewer, how can you go wrong with blackmail and murder? Having grown up on PERRY MASON (and still watching 50 plus years later!), you have to admit --though --Perry was one lucky attorney when most cases ended with the witness jumping out of his chair and confessing to the crime!

Nevertheless, an outstanding story, and rather atmospheric (creepy) at times, which all us mystery buffs enjoy. The script may have been picked from real news headlines, all about Nazis living in America under new identities. Perry investigates an LA based aerospace company, replete with rumors that a former Nazi officer is on the payroll. This episode, in a way, has shades of the Orson Welles' thriller, THE STRANGER (1946). It would have been campy fun had Loretta Young made an appearance.

Only debit, minus poetic license, is if this gentleman were really employed to such an influential company with government ties, it would impossible to hide his background, or at the very least, explain gaps or incorrect information in his past work history. IE: He's hiding something....

The cast is quite effective with former cowboy star Dick Foran, playing Harlan. Perhaps one of his best tv roles. He would next appear in DONOVAN'S REEF. Veteran actor John Sutton (as Clifton) is also one to watch. Another cowboy actor, Denver Pyle is in the cast, also turning in an exceptional performance. Master of cult films, Bernard Kowalski directed, and catch the moody music bits in certain scenes, his trademark.

On a historical note, the famous Serra Retreat on Serra Road in Malibu is highlighted, and looking very much the same. And yes, the landmark is still open to the public.

Recommended for all of us armchair barristers. SEASON 5 EPISODE 13 remastered CBS dvd box set. Vol 1 and 2 4 dvds each. Released 2010.

More Complex Than Most

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 21 January 2022]

This episode brings Perry into some dark stuff involving Nazis and war crimes. It is fraught with emotions and full of angst. I rather enjoyed it, even though the conclusion was a bit contrived.

Why don't men talk about the war?

[decrocus · 8/10 · 23 January 2024]

The question you always here is, "Why don't men talk about the war?' .... and any war applies. There are many reasons - what horrors they saw, what they did or were forced to do, what they didn't do and should have done, what their job/rank was, what it could have been, what pain and suffering they endured, and saw. This episode explores one aspect of experience in the war and how it affects the man for the rest of a life. If you are a combat veteran of a war, you will understand. If you are a friend or a loved one of a combat veteran, this episode will help you to understand. All the other criticisms of reviewers may be valid. But if you fall into either of the categories above, it is well worth your time.

A secret that has to be ferreted out

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 8 August 2012]

An error in procedure by Karl Held clerking in Perry Mason's office sends him after a potential client to correct an error. That client is Dick Foran who scurries off to a religious retreat sponsored by the top executives of his company. When a nosy reporter starts hanging around the retreat looking for a Nazi war criminal, he is killed and its Foran whom Wesley Lau arrests for the deed.

Of course Foran is not a murderer but he does have his dirty little secret which has to be ferreted out. And I can say he's not a murderer since Perry Mason doesn't defend the guilty.

The writers might have been a little too convoluted in keeping to the Perry Mason parameters. Still this one good cast and the story does hold your interest until the end.

The man who lost it all: His memory

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 4 September 2014]

***SPOILERS*** Hard to follow Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, episode that has brain injured, in the Battle of the Bulge, GI Harlan Merrill, Dick Foran, trying to figure out why he's being blackmailed for things he can't remember during the war that he, according to the blackmailer, was supposed to have been involved in. This all comes out when investigative reporter Larry Vander, Paul Lambert, tracked him down at the aerospace firm that he worked at. Having a hard time in trying to figure out what he's being blackmailed about Merrill heads for the Saint Francis retreat that his firm uses to help out employees who suffer from burn-out to get his totally mixed up head back together.

As you would expect in a "Perry Mason" episode someone has to be murdered to make it work and that person just so happens to be Larry Vander. And it's Harlan Merrill, the man without a memory, who's the person who's accused of murdering, by bashing his head in with a rock, him! It turns out that Merrill was suspected of both being a wanted Nazi fugitive from the law and at the same time the man who deserted his unite during the Battle of the Bulge that was completely wiped out by the Nazis! Take you pick!

***SPOILERS*** At his trial Perry Mason who's Merrill lawyer uncovers a plot by someone using Merrill's pressing mental problems at his murder trial to embezzle to company that he's working for. While at the very same time the real Nazi fugitive Max Klinerman using a different identity, ???, takes advantage of all the confusion to, as were made to think, murder the reporter Larry Vander and have Merrill take the rap for it to keep him from exposing him and his crimes to the world. The big joke in all this is that Vander's murderer had nothing at all to do with the Battle of the Bulge or an escaped from justice Nazi fugitive! But his killer used it to cover up his crime and ended up getting the both totally innocent and confused Harlen Merrill blamed for it!

P.S This Perry Mason episode had one of the best breakdowns on the witness stand scenes in the show's nine year history. With the killer after being outed by Perry's cross-examination going into all kinds of convulsions and crying fits that in fact made it well worth watching despite the very boring and confusing story that lead up to it!

What a finish!

[pmike-11312 · 1/10 · 22 December 2022]

As usual, a convoluted, largely non-sensical story from the PM "writers". The stuff of supermarket tabloids and paperbacks, adding horrendous dialogue, poor direction, and mediocre-at-best acting.

The ridiculous "courtroom confessions", the result of the overbearing pressure Perry puts on the perpetrator (LOL) are always laugh inducing in their utter preposterousness. This one, portrayed by Denver Pyle - a middling character actor- is especially overwritten, overdirected, and overacted.

But, it's to be expected from this unrealistic, silly, and often unintentionally funny program. Rock on, Perry!