just watch it!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The Perry Mason TV movies that ran from 1985 to 1993 were not always as good as they could have been, thanks to the formulaic scripts, and the reliance on cases that involved celebrities of some kind, which made them even more repetitive. But they were always entertaining, and Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale's characterisations as Mason and Della Street developed nicely as the series went on, and along the way we get to find out more about them than we ever did in the 271 episodes of the original TV series. The penultimate TV movie, the Telltale Talkshow Host, ends with a poignant kiss between Mason and Della, suggesting a romantic relationship of some kind, and this would probably have been developed slowly but surely had Burr lived. Sadly, though, he only made one more appearance, and that was in the Case of the Killer Kiss. This is one of the worst of the series - if not THE worse. The acting seems to mirror that of the daytime soap opera at the heart of the story, and the writing is little better, although the motive for murder is more complex than normal. Burr was so ill on set that he is always seen sitting or leaning on something - a double is used on the one occasion he is seen walking. It is such a shame that he put such effort into a script that is so poor. Even Burr himself seems to struggle to deliver his cliched and repetitive lines with any enthusiasm. The Perry Mason series were always, even at their worst, watchable, but this final episode pushes the viewer's patience to the limit in that regard. It is notable only for Burr's final screen appearance and the inflated role for Della Street - again, probably a result of Burr being ill. A testiment to Burr's professionalism and love for the character, but otherwise a sad final bow for both him and Perry Mason - both of which were extremely classy gentlemen.

THE CASE OF THE KILLER KISS is a notable PERRY MASON movie insofar as it marks Raymond Burr's last screen appearance before his untimely death in 1993; there's a tribute to Burr after the final scene. It's a shame his last movie couldn't be a bit better, but then that often happens with our long-running TV show heroes (COLUMBO LIKES THE NIGHTLIFE wasn't up to much either). Burr is clearly frail here, forced to sit or lean for all of the production, but there's no faulting his acting.The problem with this production is just how predictable it is. Once again the setting is a TV studio in which the philandering jerk of a male lead is killed by persons unknown. There's an obvious suspect, but Perry digs a bit and soon uncovers a conspiracy of lies and hidden plots. I found the writing quite lazy here, with the security guard sub-plot shoe-horned in just to give William R. Moses something to do and count for some action and suspense scenes. The final reveal is unguessable due to information being withheld from the viewer. Stuart Damon, one-time star of TV's THE CHAMPIONS, plays in support.

On the set of a popular daytime soap opera `Mile High', actress Kris Buckner is being forced off by co-star Mark Stratton. When she says that she'll `kill him before she leaves the show', she makes herself the prime suspect when Stratton is murdered by someone poisoning him. As an old friend, Perry Mason comes to the help of Kris and agrees to defend her. Meanwhile Ken goes in search of information with the help of fan of the show.The final Perry Mason film which starred Burr in the title role, this is a fairly typical entry in the series that gives the audience all we would usually expect from the films. The plot is OK but it seems a little bit more forced than in other films in the series. The film enjoys poking fun at the soap opera types - although not as gleefully as I would have expected a TVM series to have done!Mason does his usual stuff - ripping through TV actors in small roles as red herrings etc. Burr is good in the role as one would expect from someone in the role for so long. Moses has his usual stuff to do - chasing thugs with an useless female sidekick, but it is a little lame this time and the autograph hunter is very irritating. The supporting cast contains nobody of note and none of them really excel themselves, just delivering by-the-numbers performances.Overall Mason fans will like this because it goes through the formula well and has all the usual stuff. The lack of stronger actors and characters in the support cast is a problem, but essentially the film does what all it's predecessors have done - deliver the usual story in a build up to an average scene of minor fireworks where the real killer is revealed.

Raymond Burr makes his last appearance as Perry Mason in this film. Mason finds his hands full in a case involving actors in a soap opera and a very unusual murder weapon. Featured in the guest cast are several popular daytime performers including Genie Francis as the framed defendant. Burr, as always is above reproach as Mason. Though not among the series best, there does appear to have been an effort to break the mold a bit, with a little more jeopardy for Mason's legman, Ken Malansky.