1965: Perry Mason enters the Cold War

Raymond Burr in The Case of The Fugitive Fraulein, which originally aired in fall 1965

In the final season of Perry Mason (1957-66), the intrepid attorney went behind the Iron Curtain for an adventure.

“The Case of the Fugitive Fraulein” saw Raymond Burr’s Mason (helped and abetted by William Hopper’s private investigator Paul Drake) venture into East Germany.

Perry has been hired by a scientist and his wife to help get their granddaughter out of East Berlin. A series of double-crosses follow. Mason and Drake navigate various traps.

With a typical Perry Mason episode, the attorney deals with a trial or preliminary hearing in the U.S. In this episode, Mason isn’t sure until the last minute whether his credentials will recognized in East Berlin. At the last possible moment, they are. Yet, Mason doesn’t have his normal advantages.

This episode, written by Jonathan Latimer (1906-1983), a veteran mystery scribe, turns elements of the Perry Mason formula on its head. Yet, Perry still gets to confront the real killer in typical Mason style.

The episode showed that in its ninth season, Perry Mason could still pull off a surprise or two. The guest cast included performers such as Jeanette Nolan, Kevin Hagen, Susanne Cramer and Ronald Long who performed in spy shows of the 1960s.