User Reviews

I like Ricardo Cortez in everything I've seen him do. He was an excellent actor who never really became a major star. Here, he is a fine Perry Mason. His Mason has a sense of humor. He's stylish. And he's not entirely admirable, which seems to me just right.

I also like Jane Bryan, who is most appealing as the female member of a troubled household. The other performers are fine, though not memorable.

It's hard not to wonder why Warner Brothers used a gray and white cat for the title character. Surely it would have been easy to find a cat that would have been both black and well behaved on the set.

There are a few other inconsistencies. One I noted is that Mason calls the caretaker of this wealthy family at their home. Is it, was it ever, standard to call servants at their employers' primary number? (Sure, my cleaning guy, who's here for two hours every two weeks, gets a call now and then; but he is a painter and this is far from a mansion.)

It should come as no surprise that Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the Perry Mason series, hated the way his hero was portrayed in the movies. Consider this: When he saw Raymond Burr walk in to audition for the part of Hamilton Burger, he told the casting people, "That's Perry Mason." One can just imagine, then, how fond he was of Warren William, Donald Woods and Ricardo Cortez.

It's not so much the actors, of course, as the emphasis of the films -Warren William, whom I like a lot more than one of the posters on this site, always had a little too much fun, and his character was loosely modeled on Nick in "The Thin Man." Woods was very lawyer-like but lacked spark; Cortez had spark but was more on the smooth, streetwise side than the actual Perry of the books, who was a very intense young man, given to big speeches.

In this film, Perry is asked to act as attorney for a caretaker's cat named Clicker who isn't black. That's because the title was decided upon after the film was made. The actual Gardner story is "The Case of the Caretaker's Cat," but black cats were hot in movie titles in the '30s. Peter Laxter's will states that the caretaker has his job for life, but one of the heirs wants the cat gone and is threatening to poison it. Laxter has died in a fire, but Perry soon surmises that he was murdered first and has the body exhumed. He also learns that Laxter cashed out a million dollars worth of stock and that a famous set of diamonds are missing. Two more murders follow. Clicker unknowingly provides an important clue to whodunit. The last few minutes of the film are done in flashback so that we can see how Perry put it all together.

Not bad, but none of these men will ever be Perry Mason after Burr did the role so long on television. It's best to just look at these films as mystery stories and ignore the old, unattractive Paul Drake and the pronunciation of Hamilton Burger as Hamilton Berjer (in the Woods version). And that's the way Erle Stanley Gardner would have wanted it.

For those of you who were convinced that Raymond Burr was the consummate Perry Mason, please take a gander at Ricardo Cortez in that role. You might be surprised at your reaction. This certainly doesn't mean that Burr was not great in the television series......it just gives us a different take on the character. Cortez, who is wonderful in most of his roles, truly shines as an urbane sophisticated Mason in a typical Erle Stanley Gardner tale of murder and mayhem. The Della Street (June Travis) and Paul Drake (Gary Owen) roles are very different from those portrayed on television and could have been fleshed out just a bit more, but I'm not complaining. It's Cortez, with those bedroom eyes and dark good looks who steals the show. I have seen the other Mason films with Warren William in the lead role and in my opinion it's no contest.

The story line gets a little convoluted at one point but it all works itself out in the capable hands of our hero. It's unfortunate that this was the only outing as Perry Mason for Cortez but it is worth the watch. Catch it on TCM which may be the only place where is will be shown. You'll like it!!!!

Excellent pre-Raymond Burr filming of a Perry Mason novel! I was lucky enough to see this on TCM (since it isn't on video). At first I wasn't expecting much, but found Ricardo Cortez to be an excellent Perry Mason! Why Warner Brothers didn't keep him for other movies in the series I don't know! That's probably why Perry Mason wasn't that successful until the tv series came along. It would be nice to see this title on DVD.

This movie is called "The Case of the Black Cat" because horror films were popular money-makers at the time of its release and the use of "black cat" in the title made it sound more ominous. An alternate moniker was "The Curse of the Black Cat." Apparently the producers thought that title was too misleading. The Erle Stanley Gardner Perry Mason story on which it is based was labeled, "The Case of the Caretaker's Cat," which was the title of the TV version when it played on the old Raymond Burr series. The cat and its caretaker owner are at the center of the plot; so that title makes more sense. Why not use a black cat in the 1936 film version? When the movie was being made, the "black cat" reference in the title had not been proposed; that the cat in the story was gray and white spotted determined the kind of cat to use in the picture.

To most fans of the Erle Stanley Gardner character, the definitive Perry Mason will always be Raymond Burr. The first big screen Perry Mason was Warren William and he made a dandy. His "The Case of the Howling Dog" is one of the very best in the William series. Unfortunately, the three follow-ups in which William played, while entertaining, were not up to the standards of the premiere feature. Ricardo Cortez, said to be a difficult actor with whom to work, does very well with the Perry Mason character, making "The Case of the Black Cat" one of the best translations of Perry Mason from book to screen.

The initial screen perception of Perry Mason was one of a debonair, skilled, yet at times unscrupulous, counselor-at-law who would use almost any trick to win a case. His courtroom shenanigans were part of the show. Even Raymond Burr began his TV program in that vein, becoming more law respecting and less law bending as the series progressed. Ricardo Cortez assays the role more along the lines of the later Raymond Burr personification of Perry Mason, though still willing to bend the law a bit when it helps his client, in this case a gray and white-spotted cat.

That the Perry Mason mysteries were not one-dimensional but at times highly complex was one reason for their popularity with amateur armchair sleuths. "The Case of the Black Cat" is no exception. A rich invalid, Peter Laxter, hires Mason to help him rewrite his will. Not long after the will has been changed, Laxter's mansion burns to the ground with Laxter in it. Perry convinces District Attorney Hamilton Burger (Guy Usher) to conduct an investigation. The findings show that Laxter had been dead for some time before the house burned. His heirs become the prime suspects, including Wilma Laxter (Jane Bryan) who runs a waffle house, since she had been disinherited by the new will.

Another prime suspect is heir Sam Laxter (Gordon Elliott aka Wild Bill Elliott). The caretaker, Charles Ashton (George Rosener), has a cat, Clinker, who meows at the moon so much it keeps Sam Laxter awake. He throws items at the cat, threatening to poison it if the mewing doesn't stop. The caretaker appeals to Mason for help after receiving yet another threat from Sam Laxter, this time in the form of a note. Thus Perry takes the cat as a client and the fun begins.

"The Case of the Black Cat" is one of a bunch of Perry Mason films that were made in the 1930s. None of these really played very much like the later TV series. The biggest difference is that the films portray Perry as much more of an amateur sleuth--sort of like The Saint or Boston Blackie. Also, he is much more of a character. So, if you are looking for a more urbane version of Mason like the one Raymond Burr portrayed, you may be very disappointed in the films--though they are enjoyable B-movies.

This particular film is frustrating because it had a lot going for it but the script becomes a mess towards the end. Ricardo Cortez is quite good in the lead and it's easy to like him. Also, the plot has some wonderful twists. HOWEVER, you don't see these twists naturally unfold like they would in a well-written script. Instead, there's a courtroom scene at the end where Mason talks and talks and explains all the stuff that SHOULD have been in the film all along. All these secrets that he suddenly pulls out of a hat is just bad script-writing. It's a shame, as it is still a decent and enjoyable flick.

Typical Perry Mason mystery from Warner Bros. in the '30s, features RICARDO CORTEZ as a much less abrasive version of the famous sleuth than Warren William--and much less cocky. The result is a good Mason yarn with a fine supporting cast. GARY EVANS supplies some humor as sidekick Paul Drake.

JANE BRYAN is the young woman who is cut out of her grandfather's will. Grandpa is an angry old man played by HARRY DAVENPORT. JUNE TRAVIS is a more serious minded Della Street helping Mason solve his case, and CRAIG REYNOLDS is one of the main suspects.

The mystery is cluttered with sub-plots involving the theft of diamonds but the twist at the end comes as a real surprise.

Some cryptic dialog helps a lot. "Sam doesn't like cats or old men. He thinks both should be put out of their misery."

Another surprise is the fact that the cat in the story is not a black cat at all but a gray and white one that doesn't seem to mind being handled by anyone and yet in the story is a cause of much distress with its noisy howling.

A crotchety old millionaire dies in a fire not long after having his attorney Perry Mason change his will. Perry suspects murder and investigates. The fifth Perry Mason film from Warner Bros. is the first without Warren William and the best of the entire series. This time Perry is played by Ricardo Cortez. Cortez's performance is closer to how Perry should be than Warren William's version, which often felt like a poor man's Nick Charles. There's no camera mugging here and Perry actually does lawyer stuff, not just act like a private dick. Sadly, this was Cortez's only turn as Perry. The other reason I like this one is the mystery atmosphere which is missing from the previous movies. They relied more on comedy and typical B detective movie material.

Lovely Jane Bryan makes her film debut here and does well. Love the waffle stuff. The great Harry Davenport plays Bryan's grandfather. June Travis takes over as Della Street. Della and Perry had married in the last movie in the series but that's forgotten here. Another change is that Perry's comic relief stooge Spudsy Drake is now named Paul Drake and is played by Garry Owen. He's probably the most grating part of the film and the only part that seems like it would fit right in with the Warren William movies. But that's a minor complaint really. It's a solid murder mystery with a brisk pace, some nice atmosphere, and a great twist.

People are waiting in Perry Mason's outer office; his secretary, Della Street, tells them that he is "very busy." Inside the office we see the great lawyer working—on a crossword puzzle. The level of seriousness never rises very high in this fast-paced series mystery.

The plot is pretty standard but fun—a grumpy old millionaire (Harry Davenport) is sure that someone is out to kill him. His big old estate is populated by a couple of grandkids, a granddaughter's fiancé, a nurse, a caretaker….and one night the house burns down with Davenport in it. His will, it seems, was recently changed— requiring that the caretaker and the cat stay on at the house. Perry Mason, who wrote the new will for the old man, sticks around to investigate: "I represent the cat."

Ricardo Cortez is pretty good as Perry Mason; he manages to shift fairly smoothly from silly to suave to serious crime-solver as the plot progresses. (Much as I like Warren William, I have to say that Cortez plays Mason in his one attempt with a little more of an edge.)

The rest of the cast includes June Travis as Della, and Gordon Elliott (later Wild Bill) as a spoiled grandson who throws a shoe at the cat. The plot thickens occasionally but keeps on moving quickly, culminating in a courtroom surprise.

Lots of fun for us fans of 1930s series mysteries.

Warren William, as affable a Perry Mason as one is likely to find in film, is replaced by Ricardo Cortez, and, while I prefer William, Cortez does a charming job making his Mason successful. Why they didn't make more films with him as Mason I shall never know. Anyhow, this time Mason is working for a crotchety, crippled millionaire who believes he will die soon amidst a cast of relatives "devoted" to him in that death way. We get a butler with a spotted white/gray cat(no black cat here - you think they would have done something about that huh?)who walks with a cane and has the cat who must be looked after even, by the words of the will, after the millionaire is dead. We get a young niece who is disinherited and starts a waffle shop(No, I am not making this up), and a couple other nephews both wanting money and a nurse with the name of a lounge singer - Louise De Voe. Cortez has style and grace and charm. Many of the supporting cast do very nice turns as well with much-worked character actor harry Davenport as Peter Dexter - old moneybags and George Rosener as the caretaker giving better-than-average performances. The female lead Jane Bryan is both lovely and talented. The gal playing Della Street unfortunately has all the personality of a pencil. Shame about that as the chemistry between Mason and her should be electric rather than static. This Mason film has solid acting, a good dose of humour and intriguing plot twists, and at its core a purrrfect mystery.

I really loved Warren Williams' 1st Perry Mason film, THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG. As with most viewers my introduction to Perry was Raymond Burr, but despite WW's very different look and behavior, I felt I was still watching the "real" Perry. Not so in the follow-ups, where outrageous comedy all but pushed the murder mysteries to the back.

What a shock it must have been when WB did THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT with Ricardo Cortez. This film seems designed to be the "anti-WW" Perry Mason movie. Cortez' Perry plays it straight, as does Della; for the first time Paul Drake is actually called "Paul" instead of "Spudsy", and we finally get to see D.A. Hamilton Burger! While much thinner than Burr, Cortez has a vaguely similar look and attitude, and the general format familiar to anyone who's watched the TV series is recognizably present, including the courtroom scenes at the end where Perry solves everything.

It's a very well-made film, but if I have any problems with it it's this: Perry doesn't seem to stand out much, and Della, Paul & Burger do so even less. Also, the mystery is SO complex, after watching it twice uncut, I STILL can't make heads or tails of it! It all comes together at the end, in a very long-winded monologue from Mason. I expect this sort of thing from Hercule Poirot, but wouldn't a courtroom judge insist on a lot further testimony from others to corroborate what Mason says? It's almost a shock when Mason asks for a dismissal and the judge agrees, instead of the guy telling Mason his head's spinning from everything Mason just said!

I suppose the biggest mystery concerning this film must be, WHY did they only do ONE film with Cortez and his supporting cast? (But then, I'm also wondering why WB seemed bent on sabotaging the series after Warren William's excellent debut installment as well.) Maybe Hollywood just didn't like mysteries that were too "intelligent".

I admit that I am a hopeless Perry Mason fan. When I was a girl, our family gathered around the TV set every Friday to watch Raymond Burr outwit Hamilton Burger. So when I had a chance to buy the DVD for this movie from e-bay I did it thinking it would be a B movie and that was that. I was very agreeably surprised. Ricardo Cortez made a very, very charming Perry Mason. My first introduction to Mr. Cortez was in an old Bette Davis movie wherein he played a snaky villain. We forget that in those days they had such a thing as good acting so I just thought he was the quiet, sneaky type. But in this Perry Mason movie he is utterly adorable. And it has a pretty fair plot too with quite a neat surprise at the end. I agree with the other comment I too do not understand why they did not make other movies with Mr. Cortez in this role.

Wealthy Mr. Laxter is tired of his granddaughter Wilma's partying ways and fears a gold-digger clinging onto her. He calls up lawyer Perry Mason (Ricardo Cortez) to cut Wilma out of his will for her own good. When he dies, his two grandsons, Sam Laxter and Frank Oafley, inherit the estate with the stipulation that the caretaker Ashton and his cat Clinker are kept on. Sam hates the cat and threatens to poison it. Mason grows suspicious as the family fortune goes missing. This is the fifth Perry Mason movie. It's a solid whodunnit and a good investigation. It's an easy and fun mystery.

The Case of the Black Cat (1936) may have been interesting in 1936 -- but not today. The TV Perry Mason (William Burr) will remain as the standard against which any former or future Perry Masons must be judged. Ricardo Cortez is no Raymond Burr.

As for the film itself: overly complex, convoluted mystery that has way too many characters and is difficult to follow.

Amazingly: Mason simply presents this convoluted story/ explanation to the judge (in court) without presenting any evidence -- and the judge dismisses the case and Mason wins (as always). Kind of a simplistic view of the judicial system -- even for 1936!

Personally, I am not fond of this film, although Cortez is fine as Mason. The 1930s hosted a brief Warner Brothers series, with three different men in the lead. This is the only movie I have seen from the period.

The plot is convoluted, with a few too many characters. I am assuming that all were in the original story - I would love to see the Burr television take that was apparently shot over twenty years later. Speaking of which, I am one of those who grew up on Burr's Mason, so it is strange to experience another actor in the role.

This film wastes Della and Drake, in my opinion.

Harry Davenport provides his usual supporting role professionalism, albeit in a B movie a few notches below what he was probably accustomed to.

Definitely worth a viewing.

Cortez's portrayal of Perry Mason is more realistic than William's but not as amusing. None the less, he does a good job in the role playing Mason as an affable but serious attorney. The best in the supporting cast were Harry Davenport as the cantankerous old millionaire Peter Laxter and Jane Bryan as Wilma Laxter, the once heir to Laxter's fortune who he disinherits. The other main supporting cast playing Della Street, Paul Drake and Hamilton Burger are just not memorable (although it was nice finally having Burger in a Mason film). Also good was that there was finally a lengthy court room scene with its dramatic twist ending. Clinker, Peter Laxter's caretaker's cat should, of course, have been black, so, through no fault of his own, he was miscast. If you get a chance, watch the movie even if you're a die-hard Raymond Burr fan (as I am) - you'll still enjoy this movie.

Ricardo Cortez capably takes over as Perry Mason for one entry -- apparently Erle Stanley Gardner didn't approve of the choice. Irascible Harry Davenport writes grand daughter Jane Bryan out of his will to put the kibosh on fortune hunters and promptly dies. When the caretaker's cat is ordered off the place, the clause about permitting his cat is invoked, and Perry takes over uncovering a thoroughly unlikable set of male heirs and a well-tangled murder.

It's a fine entry in the Warners series. The humor of the Warren William entries is abolished, but director Alan Crosland and William McGann do a capable job; Crosland died in an auto accident in mid-production. It's strictly a B production, but the lesser actors are all excellent. Clarence Wilson is notable as an annoying lawyer named Shuster, whom Cortez insists on calling "Shyster".

Viewers will recognize actor Harry Davenport as the ornery, crochety old man who is bellowing and storming right from the beginning of the film. (He was "Thaddeus" in the Bachelor and the Bobby-soxer.) Here, he is Peter Laxter, who is changing his will, and insists that his heirs keep on the caretaker, "Ashton" (George Rosener) AND his cat, who keeps everyone up at night yowling. We know that Sam Laxter the son (Bill Elliot) hates the cat and wants it to "go away"...and Wilma, th daughter is opening up a waffle shop. In this Perry Mason film, Mason is played by the suave and easy going Ricardo Cortez, in the role that Warren William had been playing for several years. So at 18 minutes in, Mason finally gets involved when Ashton the caretaker needs help when someone threatens his cat. Then the bodies start piling up. Supporting roles for June Travis and Gary Owen. Da-Daaa... we're in the court-room. Interesting note - the first director Alan Crosland was in a car accident (and died as a result, making this his last picture) causing the remainder of the film to be directed by William MacGann. Plot a little overly complicated... we need a scorecard to keep up... and with DNA testing that we have today, this scenario would easily be un-covered. Not bad for a Perry Mason film, but takes a little work to keep up. They DO squeeze a lot into th short 66 minutes.

Whether Perry Mason was played by Warren William, Donald Woods, or in this case Ricardo Cortez I think one of the reasons that Perry Mason never really took as a series is because no one lead stamped his persona on the character. And of course none of them satisfied Erle Stanley Gardner the way Raymond Burr did on television.

Like he was in the first version of The Maltese Falcon, Ricardo Cortez comes over as a smart aleck. Definitely not what fans of the book or the long running television series expect. Several players also did Della Street, Paul Drake, and Hamilton Burger which also did not help continuity.

And why Warner Brothers could not find a black cat to play a black cat in The Case Of The Black Cat is beyond me. I guess we have to have a séance to contact Jack Warner and I'll bet he wouldn't know.

It's nice to know that lawyers make house calls in the dead of night if the client is rich enough. The client here is Harry Davenport who calls on Perry Mason to disinherit granddaughter Jane Bryan. The new heirs will be grandsons Bill Elliott, Craig Reynolds, and Clinker the Cat who is the caretaker's cat and who Elliott future cowboy hero threatens to kill because he has a loud Meow. My cat Socks has a loud Meow to, but I don't want to do him in.

Davenport is then reported killed in a house fire and later caretaker George Roessner is also killed. Suspicion falls on Carlyle Moore who is Bryan's boyfriend because he's seen kidnapping Clinker the cat.

At trial of course it all is sorted out in the usual Perry Mason fashion. But don't expect to see what Raymond Burr does. It's like Cortez was back being Sam Spade again.

In the 1950's I faithfully watched Perry Mason on TV and as many of my generation came to think of Raymond Burr AS Perry Mason. However I will confess that until very recently, I had never read any the novels. I started to read them more or less chronologically by copyright date beginning in the 1930's. I was delighted to view a copy of The Case of the Black Cat. Although Ricardo Cortez was a bit more charming than the literary Perry Mason, I found the story and style to be vintage Erle Stanley Gardner. I hope that if film ever revisits Perry Mason that homework is done and this film is viewed, and perhaps set as a period piece. Certainly,at a time when so many remakes are being done, there is room for a new (or rather an Old )treatment of this literary icon. Erle Stanley Gardner wrote over 100 Perry Mason novels over a thirty year period, a wealth of idea's to draw from.

This is the fifth film of the early Perry Mason series of movies made by Hollywood, and the first without Warren William in the lead role. Ricardo Cortez was an OK actor, but movie-goers were used to seeing a quite different character as Perry Mason. That, and a script that was very poor, an entirely different cast with some really stinking acting and very poor direction, and it's no wonder this one failed at the box office. Some scenes in "The Case of the Black Cat" make one wonder if the film was edited at all. It has some pauses or freezes in action and then abrupt changes in scenes. Several of the supporting cast seem to be rank amateurs.

I don' know what the producers were thinking of with this film. The only reason I give it six stars is because of the mystery itself. This is one that played many years later by Raymond Burr and was a very intriguing and entertaining movie. But here, the lackluster approach, script and change in character just leave this film flat. Again, it rates a 6 in my book only because of the fine plot.

This move is geared towards the baby boomers. Middle age adults might enjoy it and maybe even the 30 plus crowd. I like the character, Perry Mason. Richard Cortez does a good job playing Perry Mason. However, my favorite Perry Mason is Raymond Burr. The movie moves quickly, but not too fast to follow. It is amazing how the black cat fits into the murder mystery. I got tired of hearing about waffles and melted butter. It must have been mentioned close to a dozen times within the short movie. The murder mystery has a good length at just over one hour. I can sit down and relax, watch the movie, and enjoy popcorn. The movie is easily forgotten in ten minutes and I am ready to see the next movie with a clear head. I give it 4 thumbs up.