Before the hugely popular TV show of the 1950s and 60s starring Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale (not to mention the long running reunion TV-movies they embarked on two decades later), the cases of Erle Stanley Gardner’s ultra-sharp defense attorney Perry Mason were adapted for the cinema. These initially starred Warren William, who at the time specialized in playing fast-talking lawyers, with Ricardo Cortez and Donald Woods taking over in the final two films.

MOVIE TITLES:

The Case of the Howling Dog (1934), with Warren William as Perry Mason and Helen Trenholme as Della Street.

The Case of the Curious Bride (1935), with Warren William and Claire Dodd as Della Street. Notable for the first-released American screen appearance of Errol Flynn as the corpse, who is seen alive but not speaking in a brief flashback.

The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935), with Warren William and Genevieve Tobin as Della Street.

The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936), with Warren William and Claire Dodd as Della Street Mason.

The Case of the Black Cat (1936) (from The Case of the Caretaker's Cat [1935]), with Ricardo Cortez as Perry Mason and June Travis as Della Street.

The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937), with Donald Woods as Perry Mason and Ann Dvorak as Della Street.