Perry Mason (2014) – IMDb
March 14, 2012
Perry Mason (2014) – IMDb. Perry Mason will be rebooted as a 2014 film, via PAUL MOTT.
The Case of the Borrowed Brunette
The original Erle Stanley Gardner novels were A+++, and so was the original TV Series, which ran from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. Some notable points about both the books and the show:
1) in the books, Perry Mason runs around a lot–he’s not such a courtroom attorney at all. He’s more of an action guy.
2) in the books, he and Della Street are clearly and more explicitly in a relationship. This is something that can clearly be developed in a 2014 film. In the books, Della is more or less an equal to Perry, and in a remake, she could be made into an attorney who is a partner to perry rather than just a “confidential secretary”, though they would of course still have to have all those steak dinners.
3) Perry & Della are never married in either the books or the TV show, but they have a relationship.
Perry Mason & Della Street
4) The forensic science in the books and in the TV show was way, way ahead of its time–CSI ahead of its time.
5) Lt. Tragg was aces up in the TV show and in the books.
6) Perry never lost a case on the TV show (with a notable exception or two).
7) Paul Drake was famous for his sportcoat collection.
8) Perry drove a collection of terrific fifties convertibles on the TV show.
9) Perry & Della favored steaks and martinis in the books and on the show.
10) like modern lawyers, Perry & Della worked nights, mornings and weekends, and loved doing it. They had no life outside of work, and even when they were on vacation, they would stumble into a homicide or two and Perry would be back on the job.
11) Perry won all those cases without any Warren Court decisions. He never used the exclusionary rule, or any other procedural tricks. Instead, he relied on careful cross-examination, a thorough knowledge of forensic science, rigous private investigation to get to the real facts, and accurate assessment of the witnesses as they told their stories. He was F Lee Bailey before there was F Lee Bailey.
12) the original books were written as early as the 1930s.
13) The books in hardcover first edition are now out of print and can get as much as forty to fifty dollars a copy on line. I had a complete set at one time. They are worth it just for the covers alone. The paperbacks are not as good as the hardcover versions of the books. I used to keep them in my old law office when I was practicing. Clients loved seeing those.
14) Perry Mason never took a client meeting without having Della Street present. A very good piece of advice for current attorneys–never meet with a client alone. Always have a witness and a transcript.
15) The original TV Show was supplemented by a number of TV movies which came back in the 1980s, all of which were two hours long, and all of which were hugely popular.
16) Prior to playing Perry Mason, Raymond Burr was somewhat of a “bad guy” or “villain” in a number of film noirs, as well as famously being in the original GODZILLA film.
17) Many famous actors appeared in Perry Mason TV show in the 50s and 60s before they were famous.
18) Many of the defendants in the Perry Mason TV show disproportionately appeared to be extremely attractive, but virtuous looking, young women, who didn’t seem capable of hurting a fly.
19) Many of the Perry Mason books actually dealt with complex issues of law, which were capably explained by the author in layperson’s terms. They make excellent reading for modern law students.
20) Perry Mason is still the Platinum/Gold standard for legal fiction, in writing, film and TV. Hopefully the franchise reboot will adhere to these high standards.
–art kyriazis
The Sayings of Kung Fu, the First Season
February 16, 2012
Reblogged from THE SOPHIST: TWO SIDES TO EVERY QUESTION:
The Late David Carradine in Kung Fu as Kwai Chan Cain
From the Crane, we learn grace and self-control. The Snake teaches us suppleness and rhythmic endurance. The Praying Mantis teaches us speed and patience. And from the Tiger, we learn tenacity and power. And from the Dragon, we learn to ride the wind. All creatures, the low and the high, are one with nature.
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Ok, we’re now into the Elite Eight, and I had the following picks and results so far;
1) East – originally, at round of 64, Kentucky v. West Va. This was also my pick before the Sweet Sixteen Round. This is looking pretty good. I really like Kentucky to win this. I thought Kentucky played an excellent game against Cornell, especially defensively. However, West Virginia is an excellent team with a tough, tough coach we used to see a lot here in the A-10 and later the Big East when he was coaching at Cincinnati. Two great teams and two great coaches. What a game. I will say, originally, I had W.Va. winning this game; i’m revising that pick in light of Kentucky looking so good in this tournament. But of course, that’s a conditional probability pick; if W.Va. does win, then it validates my original bracket pick.
DEMARCUS COUSINS DESTROYED CORNELL UNDERNEATH & INSIDE IN THE SWEET SIXTEEN ROUND MAKING ROOM FOR JOHN WALL ON THE PERIMETER
2) South – originally, at round of 64, i had picked Louisville v. Baylor to come out of the pack. Well, I got that half right, but not the half you would have expected. Before the Sweet Sixteen, knowing that Louisville was out (we call that conditional probability) I picked Duke to win, which of course they did. In light of what I know now, I would have Duke beating Baylor. Incidentally, Baylor put a hurting on St. Mary’s. How lame is Villanova for losing to St. Mary’s? And by the way, should new Baylor President get halfcourt seats or what for this team???
Final Four pick Duke/Baylor winner v. Ky/W.Va winner – this is sort of a no-brainer, and I had this on my original bracket before the tournament opened. I think both Ky and W.Va are both better than Duke, even though W. Va. got a #2 seed. So I see Ky going to the final four over Duke, or alternatively, W. Va going to the final four over Duke. I think Duke’s dance ends at the elite eight.
That’s not to underestimate coach K. Anyone brilliant with a complicated last name ending with K, hey, I have to like that guy, right?
By the way, speaking of the U.Cincinnati, think today’s players are good? check out U.Cincinnati great’s Oscar Robertson’s college stats:
Season School FG% FT% TRB AST PTS
1957-58 Cincinnati .571 .789 15.2 35.1
1958-59 Cincinnati .509 .794 16.3 6.9 32.6
1959-60 Cincinnati .526 .756 14.1 7.3 33.7
Career Cincinnati .535 .780 15.2 4.8 33.8
Yes, that’s right–the Big O averaged a double-double his entire college career–a double double that ran around 35 points and 15 rebounds a night. That was in college, and freshman weren’t allowed to play back then. Imagine what his FOUR year stats would have been.
You think that was pretty good by today’s standards? Today, we think it’s pretty good if a kid averaged barely 15 points and 10 rebounds. That earns him a first round NBA spot.
OSCAR ROBERTSON - THE GREATEST PLAYER IN U.CINCINNATI HISTORY KNOWN AS THE "BIG O" - WON AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP WITH KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR WITH MILWAUKEE BUCKS
Of course, Cincinnati is named for the Roman hero Cincinnatus. If you’ve studied Latin, you know who he is. The rest of you, Google him up. He was a famous hero of the early Roman Republic. Big O and Cincinnatus had a lot in common.
3) Midwest – Originally I had Kansas v. Georgetown in the Elite Eight of this bracket before the round of 64. That bracket was completely busted, of course. Before the round of sixteen, knowing what had happened in the first couple of rounds, I remade picks and picked Michigan State to win their game, and Ohio State to win their game. Well, I got that half right. Tennessee with their orange uniforms and orange sneakers just plain outshot and outhustled Ohio State, thus short-circuiting the Big Ten matchup we were forecasting. Instead, the Elite Eight matchup will be the improbable Mich State #5 seed vs. the Tenn #6 seed for the Midwest Regional Final. This is an interesting matchup.
My heart says to root for the Spartans and Tom Izzo, a veteran, wily coach. However, my head says that Tennessee beat Ohio State while Michigan State lost to Ohio State during the season; that Tennessee lost to Purdue by a point or two while Mich State lost by a lot to Purdue; and that Tennessee beat Kansas during the season. Also that Kalin Lucas is out for Michigan State, while Tennessee is deep and balanced in both scoring and rebounding.
I’m going to call this a flip, but the edge to Tennessee here. So Tennessee to the Final Four. But Mich State definitely has a shot.
4) West – Well, I had Syracuse and Pitt in my original pre-round of 64 bracket picks. That’s pretty busted. After the first two rounds, before the sweet sixteen, I repicked Syracuse and Kansas State. Syracuse was upended by Butler, while Kansas State barely survived a two overtime onslaught from a feisty Xavier team.
That leaves us with Kansas State v. Butler. Here, I like Kansas State over Butler. I believe Kansas State will defeat Butler and get to the Final Four.
Moreover, I believe Kansas State will also defeat the winner of Mich State/Tenn and get to the final round.
This then sets up a final round of Kentucky v. Kansas State.
Here, again, I still like Kentucky to win it all.
–art kyriazis, philly, cradle of college hoops
The Palestra, also known as the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 215 South 33rd St. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, near Franklin Field in the University City section of Philadelphia, it opened on January 1, 1927. The arena originally sat about 10,000, but now seats 8,722 for basketball. The Palestra is famed for its close-to-the-court seating with the bleachers ending at the floor with no barrier to separate the fans from the game. At the time of its construction, the Palestra was one of the largest arenas in the world. It was one of the first modern steel-and-concrete arenas in the United States and also one of the first to be constructed without interior pillars blocking the view.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestra
The Madness Begins
March 15, 2010
I can’t believe Temple got the #5 seed while Nova got a #2. Georgetown played really well down the stretch, by the way. That was a great Big East final.
I took my boys to the penn-cornell ivy league championship game in november. that was fun, at franklin field. i still can’t believe penn won at harvard.
cornell won the ivy over harvard barely, but they have to play temple in the first round, and temple is very, very good this year, that’s a bad draw for cornell. temple almost never loses in the first round of the ncaa. coming out of the bracket, temple has uphill all the way, but texas might actually beat kentucky, although john calipari has to be the best coach on the planet, he used to torture temple when he was at umass, he drove john chaney crazy.
also, i like richmond to win their first round game, and then upset villanova in the 2d round. richmond has a really good team and nova never plays well in the tournament. jay wright is a horrible tournament coach. richmond gave temple all they could handle inthe a10 final and richmond beat temple in the regular season. richmond is a great team this year, much better than a #7 seed. that’s a 2-7 matchup that’s bad for nova.
i was watching spike lee on 30-30 on espn on that reggie miller thing and 3 points.
first, reggie miller has to be the most overrated player in NBA history. he could only do one thing, the three point jumper, and that was it. He did it well, but he couldn’t pass, penetrate, dunk, rebound, run, steal or do any of the other things that an NBA Hall of Fame guy does.
second, Patrick Ewing, for all his greatness, came up short in two of the biggest games of his life, game 7 against Hakeem in the NBA finals, and the NCAA title game against Villanova in 1985, of which this is the 25th anniversary of Nova upsetting Georgetown, or Patrick Ewing choking unbelievably, depending on how you look at it. Based on how awful Ewing was in his NBA finals against Hakeem, i’d bet Nova could have beaten Georgetown in a 7 game series, and, in fact, Nova did handle Georgetown if not outright beat them pretty well that season in Big East play.
Third, Spike Lee claimed “New York is the cradle of basketball.”
Uh, Spike, New York is the cradle of incredible wealth and incredible poverty, a lot of models and caviar and restaurants, and some good hoops players, but PHILLY is the cradle of liberty and hoops, pal.
ALL the great hoops players (and jazz players) have been from philly, not NY. Earl the Pearl Monroe, Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain, Rasheed Wallace, Tyreke Evans, Kobe Bryant, the list is endless.
John Coltrane is from Philly. Dizzy Gillespie grew up here. Lee Morgan was from Philly. Philly Jo Jones. Hank Mobley, McCoy Tyner, Archie Shepp, Byard Lancaster, Mickey Roker, Bill Harris, Calvin Massey. Are You Kidding Me?????
Philly is like the Jazz/Hoops capital of the earth. Doesn’t anyone remember Grover Washington Jr playing the national anthem at Sixers games? and he was like the WORST sax guy ever to come out of philly! and he was great! but hey, he was no JOHN COLTRANE soloing for hours on soprano sax!
Dr. J played here for TWELVE YEARS. He played in New York for four years. New Yorkers like to remember that it was longer, but hey, too bad.
We were at the Palestra the other week and there were no less than several HUNDRED NBA all stars who played their high school ball in philly pasted on the walls there. Maybe a thousand. Maybe more. I couldn’t count them all. That doesn’t count the guys who were kept out of the league for gambling, or who blew out their knees, or just didn’t have the grades to go to college.
It’s not even close–Philly v. NY in hoops is like PROS V JOES–NY being the JOES.
Oh, and by the way, Alex Rodriguez took steroids and needed an instant replay to win the world series last year.
And I didn’t see him tying Reggie “Reggie Bar” Jackson’ HR record of 5 dingers in a World Series like Chase Utley did–and Chase being about 1/2 the size of Reggie, by the way, who was enormously strong and had arms like a bricklayer.
Hey, the Yankees are great. But Philly’s got the Hoops. Even the guys at Sports Center know it’s Philly when it comes to Hoops.
And when was the last time a NY university made it into the NCAA exactly?
Columbia never gets in. NYU doesn’t have a team. St. Johns has fallen off dramatically. Syracuse is way upstate. CCNY had its glory days when the court was surrounded by caged wire fences.
In all the years, NY had exactly one great player–Kareem Abdul Jabbar, aka Lew Alcindor. But he hates NY. He changed his name, became a Muslim, and never goes back to NY. He’s become such an LA/Cali guy, you’d never know he was a NY guy to begin with.
But i loved the guy in Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee, doing kung fu and all. Now that was awesome–way better than Wilt in that Conan movie.
–art k, philly
