Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Torrid Tapestry (1961) User Reviews

Perry hatches a courtroom scheme to bring justice to LA.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 12 July 2012]

Leonard Voss is a slimy art-dealer that is in charge of the Nathan Claver Collection which is planning an exhibit in Rio de Janeiro. Instead of displaying the artwork, Mr Voss sends much of the art collection back to the United States. In order to cover-up the crime he sets fire to the art gallery and sets up a clumsy worker named Claude Demay as the person that starts the fire. Mr Demay is sentence to prison for arson.

Six years later a tapestry that was suppose to have been burned up in the fire makes an appearance at a rival art gallery. And Mr Voss knows that he can be exposed it someone starts looking into how the supposedly destroyed tapestry shows up in LA. After checking into the tapestry Mr Voss founds out that Mr Demay, who is now out of prison, is involved in the ownership. Thus Mr Voss must do anything to get his hands on the tapestry or be subject to criminal prosecution.

Mr Demay's plan for revenge takes a nasty turn when Mr Voss, who he is setting-up, is found stabbed in his office. And Mr Demay is seen fleeing the scene. With all the evidence pointing to Mr Demay he will need Perry's help to defend himself against a mound of evidence.

During the court proceedings we get a scheme hatched by Perry to bring the true murderer to justice. Someone will follow up on misinformation provided by Perry and lead Lt Tragg to an arrest and a possible pardon for another subject. Good Watch

Mason Gets Fired Up About Art

[DKosty123 · 9/10 · 31 January 2010]

This episode begins with a man being framed for a fire that burns a bunch of art works in Rio De Janario. Then we move forward 6 years to Los Angeles where the man who did the framing has an Art Gallery. It seems that a bunch of the Art that was supposed to have burned is starting to show up. The main question to start with is why?

The man who served 6 years in prison for a fire he did not start is in Los Angeles too. He is busy trying to prove his innocence now that he has served his time. He is after the man who framed him. The only trouble is that man has now turned up stabbed to death in his art gallery, and the ex-con was seen leaving the murder scene.

The ex-con seeks Mason & claims he is being framed for the murder. Perry has a lot of work to try & prove what happened here. Paul Drake & his entire agency is put to work. It takes a lot of leg work to solve this one. Mason pulls a major deception out of his hat here.

Pretty Careless for Priceless Art Pieces

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 17 January 2022]

I was entertained by the story and, as usual, an array of suspects. We know the old guy who was framed six years ago was going to get off--Mason is his attorney. All that aside, we find out eventually that those pieces supposedly burned in Rio were still in existence. Some of the one's mentioned would be worth millions and wouldn't be so easily dealt with by one man. Also, the tapestry, which is a woven piece, looked like a tablecloth or a bedsheet. Still it was fun to see who was responsible.

Goes Around

[darbski · 10/10 · 19 September 2017]

**SPOILERS** Revenge is always nice. The people who say it's bad are the ones who want to get away with everything. In this case, small fry art restorer is framed, spends years in a Brazilian Prison, and comes close to catching the guy when his plans hit the fan. He is now set up for a murder charge, and Perry has to clear his name. He does this by trickery of his own, getting a foxy brunette accomplice to lead him to the original evidence, and then trapping the killer. The sweet part is another "Nouveau collector" buying the tapestry copy for a good chunk of do-re-mi, and having a good reason for it.

It's kinda hard to like Perry's client in this one, or his sister, even if they both had good reasons for what they did. I mean, the revenge is justified; all he wanted was to prove that the original dirtbag had ruined him. Anybody have any ideas how tough it must be in a Brazilian Prison? Brenda, the latter accomplice, is very pretty, and with her cooperation, the state will probably let her off with probation. After all, she didn't have anything to do with the original ripoff. Demay's sister? Well, she shouldn't have pawned the tapestry, but then, Demay MIGHT have told her something about his plans, mightn't he? He should give her a grand to let him keep staying there while he works out what to do with the rest of his life.

This is a good story and episode, with very good acting, and fast moving scenes. The ending, while a "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord" type of closure; seems a little weak, like the drab client Perry saved.

Byzantine plot but one darned good cast

[cranvillesquare · 8/10 · 13 December 2023]

I've had trouble keeping up with the twists and turns and dead-end plot leads. The cast, however, was excellent. John Holland played up to his slimy character portrayals, whether in Perry Mason or other presentations; and Robert Harris plays his scheming, devious best as Claude Demay. To me, though, the really best character portrayal was that of Paula Raymond. How any actress could be burdened with those awful late 1950s-early '60s fashions and unflattering hairstyles and, nevertheless, still have her beauty show through speaks volumes about how good-looking she was. She added depth to the limitations of her character, which isn't as easy to do as one would assume. Ray Kellogg played is typical Texan with a bit of humor, too. Learning Voss's true killer was a twist, but not a real surprise. All in all, a good watch.

Someone else always does the deed

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 30 October 2012]

Since Perry Mason defended Robert H. Harris from the charge that he killed John Holland we know he didn't do it. But he sure had every right to and I think Raymond Burr could have got him off even as a guilty man.

Six years earlier art dealer Holland and assistant Harris were exhibiting the collection of Conrad Nagel in Rio DeJaniero. Holland set fire to the collection and left Harris taking the rap for arson. Harris served five years in a Brazilian jail and he's hot for revenge.

His plans involving a copy of a tapestry lost in the arson fire go askew when his sister Lillian Buyeff pawns it a Percy Helton's shop. After that Harris is arrested for murder of Holland who is found stabbed to death in his gallery.

Another interesting role is that of Paula Raymond who is Holland's girl Friday. She's proposing marriage to Holland to make her arrangement more permanent and more than implying a wife can't testify against her husband even about suspicions.

Harris probably had the best motive, but of course someone else always does the deed on Perry Mason.

It's like meeting old friends that you thought had died

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 31 July 2013]

****SPOILERS**** Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, does a little detective not legal work to trap the killer of art dealer Leonard Voss, John Holland, who was involved in a massive insurance fraud back in Rio de Janeiro Brazil six years ago. Voss ended up framing Claud Demay, Robert H. Harris, in an arson fire where a number of priceless artifacts including Pattermaker's tapestry "Theseus and the Minotaur" were destroyed. It was six years later that the long lost tapestry suddenly showed up at Perry Helton's pawnshop and bells started ringing all over the art world. Especially in Voss's head who thought that the priceless tapestry was gone forever.

As we and Voss soon find out the tapestry was a fake but copied by just released from a gulag like Brazilian prison Claude Demay who used it to smoke him out of his hole here in the states. That's to get Voss to admit that he in fact not only framed Demay but was responsible for the tapestry getting destroyed back in Brazil. Or that's what we as well as Voss and the person who's destroyed artifacts he had insured Nathan Claver, Conrad Nagel, thought! Of course being a Perry Mason episode someone has to get murdered and it's Voss who ends up being the lucky, so he came leave the show earlier and with a full paycheck, guy or victim. And of course it's everyone favorite fall guy Robert H. Harris as Claude Demay who ends up getting arrested and charged with Voss' murder. Perry feeling that Voss' murder was to cover up for an earlier crime that he was involved in goes back to square one, Rio de Janeiro, to solve it.

***SPOILERS*** As we soon find out that the fire that Voss set and framed Demay for had a lot more backstabbing and sleaziness to it then at first thought! Trying to get it, the insurance money and art pieces, both ways Voss in return got it right in the gut with a letter opener by the person, besides Claude Demay, that he ended up screwing! And it was Perry Mason's neat trick in the courtroom in revealing one of the so called destroyed art pieces, a brass Toa Kwan Buddha, that brought Voss' killer out into the open.

P.S Check out actor Percy Helton as the pawnbroker in this Perry Mason episode who also played the sleazy and greedy pathologist in the Mike Hammer classic "Kiss me Deadly". Percy in his greed was trying to shake down Hammer for a key he found in a woman's body that opened the door to the secret of "great what's it"; The thing that everyone in the movie was getting killed for. Percy instead ended up getting his fingers crushed by a gleeful Mike Hammer who just about had all he could take from him.