I Watched Perry Mason Returns (1985, Dir. by Ron Satlof)

[TMC]

https://unobtainium13.com/2026/01/01...by-ron-satlof/

Posted on January 1, 2026 by Dazzling Erin



When his former secretary, Della Street (Barbara Hale), is arrested for murdering wealthy businessman Arthur Gordon (Patrick O’Neal), Judge Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) resigns from the bench so that he can defend her in court.

Perry Mason Returns reveals who the killer is when the murder happens. The killer is a lowlife named Robert Lynch (James Kidnie), who is wearing a gray wig and a frumpy dress so that everyone will mistake him for Della. It doesn’t take Perry and private detective Paul Dark, Jr. (William Katt) long to discover that Lynch is the murderer but, after someone shoots Lynch, they have to figure out who hired Lynch to kill Gordon. Gordon had recently disinherited his entire family so Perry and Paul have a lot of suspects to consider. 30 minutes in, I thought I knew who the killer was but it turned out I was wrong.

My Aunt Kate loved her detective stories and, when I was growing up, I would always watch them with her whenever we were visiting for the holidays. Watching Perry Mason Returns really made me feel nostalgic, even if it also made me feel dumb for not being able to guess who the killer was. Perry gives up being a judge so that he can defend Della Street in court. That’s true love. William Katt, who plays Paul Drake’s son, was Barbara Hale’s real-life son so I think that proves my theory that Della loved both Perry and Paul.

Perry Mason Returns was fun to watch. It had more action than I was expecting because Paul Drake, Jr. was always getting into tight situations. The movie really tried to make William Katt into an action star. The murder mystery held my attention and, of course, Perry got the murderer to confess on the stand and on the record. Some things never change! One thing that really amused me was that, as soon as Perry took the case, everyone naturally assumed he would win. Della wasn’t worried for a minute, even though she was facing life in prison. “You didn’t tell me Perry Mason was her lawyer!” Robert Lynch yelled at the person who hired him. He knew the gig was up. Perry Mason always wins!

Watching Perry Mason Returns, I felt like I was a kid again, watching movies with my Aunt Kate and trying to solve the mystery with her. All of the Perry Mason made-for-TV movies are on YouTube so I’ll be reviewing more of them in the future.