I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady In The Lake (1988, Dir. by Ron Satlof)

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https://unobtainium13.com/2026/01/09...by-ron-satlof/

Posted on January 9, 2026 by Dazzling Erin



Fifteen years ago, the sister of Sara Wingate (Doran Clark) was murdered at a lake near the family home. Traumatized, Sara had a nervous breakdown. It was only when she married Billy Travis (David Hasselhoff), a former tennis player, that Sara started to get over her fear of the lake. When Sara disappears while walking along the lake, Billy is arrested and charged with murdering her. Because Perry’s is an old friend of Sara’s uncle (John Ireland), he takes the case. If you’re going to get arrested for murder, you better hope one of your relatives knows Perry Mason.

This movie wasn’t bad. It had a twist at the end, which I saw coming but which was still unique for the Perry Mason movies. The actual guilty party is pretty obvious but the mystery wasn’t as important as usual in this one. The supporting cast was pretty good, though David Hasselhoff seemed to be too calm for someone accused of murder. As Perry, Raymond Burr uses his cane again and leans against something whenever he has to stand up. Della jokes that Perry won’t be skiing anymore. Most of the action falls to Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt), who gets beaten up even more than usual but who also gets to be the big hero in the end.

This was the last Perry Mason film for both William Katt and David Ogder Stiers, who played the district attorney. I’m going to miss both of them. William Katt’s hair was huge in this one and I was really looking forward to seeing how much bigger it could get.