Perry Mason and Paul Drake have chartered a fishing boat operated by a friend of Perry's. This establishes Perry's connection to the Accused. The captain has arranged to take a mean-tempered guy and a professor to Mexico every weekend so they can collect kelp for a money-making venture. No, it's not alternative energy. Alginic acid is extracted from the kelp and there are widespread uses for alginate.
The mean guy (a contractor by profession and a drunk by habit) has a broken ankle and didn't want to make the trip this weekend so Perry and Paul take advantage of the opening to go deep-sea fishing. Except when they arrive, the guy has changed his mind and the boat is not available to them after all.
The contractor's wife is seen throwing a bottle of his hootch against a rock as they board the charter fishing boat. She has some words for her absent husband.
You need that like I need you.
Later she's directing the loading of his luggage. Her helper is struggling with the weight of the gear.
Crewman: What's he live on, booze and lead?
Wife: Just booze. Don't drop it.
Paul and Perry charter a different boat to go deep-sea fishing. The two aren't having any luck and they talk at cross purposes here.
PD: There ought to be a law requiring all denizens of the deep that get away to be of unknown length.
PM: And also a law requiring said denizens to bite when it costs this much to charter a boat.
The captain of the original boat uses ship-to-shore equipment to telephone Perry. The drunken contractor has been found dead. Perry arrives at the boat and is greeted with dismay by Lt. Tragg.
Tragg: Isn't it enough with the Treasury Department, the FBI, the homicide squad, the Coast Guard, and three vice-presidents of a gold mine?
It's not just murder. There's gold smuggling. Bullion with a street value of a half-million dollars has disappeared from the Alchemy Mine. The owners suspect it is being smuggled to Mexico, where it can be resold. And $50,000 worth of the missing gold has just been found on this boat.
Tragg: This boat’s been going to Mexico every weekend for two months, always with the same six people aboard. A + B = C.
Paul: Who’s this Charles Bender?
Professor: Drunk half the time and hung over the rest. ...
PM: You know, Paul, it might be a good idea to have a talk with this Bender.
PD: Well, if he’s not on one, I’ll find him.
On cross-examination we have this exchange wherein Perry shows how to use the word “literally.”
PM: Didn’t he literally kick you out of a hotel bar?
Witness: What did you want me to do, fistfight with an old drunk?
PM: So out of immense respect for his age you allowed him to kick you in the posterior hard enough to propel you out of that bar?
Another cross-examination exchange, giving some insight into 1961. Movies and TV shows from this era frequently note the status symbol of the mink coat.
PM to victim’s widow: On April 17 you reported the theft of some furs, for which the insurance company paid your husband $18,000.
Widow: They were stolen from the Palm Springs house while we were on one of the trips.
PM: On May 5, your house in Palm Springs burned down. Your husband collected $100,000 in insurance.
Widow: It was a beautiful house.
I wonder what sort of beautiful house you can get for $100,000 in Palm Springs these days. This place is $177,000. Check out the photos. The backyard is charming!
The mean guy (a contractor by profession and a drunk by habit) has a broken ankle and didn't want to make the trip this weekend so Perry and Paul take advantage of the opening to go deep-sea fishing. Except when they arrive, the guy has changed his mind and the boat is not available to them after all.
The contractor's wife is seen throwing a bottle of his hootch against a rock as they board the charter fishing boat. She has some words for her absent husband.
You need that like I need you.
Later she's directing the loading of his luggage. Her helper is struggling with the weight of the gear.
Crewman: What's he live on, booze and lead?
Wife: Just booze. Don't drop it.
Paul and Perry charter a different boat to go deep-sea fishing. The two aren't having any luck and they talk at cross purposes here.
PD: There ought to be a law requiring all denizens of the deep that get away to be of unknown length.
PM: And also a law requiring said denizens to bite when it costs this much to charter a boat.
The captain of the original boat uses ship-to-shore equipment to telephone Perry. The drunken contractor has been found dead. Perry arrives at the boat and is greeted with dismay by Lt. Tragg.
Tragg: Isn't it enough with the Treasury Department, the FBI, the homicide squad, the Coast Guard, and three vice-presidents of a gold mine?
It's not just murder. There's gold smuggling. Bullion with a street value of a half-million dollars has disappeared from the Alchemy Mine. The owners suspect it is being smuggled to Mexico, where it can be resold. And $50,000 worth of the missing gold has just been found on this boat.
Tragg: This boat’s been going to Mexico every weekend for two months, always with the same six people aboard. A + B = C.
Paul: Who’s this Charles Bender?
Professor: Drunk half the time and hung over the rest. ...
PM: You know, Paul, it might be a good idea to have a talk with this Bender.
PD: Well, if he’s not on one, I’ll find him.
On cross-examination we have this exchange wherein Perry shows how to use the word “literally.”
PM: Didn’t he literally kick you out of a hotel bar?
Witness: What did you want me to do, fistfight with an old drunk?
PM: So out of immense respect for his age you allowed him to kick you in the posterior hard enough to propel you out of that bar?
Another cross-examination exchange, giving some insight into 1961. Movies and TV shows from this era frequently note the status symbol of the mink coat.
PM to victim’s widow: On April 17 you reported the theft of some furs, for which the insurance company paid your husband $18,000.
Widow: They were stolen from the Palm Springs house while we were on one of the trips.
PM: On May 5, your house in Palm Springs burned down. Your husband collected $100,000 in insurance.
Widow: It was a beautiful house.
I wonder what sort of beautiful house you can get for $100,000 in Palm Springs these days. This place is $177,000. Check out the photos. The backyard is charming!