|
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason is featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which involve a client's murder trial. Typically, Mason establishes his client's innocence by implicating another character, who then confesses. The character of Perry Mason was adapted for motion pictures and a long-running radio series. These were followed by its best-known adaptation, the CBS television series ''Perry Mason'' (1957–66) starring Raymond Burr. A second television series, ''The New Perry Mason'' starring Monte Markham, ran from 1973 to 1974; and 30 Perry Mason television films ran from 1985 to 1995, with Burr reprising the role of Mason in 26 of them prior to his death.〔("Encore acquires all Perry Mason TV movies". UPI.com, Aug. 2, 2010 ) Retrieved 2011-07-10.〕 The Perry Mason series ranks third in the top ten bestselling book series. In 2015 the American Bar Association's publishing imprint, Ankerwycke, began reissuing Gardner's Perry Mason books, which had been out of print in the United States. ==Character== The name "Perry Mason" dates to creator Gardner's childhood. As a child, Gardner was a reader of the magazine ''Youth's Companion''. The magazine was published in Boston, Massachusetts, by the Perry Mason Company (renamed "Perry Mason & Co." after the founder died). When Gardner created his fictional attorney, he borrowed the name of the company which published his favorite childhood magazine.〔(Erle Stanley Gardner biographic material by William F. Nolan )〕 Gardner provided more information about Mason's character in the earlier novels; knowledge of his character is largely taken for granted in the later works, the television series and movies. In the first novel, Mason describes himself: Gardner depicts Mason as a lawyer who fights hard on behalf of his clients and who enjoys unusual, difficult or nearly-hopeless cases. He frequently accepts clients on a whim based on his curiosity about their problem, for a minimal retainer, and finances the investigation of their cases himself if necessary. In ''The Case of the Caretaker's Cat'' (1935), his principal antagonist, District Attorney Hamilton Burger, says: "You're a better detective than you are a lawyer. When you turn your mind to the solution of a crime, you ferret out the truth." And in ''The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink'' (1952), a judge who has just witnessed one of the lawyer's unusual tactics says: "Mr. Mason...from time to time you seem to find yourself in predicaments from which you extricate yourself by unusual methods which invariably turn out to be legally sound. The Court feels you are fully capable of looking after your own as well as your clients' interests." Another frequent antagonist, Lieutenant Arthur Tragg of the homicide squad, has a discussion with Mason about his approach to the law. Mason is recovering from having been poisoned, and Tragg is investigating. He says: Other than what is learned of his character from the novels themselves, very little is known about Perry Mason. His family, personal life, background, and education are not depicted, although according to the first chapter of ''The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece'' (1935), his astrological sign was Leo. In the first season of the television series, Mason helps an old friend from World War II; he mentions that he was in a company that was at Normandy on D-Day. Mason has a professional relationship with Paul Drake, although after ''The Case of the Velvet Claws'' fees are seldom discussed. Della Street is Mason's only (unacknowledged) romantic interest. It is known that he lives in an apartment because he is occasionally awakened from sleep to go to his office; he does not entertain anyone at home. His tastes in food are known because many scenes take place in restaurants, and that he is an excellent driver is shown by his participation in the occasional car chase. Other than those sketchy facts, there is so little physical description of him that the reader is not even sure what he looks like. The 1930s films were not closely based on the character of Perry Mason as revealed in the books, and contain plot and character developments which are not accepted as canonical in the remainder of the books and adaptations. For instance, in one film, Mason marries his longtime secretary Della Street, while Paul Drake turns into comic sidekick Spudsy Drake. Likewise the TV series diverges at times significantly from the books, which was a practical necessity considering that there were only about 80 Perry Mason novels written altogether and over 270 episodes of the TV series. Thus there was a need for a great deal of invented material, background, plots and characters - none of which material Gardner incorporated into his ongoing series of Perry Mason novels. In fact Gardner wrote over 30 more Perry Mason novels between 1957 when the TV series began, and his death in 1970. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Perry Mason」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|