let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
Claire Keane
#extradirty
Andulka
Origami Around
Misplaced Lens Cap
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
tannertan36
Kaledo Art
blake kathryn
PR's Tumblrdome
sheepfilms
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d e v o n
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almost home
Kiana Khansmith
titsay
★
todays bird
seen from Malaysia
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seen from Malaysia
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@caseopened
This is a writing blog for Perry Mason (1957 TV Series), focusing on the characters through headcanons/meta, show/book analysis posts, and prompts.
Ask box is always open for headcanon/meta questions, character or episode analysis requests/questions, , or any other Perry Mason related ask!
Happy Heavenly Birthday, William Hopper <3
January 26, 1915 - March 6, 1970 ∞
Thinking about the Drake Shake/Drake Lake in the Drake Passage, Paul's lethal calm, and the ~thematic elements~ therein.
The Drake Passage is the passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. It's known to be a rite of passage for sailors and can be quite unpredictable. It holds some of the most rough and dangerous seas, as well as bouts of calm seas known respectively as the Drake Shake and the Drake Lake.
The Drake Shake is the rough seas experience. You're getting shaken up in these high swells and the ocean is humbling you with her power. The Drake Lake is the calm seas part of the passage where everything is smooth sailing. The Drake Passage, of course, contains both, and exists as both lethal and calm.
Paul's own lethal calm is like that Drake Passage. If you sail out to sea with cocky or malicious intent, the ocean will put you in your place. If you try to threaten people or harm people, Paul Drake will put you in your place. He's always been the character who puts the ball in your court. He'll deescalate and disarm if he needs to do so. It just depends on how you're going to engage. Sail on with respect and goodness, or disrespect and malice. Paul Drake will respond accordingly.
This all gets better thinking about Paul's connection to the water within the series (thanks Bill), the fact that we have a Paul Drake fangirl write a book about The Amorous Adventures of Paul Lake, AND the fact that I can absolutely hear both Paul Drake and Paul Drake Jr call their disarming moves the Drake Shake.
Comparative view of Paul Drake Swimming a Lap + Paul Drake Rescuing a Drowning Swimmer
When he's swimming for sport/leisure in the pool, we can see Bill's swim strokes. He's not worried about the splashes as he does the Australian crawl. In the rescue scene, however, we hardly see Bill's swim strokes. Why? Because when he dives into the water in the ocean, he's swimming in stealth as he learned to swim in his frogmen days. He had to swim in such a way so that his strokes make as little water disturbance on the surface for survival. You can read more about this in the linked post above.
It's interesting to me that location (swimming pool versus ocean) and circumstance (leisure versus rescue) changes Bill's swimming technique. Yes, I know the rescue was staged and the woman wasn't really drowning, but it's still going to trigger a particular response / instinctual movement. Stealth swimming was about survival, but it was also about controlling the body to a state of calm in high stress situations. Bill's swimming to rescue a woman was as much an instinctual response to his jumping back into the ocean and defaulting to stealth swimming as he had done so many times as much as it is a response for him to remain calm in a situation where the drowning victim is in distress.
Also I can't let this post go without mentioning Bill swimming parallel to the ocean current so that the ocean current carries the woman into his arms so he can save her. Without experience in the ocean, people tend to swim against the current, often to no avail. Swimming with the current, as Bill well knew, is the best course of action.
LOS ANGELES - OCTOBER 1: CBS Radio personality and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper and son, William DeWolf Hopper, Jr. (William Hopper). Hollywood, CA. Image dated October 1, 1940. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
William Hopper
He has worn his polka dot tie for his early films! Must also mention his fine double-breasted suit!
Another example of Paul Drake covering 5 times the ground of any other character
See the first part to this scene here
A bit of a recap from the first part linked above: The day before this scene, Paul and Perry met for lunch between court proceedings. Perry arrived late to lunch, and Paul was already at this same restaurant as seen above. When Perry asked how long Paul had been waiting for him, Paul answered: "Long enough to learn that the bartender's name is Julio Remarto, and that he's Dolores' uncle. That's why her picture's still hanging there. He refuses to take it down until the man who murdered Dolores is dead." This line alone shows us a couple things that I highlight so regularly on this blog:
Paul is ALWAYS absorbing and gathering information, even when he's "off work" at lunch.
Paul yet again establishes connections with the community. He went into this bar and just started chatting casually with Julio Remarto. He never treats people like case numbers or facts/statistics. He treats them like people! He's just sitting at the bar having a conversation with folks. And that's what makes him such a good detective.
On top of all that, the purpose of Paul meeting Perry for lunch was for Paul to deliver more intel. Paul ran a trace on a set of bills and uncovered from where they were drawn, by whom, and when. With that information, Paul then looked up the names of the top brass in the company that the money was traced to and THEN dug up ALL this background information on 3 people--- including job titles, significant others, marriages, movements, and business ventures (which, by the way, are business ventures all over the world). He has an entire detailed report on three suspects! He's reaching across multiple areas--- banks, businesses, marital licenses, etc. to get all this information. After all of that information, Perry then asks Paul to run a trace on some broken glass.
And now let's get to this scene. Here, Paul and Perry meet for lunch again at the same spot. This time, Paul has MORE intelligence. He ran a chemical composition on the broken glass and the fibers that were in the glass. By doing so, this evidence proved the killer. Why? Because the killer's shoes had broken bits of glass and fibers that were found on the doormat of Dolores' home.
It just goes to show how good Paul Drake is as a private detective and how much ground he covers to find out the truth. It also is another great example of how much Perry truly relies on Paul for his defense. Without Paul's work, Perry wouldn't have a case to stand on!
EEPY SLEEPY PAUL WITH HIS HAIR ALL MUSSED AND HIS FACE ALL SCRUNCHED UP!!!
the unbuttoned PJ shirt <3 his sleeves rolled up <3 HIS WAVY HAIR!!!!
Also, I know it's probably just a result of them doing this as a quick scene but I like to think Paul actually does wear his watch to sleep because either a) he's too tired by the time he actually gets to go to bed that he just passes out without thinking to take off his watch or ring, or b) he keeps it on him while he's sleeping as a habit because of how often he has to note down the time when he's getting a call from an agent or from his switchboard so he can report it later.
Umm can we go the other way please
Thank you 👍
William Hopper in The High and the Mighty (1954)
Paul, Della, and Perry just found a baby! Part of Paul Drake being an Absolute Dad Part 7 (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6)
Baby Leander appeared mysteriously at Perry's office with a letter stating the baby's name and a plea to look after him and not to inform the police. But where is Leander's family? And why did someone ask the trio to look after Leander?
That's what the trio is about to find out. Perry's immediate resolution is that he has to report the baby to the police and turn the baby over to them. He thinks the police will take care of it. Della puts a hard stop on Perry’s thought immediately.
Paul, ever the Dad, wonders aloud about the baby's family!!! His immediate reaction/concern is about the baby and how he will go about finding his family. The heart of a father and the mind of a detective go to work immediately, and Paul tells Della and Perry that while there's not much to go on, he's going to run the letter for latent fingerprints to try to identify the person who wrote the letter. He's gong to make sure he takes care of Leander and finds his family. <3
Della, ever the investigator herself (and also pretty swiftly latching on to the mama bear role), pulls the pendant from Leander and asks Paul if this would help him find the baby's family.
Paul identifies the pendant as a pendant of St. Christopher and discovers the etching of an electric automobile on the back. Paul will later use that electric automobile clue and meet with one of his contacts who just so happens to be a vintage car mechanic. The car mechanic will identify the car, which directly helps Paul track down Leander's family.
I love this first scene with the trio and the baby and how it establishes Paul and Della in a more parental and caretaker role for the baby. I think it's also interesting that Perry seems to take a step back here in favor of his attorney brain/thinking more on the legal end of what to do with the baby. I think this sets up the rest of the episode in terms of the roles each member of the trio embodies for the baby (Paul and Della more parental and caring for/interacting with the baby, and Perry on the legal end to help the baby reunite with his family).
Protective Caretaker Dad Paul! Or, Paul Drake being an absolute Dad Part 6 (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)
Paul has had baby Leander for 0.5 seconds, and he is already being Papa Bear protecting him from possible danger (and also protecting Della and Perry).
In this scene, Paul, Della, and Perry are in Perry's office late at night. But, surprise! A baby was left in Perry's office with a note that says to please look after the baby and not to report the baby to the police.
Perry's immediate reaction is that he has to report the baby to the police, but Della insists that Perry does no such thing. While they deliberate, Della passes Paul the pendant that was around the baby's neck. He identifies the pendant as a pendant of St. Christopher and discovers the etching of an electric automobile on the back. Paul will later use that electric automobile clue and meet with one of his contacts (a vintage car mechanic-- more proof of Paul being a car guy!) to identify the exact model.
But I digress.
As Paul is inspecting the pendant, a noise interrupts the trio. THE SECOND the noise occurs, Paul stands up and straightens up his shoulders so his broad chest expands even more. In a blink of an eye, he goes from sitting calm and relaxed to protective caretaker mode. Della's face drops at the sound, and Perry looks over at the door, but keeps a level eye.
Please note Paul's first reaction. He looks back at Della, Perry, and Leander. He looks back to make sure they're safe. Paul quietly extends a hand to communicate that he wishes for them to stay put and that he will check out the noise. We can see that even though Della and Perry are intrigued / concerned by the noise, they make no effort to move. Why? Because they know and trust Paul to protect them. <3333
Paul immediately goes to the door. I'd like to bring your attention to the way he opens the door. He keeps most of his body back behind the door so that a possible intruder on the other side doesn't get an advantage by trying to attack him. In other words, Paul makes sure the door remains a block or a shield. When he opens the door, he does so quickly and quietly. Paul does this several times in the series when he opens doors with a possible intruder on the other side. He opens the door quickly so that he can see what the threat is before the threat might be able to react. If you open a door slowly, there's a greater chance the intruder will see it and prepare to attack. A swift opening eliminates the intruder's ability to prepare. Paul wants the upper hand here, and so that is why he opens the door in this manner.
He immediately sees Mrs. Cosgrove, who cleans the building at night. Paul quickly tells Della and Perry who it is and then says hello to Mrs. Cosgrove. There's a really cute scene with Mrs. Cosgrove being so happy to see Paul and then chatting away with Paul, Della, and Perry. It felt really heavily implied that Mrs. Cosgrove not only knows Paul, Della, and Perry (likely because the trio works late into the night and sees her), but also is friends with them. <3
Anyway, as if this episode did not already make my heart burst with all the Dad Paul moments, they had to go ahead and add protective caretaker Paul on top of it! Just another wonderful example of Paul being the caretaker and protector and DAD. <333
Part 1 of 2
Paul: As far as I'm concerned, there are no good reasons for turning on a friend.
okay 🥹
Also of course Paul did his research! He’s the best detective in California 🥰
EVEN MORE OF everyone else is acting while Bill is just being himself with the baby. Or, Paul Drake being an Absolute Dad Part 5 (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
After a brief interlude with Della and Paul being an Absolute Mom and Dad, we're back to yet another scene of Bill just being here for the baby.
For context, Perry is talking to Paul, and Paul can only manage to pull his gaze away from baby Leander for a second before returning his attention back to the baby. And this isn't the first time. Parts 1 - 4 all feature Paul just so entirely attentive to the baby--- reacting to his movements, taking care of him, holding him/keeping him safe, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head, and playing with him.
I love the way he tucks his chin and leans over to get a look at Leander and make sure he's content. The camera partially cut off Bill's hand, but we can still see he's rubbing the baby's tummy again! And the way he cradles the baby in his arms and lap.
What else can I say except Dad Paul, my beloved. <3333333333333
Who's more beautiful?
Barbie
Bill
It's Bill by a mile.
During the filming of the last episode TCOT Final Fadeout, Bill Hopper was on crutches due to a foot injury so he couldn't really stand or walk around. The directors did a great job covering it up but if you know, it becomes really noticeable that Paul is leaning/sitting in every scene of the episode!
It also makes you realize how dynamic Paul usually is during his scenes!
I shared an article that includes a brief interview with Bill about his injury and how the cast rallied around him in support. He cut a tendon on his foot by stepping on glass while filming a previous episode, and he wound up wearing a cast and having to use crutches.
And something else I brought up in that post was to stop and reflect on how Bill worked through wearing a cast and walking about on crutches to give us Paul Drake one last time. He didn't miss a beat with his characterization. He didn't let us see his injury. He just showed up to bring us Paul.
And isn't that the art of the detective? Of hiding so much in plain sight?
This man brought so much to Paul Drake, and he also endured a lot too. He befriended private investigators to incorporate their experiences into Paul's character, he left elements of himself into Paul's character, he (as Alan Alda said) knew how to shine even if he wasn't in the spotlight, and he even won awards and recognition from Private Investigators for his accurate portrayal of a private investigator.
And for all his contributions to the Perry Mason series, he also suffered fat shaming, was forced to diet for the role, got visibly triggered by war commentary, and tore a tendon. There were lows that he kept (or tried to keep) out of sight. Amidst all the ups and downs, he still gave us Paul. The fact that the season ends with Bill injured with a cast and crutches brings that all to a front.
It's something I pause and think about often. I'll sign this post off with the last lines from the article, as I think it drives home 9 seasons of Bill giving us so much... and for one last time...
"Bill Hopper's call came. He arose unsteadily, honked the horn on his crutches, and thumped toward the camera. 'Attaboy, Bill. Attaboy,' cheered Erle Stanley Gardner."
