Perry Mason - HBO 1930s-era LA detective noir

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Perry Mason - HBO 1930s-era LA detective noir

AtraMorS: Feb 29, 2004; If at the end of a war story you feel that some tiny bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie

Milo and POTUS posted:

I assumed he did it to buy the client time? I don't know how it worked back then, but an attorney offing himself during a case today would bring it to a standstill, at least until a replacement could be found, doubly so for a capital case. Brought on by him feeling despondent about being unable to help?

Also about how far away would that farm be today? God LA area is so insanely big

I mean, that's one probable effect of his actions, but I don't like it as a motivation. EB topped himself because he didn't want to face the consequences of his embezzlement. There are going to be other effects of course, but that's the common motivation between trying to convince his client to plead out and what he ended up doing. It's very unlikely that the DA would send out that evidence just to smear and disbar a dead man, so this way means EB gets to keep some of his reputation and public image.

But yeah, it will probably buy his client some time, just not nearly as much as today (I doubt court backlogs were as bad 100 years ago, even in LA). What it does do is take away the blackmail leverage that the DA could use to control the trial, which is a step or two towards getting the best result for his client. Still, EB could've accomplished that a lot of other ways--like admit publicly to what he'd done, resign from the case, and help ensure a smooth transfer to a new attorney--so it was still a selfish act.

It was a very poetic final scene and all, but I just have a hard time seeing EB as selfless and sacrificial like that.

# ¿ Jul 15, 2020 17:47

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 10:23

AtraMorS: Feb 29, 2004; If at the end of a war story you feel that some tiny bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie

mobby_6kl posted:

Did he actually turn on the oven?

The method he was using isn't really possible anymore (probably one reason they're able to get away with showing it the way they did), but those old stoves/ovens pumped carbon monoxide straight into the room, so ignition wasn't necessary.

A little more info: https://io9.gizmodo.com/why-have-people-stopped-committing-suicide-with-gas-5959303

# ¿ Jul 16, 2020 23:39

AtraMorS: Feb 29, 2004; If at the end of a war story you feel that some tiny bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie

Milo and POTUS posted:

You just know someone stuck their head in a hot oven because they didn't get the memo

I can't remember when I first saw/heard about something like that in a story, but I was really young, and for an embarrassingly long time when I heard about sticking your head in an oven, I was like, "How bad must your life suck if it makes you want to broil your own head?"

# ¿ Jul 17, 2020 18:25

AtraMorS: Feb 29, 2004; If at the end of a war story you feel that some tiny bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie

Bird in a Blender posted:

Does Shea play someone who isn�t a cop or former cop? Boardwalk, Fargo, joker, and now this.

In True Detective, he's a revivalist preacher.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2020 20:20

AtraMorS: Feb 29, 2004; If at the end of a war story you feel that some tiny bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie

Bird in a Blender posted:

They�ve already explicitly addressed racism a bunch of times in the show, so I doubt you�re going to see them try to hand wave it away. Drake already had a problem when Mason infiltrated the brothel and Drake was turned away. Maybe they�ll bring in a white sidekick of sorts to get into areas he can�t, or just use it as a way to make him clever enough to work around or even use racist prejudices during the investigation.

There's also the scene when Drake goes looking for information at the hotel (ep. 6? 7?). The racism isn't nearly as explicit, but it does a pretty good job of showing Drake working around these kinds of obstacles. The white manager lady clearly isn't much help and just wants him gone as soon as possible, but he's still able to get critical information from a woman of color who works there.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2020 18:34

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 10:23

AtraMorS: Feb 29, 2004; If at the end of a war story you feel that some tiny bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie

SimonChris posted:

Did they actually find the Gallardos' fingerprints on the gun or anything? As far as I remember, the only reason they know that they used it is that the shady gun renter guy told them, which the DA doesn't know about.

As I remember it, Paul rented all of the dude's pistols of [insert caliber here]. He then did a backyard ballistics test on each one and compared the bullets to some photos of the murder bullet he had. He then confronted the shady gun guy about that particular pistol that matched and showed him the picture of the Gallardos, whom the gun guy recognized.

So, no fingerprints, but still enough evidence to reasonably convince Perry that the thing is radioactive.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2023 21:41

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Perry Mason - HBO 1930s-era LA detective noir