Perry Mason Returns: The New TV-Movies

Meanwhile, the archbishop, who is an old friend of Perry's, concocts a scheme where the lawyer is admitted to the troubled hospitalundercoverso he can start investigating the peculiar goings-on. When Sister Margaret is booked, Perry agrees to defend her. Della and young Paul soon join the case. They must find the real killer and stop Sister Margaret from going to prison.

Once again the viewing audience is treated to a modern, hip whydoit. Paul pursues a likely suspect through a health club, with Sister Margaret tagging along. (She gets the surpriseif not the eyefulof her life when she stumbled into a locker room of naked men.) Perry tracks down a number of leads, including some shady real estate dealings made by the archdiocese's lawyers. Later, when the "priest" who slipped Sister Margaret the mickey is found dead, the search concentrates on 1) who hired him to murder Father O'Neil, and 2) who killed the killer.

Once in the courtroom, Perry slowly unravels a tale of stolen church money, bogus land deals, and a crooked ambulance service. There is an in-depth inquisition into whether Sister Margaret loved Father O'Neil (she did) and whether they ever had an affair (they didn't). As always, Paul gets hold of the crucial evidence at the last moment and Perry begins to put it all together. Greed was the motive for the murder. The nun is freed and the Catholics in the audience can rest easy again.

This episode introduces the new "Hamilton Burger"David Ogden Stiers (Charles on M*A*S*H) plays Perry's courtroom adversary, DA Michael Reston. Also starring were Arthur Hill, Barbara Parkins, Jon Cypher, James McEachin, Gerald O'Loughlin, William Prince, and Edward Winter.

Story by Joel Steiger
Directed by Ron Satlof

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