Perry Mason : The Case of the Provocative Protege (1960)
Directed by Laslo Benedek
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
It looks like suicide when hasbeen concert pianist David Carpenter (Gregory Morton) plunges off a cliff. Then the suspicion arises that Carpenter was actually murdered so that his wife Anita (Virginia Field) could collect his life insurance. But Anita is not the client of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) in the subsequent preliminary hearing: instead, Carpenter's sexy protegee Donna Ross (Kathie Browne) has been charged with the murder. (Trivia note: the original TV Guide listings identify the suspect as "Donna Loring", a name presumably changed at the last minute for legal reasons). Robert Karnes makes his first appearance as Deputy DA Chamberlin, one of several temporary replacements for absentee regular William Talman (DA Hamilton Burger).