Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo (1992 TV Movie) User Reviews (10)

Kanoodle And Tell

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 4 May 2008]

This particular Perry Mason television film, The Case of the Reckless Romeo, is distinguished for having Geraldo Rivera play a version of himself and well on the screen. It was almost a shame to have him killed off, he was the best thing about this film.

Like Geraldo in real life, Geraldo is the host of a tabloid television talk show and he's written some tell all memoirs about the women of whom he's had carnal knowledge of. But whereas in real life some of them issued denials altogether and some just didn't comment, these women are furious. But unfortunately one of them made the mistake of having the cameras rolling when she threatened to do Geraldo in. She's the star of an action television series, so when Geraldo is done in, she's the one who needs the services of Perry Mason.

The other thing The Case of the Reckless Romeo is noted for is the presence of Tracy Nelson who comes from a distinguished show business family, the daughter of Ricky and the granddaughter of Ozzie and Harriet, with her husband William R. Moses. Tracy plays a kind of budding Geraldo like journalist herself and she's carving an agenda all her own in this episode.

There's a cute subplot about Raymond Burr being constantly reminded that it's Barbara Hale's birthday coming up. As if someone as sharp as Perry Mason would ever forget Della Street's birthday.

Men Have Died And Worms Have Eaten Them, But Not For Love

[boblipton · 6/10 · 6 February 2019]

When talk show host Geraldo Rivera's tell-all memoirs are published, he soon winds up dead. The police arrest and commence the trial of one of his lovers, Amy Steel. Little do they suspect that she will hire Perry Mason. His clients are never guilty! The murderer will confess on the witness stand! And so forth.

Raymond Burr returns as Erle Stanley Gardner's lawyer/sleuth in one of the TV movies that rounded out his career. It's a typically good entry in the series, although the casting of Mr. Rivera as the murder victim must have been a popular choice,,, and stunt casting, given his standing as a serious TV-newsman (on Channel 7 in New York when I was young) into the king of tabloid journalists. His real-life memoirs, in which he claimed to have slept with over a thousand women, was clearly the inspiration for the character he plays here.

The Lady in Red

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 25 January 2011]

****SPOILERS**** After making a major announcement on his highly rated TV talk show "Revelations" about the release of his new book "Ted Mayne Reviled" about the scores of women he had affairs with over the years Ted Mayne, Geraldo Rivera, should have known better to get himself an army of bodyguards to prevent himself from getting murdered. Instead Mayne like the sleaze ball that he is just lapped up all the publicity that the contents that his book gave him and ended up, not surprisingly, with knife stuck in his chest by possibly one the many women whom he had an affair with! There were so many people who had a good reason to do Mayne in that it would have taken everyone, man woman dog & cat, in entire city of Denver's white pages telephone book to be interviewed by the police in being a suspect in Mayne's murder!

As things turned out the person arrested for murdering Ted Mayne turned out to be action-adventure TV actress Roxanne Shields, Amy Steel. Roxanne was so upset about Mayne revealing his affair with her in his book that in a fit of anger she threatened, while being interviewed on the TV news, to stick a knife in his heart if she ever runs into to him. With the person seen entering Mayne's penthouse the night of his murder described as wearing a red dress which Roxanne admittedly wore that evening and smelling from the strong perfume "Roxanne" that Roxanne advertises she thus turned out to be the prime suspect of the dozens of women who were suspected in Mayne's murder!

With Roxanne now in danger of ending up behind bars for life she gets top Denver defense attorney Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, to take her case. Perry checking out all the facts in the case soon uncovers a number of clues that would eliminate Roxanne in being Mayne's murderer. The biggest and most important one being the perfume "Roxanne" that she supposedly wore at the scene of the crime. It turns out that Roxanne is so allergic to perfume that she can't even be in the same room with a woman wearing it without breaking out all over!

Perry goes through a whole montage of the late super stud Ted Mayne's "sexual conquests" from the widow of a late United States Senator Nora Turner, Anjanette Comer, who's husband was killed in an airplane crash to his own show's producer Brenda Kingsley, Priscilla Barnes, who had the entire world known about her affair with Mayne on live TV as she was producing his show! Perry hits pay-dirt when he spots a photo,taken with a hidden camera, in Mayne's book of him making out with Mary Singer,Leslie Wing, that really showed what a low life swine, if any more proof was needed, he really was. Not only did Mayne blow Mary's cover in the witness protection program that she and her husband were in but showed that he was even cheating on his fiancée Laura Rand, Mary-Margaret Holmes, whom he promised that his wild life of bedding down women was now history!

***SPOILERS*** It took a lot of work on Perry's part but eventually he broke the murder case wide open in him breaking down the women, who killed Mayne, on the witness stand. Of all the scores of women Mayne not only two timed but also exposed his affairs with them,in his tell all book, this was one woman who just about had enough of him and took matters into her own hands! And with that put "sex machine" Ted Mayne's life of non-stop bed hopping and womanizing to a final and bloody end!

Run of the mill Mason film

[bob the moo · 1 January 2004]

Ted Mayne is a daytime TV host whose show is well known for exposés and gossip mongering. He takes a step too far when he announces the publication of his kiss and tell autobiography, which features photographs and detail about his lovers - many of whom are famous women in a variety of roles. When he is murdered, all evidence appears to point to Roxanne Shields, who turns to Perry Mason for defence. While he investigates the other suspects Ken Malansky tries to find one of Mayne's lovers who is missing, with the help of TV reporter Charley Adams.

I have seen the vast majority of the Perry Mason films and have found them to be based around one formula that is repeated in each film with slight twists occasionally. Here the film investigates any number of scorned lovers and it is enjoyable the way that Mason does his stuff. As usual Ken is lumbered with a female sidekick that is irritating, but his thread has a nice little twist to it even if it is just another red herring of sorts to keep the film moving along. The twist at the end is revealed with a surprising lack of fireworks or spectacle but it is still reasonably enjoyable.

Burr does his usual good work as Mason and the film permits him some nice scenes with Hale's Della Street, a subplot that the series occasionally dips into but not often enough. Moses has his usual action orientated investigation and does OK but his lack of chemistry with the dippy and quite weak Nelson is a problem. Of the support cast only Geraldo Rivera stands out, twisting his own talk show host personae.

Overall this is pretty much what any of the film series does, it is not the best but it is about average for the series. The one major complaint I would have was that this must have been the weakest prosecution ever and in reality Perry Mason would have easily p*ssed this case without having to find the real killer to clear his client. All the evidence is very debatable and weak and `reasonable doubt' could easily have been found here.

Geraldo: Fact or Fiction

[Mark-129 · 7/10 · 21 April 2005]

Following a similar tell-all book authored by television personality Geraldo Rivera, this entry in the Perry Mason movie series blurs fact and fiction by casting Rivera as Ted Mayne, who is murdered after publishing his own scandalous tone. The suspect is a TV actress, who makes the mistake of blowing off steam over the book by threatening Mayne's life on camera.

Enter Perry Mason, who uses his usual methods to uncover the true killer in open court.

This is an average Mason film, with, a final clue, though plausible, seems too over the top to be believed, requiring the guilty party to go "mad" on the stand to pull it off.

The supporting cast is good, with Geraldo giving a surprisingly effective performance as Ted Mayne.

Ridiculous Reckless Romeo **1/2

[edwagreen · 6/10 · 28 September 2008]

Nice to see Tracy Nelson and William R. Moses in this film. Apparently, they were married when this Perry Mason thriller was made and their marriage was probably on the rocks. Notice the pushing scenes and animosity at the beginning between the two. Of course, by the end, they're kissing, but don't be fooled by this.

Unfortunately, this is not one of Perry Maon's best; although, he shows love for Della by giving her a bracelet.

Geraldo Rivera is really the enemy here as a sleazy talk show host whose tell all book about the women he has bedded down as enraged all and led to his untimely demise.

Naturally, the actress on screen, who said that she would kill the Rivera character, Ted Mayne, is arrested when the knife is plunged into Mayne's stomach rupturing a major vessel.

In his amazing way, Mason discovers the true identity of the killer by finding out more about that red dress.

A nasty Talkshow host bites the dust!

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 19 May 2023]

Sleazy talk show host Ted Mayne writes a tell-all book, which enrages and embarrasses several very prominent women. One of them, actress Roxanne Shield, loses her composure during an interview and winds up making a televised death threat. Of course, when Ted is murdered, she is arrested. Witnesses claim they saw Roxanne outside his apartment that night and police later find the murder weapon in her car. Renowned defence attorney Perry Mason accepts the challenge of defending her in court.

Geraldo Rivera - Talk show host - is well cast as a, um, talk show host, who upsets certain women with a kiss and tell book about his conquests with them - his performance is quite juicy and he's guy you love to hate. As expected, he doesn't last long and there's a group of suspects, one of them gets arrested. Perry Mason comes to her rescue. It's a standard episode, but fairly enjoyable.

The Greatest Perry Mason Episode Ever Made

[BigSkyMax · 10/10 · 19 March 2015]

Yes, this really is the greatest episode of Perry Mason ever made! That's because shortly after it begins, Geraldo Rivera gets killed. I liked that and I bet you'll like it too. Heck, DVR it like I did, so you can watch it over and over again. Very enjoyable and satisfying, although I do wish the producers had spent more time developing this. For example, viewers might like it better if they'd killed off Geraldo Rivera with the assistance of Wile E. Coyote. They could have blown him to bits with dynamite, hit him on the head with a sledge hammer, dropped a 15-ton boulder on him, or finally run him flat with a steamroller. I'd pay a dollar to see that. I forget what happens at the end, but I'm certain Perry Mason proved his client was innocent, he found out who really killed Geraldo Rivera, and they gave him a parade.

Sex sells books, and murder sells newspapers.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 21 August 2023]

No sympathy for the victim, Geraldo Rivera, in this Perry Mason TV movie where the real life TV talk show host playing a fictional one is murdered for his very detailed book on his many sexual exploits and infuriates someone enough to kill. Actually, there are several angry enough to kill, and when Amy Steel is singled out as the main suspect, Perry Mason pulls out a card he learned from "A Tale of Two Cities", having others wearing the same outfit in court.

This definitely is the scandal rag sheet of Perry Mason TV movies, lacking the subtlety of earlier ones and yet presenting it in a sanitary manner in spite of insinuations of what the various suspects and Rivera reveals. This is perhaps one of the most clear cut of the Mason TV movies, lacking subplots that seemingly stretch out the defense and confuse the viewer. Priscilla Barnes is among the other suspects, quite ruthless in her hatred for her ex-lover. Good material for Barbara Hale and William R. Moses adds to the effectiveness of this entry.

Routine courtroom thriller with no outstanding merits, for fans of the series only.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 26 November 2018]

Perry Mason is back in court to defend an actress called Roxanne Shields (Amy Steel) whom is accused of killing controversial chat show host Ted Mayne (Geraldo Rivera), her former lover. Mayne had just published his 'kiss and tell' autobiography in which he detailed his numerous affairs with women - many of whom are prominent figures in public life. Perry finds no shortage of suspects whom had a motive other than Roxanne for killing Mayne including Nora Turner (Anjanette Corner), the widow of a respected Congressman, who was planning to stand for election in her late husband's constituency. But the revelations in Mayne's book scuppered any chance of that happening. Nora's devoted teenage daughter, Sandra (Robin Tunney), could have done it since she was furious with Mayne and she lied about her whereabouts on the night of the murder. In addition, there is the fashion photographer Mary Singer (Leslie Wing) who is proving to be a very elusive person since no one in her profession has ever heard of her and she has gone missing. Who is she and why is she and others determined to keep her whereabouts and true identity a secret? And is the chief sponsor of Mayne's show and his latest conquest, Laura Rand (Mary Margaret Humes), as relaxed about being exposed in his book and the fact that he had many other lovers besides her as she appears to be?

Another routine courtroom thriller from the long running series of revival TVM's based upon Raymond Burr's well-loved 1950's-60's series, Perry Mason. There is very little to set it apart from the others and there are not really any outstanding merits to commend it. The way Perry's case unfolds isn't very convincing here since the ace attorney could have easily won a dismissal for his client on the grounds of reasonable doubt. It is revealed early on that Ted Mayne's killer wore a perfume called 'Roxanne' that the accused sponsors as part of her disguise; but overlooked the fact that she could never have worn it because she is badly allergic to any perfumes. You will wonder why it took so long for that to come out because surely anybody standing trial for their life would have brought that up straight away if it was sure to get them acquitted. The courtroom scenes carry very little suspense and Raymond Burr appears to have been simply going through the motions in this one. William R Moses' Ken Malansky gets the best scenes in this film and, as usual, he finds himself reluctantly teamed up with another female sidekick; this time a young TV reporter called Charley Adams (Tracy Nelson). Initially, she irritates Perry and Ken because she is forever pestering them for an interview for her news channel and is planning to run a parallel investigation to that of Mason's with the intention of handing over any evidence she gets to her employers before them. Yet, she becomes friends with Perry and Ken and provides a vital clue that helps win their case and get Roxanne off. This allows for some pleasant light comedy and the mystery and intrigue behind their hunt for the missing fashion photographer is moderately suspenseful. Yet, overall, this one is for fans of the series only. In the acting stakes, Robin Tunney, Anjanette Corner and Mary Margaret Humes offer the best performances.