This show was originally a radio drama based upon stories by Earl Stanley Gardner. Donated to the Museum in 1991, this Transogram game is based upon a TV program that was telecast from 1957 through 1974 as a one hour prime time drama. From time to time the TV show was re-run as a daytime series. In 1985 it was revised as a series of two hour programs which were telecast a few times a year until 1993. These subsequent telecasts are often re-run on cable stations.
In the telecasts, Mason (Raymond Burr - pictured on the left of the game box) is a criminal lawyer who accepts cases in different legal jurisdictions of the United States. Through a sequence of detection efforts and legal maneuvers he is always able to win all of his cases. The defendants were often played by well known actors and actresses. In each episode he is assisted by his "secretary" Della Street (Barbara Hale) - and a private investigator, Paul Drake (William Hopper).
The game is for two to six players who are offered a scenario in which they role play. One of the players is Mason who tries to "detect" the perpetrator of the crime.
Last update May 30, 2010