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Retired general Roger Brandon is all set to head an anticrime commission when a man named George Emory claims to have compromising photos of Brandon's wife Laura. Unless Brandon refuses the position, Emory will launch a smear campaign against the woman.
General Brandon has never backed down from a fight before, and he doesn't intend to this time. Deciding to fight the problem head on and trusting his wife implicitly, Brandon calls Emory's bluff. The good news is that someone kills Emory. The bad news is that the killer did a neat job of framing the general for the murder.
in The Case of THE POSITIVE NEGATIVE
Directed by Jesse Hibbs
Teleplay by Robert E. Kent
Story by Robert E. Kent and Robert Yale Libott
Brian Donlevy as General Roger Brandon
Bettye Ackerman as Laura Brandon
Parley Baer as Frank Cummings
Dabbs Greer as Bill Cotton
Simon Scott as Stanley Overton
Anthony Hayes as Warren Cotton
Ted de Corsia as George Emory
John Gallaudet as Judge
Jim Drum as Photographer
Tom Allen as Police Officer
Film Editor � Richard H. Cahoon, A.C.E.
Sightings: Turning up in the courtroom gallery to watch Perry pull a rabbit out of this hat are Quiet Old Man #1 and our �Miss Carmody.� More about them here. Submitted by gracenote, 6/15/2011.
Continuity Error: Note the lighting when the lamp is turned on in the first scene. The lighting in the blackmail photo (supposed taken at that moment) is completely different. Submitted by cgraul, 1/25/2012.
Weren't the blackmail photos taken before Warren turned on the lamp? ("The infrared bulb must have been out of sync with the shutter" for 1 of the 3 photos.) That's when his and Laura's embrace matches the photo that we see. Still, a remarkably good photo considering the circumstances. Submitted by (lowercase, with a comma and period) masonite, 10/29/13.
Although the titles of the episodes are usually centered, in this episode "Positive" is aligned to the left while "Negative" is aligned to the right. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 6/27/12.
+ Sharp eyes! Submitted by catyron, August 17th, 2018
The widely seen character actor Dabbs Greer made his last of 8 appearances on Perry Mason as Bill Cotton. Submitted by Perry Baby 2/4/14
+ Simon Scott, born Daniel Scott Simon, made the last of his 5 Perry appearances in this episode. Mike Bedard 3.14.15.
This is the only PM writing credit for Robert Yale Libott, who was a graduate of Stanford and of UCLA Law. Libott balanced a legal career in patents and entertainment law with a writing career in radio, television and films...MikeM. 4/17/2018
Emory's Menorah Mailbox: Mr. Emory lives in the same fancy house with the diamond-panelled door we have seen before, and it opens, as usual, to "the" staircase and foyer, as always. But this time is different from all other times -- because on the outer wall of the house is an attached mailbox, with the word EMORY painted on it in white paint -- and it is the same "Jewish Mailbox" previously seen in Episode 265 (TCOT Fanciful Frail). You remember the mailbox -- it's the one with the rampant lions of Judea flanking a Jewish synagogue menorah (candelabrum) surmounted by a royal crown. This menorah-within-a-menorah design is a common feature of Jewish Hanukkah (Chanukah) menorahs. See here and here and here and here. Either Mr. Emory is Jewish or some set decorator is having a lot of fun with this prop. Submitted by catyron, August 18th, 2018
Friday Night Boxing:On the brick wall outside the San Carlos Camera Shop, with its bouncy modern lettering, is an old-fashioned boxing poster. Here is what i can make out -- with word in {brackets} open to question:
FRIDAY EVENING {?}
{Frank} SLAUSON vs {Johnny} RANSOM
{Les} SHARP vs {Killer} HAND
{?} vs {?}
{?} vs. Buddy FIVE
Zahler WHITE vs. Killer HAND
Submitted by catyron, August 17th, 2018
TCOT West Bend Thermo-Serv: The West Bend Thermo-serv carafe and one cup can be seen on a side table at the Brandons' house when Perry talks to Laura Brandon. Submitted by catyron, August 17th, 2018
Out of all the possible fictitious place names, why did story writers Kent and Libott choose the name of real California city San Carlos as the corrupt town? It is in the San Francisco peninsula, about 360 miles north of Los Angeles, and had a population of 20,000-25,000 in the 1960s per the US census bureau. But per Kent and Libott San Carlos seems as savory as Bay City. Submitted by (lowercase, with a comma and period) masonite, 10/29/13.
We get another look at Della's unique filing system - a separate drawer for each letter I through P. DOD 04/30/19
Drumm can�t make up his mind to pronounce Los Angeles with a hard or soft �G�. Perry has acquired a few decorative accessories- a pair of bird sculptures on the end table by the sofa. DOD 05/26/21
Was Brian Donlevy ailing during the filming of the episode? His voice sounds like he had a serious throat condition, making speech difficult. He still has 6 years more to live, and about 9 more roles to play. Submitted by (lowercase, with a comma and period) masonite, 10/29/13.
+ When I first saw his initial scene (and moments before reading here), to me he sounded like he was having painful teeth issues. Several scenes later though, he does not seem to be having the same speech issue. Also, I thought this was his worst deadpan/no emotion acting job in all of his Perry appearances. Just my humble .02� opinion of course. Submitted by mesave31, 03/18/15.
[nitpicking note: to the best of my ability to research, this is Brian Donlevy's only Perry appearance. jfh 29Apr2019]
++ Of course you mean 2� [or $.02]. .02� is two hundredths (or two percent) of ONE cent. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 3/28/18.
+++ Brian Donlevy did die from throat cancer in 1972 so this may be a reason. Submitted by Perry Baby 2/4/14
TCOT Satisfying Story Aaaah. We are back to adults with adult problems (greed, scandal, blackmail)! I find this one of the better late season episodes, more in line with classic PM. No ersatz Playboy Bunnies, no rebellious teens played by 20-somethings, no sappy pop music, no cringeworthy attempts to use current slang. In the early seasons, of course, we had similar attempts to capture the beatnik scene, but those made me laugh, at least. Give me greedy old men fighting over money any day! Them I can believe in! Submitted by JazzBaby, 6/29/2019.
When Perry and Drumm are at the murder scene Drumm gives the notepad to Perry. He points to it with the murder weapon, finger on trigger, two inches from Perry�s chest! Kilo 11/3/2021.
"Baerly Present." This is the last of Parley Baer's six appearances on the show. In each and every one of Parley Baer's appearances, he played neither defendant nor victim nor murderer, but rather "innocent" suspect. Submitted by BobH, 2 October 2017.
TCOT Dubious Dabbs I love how Dabbs Greer, who has been the murderer at least once, played his character with sufficient shiftiness of expression and body language to make viewers question his supposed loyalty to the General and suspect he could be the guilty party. Of course, having him at the murder scene with the gun in his hand set him up as a suspect, too! (Speaking of which, why weren't his fingerprints found on the gun?) Submitted by JazzBaby, 6/29/2019.
+ He was not holding the murder gun, but rather the gun that he took from his drawer and brought with him. Unlike the murder gun, it was a revolver. TerryS, 10/17/2019
Interesting that neither Perry nor Bill Cotton called the fire department or the police to report on the break-in, assault and arson at Cotton's place. TerryS, 10/17/2019.