Nitrate

Perry Mason · S5 · E18

The Case of the Tarnished Trademark

  • TV-PG
  • Jan 20, 1962
  • 51 min

Axel Norstaad sells his much respected furniture trademark to Martin Somers, described by some as the slide trombone of the furniture business. Somers immediately begins stripping the company of its assets and churning out inferior products. Axel protests these developments vehemently and when Somers is found murdered he gets arrested for the crime. To complicate things, Axel is in love with Edie Morrow whom he suspects might be the actual killer.

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About this episode

Axel Norstaad sells his much respected furniture trademark to Martin Somers, described by some as the slide trombone of the furniture business. Somers immediately begins stripping the company of its assets and churning out inferior products. Axel protests these developments vehemently and when Somers is found murdered he gets arrested for the crime. To complicate things, Axel is in love with Edie Morrow whom he suspects might be the actual killer.

Season 5

30 episodes
  1. 1The Case of the Jealous Journalist

    51 minSep 2, 1961

    The drowning death of a newspaper executive during a fishing trip sets off all kinds of repercussions at the newspaper itself.

  2. 2The Case of the Impatient Partner

    52 minSep 16, 1961

    Paint manufacturer Amory Fallon suspects that his partner Ned Thompson is behind a mysterious fire and explosion.

  3. 3The Case of the Missing Melody

    51 minSep 30, 1961

    Perry and Della attend the wedding of Polly Courtland to Eddy King. The ceremony is halted at the altar when Polly begins screaming, "No! No!" and hurriedly exits the church. It seems as though Polly had spotted slimy George Sherwin holding an envelope containing photos of her younger sister checking into a Las Vegas hotel with a musician named Bongo White. Sherwin plans to ruin Polly and her family's reputation unless she gives up Eddy for him. Sherwin's plan comes a cropper when he's found shot to death. Eddy King is arrested for the crime.

  4. 4The Case of the Malicious Mariner

    51 minOct 7, 1961

    During a terrible storm at sea, First Officer Jerry Griffin dumps a million dollars worth of goods into the sea in order to lessen the chances of his cargo freighter sinking. Once on shore, Jerry is hauled before a maritime court which holds him responsible for the loss of the cargo. Captain Bancroft's testimony can clear Jerry but he is murdered before he can give it. Now Jerry stands accused of that crime too. Perry and Paul try to set things right once again.

  5. 5The Case of the Crying Comedian

    51 minOct 14, 1961

    Comic Charlie Hatch learns that the woman he loved and lost, Anne Gilrain, has escaped from a sanitarium to which she was forced to commit herself by her husband, Tom. When Tom Gilrain is murdered, Charlie is afraid that Anne did the deed and sets himself up as a likely suspect to protect her. Perry arrives on the scene to try and free Charlie from his abysmal stupidity.

  6. 6The Case of the Meddling Medium

    51 minOct 21, 1961

    Phony psychic Phillip Paisley meets a grisly death when an elevator that has been tampered with crashes. In the climactic scene Perry sets up another fantastic demonstration to prove his client innocent and expose the real culprit.

  7. 7The Case of the Pathetic Patient

    51 minOct 28, 1961

    Perry finds himself defending Dr. Wayne Edley who has been accused of committing two murders.

  8. 8The Case of the Traveling Treasure

    51 minNov 4, 1961

    Perry and Paul are all set to go deep see fishing on a boat owned by their friend, Scott Cahill, but when Cahill's regular customer wants the boat for the weekend they have to charter another. Later, Perry gets word that the Coast Guard has boarded Cahill's vessel looking for stolen gold. They found some of the bullion and the corpse of Karl McGovern. An autopsy reveals that McGovern was killed with a fatal dose of digitalis. Scott Cahill is charged with murder when the police theorize that he and the dead man were partners in stealing the gold. Writer: Robb White

  9. 9The Case of the Posthumous Painter

    51 minNov 11, 1961

    Artist Jack Culross fakes his own suicide and sees the sales of his paintings go through the roof. His only problem was that he forgot to inform his wife Edna of the scheme. After Edna sees a completed painting of Jack's that she knows he didn't finish while he was "alive" she gets wise. Edna manages to track down her "deceased" husband but they fight and she knocks him down. Then he's found dead. Edna must stand trial for murder.

  10. 10The Case of the Injured Innocent

    51 minNov 18, 1961

    A really weird courtroom confession scene highlights this episode about the murder of a race car driver.

  11. 11The Case of the Left-Handed Liar

    51 minNov 25, 1961

    Health club instructor Ward Nichols wants to marry the daughter of his employer, Bernard Daniels, but Ward's estranged wife, Veronica, is pressuring him for money and claiming to be pregnant. Things blow up in everyone's face when Bernard is found crunched with a dumbbell at the club. Perry, as usual, arrives on the scene to get at the truth.

  12. 12The Case of the Brazen Bequest

    51 minDec 2, 1961

    Charles Cromwell, the president-elect of Euclid College, worries that some less than stellar moments from his past will be exposed when Maisie Freitag arrives on the scene to make an unusual beguest to the college. Needless to say, murder eventually finds its way to the campus.

  13. 13The Case of the Renegade Refugee

    51 minDec 9, 1961

    A journalist is murdered while tracking an ex-Nazi war criminal who may be posing as an executive at a company called Space Associates, Ltd.

  14. 14The Case of the Unwelcome Bride

    51 minDec 16, 1961

    Wealthy Walter Frazer has always blamed his daughter-in-law Sue Ellen for his son Gregson's failures. You can only imagine how he feels when Sue Ellen is accused of Gregson's murder.

  15. 15The Case of the Roving River

    51 minDec 30, 1961

    Perry is hired to help settle a land dispute in the Manzana Valley but the key witness is blown up by a homemade bomb. As usual, Perry's client is accused of the crime.

  16. 16The Case of the Shapely Shadow

    51 minJan 6, 1962

    Naive secretary Janice Wainwright carries out boss Morley Thielman's orders and places a briefcase containing more than $100,000.00 in a train station locker. Then she waits for the arrival of Thielman's ex-wife but Lt. Tragg arrives instead with an arrest warrant for Janice on the charge of murdering her boss. It seems as though witness Fred Carlyle saw a woman's shapely shadow through the shades of Thielman's office window shortly before the murder occurred.Carlyle believes the silhuette belonged to Janice. Perry manages to get to the bottom of things once the courtroom proceedings begin.

  17. 17The Case of the Captain's Coins

    51 minJan 13, 1962

    Historian Phillip Andrews tries to make a case that his fiancee, Evelyn Faraday, is entitled to a share of a shipping company fortune. Phillip then finds himself accused of murdering the company's top man.

  18. 18The Case of the Tarnished Trademark

    51 minJan 20, 1962Now viewing

    Axel Norstaad sells his much respected furniture trademark to Martin Somers, described by some as the slide trombone of the furniture business. Somers immediately begins stripping the company of its assets and churning out inferior products. Axel protests these developments vehemently and when Somers is found murdered he gets arrested for the crime. To complicate things, Axel is in love with Edie Morrow whom he suspects might be the actual killer.

  19. 19The Case of the Glamorous Ghost

    51 minFeb 3, 1962

    Eleanor Corbin pleads amnesia after police find her running and screaming through the woods near her apartment building. Her loss of memory is of little help to her when she is later charged with murder.

  20. 20The Case of the Poison Pen-Pal

    51 minFeb 10, 1962

    A casual pen pal relationship leads to insider information and murder.

  21. 21The Case of the Mystified Miner

    51 minFeb 24, 1962

    Mason tries to clear his young, naive woman client, a corporate executive secretary, as a twisting and wheeling plot of murder, kidnapping, and embezzlement unfolds.

  22. 22The Case of the Crippled Cougar

    51 minMar 3, 1962

    Mike Preston is a bitter man who despises Hugh Jamison because he mistakenly believes Jamison stole $100,000 from him and is responsible for him being crippled. Trying to entrap Jamison, Preston makes a mistake and is set up for murder by the real thief.

  23. 23The Case of the Absent Artist

    51 minMar 17, 1962

    Cartoonist Pete Manders is elated when the owner of the comic strip "Zingy" offers to sell him the strip for a song. Pete is less than elated when he learns that his girlfriend Leslie is running away to Europe with Gabe Phillips, the strip owner. When Phiilips is murdered, Pete is charged with the crime and retains Perry's services. Investigating the case, Perry soon discovers that the deceased Phillips was leading a double life.

  24. 24The Case of the Melancholy Marksman

    51 minMar 24, 1962

    Ted Chase discovers that his second wife, Irene, might have killed his first wife and contemplates revenge but someone else gets to Irene first. In his defense of Ted, Perry discovers that Irene's past was even more sordid and corrupt than previously believed.

  25. 25The Case of the Angry Astronaut

    51 minApr 7, 1962

    Astronaut Matthew Heller is suspected of killing his old service rival, General Addison Brand, after Brand is put in charge of the astronaut program.

  26. 26The Case of the Borrowed Baby

    51 minApr 14, 1962

    A baby who mysteriously appears in Perry's office has a rare St. Christopher medal, which could help identify the baby's parents. If only the suspected father wasn't dead.

  27. 27The Case of the Counterfeit Crank

    51 minApr 28, 1962

    A crazy man (or is he?), his dead nephew and a military base are tangled up in a confusing Perry Mason episode.

  28. 28The Case of the Ancient Romeo

    51 minMay 5, 1962

    Perry and Della go out for a night at the theatre to see Perry's actor friend, Steve Brock, perform as Paris in Romeo and Juliet. The lights mysteriously go out during the dueling scene between Romeo and Paris and when the lights are restored the audience is shocked to see that leading man Franz Lachman, playing Romeo, has been stabbed to death. When Steve is accused of the murder Perry decides to have the cast re-enact the final scene that was played before Lachman's death.

  29. 29The Case of the Promoter's Pillbox

    51 minMay 19, 1962

    Aspiring screenwriter Herbert Simms submits his first teleplay to producer Charlie Corby who tries to use the manuscript as his own. Corby's scheme comes a cropper when he gets fatally whacked over the head with a whiskey bottle after a party. Herbert happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and is seen running from the scene of the crime. Guess who gets arrested for murder?

  30. 30The Case of the Lonely Eloper

    51 minMay 26, 1962

    Merle Telford is a naive and maladjusted young woman who is about to turn 21 and receive a substantial inheritance. She plans to run away from her guardians and elope with Danny Pierce as soon as she receives her money. Yep, you guessed it already, Danny is a greedy schemer and Merle's supposed friend, Gina Gilbert, is his accomplice. Merle's guardians know of her plans and hire Paul Drake to keep Merle from fleeing on the night of her 21st birthday party. When a murder is committed during the party Merle becomes the prime suspect.

Guest stars

William TracyMotel Manager Swetson
Karl SwensonAxel Norstaad
Tommy FarrellSalesman
S. John LaunerJudge
Morgan WoodwardCarl Pedersen
Ted WhiteForeman
Harry Strang2nd Workman
Lisa DavisSecretary
Marie WindsorEdith 'Edie' Morrow
Osa MassenLisa Pedersen
Malcolm AtterburyJ. Maigret
Phillip TerryLatham Reed
Dennis PatrickMartin Somers
Stafford ReppBartender
Don DillawayRamsey
Wesley LauLt. Anderson