THE CASE OF THE HEARTBROKEN BRIDE is a Perry Mason TV movie that begins with a wedding taking place during which one of the guests is found murdered. Of course, the famous lawyer and his friends just so happen to be present and thus immediately involved in the case. Perry must work his way through a cast of red herrings and the usual suspects in order to figure out the identity of the murderer.
As far as this series goes, HEARTBROKEN BRIDE is a paint-by-numbers entry. It feels episodic at best, benefiting from some of the guest performances but let down by the join-the-dots nature of the plotting. Certainly Raymond Burr seems to be on autopilot here and his 'action' scene involving a stand-in at the climax is a laugh. As usual, William R. Moses is here just to shoehorn some more explicit material into the production, namely shootings and gun threats from small-time criminals.
The best part of the film is the presence of two actors in support, both playing possible suspects. Ronny Cox came to this after TOTAL RECALL although he's not the bad guy this time around, instead the father of the bride. Funny how his character turns out to be quite murky though. Linda Blair is here too, in a funny turn as a karate-chopping suspect. As usual each suspect has to have his or her own motive for the murder and a back story that either implicates or exonerates them.
As far as this series goes, HEARTBROKEN BRIDE is a paint-by-numbers entry. It feels episodic at best, benefiting from some of the guest performances but let down by the join-the-dots nature of the plotting. Certainly Raymond Burr seems to be on autopilot here and his 'action' scene involving a stand-in at the climax is a laugh. As usual, William R. Moses is here just to shoehorn some more explicit material into the production, namely shootings and gun threats from small-time criminals.
The best part of the film is the presence of two actors in support, both playing possible suspects. Ronny Cox came to this after TOTAL RECALL although he's not the bad guy this time around, instead the father of the bride. Funny how his character turns out to be quite murky though. Linda Blair is here too, in a funny turn as a karate-chopping suspect. As usual each suspect has to have his or her own motive for the murder and a back story that either implicates or exonerates them.