• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A Perry Mason Triumphs.

Share this page

Marvin Gruber

Marvin Gruber

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Have started watching the old black and white Perry Mason series. In the last two weeks I have seen a TR3, early TR4 and this week a Herald convertible. Perry himself usually drives some type of American convertible, 60s T Bird and big Mercury are some of the recent ones.
Marv
 
Retirement comes for me within the next two weeks. I have told anyone silly enough to ask that I plan to start my days watching Perry Mason on MeTV. I've seen at least one episode with a TR3. I'll be looking for the TR4 and Herald.
 
Don't remember any British cars, but I do remember Mason's investigator, Paul Drake, drove a T-bird, depending on the year of the series.
 
A fun resource is the Internet Movie Car Database: https://www.imcdb.org

Car spotters can id just about any motorized vehicle in movies or television.

Take a look.

It is not complete as I know that there are at least two episodes that have a TR3 and the IMCDB lists only one..

Roger
 
My wife and I bought the complete DVD set and have watched all the episodes.
Don't jump on me too hard as the following will be off the top of my head.
In the beginning Perry drove a BIG black Cadillac. '56 or thereabouts. I have wondered if it someone's car in the production company.
Then Perry started driving Lincolns and Paul drove Thunderbirds. Della was sometimes seen in her Ford Fairlane(?). There was credit at the end for "Automobiles supplied by The Ford Motor Company". Note the marketing forces here. Successful attorney= Lincoln. Dashing detective= Tbird. Practical secretary= Fairlane.
There also a few shots of Perry in a lesser Ford as if he had the Lincoln for cruising and the Galaxie(?) for around town.
For a VERY short time in the early '60s Perry was driving a Cadillac again and Paul was driving a Corvette. There was credit at end for "Automobiles supplied by General Motors". This quickly switched back Fords after about 3 or 4 episodes. You can certainly guess what happened ( Free? No you pay! No you pay!) but I don't really know.
The Triumphs were certainly scattered about. The young tough ala "Rebel Without a Cause" in a TR3. Werner Klemperer (Colonel Klink "Hogan's Heroes") as a nasty E. German in a TR3. The TR4 driven by a young debutant. I may have that wrong as memory fades.
I have Michael Cook's "Triumph Cars in America" on the way and wonder if he sheds any light on this and other product placement campaigns.
There is one episode that deals with sports car racing where a fellow invents a new, radical transmission(?) that will revolutionize the world. I don't know the cars but there a several sports racing cars of the period in the background shots. Fun stuff.
Enjoy the series and keep your eyes open- the background shots in parking lots and on the street have many interesting cars.
Have fun,
Joel
 
AgXt1xm.jpg


5SOHqLg.jpg


9EdNnky.jpg


Triumphs were possibly used to suggest the nature of the character: irresponsible, devious, reckless -- though I also recall an episode where the office 'wolf' picked up girls in his Big Healey.

At least they didn't wreck any that I recall.
 
Back
Top