The Perry Mason TV movies that ran from 1985 to 1993 were not always as good as they could have been, thanks to the formulaic scripts, and the reliance on cases that involved celebrities of some kind, which made them even more repetitive. But they were always entertaining, and Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale's characterisations as Mason and Della Street developed nicely as the series went on, and along the way we get to find out more about them than we ever did in the 271 episodes of the original TV series. The penultimate TV movie, the Telltale Talkshow Host, ends with a poignant kiss between Mason and Della, suggesting a romantic relationship of some kind, and this would probably have been developed slowly but surely had Burr lived. Sadly, though, he only made one more appearance, and that was in the Case of the Killer Kiss. This is one of the worst of the series - if not THE worse. The acting seems to mirror that of the daytime soap opera at the heart of the story, and the writing is little better, although the motive for murder is more complex than normal. Burr was so ill on set that he is always seen sitting or leaning on something - a double is used on the one occasion he is seen walking. It is such a shame that he put such effort into a script that is so poor. Even Burr himself seems to struggle to deliver his cliched and repetitive lines with any enthusiasm. The Perry Mason series were always, even at their worst, watchable, but this final episode pushes the viewer's patience to the limit in that regard. It is notable only for Burr's final screen appearance and the inflated role for Della Street - again, probably a result of Burr being ill. A testiment to Burr's professionalism and love for the character, but otherwise a sad final bow for both him and Perry Mason - both of which were extremely classy gentlemen.

THE CASE OF THE KILLER KISS is a notable PERRY MASON movie insofar as it marks Raymond Burr's last screen appearance before his untimely death in 1993; there's a tribute to Burr after the final scene. It's a shame his last movie couldn't be a bit better, but then that often happens with our long-running TV show heroes (COLUMBO LIKES THE NIGHTLIFE wasn't up to much either). Burr is clearly frail here, forced to sit or lean for all of the production, but there's no faulting his acting.The problem with this production is just how predictable it is. Once again the setting is a TV studio in which the philandering jerk of a male lead is killed by persons unknown. There's an obvious suspect, but Perry digs a bit and soon uncovers a conspiracy of lies and hidden plots. I found the writing quite lazy here, with the security guard sub-plot shoe-horned in just to give William R. Moses something to do and count for some action and suspense scenes. The final reveal is unguessable due to information being withheld from the viewer. Stuart Damon, one-time star of TV's THE CHAMPIONS, plays in support.

Perry Mason enters the world of TV soap operas to defend Mile High star Kris Buckner (Genie Francis) whom has been framed for the murder of her co-star, Mark Stratton (Sean Kanan). Somebody spiked actress Charlotte Grant's (Krista Tesreau)lipstick with walnut nut oil knowing that the actor would kiss her in a scene and, as a result, has an allergic reaction. The crew fetch his allergy kit but that had been spiked too and he dies. The police figure that Buckner killed her co-star because, on the day before he died, Stratton demanded that her part in the show be drastically cut by having her character go into a coma. In a rage, Kris struck Stratton on the face saying "I could kill you for this." To make matters worse, a duplicate allergy kit of the murdered man is discovered in her dressing room and she was seen re-entering the studio on the night before Stratton died. Mason learns that Stratton was detested by all who worked on the show and many had reasons for wanting him dead. They include production assistant Mimi Hoyle (Karen Moncrieff) who was once Stratton's lover and she became pregnant with his child. But, he demanded she have an abortion and threatened to have her fired if she did not. The show's producer, Evan King (Michael Tylo), also had a strong motive for murdering Stratton because it turns out that Stratton was putting pressure on the production company to axe him from the show so that he could take over completely. Mason is puzzled as to why Stratton appeared to have so much control over the running of the show because, after all, he was only the leading man. Mason sends Ken Malansky (William R Moses) to the rural town of Cedar Grove - Stratton's home town - where an unsolved old murder from thirty years ago could hold the key to the killer's real identity.This was Raymond Burr's final appearance in his most celebrated role as the Los Angeles defence attorney Perry Mason in what seemed like a never ending series of revival movies that began with Perry Mason Returns in 1985. Burr sadly died in 1993. Basically, with these films, if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. However, there was a few exceptions where the series successfully broke away from the routine courtroom drama formula, but this is purely standard fare. If you love the series, as I do, then you will love it and for somebody who has never seen an episode before then its not a bad place to start as the storyline has enough to keep one engaged for a couple of hours and the script generally plays fair with the audience. The supporting cast, while undeniably second league, is more than competent and Arleen Sorkin is good as an irritatingly obsessive soap fan, Peg Furman, who gets under Malansky's hair as he does his usual heavy lifting in order to track down vital witnesses and clues for his boss - as ever, risking his life in the process. Only Furman, as much as Malansky wanted her out of the way, turns out to be useful as she unwittingly holds a vital clue to the killer's identity as a result of her sneaking into the TV studio and stealing a copy of Mark Stratton's script. A coffee stain bearing the indentation of the murdered man's personalised mug on the script helps Mason unravel the mystery.

This final film of Raymond Burr finds Burr as Perry Mason defending a soap opera star, Genie Francis, who is accused of murdering her arrogant co-star who was having her character put into a coma and effectively out of the show. The kicker is that her contract would have prevented her from seeking work elsewhere. Of course the victim, Sean Kanan was doing these kinds of things any number of others are prime candidates as a potential killer.The title Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss stems from how the victim died. Seems as though he was allergic to walnuts so a script calling for him to plant one on Genie Francis was given him and her lipstick given some walnut oil. Then his allergy medicine was spiked with enough to put him into anaphelaptic shock. Effective indeed.The Case of the Killer Kiss follows the usual Mason formula, but the real story here is that the film was made at all. Knowing that the series rose and fell with him, Burr signed for the season knowing how ill he was, but also knowing that NBC would have to make the rest of the season quota somehow or pay Barbara Hale and William R. Moses in any event. Hence the 'Perry Mason' movies with Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook that followed.A lot of the footage involving Burr was filmed with him seated or in rear projections or behind something he could lean on, all to disguise the pain he must have been enduring in making The Case of the Killer Kiss. But it was completed and gave Hale and Moses some additional work because of the contract.I always thought that was one of the classiest things I'd ever read about anyone in show business. I wish that The Case of the Killer Kiss was as worthy of Raymond Burr as The Misfits was for Clark Gable or The Shootist for John Wayne. Still, I suppose just doing the character for which he was most known and loved for is in itself a great tribute.