Way back when, in the mid-90s or so, I used this movie in my humanities courses, as a representation of what male-female relationships were considered "supposed to be" in the GI Generation, that the man was manly and the woman was not, but was considered his equal. The back-and-forth sarcasm and hidden sexual references made for good cinema, but my parents and their generational compatriots saw this as the way men and women should consider each other.
Even when Paul Drake would walk into Perry Mason's office with a "hello beautiful" to Della Street, this was affirming her feminine-ness, but today that would gain one an instantaneous meeting with HR over creating a hostile environment. Sad.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who watches Perry Mason sometimes. And there is this note on a thread about manliness, concerning the actor who played Paul Drake:
“Hopper served with the United States Navy during World War II, as a volunteer with the Office of Strategic Services and as a member of the newly created Underwater Demolition Team. He received a Bronze Star and several other medals during operations in the Pacific.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hopper
A heavy smoker, he died at 55.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqoxk3SrZRw.
She's not aspiring to be called a victim of the patriarchy. She's too busy enjoying her life for such idiocy.