"Perry Mason" The Case of the Unwelcome Well (1966)

User Rating:

(awaiting 5 votes)

Director:

Harmon Jones

Writers:

Ernie Frankel (writer)
Orville H. Hampton (writer)

TV Series:

"Perry Mason" (1957)

Original Air Date:

3 April 1966 (Season 9, Episode 25)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Perry Mason | Courtroom | Secretary | Lawyer | Murder Confession

Cast

Raymond Burr	...	Perry Mason
Barbara Hale	...	Della Street
William Hopper	...	Paul Drake
William Talman	...	Hamilton Burger
Richard Anderson	...	Lt. Steve Drumm
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Best	...	Allan Winford
Frank Biro	...	Judge
Martin Braddock	...	Dick Yates
Paul Brinegar	...	Jason Rohan
Wendell Corey	...	Jerome Klee
Danielle De Metz	...	Monique Martin
Marilyn Erskine	...	Mirabel Corum
Edmund Hashim	...	Prince Ben Ali Bhudeem
William Lanteau	...	Ross Darley
Hal Lynch	...	Matt Rohan
Lee Miller	...	Sgt. Brice
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Guard
Gloria Talbott	...	Minna Rohan
Les Tremayne	...	Harry Lannon
Gordon Wescourt	...	Job Rohan

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Paisano Productions

The Case of the Beverly Hillbillies

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Jason Rohan (Paul Brinegar) is a rancher who is surprised and angry to find his lovely young wife Minna (Gloria Talbott) has allowed Allan Wilford (James Best) to test his land for oil. But when Wilford finds there's LOTS of oil on the land, he decides to go all Beverly Hillbillies and starts buying a lot of things on credit. Then financier Jerome Klee (Wendell Corey) pulls the rug out from under them all by deciding to cap the well and NOT exercise his option, giving LOTS of people plenty of reason to kill him. But when Klee is killed with a wrench from Wilford's truck, its James Best's character who is accused of murder.

This all works on many levels. First, its a nice nod to of the then current CBS smash hit "The Beverly Hillbillies". Next, it also is a good look into how the oil business can work and how more money can be made by capping a well than pumping the oil. Finally, its a pretty good mystery aided by some great guest performances including Wendell Corey as Klee. He provides one of the meanest yet coldest bad guys ever seen on a Mason show. Edmund Hashim is also strong as the visiting Prince Ben Ali, while Les Tremayne is wonderful as Klee's representative Henry Lannon. Paul Brinegar makes a nice hillbilly, (he is first seen shooting at the oil guys in a shot similar to Jed hunting and discovering "bubblin' crude") but its never explained why such an old guy has such a hot young wife in Gloria Talbott (there is a 14 year difference but Talbott looks young and Brinegar looks 30 years older with grown sons)! Monique Martin also adds to the cheesecake factor of this one as Klee's mistress Danielle De Metz. All I can say is he must have a LOT of money to treat her the way he does.