The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937)

Director:

William Clemens

Writers:

Kenneth Gamet (screenplay) and
Don Ryan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 June 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Plot:

A Bishop from Australia comes to Perry to ask him to take a case of a woman wrongly accused of manslaughter 22 years before...

Plot Keywords:

Bishop | Murder | Granddaughter | Hotel | Key

Cast

Donald Woods	...	Perry Mason
Ann Dvorak	...	Della Street
Anne Nagel	...	Janice Alma Brownley
Linda Perry	...	Janice Seaton
Craig Reynolds	...	Gordon Bixler
Gordon Oliver	...	Philip Brownley
Joseph Crehan	...	Paul Drake
Helen MacKellar	...	Stella Kenwood (as Helen McKellar)
Edward McWade	...	Bishop William Mallory
Tom Kennedy	...	Jim Magooney
Mira McKinney	...	Ida Gilbert
Frank Faylen	...	Charlie Downs
Douglas Wood	...	Renald C. Brownley
Veda Ann Borg	...	Gladys
George Lloyd	...	Peter Sacks

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #2935)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Unlike in the TV series, in which District Attorney Burger's last name was pronounced as in "hamburger," here it rhymes with "merger."

Movie Connections:

Version of "Perry Mason: The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (#2.20)" (1959)

Soundtrack:

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

On the Downgrade

Maybe you can keep up with the plot convolutions better than I could. Finally I lost track of the yellow or pink or white raincoats and threw in the towel. Anyway, it's a mildly entertaining Mason entry, at best. As a matter of fact, it looks to me like Warner Bros. had lost interest in the series—(for example, compare the sparse production values here with the richly produced The Case of the Curious Bride {1935}). This was the last installment and features a boyish Donald Woods as the legal wizard and sleuth. Frankly, in my book, he lacks the forceful presence required to bring off the role in authoritative fashion, and was, perhaps, a last minute replacement for the more familiar Warren William. Ironically, it's this installment that more closely resembles the TV show with its first-part dramatic setup and second-part courtroom pyrotechnics. Too bad the exotic Ann Dvorak is largely wasted as a recessive Della Street— with her distinctive looks and lively personality, she should have been one of the suspects. All in all, the 70 minutes is for hardcore fans of the series and for fans of the perennially addled Tom Kennedy as the aptly named "Magooney".