Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Unwelcome Well (1966) User Reviews

Not many tears shed for this homicide

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 7 February 2013]

This is one of those episodes where the murderer should have been rewarded with a pardon instead of jail time. It would seem that the world is now a better place- but that is a judgment call.

Anyway, the story is about a older farmer, Jason Rohan, who is mad that his wife let an drilling company test his ground for oil. At first he is upset to the point of shooting at the men. But when told that the land has oil and could be worth millions, now Jason is all in. He buys cars and new clothes as the test continues.

The person that is financing the drilling is a oil baron named Jerome Klee. He is the nasty man that only cares about money and steps on everyone in his way. He decides to cap the oil on Rohan's land instead of drilling. This is going to put Jason Rohan, the land owner that has spend thousands, near bankrupt. When Allan Winford, of the drilling company, wants to announce the oil find- Jerome threatens him with 'never working in the industry again'. Jerome Klee is use to getting his way and no one is going to stop him or change his mind including Perry Mason.

Then for some strange reason, the oil baron gets a note and goes out to his oil company at night. Jerome gets hit over the head with a wrench and dies. The wrench belongs to Allan Winford and he is seen driving off right after the murder. Perry will defend Allan in court for the murder charge.

Nearly everyone in the cast is a suspect. In fact most people feel relieved that Jerome is dead which will have Perry's plate full as he takes this murder to court. Perry will cross-examine most of the suspects on the witness stand in order to get to the truth of the matter.

The only problem with the story is perhaps a little too crowded since there are many people to choose from. When the final moments of the show appear, the circumstance surrounding the murder would be something the viewer would not know until Perry presents the evidence. But with that said it was still a good watch for viewers.

The Case of the Beverly Hillbillies

[zsenorsock · 8/10 · 5 September 2008]

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.

Fun but Full of Holes

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 5 March 2022]

Others have already pointed out some of the stuff that just wouldn't pass muster. I also wondered who fired the rifle in the assassination attempt on Klee. Otherwise, the fact that Klee was a megalomaniac trumped just about everything. When you have someone for whom money is the only motivator, It's hard to come up with human motivations. This one ultimately gets down to hatred for a person with little soul.

A mean oil man

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 10 May 2012]

Although this was not the best Perry Mason episode ever done, it certainly provided one of the meanest villains that Raymond Burr was ever employed by. Wendell Corey who if you take what Kirk Douglas says in his memoirs at face value was very much like his character he played here.

Corey is a wealthy oil millionaire who has no redeeming civic virtues like say the Rockefeller family. He endows no money anywhere I'd be willing to bet, I'd further bet his tax deductions were a fraud because as he says all he wants to acquire is all the money there is.

He's employed Perry Mason to negotiate a lease on Paul Brinegar and Gloria Talbott's land to drill for oil. Truth be told Brinegar and Talbott started spending money that wasn't their's yet because of the oil under the ground. They're facing ruin because Corey decides to cap the well and save the oil for later as he has a ten year option. Not helping to pay Brinegar's bills and Perry Mason feels used.

Corey is a guy who likes to make enemies for the sake and we have a cast full of suspects. The head of his drilling operation on the Brinegar land, James Best is the one arrested for his murder and Raymond Burr defends him as his obligation to Corey as a client ceased when Corey ceased breathing.

Kirk Douglas's memoirs The Ragman's Son describes the fact that at one time he and Corey had a good friendship, but politics and drinking drove them apart. Not just that Corey was a Republican, but he was going further and further to the right in his views. It cut him off a great deal from liberal Hollywood and Kirk says few came to his funeral. He came out of his respect for Corey's widow who he says suffered a great deal with Corey.

Still Wendell Corey dominates this episode playing a man that Will Rogers could hate with ease.

Suicide by being yourself - possible spoilers

[darbski · 6 April 2017]

I can't disagree with the other reviewers. This character just begged for eternal release. Just a few questions, though, in no particular order: 1) Moulage (plaster of Paris models of tire tracks). Lt. Drum testified that theirs was a print of the defendant's tires, and that "His truck" was the one seen driving away from the crime scene. I've seen this logic before, and unless the prosecution can establish that THIS truck had custom tires, there were probably about six or seven (or only GOD knows) thousand new Ford pickups with the same tires on their rims. 2) How did they know that the monkey wrench in question belonged to the defendant? It's a beautiful tool, but how did they come to know that it was his? 3) WHO WAS the sniper? Unless the guilty party was a world class runner,could climb stairs to the position taken, and then draw a bead on Klee, it couldn't have been him. If the old man couldn't get on the property, who could? 4) We were finally spared the indignity of a defendant who was stupid, arrogant,ridiculous, stupid, loudmouthed, and a moron. Best is an underrated actor, and I was very pleased to see him occupy the part of Perry's client without being an idiot. 5) Yes, yes, it's difficult to reconcile the lovely Gloria Talbott married to that geezer, but it DOES give us other geezers hope, doesn't it? Okay, fine; only in our dreams, because unless you've got a few million bucks, you'll NEVER get a babe like Gloria. 6) I've noticed that Barbara's hair is always stylish and never seems to be dated (maybe I'm too old !! ??, however, I've also noticed the other brunettes who appear on Perry also have remarkably beautiful styles. Apart from the fact that this show has some impossibly beautiful female actors, this stylist is top of the field. Is there an award for this art? 7) Oh, yeah.. Barbara and Gloria have GOT to be two of the most beautiful ... oh, well.... Okay, I checked, and the stylist's name is Annabelle. She was in her sixties when this episode was filmed, but had a very young approach to the fashion of the day; to say nothing of the fact that it is still very relevant today.

Disbar Mason!

[pmike-11312 · 1/10 · 7 June 2022]

A previous poster said Mason should have been disbarred over substandard legal work and poor ethics. LOL! He should have been disbarred for improper courtroom procedures and unethical investigations before the series even started! It's obvious Erle Stanley Gardner and the writers of this show never studied law or set foot in a real courtroom. (I don't think the writers ever studied writing - the idiotic dialogue throughout the series supports that theory). Just too funny! (But, Della looks fetching in this one)

....the sad waning years of a legendary actor...

[gclarkbloom · 8 July 2022]

...overriding the basic theme of unrestrained greed...lurks the sad spectre of a slurring obviously intoxicated veteran actor Wendell Corey...

...born the son of a Congregational pastor, Corey later worked as a summer stock actor with the Federal Theater Preject, a part of FDR's Works Progress Administration...

...after a run of on and off-Broadway theater roles starting in the early 40's, he was noticed by Hal Wallis, former Warner Bros. Production chief, then working as an independent producer at Paramount...which signed him to a contract in 1946...

...he debuted in 1947's "Desert Fury", and then proceeded on a prolific career as a suppporting actor in dozens of A-list studio films and later in scores of television series during the early 60's...

...by the time of this episode, Corey's alcoholism was on full display...

...like another long-time FDR Democrat, Ronald Reagan, Corey became a conservative Southern California Republican...and like Reagan, also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and was later elected to the Santa Monica City Council...

...Corey's severe alcoholism culminated in his death in November '68 at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills...he was only 54 years old...

...though recognized for his acting ability, he was often an arrogant and abrasive personality...and as with so many actors of his generation, substance abuse ended his career...and his life...far too early...

Perry Mason's Substandard Legal Work And Poor Ethics Caused this Murder

[jvandyke-04633 · 18 August 2018]

Perry Mason had no business drawing up the original legal contract between the property owner's wife and oil exploration company without consultation or signature of the husband. It was also a terrible contract in that exploration rights were assigned for a 10 year period. GIven the ederly husband, a shorter time frame contract would allow the man to enjoy the profits while alive. Mason should have been disbarred over this one.