Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor

  • TV Movie
  • 1994
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
285
YOUR RATING
A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor (1994)
CrimeDramaMystery

When gubernatorial candidate Harlan Richards is murdered, the suspicions fall on the incumbent Governor Ryan Allison but when he, too, is murdered the plot thickens.When gubernatorial candidate Harlan Richards is murdered, the suspicions fall on the incumbent Governor Ryan Allison but when he, too, is murdered the plot thickens.When gubernatorial candidate Harlan Richards is murdered, the suspicions fall on the incumbent Governor Ryan Allison but when he, too, is murdered the plot thickens.

  • Director
    • Max Tash
  • Writers
    • Robert Schlitt
    • Erle Stanley Gardner
  • Stars
    • Hal Holbrook
    • Barbara Hale
    • William R. Moses
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    285
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Max Tash
    • Writers
      • Robert Schlitt
      • Erle Stanley Gardner
    • Stars
      • Hal Holbrook
      • Barbara Hale
      • William R. Moses
    • 8User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Hal Holbrook
    Hal Holbrook
    • Wild Bill McKenzie
    Barbara Hale
    Barbara Hale
    • Della Street
    William R. Moses
    William R. Moses
    • Ken Malansky
    John Spencer
    John Spencer
    • Al Rhinehart
    Gregg Henry
    Gregg Henry
    • John Orlando
    Bonnie Bartlett
    Bonnie Bartlett
    • Rosemary Sutter
    Macon McCalman
    Macon McCalman
    • Dan Dixon
    Kim Johnston Ulrich
    Kim Johnston Ulrich
    • Karen Richards
    Elyssa Davalos
    Elyssa Davalos
    • Violet Moore
    Pato Hoffmann
    • Sgt. Whitehorse
    Angela Dohrmann
    Angela Dohrmann
    • Tammy
    Fran Bennett
    Fran Bennett
    • Judge Donna Andrews
    Gregory Scott Cummins
    Gregory Scott Cummins
    David Selburg
    Tony Longo
    Tony Longo
    • Will
    Ryan Phillippe
    Ryan Phillippe
    • Robert Fowler
    John Ducey
    John Ducey
    • Apartment Manager
    George Gerdes
    George Gerdes
    • Donovan
    • Director
      • Max Tash
    • Writers
      • Robert Schlitt
      • Erle Stanley Gardner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester
    6.4
    A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer
    6.9
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun
    7.1
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception
    7.2
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder
    6.9
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love
    7.0
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson
    7.2
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson
    Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin
    6.7
    Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace
    7.0
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel
    7.0
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake
    6.8
    Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake
    Perry Mason Returns
    7.2
    Perry Mason Returns

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This tv movie was made after Raymond Burr's death
    • Connections
      Followed by A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester (1995)

    User reviews8

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    Where Was The Security?
    It's sad that Hal Holbrook's character of Wild Bill McKenzie was a rush creation job to fulfill the commitment of NBC for Perry Mason stories after Raymond Burr died. He could have been successful had he been launched on his own, might have been given a fair chance to succeed.

    Barbara Hale and William R. Moses, vacationing on lawyer/rancher Hal Holbrook's spread get drafted into helping with another case. This one involves no less than political assassination and I'm betting would have been on the front page of every paper in the country.

    Kim Johnston Ulrich is the daughter of former McKenzie colleague, Ken Kercheval whom she believes was murdered and the man who is now governor of the state, James Brolin, is responsible. When she goes to visit him, one evening, the governor is found stabbed to death with a letter opener. Naturally she's looking good for it and naturally comes she gets Holbrook and the team for her day in court.

    A couple of things struck me about this episode which you know had to have been written for Raymond Burr and would have made more sense given the Erle Stanley Gardner parameters he had to operate under and which the audience here would have been expecting for Wild Bill McKenzie. At one point Brolin's wife Deborah Raffin asks him how he could defend such an evil woman as Ulrich and he replies something on the order that since he's now rich enough, he defends only whom he wants and whom he believes are innocent.

    That was certainly true of Perry Mason. I'm betting neither Mason or McKenzie ever got a mob hit man off on a homicide. At least once they could pick and choose clients. Still it does violate at least one canon of legal ethics that EVERYONE is entitled to a defense.

    The Case of the Grimacing Governor had many generations of performers from old to new Hollywood in the cast. The old Hollywood was represented by movie legend Tony Curtis who has a small role as a very rich hoodlum with fingers in lots of pies. In an even smaller role is Ryan Phillippe as a banquet waiter whose testimony discredits so called eye witness testimony for the prosecution. This was before Phillippe hit movie star status.

    With all that though I do have to wonder where was the governor's security during all this. On second thought we in New York lost a governor because he managed to ditch his trappings of security for a little indiscretion that cost him his office. By the way I'm still not convinced Elliott Spitzer ought to have resigned.

    But that's the plot of another film.
    helpful•4
    0
    • bkoganbing
    • Oct 26, 2008

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 9, 1994 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Perry Mason. El caso del gobernador asesinado
    • Filming locations
      • Denver, Colorado, USA
    • Production companies
      • Dean Hargrove Productions
      • Fred Silverman Company
      • Viacom Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor (1994)
    Top Gap
    By what name was A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor (1994) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.