Perry Mason (TV Series) The Case of the Guilty Clients (1961) User Reviews

Lots of falsehoods in this story

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 20 September 2016]

For the last show in season 4, the episode begins in a divorce proceeding between Jeff and Lola Bronson where the judge is going to rule on motions. Perry just happens to be in the spectator area as he is there representing the shareholders in an aviation company that Jeff seems to head. With the aviation company ready to fly a new prototype aircraft that could transform aircraft design, the shares of the company could make much money.

Anyway after what seemed to be a nasty proceeding, the aircraft is ready for flight. But during the test the pilot, Bill Ryder, has trouble with the plane and is forced to parachute to safety as the plane slams into the ground.

Later Lola Bronson gets word that Bill may have sabotaged the flight. She goes to confront him to make him confess. While holding a gun toward Bill a struggle happens and the gun fires. Bill falls to the floor. Jeff Bronson gets word, from a source, that Lola has killed Bill. Now Jeff goes to the house and cleans all evidence of Lola and also tries to make the scene into a robbery situation. It is no time before Jeff is pointed out as being at the house and charged with murder. Perry, with help from Paul, will have to fight through all the lies and falsehoods in this story to get to the truth of the matter.

This was not a unique story as the plot of shareholders has been played a few times in the series. What made it different was the players in the story. The concept of two people in a divorce situation made the show much more enjoyable as lies are told to protect each other when at the beginning of the episode they were at each other throat. Good watch.

Title is A Twist of The Plot

[DKosty123 · 8/10 · 13 February 2010]

The twist here is that even though this is the Case of the Guilty Clients, both the husband and wife think they are guilty of murder. Actually neither of them are the murderer.

Mason manages to get both of them both of them off but it takes some major maneuver's on his party. The reason they both think they are guilty is that each one thinks they have shot the victim. Then they try to cover up for each other.

It gets more complicated by the minute until Mason catches a break to solve this one. Burger thinks he has a break until Perry proves to him that he can't find either of his clients guilty.

Too Much to Pull Off

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 18 January 2022]

Sometimes there is just too much that needs to click for a mystery to work itself out. Here, I need to suspend my disbelief way over the top, as a couple of likely suspects are convinced they have murdered someone, in a closed room. Guy Mitchell was the one "Singin' the Blues." He is a trusted test pilot with no moral being and who gets his way through intimidation.

Lisa Gaye is so beautiful in this episode

[Dick24 · 10/10 · 9 March 2011]

Lisa Gaye is my all-time favorite Perry Mason babe and this might be her sexiest appearance yet...even sexier than in "The Case of the Travelling Treasure", an episode in which Ms. Gaye appears sunbathing in a swimsuit.

Here she plays one of the two "guilty clients" referenced in the title. The episode opens at her court appearance suing her husband for divorce. The husband is an aircraft company executive, his now ex-wife is possibly fooling around with his top test pilot, there's an important test coming up on a new plane, etc., etc., etc.

The important thing for fans of Lisa Gaye is that she is in a lot of scenes and looks simply stunning. She of course has a beautiful face and a nice figure but I think what sets hers apart in this episode is the way she wears her hair. She wears it up and I just can't properly describe how sexy this is to me.

Anyway, it's a pretty good episode apart from Lisa's loveliness too. There's some possible double-dealing being done by the test pilot, the pilot's estranged wife, the supposedly loyal executive of the aircraft company and a outside businessman who is attempting to wrangle control of the company through purchasing stock.

The case hinges on the fact that there were three shots fired in the murder room. Perry knows his client fired one and that his client's ex-wife fired another. But who fired the third shot? Perry must figure that out and prove that this third shot was in fact the fatal shot.

Faith in Lisa

[darbski · 8/10 · 17 January 2018]

***SPOILERS*** I was sorry it was who it was for two reasons that I'll hopefully remember to mention later. Right now, I'm gonna ask a question. Is anyone out there curious enough to ask just HOW test pilot (and completely creepy dirtbag) Bill Ryder get out of the aircraft? See, the problem here is one of wind velocity and pressure of that wind on the door that he HAD to be able to open in order to exit the craft. It was at it's own terminal velocity, wasn't it? There has to be an aeronautical engineer reading this that can better explain it, but I'm betting that in the final analysis, I'll be right.

Okay, maybe God was on his side. I personally think it's too bad that Lola (I love that name - who doesn't?) didn't blast him right into the nether regions, as well. Lisa and Faith (as Conception) do an admirable job of making us forget basic physics, and hoping for more of their presence in the story. As I said, I didn't like the ending, because I felt that Conception had a very good reason for her actions. She had most definitely felt cheated, and would no doubt been in the cold when the financial dust settled. Maybe she should have petitioned Lola for a fair consideration, instead, Huh? As far as the rest of it; the crooked crumb who wanted to swoop in on family tragedy, and the so-called designer? Spilled milk; as in: who cares? Perry straightens things out, and I'm gonna give it an 8.

High flying

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 22 November 2013]

Given the strict Perry Mason parameters when you see Lisa Gaye shooting Guy Mitchell that's too easy. And when he defends her estranged husband Charles Bateman of the charge of murder you know he's not the guilty party. So among the list of red herrings who did Mitchell in?

Raymond Burr is representing Bateman in the divorce proceedings and it's a legal tangle as well as a marital one. Bateman assigns over some stock to his wife as part of the settlement. He's far more interested in the moment of a new aircraft his firm has designed and Mitchell is the test pilot to try it out.

So when the test fails all kinds of issues are raised, but in the end its Bateman charged with the murder.

Also hanging around is Barbara Stuart as Mitchell's wife who resents her husbands philandering, William Mims as a corporate vulture looking to take over Bateman's company and Gaye's cousin the voluptuous Faith Domergue who seems to be involved one way or another with all the males in the cast except the regulars.

Another thing different is that Burr does not unmask his perpetrator in the courtroom, but at the airport where the perpetrator is getting ready to flee.

Not a bad story with a little twist on the Perry Mason parameter.

I wish now that I really belated her!

[sol1218 · 5/10 · 6 August 2013]

****SPOILERS**** After a nasty divorce where he accused his pretty former Argentinian wife Lola, Lisa Gray, for burning to a crisp the couples $6.00 a pound prized aged rib stakes at a barbecue by, after he criticized her in being a lousy cook, dumping them into the burning charcoal Jeff Bronson, Charles Bateman, is hassled by insurance agent Leander Walker,William Mims. Walker wants Bronson to sell him his stock interest in his airplane company for pennies on the dollar. It's then that things start to really go downhill for Bronson. It's Bronson's test pilot Bill Ryder, Guy Mitchell, who's working with Walker behind his boss Bronson's back in sabotaging the new aircraft he's to test that will end up bankrupt his company!

With Bronson's plane, piloted by Bill Ryder, crashing on it's maiden flight his business is now Kaput but things get even worse after that. It's the ex-Mrs Bronson, Lola, who now has a change of heart & mind in being involved with both Bill Ryder & Leander Walker in sabotaging her ex-husband Jeff's Bronson's plane. And in return her getting a big pay off in his company stock options, for $1.00 not .10 a share, for doing it. Lola now want's Ryder to call Jeff and admit what he did despite her also being involved with it and threatens to shoot him if he doesn't. This soon turns into a violent struggle between Bill & Lola for the gun with Bill ,in getting shot, getting the worst of it.

****SPOILERS**** With Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, who was involved in the Bronson divorce settlement now defending Lola in the murder of Bill Ryder it's Lola's ex-husband Jeff who has a change of heart as well. It's then Jeff who tries to take the responsibility of shooting Ryder on himself. In fact it was Jeff who came on to the murder scene and faked Ryder's murder by planting evidence that would lead to straight him. But what both Jeff and Lola didn't realize was that Bill Ryder was actually alive after Lola shot him and dead before Jeff shot him so there was a third party who was the real killer! WoW Wee! It just can't get anymore more confusing then this!

In the end Perry not only gets off both Lola & Jeff, who both already confessed in open court, in the murder of Bill Ryder but also plays Cupid in him gets the two back together as man & wife by the time the Perry Mason episode ended. And yes as for who really murdered Bill Ryder by shooting him before and after Lola & Bill shot him it doesn't really matter any more anyway. By the time that Ryder's killer finally confessed it was more of an anticlimax, with all the surprises that had already happened, to even mildly surprise anyone.

2 for the price of 1 !!!

[pmike-11312 · 1/10 · 5 December 2022]

The usual Perry Mason M. O. - ridiculous plot, extremely poor dialogue, ham-fisted direction, mediocre-at-best acting even from normally decent actors. Mason swoops in with his white cape and solves the crime where the buffoon detectives and district attorney can only twiddle their thumbs and arrogantly babble-on about their iron-clad case. All culminating in Mason getting a dramatic courtroom confession (usually with extreme histrionics due to Mason's increasing pressure during cross-examination!).

This one, however, gives us TWO big confessions.( I did it! NO! I DID IT! Balliff arrange for an electric loveseat so that I can pass sentence!) Wow! Can the viewer handle all this excitement?

I get the feeling the people who watched this show were the same ones who read supermarket tabloids and paperbacks.