The Case of the Grinning Gorilla

In an effort to be original within the Perry Mason parameters the writers came up with a rather scenario for a plot. I fear it was all a bit much for my poor old head to take in.

Barbara Hale who buys some memorabilia at an auction belonging to super model Charlene Holt brings Victor Buono in his most unctuous manner to Raymond Burr's office. Holt was reported drowned after falling off the yacht of an eccentric millionaire and Buono works for him. After being rebuffed by Burr, Buono leaves in a huff and soon afterward another of the man's retainers Gavin McLeod contacts him and Perry and Della are at the man's house.

Before long the millionaire is killed, first thought to be by a gorilla he kept on the estate and later by former cleaning lady Lurene Tuttle. She becomes Mason's client.

I won't say more, but the solution to all of this is a truly bizarre one and for once there is more than one murderer involved. It doesn't quite come together in this episode.

I liked this more then I should have. Mainly the reason was it was a little more of a humorous turn. I agree with the other comments it was a little harder to follow and some unexpected twist and turns along the journey but that was what made it so fun at least for me. But the best surprise was seeing two of my favorite character actors in one episode Victor Burno and Gavin McCloud.

The other reviewers gave a good summery of the story plot and I wouldn't be able to add much more to what they already said.

One thing came out of this episode a new quest this summer while walking around Garage Sales and Flea Markets I want to find "Case of the Grinning Gorilla" the original Book.

I've said it before; I don't understand why people pan these episodes. Nostalgic series, great cars, terrific chemistry among the three regulars, plus Tragg (sadly gone by this episode) and Burger (not in this one) adding sarcasm and dry wit, as well as impertinent temper tantrums (Burger, of course), what more do you want? Tightly written plots, realistic court scenes? C'mon, lower your expectations, and I don't mean that in a negative way. This was a 50-minute show that entertained, simple as that. I love trying to (1) determine who the killer is, and (2) figuring out how Perry solves the case, the latter the more difficult exercise.

This episode was decent if only because of its off-the-beaten-path nature, i.e., Della acting like a silly schoolgirl, Perry actually being irritated, first at Della then at Victor Buono's character, showing emotion, pounding his fist, no court scenes or judge, and no Burger baby acting. And the music was terrific. Oh, and I didn't have to watch ever tense, tightly wound, never smiling detective Andy who would always say "...yes, that's my mark..." while being utterly incompetent and grumpy. I don't think he ever smiled in any episode. Not the best, most tense episode, but certainly entertaining.

Offbeat episode (defined), especially for all us big kids who liked something different. We got our wish. A ratings grab for CBS, perhaps, but worth a look for a most unusual addition.

Victor Buono appropriately guest stars, playing a lawyer ( Nathan) who wants --at any cost! -- a diary that Della bought at an auction. What's in those pages, hmmm? Very intriguing, and a loose gorilla enters the picture as a "phony" suspect when there's a gruesome murder. But you know a very real person wanted someone dead. Just who?

Let's do the math too. Nathan offered Della 5000 dollars for the book. In today's market, that would be close to 50,000 dollars. Amazing.

Some familair faces, Gavin MacLeod plays Mortimer. Long before his comedy days, MacLeod portrayed many villains, and his eyeglasses here (for some reason) make him look even more suspicious. Lurene Tuttle, familair face in classic tv shows, plays the maid, Josephine. And in a very emotional role.

Jackson Gillis wrote this mystery, an adventure writer, credited with shows like TARZAN and SUPERMAN. The original story came from none other than Erle Stanley Gardner. He was picky about material, so it had his approval.

Jesse Hibbs directed, and as usual, captured all those suspicious glances we know and love. Let's put it this way, by the end of this unusual mystery... the gorilla is long out of the picture.

Hollywood stuntman and animal impersonator Janos Perhoska plays the gorilla, often turning up in sitcoms. He was the guy under all that fur. There are some camp CBS photos still in circulation with Raymond Burr and the gorilla, also a monkey. Collectors items to be sure.

Sit back and enjoy something different, however you will be impressed with the outcome. FROM SEASON 8 remastered CBS dvd box set. Thanks much to METV for running these oldies twice daily.

I really do not know where to begin on this episode. There is so much going on that it was hard to concentrate on just one aspect of the show. Unless you watch this episode I do not think anyone can accurately give a review due to all the twist and turns that was written into the script. But I am going to try to give a short review of this full-tray dish of Perry mystery.

The episode starts out innocent enough when Della buys a diary belonging to Helen Cadmus. Helen had been declared missing and then dead after falling off a boat belonging to her employer Benjamin Addick (Harvey Stephens).

Perry was not to happy with Della since the diary seemed to be taking much of her time (Perry was actually upset at Della). That was until he got two offers for the diary, one from Nathan Fallon (Victor Buono) and Mortimer Hershey (Gavin MacLeod). Both of these men worked for Mr Addick (a kinda hermit that studied apes) and set the price of the diary to $5,000. All this sparked the interest of Perry since he thought the death of Helen may be contained in the diary.

Also going on was a former maid named Josphine Kempton (Lurene Tuttle). She had a slander case on Mr Addick, when he accused her of stealing items from his house. Now she cannot get any employment due the accusations of her theft.

After some of the stolen items were found, thanks to Perry and the diary, Mr Addick wanted to settle the lawsuit with Josephine. He calls her to the house but when she gets there Mr Addick is dead and there is a large gorilla running through the house. --(In something that seemed to unbelievable Perry is called to the house and is pinned down by the gorilla. That may be interesting in a book but on a TV drama series, it did not play well.)

After the police find that Mr Addick was not only mauled by the gorilla but he was also stabbed with scissors, they arrest Josephine for the murder.

But due to some clever dealing with the local DA's office, Perry finds the true murderer which will leave the Addick household talking for years to come.

This is only a small amount of what is going on in this episode. There is just too much to mention without giving away most of the ending. It may not be the best episode of the series, but it is one that is different from the others and has multitude of nuggets for the viewer.

This is one episode that is difficult to vote. It was a different kind of story than we are use to while watching 'Perry Mason', but then was not a believable written script. Some parts were interesting to the storyline while others seemed useless and should have been saved for another episode. Just too much stuff for a 52 minutes show.

One good note- In this episode we see more of Perry's anger than we have seen since the first season. At one point he pounds his desk.