The Case of the Illicit Illusion (1964) User Reviews (5)

Too many characters to account for

[kfo9494 · 5/10 · 27 October 2011]

This episode begins with Rosanne Ambrose (Mona Freeman) having blackouts where she cannot remember what if anything happened. She goes to see Dr Jesse Young (Keith Andres) for possible medication explanation for the lost of memory. Dr Young is an old boyfriend of Rosanne. And Dr Young prescribes some pills to help her get some rest from the horror of ordeal.

This is good to know since Roasanne is seeking a divorce from her husband, Hubert Ambrose (Ron Randall), and this is a big part of the plot.

Hubbert is accused of a murder in New York. The police say that Hubbert is using a false name for flights and hotel reservation and at the time of the murder, was in New York. But it appears that Hubert will not be going to new York when a friend of his, Kirk Cameron (Berry Kroeger) commits suicide and leaves a note claiming that he was the one that killed the women in New York. All seems right.

However the police state that this was not suicide and have evidence that Rosanne was at Cameron's apartment moments before his death. And we are left with Perry defending the women for the murder.

This episode has a difficult plot to follow with too many characters. When a name was called I was confused since I could not remember the names due to large number of people that had some part in the show. But it does deliver some good courtroom scenes.

From Hamilton Burger basically being call as a witness to a husband being called as a witness in the wife's case- it has some good moments. But by the end of the show I am exhausted from trying to keep up with all the testimony that string from two crimes in two states.

There is also some writing that was just plain poor. I mean- When Rosanne feels one of her blackouts coming on, instead of taking the elevator or sitting down- she take a dark and lonely stairway only to pass out a few steps down the stairs. Plus the fact that the stairs must not be a high traffic area since she did not awake till many hours after the blackout in the same position. This was just really unbelievable.

For me this was a middle of the pack show. Nothing great here but then again not a complete car wreck.

A naming coincidence makes this episode a classic

[arthurblock · 4 August 2011]

This time out, Perry has a particularly needy client. Author Rosanne Ambrose, played perhaps a bit too intensely by Mona Freeman, thinks she's losing her mind and needs help from her doctor and her personal assistant. She also needs help from Perry because she's divorcing her no-good husband Hubert. Hubert has a slimy associate who ends up dead, leading Lt. Anderson to utter my favorite line from all of 'Perry Mason': "You're under arrest - for the murder of Kirk Cameron!" Perry has to accomplish a great deal in the rest of the episode, solving this murder plus another in New York, and also exposing a scam artist. It's a better-than-average story, made great by improbable visions of someone doing in the actor from 'Growing Pains' (with apologies to his fans).

*** BAD SPOILERS FOLLOW *** This episode is an exception to one of the rules for figuring out who's guilty. If Perry makes a big deal out of the fact that a person is not his client, that person is usually the murderer. However, another rule, that it's often someone with no apparent motive who's just there to be helpful, is in full force here.

Confusin Issusion

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 10 April 2016]

****SPOILERS**** Another utterly confusing Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, episode this time involving a double murder that takes place-From NYC to L.A-3,000 miles apart with the person held responsible Rossanna Ambrose,Mona Freeman, for one of them that of her estranged husband's the very sweaty looking Hubert, Ron Randall, partner in an investment firm the creepy Kirk Camron, Barry Koreger. A fact, that she has no memory of! Perry has a conflict of interest here with him representing both husband & wife in the same trial against each other but with a number of legal as well as illegal tactics he managers to pull it off and almost ends up losing both cases.

That's until Hubert by now just abut having it with this trial where he can end up being convicted of 1st degree murder breaks down on the stand and exposes the killer, his partner in crime, who instead of going easy on his wife, who's in a state of totally confusion,had her framed for Camaron's murder! Despite all the confusion involved in how Perry was able to have the killer exposed and how difficult it would have been to, with the most flimsiest of evidence,to convict him or her he just broke down and admitted his crime without as much as a cross-examination by Perry who seemed just as surprised as everyone else in what his motives were! And how he could pull of two murders, if in fact he did, 3,000 miles apart in such a short, like 48 hours, time.

All this had to do with money left by a New York socialite to a number of people who it's felt by those that felt they deserved it and that they got stiffed out of their inheritances. Picking the weak minded and not that on the ball Rossanna as the fall guy or girl in fact exposed the real killer in leaving behind a number of clues-as well as red herrings & lipstick- that lead Perry to realize just who the killer was but he needed Hubert who at the time was on the verge of melting down to finger him!

Another Great Perry

[darbski · 22 April 2017]

!!! Spoiler !!! In first place, one must consider Perry's clients to evaluate this one. She was ill! Okay, that lets her off the hook, except for the "happily ever after" close of the episode. Most of Perry's clients fall under the heading of idiotic, moronic, or just stupid. Several thing are required of Perry's clients: One is a lack of intelligence,Two an inability to tell the truth (they ALL seem to lie until the gas chamber is their next residence). Three, they MUST shoot their mouth off about how they're gonna "get" whoever the victim is going to be. Four, they have to handle the murder weapon, get blood on them, be seen ... etc., etc. ... One thing that I liked about this episode was the courtroom antics of Perry in getting Hamilton to trap himself. It HAS happened, that a judge will controvert Perry's logic, but most of the time, he getting Burger to paint himself into a legal corner. Again, the acting is top notch and I loved the old English con/bat who MUST be seen to be believed. Again, a great episode, and I'm glad I bought it to review from.

Meanders in search of red herrings.

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 15 November 2012]

Although a lot of people I hang out with would love the idea of Kirk Cameron meeting a bad end in fact Berry Kroeger plays a character named Kirk Cameron who gets very dead. Kroeger is usually playing some of the slimiest villains on record and he's involved in some con games here. But the real Kirk Cameron was not even born yet, not even an idea in his parents mind when this Perry Mason episode aired on CBS.

The client for Raymond Burr is Mona Freeman who is going through a divorce and her husband is in some shady business bilking clients of investment money. Kroeger is a forensic accountant who is presumably checking up on the husband when he's murdered.

This is not one of the better constructed Mason episodes, the plot really meanders all over the place in search of red herrings. I will say though that Evelyn Varden, noted British player really stands out in this episode. This woman is some piece of work, she's got a great racket going which I will not divulge, you have to see the episode to see the scam she's working.

For Varden's sake I wish I could rate this Perry Mason a bit higher. Her character deserved a better story.