The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for

Anglo-Amalgamated Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company, run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, which operated from 1945 until roughly 1971 (after which it was absorbed into EMI Films). Low-budget and second features, often produced at M ...

. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre'' on television in the United States.

Synopsis

Producers

Nat Cohen Nat Cohen (23 December 1905 – 10 February 1988)William D. Rubinstein, et al (eds.''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p.171 was a British film producer and executive. For over four decades he was one of t ...

and Stuart Levy acquired the film rights to all of

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

's books and stories in 1960. The original intent was that 30 of the films would be produced by Independent Artists at

Beaconsfield Studios Beaconsfield Film Studios is a British television and film studio in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. The studios were operational as a production site for films in 1922, and continued producing films - and, later, TV shows - until the 1960s. B ...

while a further 20 would be made by the Film Producers Guild at Merton Park Studios. In the event, Independent Artists' only contribution to the series would be The Malpas Mystery while more than double the intended 20 were made at Merton Park. The resulting adaptations were loose, with very few using Wallace's original titles. Like the concurrent Rialto Film

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

then being produced in Germany (see ''German crimis''), there was no attempt to set them in the period settings of Wallace's original stories, probably to eliminate the need for elaborate costumes and sets. A 1962 article in ''Scene'' magazine quotes £22,000 as the budget for an episode in production at the time of reporting. The majority of the films played as supporting features on the ABC Cinemas circuit, which was

's usual outlet; but ten of them were allocated to the rival

Rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

circuit, with screenings in their Odeon and Gaumont cinemas. Most of the series featured a uniform title sequence, in which a shadowed bust of Edgar Wallace revolves slowly against a backdrop of swirling mist, to the accompaniment of the "

Man of Mystery "Man of Mystery" is a song by the Shadows, released as a single in November 1960. It peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. Background and release "Man of Mystery" was written by Michael Carr for the theme tune for the film series '' Eg ...

" theme written by Michael Carr. "Man of Mystery" was later recorded by

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

and became a number 5 hit record in the UK. Later episodes of the series used a speeded up version of the title music after the Shadows'

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

. The film, ''

Violent Moment ''Violent Moment'' is a 1959 British drama film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Lyndon Brook, Jane Hylton and Jill Browne. It was made as a B film for release on the lower-half of a double bill. It was the film editor Hayers' first film ...

'' (1959), was later released with the Wallace Mysteries' credits replacing the originals, even though it was not part of the series. According to

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at ...

, insufficient episodes were available for American television, for the series was still in production; hence, the distributor Anglo-Amalgamated attached the 'Wallace Mysteries' credits to some of its other mystery and crime films (such as ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strang ...

'', 1961) and thereby expanded the series. The series has been shown on television. In Britain, it was shown by ITV in 1968 under the title ''Tales of Edgar Wallace''. Later,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

and Bravo rescreened the films through to the 1990s, later being re-shown on

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 h ...

from 2018. It was shown on American television as ''The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre'', with episodes cut to fit hour-long commercial TV slots. In July 2012, Network DVD began to release the complete series on DVD, uncut and presented in its original aspect ratio.

Films

*''

Urge to Kill ''Urge to Kill'' is a studio album by Brainbombs Brainbombs is a Swedish noise rock band formed 1985 in Hudiksvall. The members are Dan, Peter, Jonas, Drajan, and Lanchy. The latter was also a member of Totalitär. They are notable for t ...

'' (March 1960) – see note below *''

Clue of the Twisted Candle ''Clue of the Twisted Candle'' is a 1960 British crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Bernard Lee, David Knight and Francis De Wolff. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it ...

'' (September 1960) *'' The Malpas Mystery'' (October 1960) - Independent Artists production *''

Marriage of Convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. There are ...

'' (November 1960) – Rank release *'' The Man Who Was Nobody'' (December 1960) *'' Partners in Crime'' (February 1961) – Rank release *'' The Clue of the New Pin'' (February 1961) *''

The Fourth Square ''The Fourth Square'' is a 1961 British crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Conrad Phillips, Natasha Parry and Delphi Lawrence. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is loos ...

'' (June 1961) *'' Man at the Carlton Tower'' (July 1961) *'' Clue of the Silver Key'' (August 1961) *'' Attempt to Kill'' (September 61) - Rank release *''

Man Detained ''Man Detained'' is a 1961 British crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Bernard Archard, Elvi Hale and Paul Stassino. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is loosely based ...

'' (October 1961) – Rank release *'' Never Back Losers'' (December 1961) – Rank release *''

The Sinister Man ''The Sinister Man'' is a 1961 British crime drama film directed by Clive Donner and starring Patrick Allen and John Bentley. It was one of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries, British second-features, produced at Merton Park Studios in the 19 ...

'' (December 1961) *'' Backfire!'' (February 1962) – Rank release *'' Candidate for Murder'' (February 1962) *'' Flat Two'' (February 1962) *''

The Share Out ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (February 1962) *'' Number Six'' (April 1962) *'' Time to Remember'' (July 1962) *'' Solo for Sparrow'' (September 1962) *'' Playback'' (September 1962) *''

Locker Sixty-Nine ''Locker Sixty-Nine'' is a 1962 British film based on a story by Edgar Wallace, and an episode of the ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries''. Cast * Eddie Byrne as Simon York * Paul Daneman as Frank Griffiths * Walter Brown as Craig * Penelope Horner as Jul ...

'' (September 1962) *'' Death Trap'' (October 1962) *'' The Set Up'' (January 1963) *'' Incident at Midnight'' (January 1963) *'' The £20,000 Kiss'' (January 1963) – Rank release *'' On the Run'' (February 1963) – Rank release *'' Return to Sender'' (March 1963) *''

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

'' (March 1963) *'' The Double'' (April 1963) *''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 episode of the T ...

'' (May 1963) *'' To Have and to Hold'' (July 1963) *'' The Partner'' (September 1963) *''

Accidental Death An accidental death is an unnatural death that is caused by an accident, such as a slip and fall, traffic collision, or accidental poisoning. Accidental deaths are distinguished from death by natural causes, disease, and from intentional hom ...

'' (November 1963) *'' Five to One'' (December 1963) *'' Downfall'' (January 1964) *''

The Verdict ''The Verdict'' is a 1982 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet, adapted from Barry Reed's 1980 novel of the same name. It stars Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea, an ...

'' (February 1964) *''

We Shall See ''We Shall See'' is a 1964 British drama film directed by Quentin Lawrence and starring Maurice Kaufmann, Faith Brook and Alec Mango. It was adapted from a 1926 novel ''We Shall See!'' by Edgar Wallace, and was made at Merton Park Studios as ...

'' (April 1964) *'' Who Was Maddox?'' (June 1964) *'' Face of a Stranger'' (September 1964) *'' Act of Murder'' (September 1964) *''

Never Mention Murder ''Never Mention Murder'' is a 1964 British second feature film directed by John Nelson Burton and starring Maxine Audley, Dudley Foster and Michael Coles. Part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is ...

'' (November 1964) – Rank release *'' The Main Chance'' (November 1964) *'' Game for Three Losers'' (April 1965) – Rank release *'' Change Partners'' (July 1965) *'' Strangler's Web'' (August 1965) *''

Dead Man's Chest "Dead Man's Chest" (also known as "Fifteen Men on the Dead Man's Chest" or "Yo, Ho, Ho (And a Bottle of Rum)") is a fictional''Fictional sea-song'' - in this sense means a sea-song that first appeared in a work of fiction, and not an authentic se ...

'' (October 1965) ''Urge to Kill'' (1960) does not appear to have been part of the original series of films produced at Merton Park. Other films not shot as part of the series, but subsequently included, are

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

's ''

Crossroads to Crime ''Crossroads to Crime'' is a 1960 British crime film produced and directed by Gerry Anderson and distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated (AA). Starring Anthony Oliver, George Murcell, Miriam Karlin, David Graham and Ferdy Mayne, ''Crossroads to Crim ...

'' (1960) and '' Seven Keys'' (1961).

Critical reception

The '' Radio Times'' described the series as " Brit noir at its best, updating some of the author's stories to more contemporary settings and blending classic B-movie elements with a distinctly British feel."

References

External links

Edgar Wallace Mysteries
*
Edgar Wallace Mysteries
A Revised List by Tise Vahimagi

Synopsis

Films

Critical reception

See also

References

External links

Further reading