Edgar Wallace Mysteries

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries was a British second-feature film series, produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated.[1] There were 47 films in the series, completed between 1960 and 1965.[2] The series was screened as The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre on television in the United States.

Title sequence

Synopsis

Producers Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy acquired the rights to all of Edgar Wallace's books and stories in 1960.[1] These were loose adaptations, very few using his original titles, and there was no attempt to set them in the period in which Wallace wrote, probably to eliminate the need for elaborate costumes and sets.[3] 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 Anglo-Amalgamated's usual outlet, but ten of them were allocated to the rival Rank circuit playing Odeon and Gaumont cinemas.[4]

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" theme written by Michael Carr.[5] "Man of Mystery" was later recorded by The Shadows and became a no. 5 hit record in the UK.[6][7]

The film, Violent Moment (1959), was later released with the Wallace Mysteries' credits replacing the original, even though it wasn't part of the series. According to Kim Newman, insufficient episodes were available for American television, as the series was still in production; so the distributor, Anglo-Amalgamated, attached the 'Wallace Mysteries' ' credits to some of its other mystery and crime films, (such as House of Mystery, 1961), and thereby expanded the series.

The series has been shown on television.[8] In Britain, it was shown by ITV in 1968 under the title Tales of Edgar Wallace. Later, Channel 4 and Bravo rescreened the films through to the 1990s, later being re-shown on Talking Pictures TV from 2018. It was shown on US 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.[9]

Films

Urge to Kill (1960) and The Malpas Mystery (1960) do not appear to have been part of the original series of films produced at Merton Park.[2][10] Another film not shot as part of the series, but subsequently included, is Gerry Anderson's Crossroads to Crime (1960).[11]

See also

References
  1. "BFI Screenonline: Flat Two (1962)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  2. "Edgar Wallace Mysteries (1960–65)". July 9, 2012.
  3. "» EDGAR WALLACE AT MERTON PARK – by Tise Vahimagi".
  4. "Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, The (Tales of Edgar Wallace) | Nostalgia Central".
  5. Saul (2010), Marc. "Tales of Edgar Wallace". Television Heaven.
  6. "Man Of Mystery". Discogs.
  7. "man of mystery/the stranger | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  8. "The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre Series and Episode Guides | TV from RadioTimes". Radio Times.
  9. "Edgar Wallace Mysteries: Volume 7:". Network On Air.
  10. "The Edgar Wallace Mysteries - Volume 6". www.dvdbeaver.com.
  11. "Crossroads to Crime - Anthony Oliver". www.dvdbeaver.com.

Further reading
  • Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, The British 'B' Film, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, pp. 236–40
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