Edgar Wallace Mysteries, Vol. 1 [DVD] [1956]

Those dodgy releases & off-air recordings of the EW Mysteries have been swept away by this Network release. The black & white prints used for this 3-disc set are excellent, along with good sound quality - take a bow you guys! Unfortunately there are no subtitles. The six mystery/crime tales here are backed up with 2 bonus films classified as extras - "Urge To Kill" and "October Moth". Made at Merton Park studios (a name to bring a nostalgic lump to the throat!) and produced as support features & first shown in the early 60's, these quality 50-odd minute dramas with a noir feel were adapted from the prolific works of thriller writer Edgar Wallace & placed in a more contemporary setting. These B-movie productions provide an entertaining flashback to another world, a dated but nostalgic dip into the past that a fan of the genre like myself cannot resist. The stories feature a host of familiar faces (see below) putting in good performances. As a collector of the vintage crime output turned out by the likes of low-budget Butchers Films studios, this release will sit very nicely alongside them in my collection.

***SPECIAL FEATURES***
*Urge To Kill & October Moth (bonus movies - see details below).
*Illustrated 11-page booklet by author & critic Kim Newman.
*Image Gallery.
*PDF Material.

The 3 discs are stored in a single-size DVD case, which features an episode synopsis on the inside which I have replicated below....

***DISC ONE***
*CLUE OF THE TWISTED CANDLE...What do a wealthy foreigner in fear of his life and a young man who has confessed to a shooting have in common? Supt Meredith investigates - and he doesn't like what he finds.
Starring Bernard Lee, David Knight and Francis de Wolff. Directed by Allan Davis.

*MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE...A prison escapee's plans of getting his hands on £20,000 go awry when he discovers his girlfriend has married the ex-DI who arrested him in the first place.
Starring John Cairney, Harry H. Corbett and Moira Redmond. Directed by Clive Donner.

*SPECIAL FEATURE - URGE TO KILL...A local pub owner's daughter is found dead in the area of the town docks - her clothes ripped off and her body mutilated. The police are unable to find any definite leads, but the townspeople have other ideas...
Starring Patrick Barr, Howard Pays and Ruth Dunning. Directed by Vernon Sewell.

***DISC TWO***
*THE MAN WHO WAS NOBODY...Two men are searching for James Tynewood, a young tearaway: one is a police inspector, while the other is his solicitor. But Tynewood has mysteriously disappeared...
Starring Hazel Court, John Crawford, Lisa Daniely, Jack Watson and Paul Eddington. Directed by Montgomery Tully.

*PARTNERS IN CRIME...Wealthy company director Harry Strickland is found dead and his safe has been burgled. Only a small amount of money was taken, however, which puzzles the police.
Starring Bernard Lee, Moira Redmond and John Van Eyssen. Directed by Peter Duffell.

*CLUE OF THE NEW PIN...The locked door of a vault, with the key lying on a table beside a dead man, presents Superintendent Carver with a baffling case of murder, for he must find how the murderer managed to lock the door and replace the key on the table!
Starring Paul Daneman, Bernard Archard and James Villiers. Directed by Allan Davis.

***DISC THREE***
*THE FOURTH SQUARE...Bill Lawrence, a young lawyer, turns detective when one of his clients, Nina Stewart, becomes caught up in a murder and a burglary.
Starring Conrad Phillips, Natasha Parry, Delphi Lawrence and Paul Daneman. Directed by Allan Davis.

*SPECIAL FEATURE - OCTOBER MOTH...A disturbed young man lives with his dysfunctional family in an isolated house in the country. While out collecting moths in the dark he causes a car to run off the road: rescuing the injured female passenger, he takes her back to his room.
Starring Lee Patterson, Lana Morris and Peter Dyneley. Directed by John Kruse.

Just received my first copy of Edgar Wallace mysteries Volume one, must say its great, Picture, Sound, Excellent well done to all who have been involved in bringing these films back to life. Reminds me of the days in the local ABC Cinemas in St. Helens Merseyside with my Orange Maid and Butterkist. Now it just needs a PATHE Newsreel and Pearl and Dean advertising the local cafe. Seeing all the British actors of the time was just wonderful. Thankyou.

I am a fan of late fifties and early sixties TV crime series. In my collection are the early black and white episodes of The Saint with Roger Moore, Patrick McGoughan in Danger Man, and boxed sets of Man From Interpol and Gideon's Way.
I have to say that this set is every bit as good as any of those and if you are interested in this type of programme then this series is definitely for you.
Being the cautious type that I am I pre-ordered this first volume and received it the day after its release, but held off buying the second volume until I had checked it out for quality.
We have only watched the first three episodes so far, but it's enough to see that the storylines are great. We were both glued to our seats throughout and both the sound and B&W picture quality are great. There are a lot of familiar faces from 1960s television amongst the cast of characters some of which I know by name, some not. Harry H.Corbett (admittedly with a dodgy Scottish accent) appears in one episode, Wilfrid Brambell in the next plus there's Bernard Lee, Rita Webb and lots more to come.
Being cautious I bought only the first volume just to check how much I liked them before buying any more. I have now (after two days) ordered volume two for immediate delivery and have pre-ordered vols three and four for next month.
Please note however that all seven volumes are due to be released in one package in November 2012, I for one cannot wait that long.