Orson Welles Great Mysteries: Volume One [DVD]

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For all the ribbing in Ripping Yarns¸ I like to think Michael Palin was a fan of the series all along and, thanks to Network, he’ll enjoy revisiting the inspiration for “our sherry tonight”. We thought it was like Christ entering the gates of Jerusalem. But Orson didn't like the idea of working for a regional TV company because he was such a great man." Steve Peart, Retired Anglia Television film editor For retired film editor Steve Peart news "Awesome Orson" was coming to the Anglia Studios was a momentous event. The Faulkners were an odd family - two spinsters living in a large mansion, served by one maid, with their only relative being their young brother, married but living elsewhere. When one night one of the sisters suddenly disappears without a trace - leaving her clothes behind - everyone is puzzled, but the remaining sister refuses to call the police, thinking on the family's good name - as there has been cases of insanity in the family before. A private detective hired finds nothing, and a few months later the other sister disappears in the same manner, too. The police are now alerted and begin to investigate - and soon it is revealed these two were not the first disappearances in the family.

Like the previously issued 10-episode German DVD set from Pidax Film Media,, the UK release is encoded in the PAL, Region 2 format, which means it is not compatible with most North American players. (There has been no word of a U.S. release.) Ambitious reporter Harry Langley pretends to be the murderer of unidentified woman, to boost sales with a special report from prison. But once arrested, the authorities seem to be convinced that he is indeed the killer - because the victim has been identified as his fiancee! At the end of the semester, college professor Richard Lumsden is getting ready for vacation - and retirement. However he is interrupted by an angry parent of a student, blaming him for his son's suicide after he was expelled for stealing. The man makes it clear he wants to murder Lumsden and frame his death as a suicide, and the professor engages his to-be-murderer in a battle of wits to convince him he cannot make it look believable for the police... (Based on a story by Maisie Sharman

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Network, which released the DVD Orson Welles Great Mysteries Volume 1 in the United Kingdom last year, will release the second and final volume on October 26. The whole story of Welles’ visit was itself dramatized for the Sky Arts series Urban Myths (tru…ish stories) in 2020. In the episode titled Orson Welles in Norwich, Welles is portrayed by Robbie Coltrane. A lawyer cannot stop a middle-aged spinster from making a fool of herself with a young fortune-hunter, but he can stop the fellow from getting his hands on her money. (Based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham Masquerade’ found: Missing Orson Welles’ screenplay based on Luigi Pirandello play October 16, 2023 The series is an anthology of mystery stories. Each episode is introduced by Orson Welles, the only regular actor in the series, whose appearances were confined to the introductory and closing sequences. [2] In the opening titles, Welles appears shown in silhouette walking through a hallway towards the camera, smoking a cigar and outfitted in a broad-brimmed hat and a huge cloak. When he actually appears on-screen to introduce the episodes, his face is all that is shown, in extreme close-up and very low lighting.

Even by the standards of half-hour television drama these stories are rather simple, with just one little sting in the tail. Sometimes the payoff isn’t quite as satisfactory as one might have hoped, and too often it’s too easy to see the payoff coming. Death of an Old-Fashioned Girl starring Francesca Annis, Carol Lynley and John Le Mesurier; story by Stanley Ellin Produced by Anglia Television, the 25-minute long episodes were originally broadcast by Britain’s ITV between September 1973 and February 1974. Thirteen episodes were featured on the first volume and the remaining 13 shows are contained on Volume 2.

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In the end, I think he just got so bored, so did his filming and got out - there were no second takes, he just up and left.” There’s quite an array of acting talent on view in this series including quite a few who were already major stars (such as Susannah York and Bond girl Jane Seymour). And there are plenty of cult movie stars, like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence. And some good directors, like Peter Sasdy.

The only contribution that Welles actually makes to the series is his brief intros and outros, which almost certainly would have been done in a single day. But Welles did earn his money - his amused cynicism does add to the atmosphere. An Affair of Honour starring Harry Andrews, Michael Gambon and Jeremy Clyde; script by Carey Harrison; story by F. Britten Austin; directed by Alan Bromly

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The Power of Fear starring Shirley Knight and Don Murray; script by N.J. Crisp; story by Lawrence Treat The Ingenious Reporter starring Geoffrey Bayldon, Ronald Radd and David Birney; script by Carey Harrison

For some bizarre reason Network have decided to release only thirteen of the twenty-six episodes in a two-disc DVD set. Whether the other thirteen ever see the light of day remains to be seen. The transfers are reasonably good. I for one am very interested in seeing what the first volume has to offer; if the second collection is anything to go by, I’d say it’s one of the most intriguing entries in the second half of Welles’ career, even if he was nothing more than a hired hand. His visit to Norwich was very, very brief. The show was all footage that had been filmed elsewhere which we bought and just filmed Orson’s parts to introduce them.Captain Rogers starring Donald Pleasence and Willoughby Goddard; script by Harry Green; story by W.W. Jacobs Anyone expecting a TV equivalent of Mercury Theatre on the Air was disappointed by this pedestrian series, filmed on videotape and hosted by a bored-looking Welles in his F for Fake garb of billowing cape and sloping hat. Great Mysteries lasted but one season (26 episodes). Welles didn't direct any episodes.