Edgar Wallace Mysteries

Edgar Wallace Mysteries was a British B-movie series produced by Merton Park Studios for the low-budget film production company Anglo-Amalgamated . It was made between 1960 and 1965 and consisted of 47 films, which were loosely based on the novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace .

background

Edgar Wallace in Berlin, 1928

The producers and directors of Anglo-Amalgamated , Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy , acquired the rights to all of Edgar Wallace's books and stories for filming in 1960. The films were loosely adaptations of the novels with very few using the original title, and no attempt was made to relocate them to the time Wallace was writing. This was probably done in order to reduce the need for lavish costumes and sets and thus to save costs. A 1962 article in Scene magazine budgeted £ 22,000 for an episode that was in production at the time of reporting. The majority of the films were shown as supporting films in the ABC cinemas , which were the usual field of activity for Anglo-Amalgamated, but ten of them were shown in the rival Rank cinemas of the Odeon and Gaumont chains.

Most of the films in the series started with a uniform title sequence in which a shadowy bust of Edgar Wallace slowly rotates against a background of swirling fog, accompanied by the Man of Mystery title song by composer Michael Carr . The song Man of Mystery was recorded by The Shadows in 1960 and became a number 5 hit in the UK, with another version by Chet Atkins from 1961.

In July 2012, Network DVD began releasing the entire series on DVD, uncut and in the original aspect ratio.

Movies

The series consisted of the following films:

• Urge to Kill (March 1960)
• Clue of the Twisted Candle (September 1960)
• The Malpas Mystery (October 1960)
• Marriage of Convenience (November 1960)
• The Man Who Was Nobody (December 1960)
• The Clue of the New Pin (February 1961)
• Partners in Crime (February 1961)
• The Fourth Square (June 1961)
• The Man at the Carlton Tower (July 1961)
• The Clue of the Silver Key (1961) (August 1961)
• Attempt to Kill (September 1961)
• Man Detained (October 1961)
• Never Back Losers (December 1961)
• The Sinister Man (December 1961)
• Backfire (February 1962)
• Candidate for Murder (February 1962)
• Flat Two (February 1962)
• The Share Out (February 1962)
• Number Six (April 1962)
• Time to Remember (July 1962)
• Locker 69 (September 1962)
• Playback (September 1962)
• Solo for Sparrow (September 1962)
• Death Trap (October 1962)
• The Set-Up (January 1963)
• £ 20,000 Kiss (January 1963)
• Incident at Midnight (January 1963)
• On the Run (February 1963)
• Return to Sender (March 1963)
• Ricochet (March 1963)
• The Double (April 1963)
• The Rivals (May 1963)
• To Have and to Hold (July 1963)
• The Partner (September 1963)
• Accidental Death (November 1963)
• Five to One (December 1963)
• Downfall (January 1964)
• The Verdict (February 1964)
• We Shall See (April 1964)
• Who What Maddox? (June 1964)
• Face of a Stranger (September 1964)
• Act of Murder (September 1964)
• Never Mention Murder (November 1964)
• The Main Chance (November 1964)
• Game for Three Losers (April 1965)
• Change Partners (July 1965)
• Strangler's Web (August 1965)
• Dead Man's Chest (October 1965)

Urge to Kill and The Malpas Mystery from 1960 likely weren't part of the original series of films produced by Merton Park. Another film that was not shot as part of the series but kept counting back on was Crossroads to Crime (1960) directed by Gerry Anderson .

supporting documents

1. ↑ ^{a b} BFI Screenonline: Flat Two (1962) on screenonline.org.uk; accessed on April 13, 2020.
2. ^ ^{A b} Edgar Wallace Mysteries (1960-65) on bloodymurder.wordpress.com; accessed on April 13, 2020.
3. ↑ Tise Vahimagi. Edgar Wallace at Merton Park on mysteryfile.com, February 16, 2009; accessed on April 13, 2020.
4. ↑ Edgar Wallace Mystery Theater, the (Tales of Edgar Wallace) on nostalgiacentral.com/; accessed on April 13, 2020.
5. ↑ The Stranger / Man Of Mystery in the official single charts UK; accessed on April 13, 2020.
6. ↑ The Shadows - The Stranger / Man Of Mystery on discogs.com; accessed on April 13, 2020.
7. ↑ Chet Atkins - Windy And Warm / Man Of Mystery on discogs.com; accessed on April 14, 2020.
8. ↑ Edgar Wallace Mysteries: Volume 7 on networkonair.com; accessed on April 13, 2020.
9. ↑ The Edgar Wallace Mysteries - Volume 6 on dvdbeaver.com; accessed on April 13, 2020.
10. ↑ = Crossroads to Crime - Anthony Oliver on dvdbeaver.com; accessed on April 13, 2020.