Stephen W

My father-in-law (now deceased), George Haslam, was the Art Director on many Merton Studio productions and also designd sets. "Scotland Yard" was one of his favourite shows with the ever watchable Edgar Lustgarten.

helldriver

Here's some details of the German Box Sets (still more to come). The discs are also available as singles but you get extras if you buy the boxes so those would seem the way to go in most cases.

EDGAR WALLACE Box #1
Der Frosch mit der Maske / Fellowship of the Frog
Der rote Kreis / The Red Circle
Die Bande des Schreckens /Terrible People/Hand of the Gallows
Der grüne Bogenschütze (german only) / The Green Archer

Box #2
Die toten Augen von London (german only) Dead Eyes of London
Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzissen (german only) / The Devil's Daffodil
Der Fälscher von London (german only) / The Forger of London
Die seltsame Gräfin / The Strange Countess

Box #3
Das Rätsel der roten Orchidee / Secret of the Red Orchid
Die Tür mit den 7 Schlössern / The Door with Seven Locks
Das Gasthaus an der Themse / The Inn on the River
Der Zinker / The Squeaker

Box #4
Der schwarze Abt / The Black Abbot
Das indische Tuch / The Indian Scarf
Zimmer 13 / Room 13
Der Hexer / The Ringer

Box #5
Die Gruft mit dem Rätselschloss / The Curse of the Hidden Vault
Das Verrätertor (german only) / Traitor's Gate
Wartezimmer zum Jenseits / Mark of the Tortoise
Neues vom Hexer (german only) / The New Hexer

Box #6
Der Unheimliche Mönch / The Sinister Monk
Der Bucklige von Soho / The Hunchback of Soho
Das Geheimnis der Weissen Nonne (german only) / The Trigon Factor
Die Blaue Hand (german only) / The Blue Hand

Harbottle

No apologies for resurrecting this thread but had to add a comment that I used to enjoy watching these old Edgar Wallace Mysteries too, I last recall them being screened in the wee small hours by TVS probably in the early 1980’s, they also used to show other classics like Randall & Hopkirk. Love to see the EW out on DVD, one that sticks in my mind starred one of my favourite actors Peter Vaughan at a seaside resort. I remember Michael Caine being in one too unless my mind is playing tricks

mysteriesofedgarwallace

The film with Peter Vaughan you are referring to is a Butcher's film called 'Smokescreen', filmed in Brighton.

Michael Caine was in an Edgar Wallace film called 'Solo for Sparrow', but he was way down the billing.

The EW films were last aired by Bravo circa 1995.

Channel4 and TVS showed them in the mid 80's and Ch4 showed them in the late 80's.

A DVD release would be a dream come true, OTOH someone re-showing them would be better than nothing, so I could tidy up some of my copies.

Harbottle

Many thanks for the info and the interesting links! I'm annoyed now that I didn't record these shows at the time, Herbert Lom's Human Jungle is another I recall used as a "filler". Mind you if I had done so they would have been on Betamax.

Geoffers

I'm trying to establish the history of these Merton Park Studios produced films in an effort to get them displayed correctly on IMDb. As many of us know, these films were essentially second-feature films shown in British cinema in the early sixties, but some well-meaning person has turned them into episodes of a U.S. TV series - "The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre" (1960) (UK version "Tales Of Edgar Wallace").

As far as I recall, ITV in the UK did (much later) show them as a series under the title of "Tales of Edgar Wallace" and no doubt something similar happened in the US - hence the title currently showing on the IMDb.

However, they ought to be shown separately, and as films, to be historically accurate. So what I'd really like to know is the original date of the release of each film, down to the month, if possible.

Currently some of them have the day and month of release (as original air date), such as:

Season 1, Episode 1: The Clue of the Twisted Candle
Original Air Date: 15 August 1960

but I have no idea where these details come from - there was clearly no showing on TV on that date.

I found web-site which looks to have a very detailed account, though they separate the films into two groups - the smallest section not being produced by Jack Greenwood.

Also, when originally shown in the cinema, were they shown on-screen as individual titles e.g. "The Clue of the Twisted Candle", or was there also a sort of group title like "Tales of Edgar Wallace" as we saw the famous rotating bust of Wallace? Maybe that was just when they were repeated on ITV.

Can anybody help?

david_dsmedia

The only useful site I found on the series, when I was researching one production which was filmed locally, was:
CTVA UK - "Edgar Wallace Mysteries" (Merton Park Studios London)(1960-65)(theatricals)

smudge

Geoff -

AFAIK when they were released theatrically they went out as second features in their own right and under their own title.

Have you tried the Cinema Theatre Association ? Allan Eyles book on the ABC cinemas had a release chronology in the back which included the old double bills. Some of these, I am sure, were Edgars ; I am afraid that at this second my own copy eludes me.

Even if CTA haven't a monthly chronology, you could still take a reasonable stab at things if you knew the main feature, as their release dates will (I assume) be more accessible.

The only other sources I can think of are old copies of KINE WEEKLY, or any records at BBFC. Unfortunately all my old KINEs are from the 70s...

Regards,

Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Lord Brett

Kine (or Kinematograph) Weekly might well be an excellent source of information. Up until some point in the late sixties it gave a round up of exactly what was filming at which studio, whether filmed TV or movies. Friends of mine found this absolutely invaluable when researching ITCs filmed TV productions.

You might have to contact the British Library to track down copies.

julian_craster

Dennis Gifford's BRITISH FILM CATALOGUE (in most decent reference libraries) gives the year and month of the cinema release of all UK features, including Edgar....

orpheum

I have a list of every film i have seen since 1961 and i would probably be able to give you the dates upon which i saw these films at the ABC Golders Green.Some of the tiitles may be mixed up with the Edgar Lustgarten films.Invariably these were shown as the second feature,which at the ABC always started at 4.30pm on a Sunday afternoon.To me the most memorable aspects of theses films were the theme tune and the bust of Wallace constantly turning in the opening credits.

Merton Park

"I have a list of every film I have seen since 1961"

Blimey, that has to be some kind of record!! Talk about an anorak, amazing. I used to go to the Lido (original name for the ABC) in those days and saw loads of Edgar Wallace films there too, loved every one!

There used to be a doorman there with a brownish moustache, round face, checked everyone going in, wouldn't let me in to see The Mummy as it was an X, mind you I was only 13/14 and looked it . I was gutted at the time.

Used to be a great Cinema, shame it's now long gone.