Various (director)
Network Distributing (studio)
PG (certificate)
389 min approx (length)
30 July 2012 (released)
02 October 2012
THE EDGAR WALLACE MYSTERIES - Volume 1 features adaptations based on one of the 20th century’s most successful crime novelists, Edgar Wallace.
His thrillers have been widely adapted for film and television – the most memorable of which is this series, made at Merton Park Studios during the first half of the 1960s, while his most famous story – King Kong – has reached almost cult status.
With a noir-esque feel, THE EDGAR WALLACE MYSTERIES updates some of the legendary writer’s stories to more contemporary settings, blending classic B-movie elements with a distinctly British feel.
Disc One contains the stories Clue Of The Twisted Candle (directed by Allan Davis, and starring Bernard Lee, David Knight and Francis de Wolff), Marriage Of Convenience (directed by Clive Donner, and starring John Cairney, Harry H. Corbett and Moira Redmond), and the special feature episode Urge To Kill.
It is the Vernon Sewell directed Urge To Kill that is the most disturbing and chilling on the first disc: 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.
Disc Two contains the stories The Man Who Was Nobody (directed by Montgomery Tully, and starring Hazel Court, John Crawford, Lisa Daniely, and Paul Eddington) and Clue Of The New Pin (directed by Allan Davis, and starring Paul Daneman, Bernard Archard and James Villiers). However, here the most engaging story is the Peter Duffell directed 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, puzzling the police.
Starring Bernard Lee, Moira Redmond and John Van Eysen.
Disc Three finally contains The Fourth Square (directed by Allan Davis, and starring Conrad Phillips, Natasha Parry, Delphi Lawrence and Paul Daneman), as well as another special feature episode titled October Moth, directed by John Kruse:
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.
Unseen for decades and freshly transferred from the original film elements specifically for this release, all 47 films will gradually be released over seven volumes courtesy of Network DVD.
This first volume is now available as a 3-disc set, and includes the following bonus material:
8 episodes complete and uncut / Exclusive booklet by author and critic Kim Newman / “Urge To Kill” - a non-Wallace story that was included in syndication packages as an Edgar Wallace Mystery / “October Moth” - one of seven thrillers made by Independent Artists Ltd during the same period as the Merton Park films - two of which were from Wallace stories / Image Gallery / PDF Material
