American-backed English Language European-made series

From 1951, for a few years American producers turned to Europe to film some series, perhaps because they wanted to show the folks back home some different backgrounds, but more importantly because labour was cheaper!
The experiment was largely, though not completely, abandoned, when it became evident from producers like Douglas Fairbanks and the Danzigers that filming based in Britain was a simpler, less complicated option. However some filming continued in Europe as part of an attempt to include authentic location footage in a series, for example the 1957 Charlie Chan includes some filmed sequences in Paris, Brussels and Venice. Then there were some pilot shows, one starring William Russell, who went to Italy in 1959 to make a pilot called A Man of the World. King of Diamonds, from Harry Alan Towers (1960) which was definitely made, had scenes shot in Antwerp. But the heyday of these Euro-series must have been in the early to mid 1950's
Note- a few Douglas Fairbanks Presents were made in Germany and Italy also.

Picture- Gerald Mohr as seen in Cross Current
(see Foreign Intrigue, final series)

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Foreign Intrigue / Overseas Adventure / Dateline Europe
These films are chiefly of interest because of the location shooting that was done, initially in Sweden, but then in other European capitals, including Paris and Berlin. In all producer Sheldon Reynolds claimed episodes were shot in nine countries.
His method of production is fairly self evident when watching. He once explained his technique:
"I work backwards. When I see an exciting-looking balcony overhanging a sinister-looking street- I have my leading player jump!" After examining the rushes, if it is "as exciting as I anticipated, I begin a story which will make use of the sequence." Considering the primitive techniques available, the dubbing of sound, where attempted, in these external scenes, is commendable.
Apart from the stars and Sheldon Reynolds, most of the cast and production crew were locals, but it is fair to say that their English language is not at all bad. John Padovano was assistant director, and Sheldon Reynolds' right hand man. He also acted as a journalist (Tony Forrest) in some of the stories, throughout the run of the show, thus providing a slight cohesive link between them all.
I found this a tedious, humourless series. Perhaps the dull post war backdrops are rather dreary in themselves.
In all, an incredible 156 stories were made.
1951-3 series
with Jerome Thor as Robert Cannon
1953/4 series
with James Daly as Michael Powers
1954/5 series
with Gerald Mohr as Christopher Storm

Pictured above - Sheldon Reynolds
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1951-53 series with Jerome Thor as Robert Cannon, and/or Sydna Scott (Thor's real life wife) as Helen Davis
4 Paris Train - Bob and Helen are on the train from Paris to Rome to find the only Nazi surviving who was involved in the Nazi wartime atomic research. But Andre Polev, "the master spy," also wants to capture the top secret files, and the Nazi turns up dead in Cannon's compartment
6 Search for a Telephone- After a night at a Brussels club where he chats with Laurent, Bob Cannon is kidnapped by Richard Hegel because of quarter of a million dollars worth of industrial diamonds. Cannon escapes, and there follows a curious mixture of murder and comedy in Laurent's hotel, as Cannon is chased by Hegel's cronies, but by feigning lunacy escapes their clutches
7 At the Airport - A journalist in Zurich is killed, his naked body lying by the lake. Cannon retraces "the path of death" to Munich, walking "in a dead man's shoes." Indeed, one of Cannon's shoes has been secretly filled with heroin. He waits for it to be collected, and it needs his mate Tony to rescue him from the ensuing danger
9 Flea Market - Cannon is looking for The Flying Cat who knows about counterfeit US dollars. His path leads to a Paris fleamarket
12 Berlin to Frankfurt - Bob Cannon is flying to Frankfurt. On board are two prisoners on their way to jail. One gets loose and becomes the original hijacker. When the pilot refuses to turn the plane round, he is shot dead. It's as well Pierre the other prisoner happens to be a pilot, and he takes the controls but also flies on to Frankfurt. Bob punches the hijacker and the stewardess shoots him. A few nice touches in this otherwise routine drama
13 The Letter - Secretary to Kestler, the Minister of the Interior, is shot dead during a safe robbery in which a letter is stolen, which is to be used to blackmail the minister. The price of its return? He must join his country with an anti-Western alliance. Bob Cannon tracks down the man who's "sitting with all the trumps," the thief, Zimmer. The final scene contains a dramatic exposure of the crooked politician behind Zimmer
15 Radio Message - All flights cancelled to prevent two spies leaving the country. Bob Cannon is the only man allowed to transmit messages, so one spy contacts him. "A million dollars is cheap" for secrets not to be radioed out of the country, but being a spy, he doublecrosses Cannon and sends the message anyway. But he's been doublecrossed in turn because his radio message is blocked and after a chase round the radio studios he's shot
17 Food Hijacking- Ex-journalist Hans Bender gives Cannon the lowdown on a gang hijacking Western aid to Berlin. There's a tense scene as Mrs Bender is chatted up by the gang, awaiting her husband's return home. She is eventually snatched to ensure his silence and Cannon is tricked into seeking refuge in the home of the gang leader. But though the determined Hans is shot, he shoots the boss in a melodramatic conclusion
18 Sun Lamp - Double agent Damon is on the train to The Hague on which Bob Cannon is also travelling with Eric whose despatch case with secret plans is stolen. Bob is given the job of negotiating its return, and with the aid of an infra red lamp he shows up the real traitor
19 The Living Corpse- Martin (John Padovano) is on death row. In an interview with Bob Cannon, he protests his innocence like they all do. He never murdered Lautrec, and what's more, this man is still living.. With "no finesse," the real killer is rounded up
20 Steel Baron- A 600 year old castle on the Rhine provides an impressive backdrop in a story that lacks action. A baron lives here in some style with his nephew Otto and niece Lisa. Before the war he'd made his fortune as a steel baron, and now he wants to be reinstated as a director of the company. Robert Cannon is to furnish an objective report. Lisa accuses her uncle of murdering her father, and a botched attempt to kill her reveals the murderer. The baron is accidentally killed so Cannon's research proves redundant
25 Sleepy Village - Shoe clerk Paul Bundy "tried to forget the past and start a new life," but inheriting $117,000 is not a recipe for anonymity. Helen Davis' story turns into the tragedy of a war informer: "it's a jungle world, Miss Davis." (no Jerome Thor)
29 The Noose - Back in 1947 Colonel Rhone, a Nazi, had been hanged, but now Felix claims to have seen him alive in Stockholm. Robert Cannon probes and learns Dr Lindgaard's "anaesthetical hypnotism" might be behind the pseudo hanging- or is he being "too imaginative?" Behind it all lurks the spectre of the return of the Nazis, but in the end, after a rooftop chase, the Colonel meets a poetic death
31 Committed to Memory- Cannon is sent behind Commie lines to obtain info from Brenner a top scientist. That's the easy bit, but now he has to memorise a huge document, with help from local agent Blane. Wald, Chief of Security Police, gets wind of it all, and warns Cannon he "will be dead in two days"
33 Sawmill - A Polish scientist has discovered an incredible way of turning wood pulp into high protein food- and now he is scared. The commies demand he returns to his native land. A tense fight in a sawmill decides the issue
46 The New Order - Cannon claims he was held prisoner by a convicted Nuremburg war criminal who was supposed to have commited suicide
47 Diamonds - Van Roon, Amsterdam police chief, asks Bob Cannon to buy a one carat smuggled diamond. Having purchased it, he is approached by a stranger, Curien (Giselle Preville), to deliver a birthday present for her sister in Paris. It's only a cheese, and at Orly Airport, Bob gives it to Marjetta and is rewarded with $100. Leader of the smugglers, Keston, then entrusts Bob with a more valuable cargo, hidden in a typewriter ribbon. But Bob's cover is exposed, so a bomb is planted in the machine. On the Paris flight, a thief nicks the typewriter, he is found, the bomb defused, the smugglers captured, and they all live happily etc
48 Paris - By the Seine, Claire confronts Otto Wessler, accusing him of killing her husband Peter during the war. Otto is in France for a meeting aimed at seeing the Old Germany "rise again... the word Nazi will be respected again." In his evil frenzy, he attempts to strangle her, and she winds up in hospital. Bob Cannon is back from holiday in Cannes, and thwarts this Nazi revival while Claire, attacked in her bed by Otto, silences the evil killer
49 Free Germany - (with Sydna Scott) Factfinders of Free Germany expose ex-Nazi criminals still at large. Bob Cannon obtains an exclusive interview with their leader, The Voice. However this scoop doesn't come off, Cannon is tricked and finds himself accused of killing The Voice's entourage. However Bob clears his name by exposing one of his own colleagues
51 Gold - This adventure stars Bernard Farrel as reporter Steve Godfrey. He probes the background of Andre Sokoloff (Lou van Burg), "a magician with gold," though the Finance Minister wants to know where all his earnings are hidden as "we don't believe in magic." A barber introduces Godfrey to Sokoloff's ex-wife who reveals he's a swindler living with his floosie Irene (Dora Doll), and Godfrey is thus able to expose him and recover his hidden fortune in gold
56 The Code Room - In the Paris Foreign Office, Robert, a clerk, steals a master code book which he wants to sell for ten million francs. But the enemy only offer him a fraction of that, so his fiancee Marie approaches Bob Cannon, offering to sell him the book for two million. Bob pays up but then finds himself under suspicion of stealing it. Evading arrest, he tracks down Marie who is spending the money on flash new clothes
60 Linetski Forest - An exciting and intriguing story with a dramatic conclusion. An investigation into the alleged massacre of six hundred POWs in 1940. Cannon tracks down an eyewitness called Anton Storm who is now confined to an asylum. Posing as an amnesiac, Cannon gets to see the shattered Anton and persuades him to draw the location of the corpses which noone has yet been able to identify. But an old Nazi is determined the truth will never be known
65 Science Conference - An important scientist flees from an oppressive regime seeking asylum. He promises to identify spy Ugo Elbe, "the world's greatest expert at disguising himself." Just how clever he is, soon becomes evident. Police fail to catch Elbe, but Helen Davis shows them the way. (No Jerome Thor in this story)
72 The Villardo Legend - Count Philip Kuhl lives in his Spanish mansion with his brother ex-Nazi Achille and his adopted daughter Odette. He is about to expose Spanish fascists to Robert Cannon, when a dagger lands in his neck. And for once, the butler really has done it
74 Stolen Bid - A sealed bid for runway construction, The Arabian Project, is stolen, and Helen Davis tracks down the thief thru a ticket to the opera. A superintendent of a building had found it in a waste bin. She does recover the plans from his tenant, but is chased along very deserted streets. Exposed is a "melodramatic" traitor inside the organisation (No JT)
75 The Coffin - In the divided city of Wurtenburg, Cannon is charged with escorting the body of journalist Max Wyler out of the Eastern sector. But Cannon becomes a pawn in a spy game, a game of double bluff on the train
76 The Camera - An American photographer called Russ Jones is shanghaied by French subversives in Paris, but later released. Bob Cannon is lured by brunette Nicole into the hands of the traitors who have planted a bomb in Jones' camera. This will explode when he takes his next picture- at an important conference
77 Diamond Bullet - A double agent, model Gerda Martinez, uses Cannon to smuggle diamonds from Paris to Brussels
78 Operating Room - The car in which the PM is travelling crashes, and the PM is rushed to a new hospital that ironically he has only just officially opened. Erik the surgeon is blackmailed into "allowing him to die," but the good doctor can't delibrately botch it up
To series with James Daly . . . Foreign Intrigue menu

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1953/4 series starring James Daly as Michael Powers, and/or Anne Preville as Pat Bennett.
84 Hall of Justice - There's a "watertight" case against racketeer Derek Savage, who seems unperturbed when he's arrested: "there will be no conviction." His confidence is based on the theft of vital documents from the safe of the police chief (Gregoire Aslan)
86 The General Staff - Karl Weimer (Eugene Deckers) escapes from the Berlin War Criminals' Prison. Michael Powers tails his brother, then Helly his girl friend to find where Weimer is hiding: "our world is to be born again," he claims, as the spectre of neo fascism rears its head. His gunning down, watched by his parents, is a poignant final scene
87 Blackmail - After a long chase though Paris, Leon Prager is finally wounded but not killed. His story is worth "big money," and Michael Powers tries to help, but at the doctor's Prager dies. Then the villains chase Powers, but Miss Bennett saves him- never learned what that scoop was
90 The Star of Ghiza - This is the name of a club where Michael Powers goes in search of Akmet, brother of a girl who had died in Mike's arms. Their father is an influential ruler of a Middle East state. Powers races with the enemy to get to Akmet first, for he is carrying vital information...
93 The Badger Game- Maria, the wife of politician Hans drowns. His rival Veldac tries to frame him claiming it was suicide, as a result of Hans' affair with a Miss Manners. Julian was an eyewitness to the drowning, which was a genuine accident, but he is frightened off by Veldac's bullies, and he's "the only person who can stop this big lie." So Hans prepares to resign, but Powers tracks down Julien and thus Veldac is exposed as a blackmailer
94 Fire Bombs - Pat (Anne Preville) is to interview Prime Minster Gordean, but finds a bomb in her hotel room. Putting it in the bath stops that ticking noise. The search is on for Pat and Inspector Larman to find the other five fire bombs planted by a carpenter. A waiting game flushes out the perpetrator who just can't allow himself to be blown up also. Pat bravely diffuses the bomb
96 Disaster Relief - Food and clothing for relief victims is partly destroyed in a warehouse fire, so the surviving donations are sent urgently, avoiding customs formalities. But Powers finds these goods have been switched, uncovering a plot to smuggle rifles for a revolution
97 Geiger Counter - 30 million francs is stolen from a bank
103 International Finance - Zachary Enterprises are to be sold. Michael Powers interviews the boss, eccentric invalided recluse Andre Zachary, competing with rival Pat Bennett for the scoop. In Zachary's castle he finds two more mysteries, a prisoner and a little girl (Tyne Daly in her tv debut) whom nobody knows anything about
105 Prophecies - A blind old shoemaker predicts the death of various government officials. He is being used by Feo his unscrupluous son so that rebels can seize power. Michael Powers is captured, as is the shoemaker, but Feo sees the light in time to save them at cost of his own life, only just in time to prevent a high up official from starting his revolution
106 Overlord of Narcotics - The arrest of key middleman Johnny Hubert is the opportunity to nail the overlord Burt. But jailed Hubert is knifed and so Powers tries his own methods, which involves making a play for Burt's attractive 'secretary'. Burt gets so riled he tries to do her in too, which is sufficient to make her testify "enough to hang him."
108 Mountain Climbing - Brita, the PM's daughter, is taken for an Alpine climb by a guide called Mansell, an escaped convict. The plan is to persuade her father to pardon a cold blooded murderer. Michael Powers rolls around in the snow to foil the plot
109 Kidnapping - Cabinet secretary Philips has received a death threat, unless he votes against Allied bases being installed in his country. In front of Michael Powers, he is kidnapped, and later reporter Nancy is also snatched. The mysterious Mr Black tips off Powers, but when the case is almost solved, Powers surprises everyone by accusing Philips of organising his own kidnap!
110 The Brotherhood - A flaming torch is the symbol of the fascist Brotherhood, whose aim is to conquer all Europe. Michael Powers interviews Annette, fiancee of Peter, an innocent teacher killed by the organisation. Peter's diary can expose them and Annette knows where it is hidden, but the leader of The Brotherhood is following...
117 The Tourist - A witness is to testify against smugglers. Their leader, Harry Vignes, mistakes an old friend of Michael Powers for the witness, and thus Mike ends up trying to protect the innocent and scatty Elsa. She's very nearly snatched at the Seafarer Restaurant and again on a sightseeing tour. Mike protects her by kissing her, which she rather likes, and by ruining her best hat, which she definitely doesn't. "You're such a forceful personality," she swoons at him. Once she is safe, he finally escapes her clutches by that well worn excuse... he's married
To Series with Gerald Mohr . . . Dateline Europe menu

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1954/5 series (also known as Cross Current) starring Gerald Mohr as Christopher Storm, proprietor of Hotel Frontier in Vienna.
Some stories have a passing resemblance to Bogie's movies with Lorre and Greenstreet, but the connection is only fleeting.

118 Forged Plates - Michael Powers (James Daly) asks Storm to help catch Tommy (Gregoire Aslan), a black marketeer "to whom death is less than a threat." He's got the plates to make perfect US passports, but Storm persuades a femme fatale to hand them over. This first story with Gerald Mohr sees him as a stylish George Raft imitator, though his sparkle was soon to wear off as the series progressed
120 The Boxing Game - Fritzi has returned to his hometown of Vienna for a boxing match, but Michael Powers knows his last bout in Paris nearly killed him. His manager Raoul is using him to scoop a huge bet on his opponent winning. Christopher Storm gets a doc to check Fritzi out in this noirish film with such iconic lines as "even the smell was more pronounced," and "in oysters, a grain of sand can unravel itself into a pearl." With Powers, Storm puts a stop to the swindle and thus saves Fritzi's life
121 Confidence Game - A guest at the Frontier Hotel, Mr Hodge, is a victim of Delacruz's poker swindle. He's tricked into thinking he's killed one of the gamblers. Christopher Storm hunts down 'Snow White and Her Four Crooks' in a Stockholm hotel
124 International Robbery - Tense drama of a bank robber who hides out in an apartment holding a mother and daughter hostage. Storm's dilemma- "I knew where he was and I couldn't do anything about it." But he tries to persuade the robber's girlfriend to betray him
131 Speed Demons - Misleading title! Driving his Merc, Chris Storm knocks down Marie who has stepped out into the road. She's not badly hurt but Chris helps her back home, Flat 317. But when he calls again, a different woman is living there, calling herself Marie. A minor mystery, almost interesting for a moment, develops most unconvincingly
132 Spy Ring - Grete tricks Chris Storm in Copenhagen into a dinner date. Her boyfriend Jens hides secret film in Chris' raincoat belt. Chris flies home to Vienna, aware of the scheme. Back in his Frontier Hotel, Jens demands the film, at gunpoint, then kidnaps Chris to use as a shield. However Grete has followed on, tired of Jens' two timing, and after a gunfight the spies conveniently shoot each other
133 Appointment at Five- Mr Graham Marble has an appointment at the Westbahnhof Cafe at 5pm, but his secretary, Miss Steiner, overhears two men planning to kill him at this meeting. Try as she will, frustratingly she can't contact him, but maybe Chris Storm can. It's urgent, Storm learns, as Marble is involved with smuggling commies out from the Iron Curtain. Matters aren't improved when Storm is knocked down by a truck, and lands in hospital, and given a sedative. A corny storyline, that has doses of excitement... and irritation
134 Wayward Brother - Martin Fenner's crowd "spell trouble and lots of it," and young Teddy steals a consignment of morphine that they deem theirs. Chris helps Hilda, Teddy's older sister, but she is kidnapped by Fenner, who is "no gentleman"
138 Diamond Allergy - Jan can't wait to marry Helene Anderson, but they haven't the money. Jan's chance comes, when he sees a thief who has stolen a necklace from Hans Meijer, drop it when he's pursued. Jan picks it up and hides it in the bedside cabinet in room 105 of the Frontier Hotel. When he returns to retrieve it later, a Miss Norah Phipps is occupying the room. Chris Storm is suspicious of Jan, and goes as far as checking up on him with Helene. In time, he prevents Jan from removing the stones, instead catching the real thief in this unusually romantic little tale
139 A Game of Chance - A guest, Barbara, leaves behind a valise containing $75,000. As she's a model, Chris Storm traces her thru a fashion house, putting a stop to her husband's blackmail racket
140 Pearl Necklace - Lotte steals the necklace of her companion Mme Schiller in order to help her poor brother. But she thinks better of it, and Chris Storm helps return the necklace by posing as a waiter at Mme Schiller's party. There are a few tense moments as Storm is nearly found out
142 Two Men from Zurich - In Zurich Chris Storm meets his date, Penelope (Naomi Chance) in her flat, but she's surrounded by stolen furs. "Put her under lock and key," orders Storm, "and send the key to me." As the crooks attempt to get revenge for the loss of their furs, just whose side is the enigmatic Penelope on?
146 The Diplomat- Jan, a diplomat, has to take important documents to his country. Chris draws off his pursuers by posing as Jan and leading a couple of spies "a merry chase" round Vienna, then by plane to Stockholm. What is dully routine develops a goodish twist as Chris' life is saved by one of the spies, beautiful too
149 Little Romeo - Two teenagers are sold dope in Storm's hotel by Little Romeo. When they are killed in "an auto accident," Chris sets out to bust the boss behind the racket
151 Miss Fortune - A nice part for Martine Alexis as Claudine, a loyal secretary to the owner of a profitable Riviera casino. But the owner's brother Karl is helping himself to the profits. Actually, so is she, and she makes a run for it to Zurich, thence to Vienna, where she stops off at Chris Storm's hotel. There she falls for a rich diplomat Lauritz, but Karl finds her and blackmails her. She lures him to a lonely cabin, stabbing him with some scissors. But it ends in tears, lots of tears
154 First Blush - Shana had been threatening to kill her business partner Kurt, and now she's found him dead. Chris helps her, questioning singer Conchita, and Kurt's shady contact Eridatti to whom he owed money. But neither of these is the killer, as a stick of lipstick leads Chris to the real murderer, to whom he has earlier innocently sent Shana for safe keeping...
155 Delores - "Gentle as a baby" is Delores, a circus elephant, but has she trampled to death the clown? Chris and Tony help the owner, Tina, who had been going to marry the clown. So to trap the killer, Tony's engagement to Tina in announced. This draws Toto the knife thrower into a chase round the circus, he finishes under Delores' giant hoof
156 Runaround - $10,000 for The Plans, that's what Unger offers Chris Storm. "That's very funny," 'cos he has no idea what plans! But Chris follows an elaborate trail to an injured man who stole those plans. For $1,000,000 now, Chris has the chance of selling The Plans, but then the thief is shot and there's a mad scramble for, you'll never guess, The Plans
To Overseas Adventure menu

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Secret File USA

Filmed in Cinetone Studios Amsterdam, and starring Robert Alda as Major William Morgan (1954)
1 Mission Assassin - In Naples for an International Peace Conference, a delegate needs Morgan's protection. With the aid of an old war buddy, he defeats the plan of The Gangster King
2 Mission Chopin - Talented pianist Helene van Loon (Agnes Bernelle) is assigned to "checkmate" a prominent Budapest impressario, "a dangerous enemy agent." But whose side is she really on?
3 Mission Firebird - Major Morgan takes the place of an ex Nazi ace to destroy a rocket in Czechoslovakia
4 Mission M - Major Morgan impersonates a gangster who has flown into Amsterdam to work for the subversive International 57. He contacts Yvonne, a skater, who provides Morgan with his contact with Tolstoy. But she turns out to be a French agent, and is warned, "you will be under the ice before morning." Morgan is exposed as an imposter also, and tied up, but he gives the alarm and police and spies shoot it out
21 Mission Windmill - In this film, to destroy files that would send 3,000 Dutch to concentration camps, Major Morgan impersonates Major von Richter to infiltrate Nazi HQ. He's invited to stay at a splendid Dutch castle where he exposes the collaborator in Group Orange who has betrayed previous agents on this mission. His cunning enables the files to be blown up in a bombing raid

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Sherlock Holmes (1954)

1 The Case of the Cunningham Heritage 2 The Case of Lady Beryl 3 The Case of The Pennsylvania Gun 4 The Case of The Texas Cowgirl 5 The Case of The Belligerent Ghost 6 The Case of The Shy Ballerina 7 The Case of The Winthrop Legend 8 The Case of Blind Man's Bluff 9 The Case of The Harry Crocker 10 The Mother Hubbard Case 11 The Case of the Red Headed League 12 The Case of The Shoeless Engineer 13 The Case of The Split Ticket

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14 The Case of the French Interpreter 15 The Case of the Singing Violin 16 The Case of the Greystone Inscription 17 The Case of The Laughing Mummy 18 The Case of The Thistle Killer 19 The Case of The Vanished Detective 20 The Case of The Careless Suffragette 21 The Case of The Reluctant Carpenter 22 The Case of The Deadly Prophecy 23 The Case of The Christmas Pudding 24 The Case of The Night Train Riddle 25 The Case of The Violent Suitor 26 The Case of The Baker Street Nursemaids

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27 The Case of The Perfect Husband 28 The Case of The Jolly Hangman 29 The Case of The Imposter Mystery 30 The Case of The Eiffel Tower 31 The Case of The Exhumed Client 32 The Case of The Impromptu Performance 33 The Case of The Baker Street Bachelors 34 The Case of The Royal Murder 35 The Case of The Haunted Gainsborough 36 The Case of The Neurotic Detective 37 The Case of The Unlucky Gambler 38 The Case of The Diamond Tooth 39 The Case of The Tyrant's Daughter

This series of 39 films was shot in Paris studios under the aegis of executive producer Sheldon Reynolds and Nicole Milinaire. Although many actors based in France were used, such as Eugene Deckers, a number of British actors made the journey across the Channel to appear, which for me is really the fascination of the series. These were new and rather mundane adventures of Conan Doyle's hero, Ronald Howard in the title role trying his best. Also featured were H Marion Crawford as Dr Watson ("now really Holmes, you've gone too far"), and Archie Duncan, who makes an entertaining idiot out of Inspector Lestrade My favourite episode: #20 The Careless Suffragette, by a narrow head from #9 Best moment: Perhaps the crazed Michael Gough in #27, calmly telling his wife he 's going to murder her. Moment of Glory: Paulette Goddard guest stars in #2- how on earth did they manage that? Dud episode: #34 The Case of the Royal Murder Note- Unlikely though it sounds, this series was premiered on British TV only in 2006, on Sky's late Bonanza Channel. Dvds of all 39 stories can be purchased from some outlets. TO Euro Crime Series Menu . . . Main UK Crime Menu . . .

. . . . . . . . . . 1 "The Case of the Cunningham Heritage" In which Dr John Watson, returning from Afghanistan, first meets the "rather strange" Sherlock Holmes. An old friend Lord Stamford (Rowland Bartrop) at his London club mentions to Dr W that SH is also seeking lodgings. So, with the possibility for sharing a flat, Dr W goes to SH's chemical laboratory to learn to his surprise that SH somehow knows who he is. 221B Baker Street is the flat they rent, and Dr W soons becomes amazed at "the man's fantastic powers of perception. But his knowledge of literature- nothing... politics- disinterested. Botany- he knows everything there was to know about poison and absolutely nothing about practical garden. Chemistry- profound. Sensational literature"- yes he's well versed in that. After this long but interesting introduction to the main characters, the first case begins when we also meet a baffled Inspector Lestrade who is typically "completely stuck," not for the last time, as a mother finds her daughter-in-law Joan (Ursula Howells) holding the knife which has killed her rich husband Peter. "You're completely stymied," observes SH to poor Inspector L, though frankly, it needs no deduction to notice that! The problem is L can find no motive for Joan killing her husband. But when it's shown she inherits everything, L makes a swift arrest. In a simple case, SH breaks into the house with a sceptical Dr W and Ralph, Peter's brother, oddly boasts about his blackmailing Peter because he knew Joan was a "jailbird." It's Dr W who seizes Ralph's gun, and Inspector L has to admit he's arrested the wrong person. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . 2 "The Case of Lady Beryl" This story follows on from the last, in that newspapers are praising Inspector Lestrade for his handling of the Cunningham Case. This has aroused Dr Watson's ire, and he marches angrily into L's office, only to find that the policeman concurs with DrW's view, admitting it is Holmes who should have received all the credit. Not that SH cares at all. He's too busy experimenting with poisons. News reaches the Yard of a murder at the home of Lord Beryl (Peter Copley). Karl Oberstein, a shadowy foreign agent, has been found dead in the study, and Lady Beryl (Paulette Goddard) has admitted to shooting him. Special music as cameras close in on the famous actress. When SH is told about it, he only pauses in his experimentation, to wonder why she has lied. DrW and Inspector L look bemused. SH pulls apart their logic and shows them she must be shielding her husband. When they interrogate her in her cell she "prefers not to explain her actions," but nevertheless, on SH's word, she's released. What can SH learn at the scene of the crime? Even though it has now been "tidied up" he finds an elusive clue. He questions the secretary Ross (Duncan Elliott), who had discovered the corpse, about exactly where it had been found, and Lady Beryl shows her position as she killed Oberstein. Then a trick question traps the killer. "I don't understand this, Mr Holmes," who patiently explains the death had been the result of a plot to sell state secrets. Lady Beryl had assumed her husband had been to blame. "Brilliant," declares an admiring DrW, "absolutely brilliant." Inspector L returns from a fool's errand SH had sent him on, to find the case solved. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . 3 "The Case of The Pennsylvania Gun" Burleston Manor Sussex, according to Dr Watson's encyclopedic knowledge of railway timetables, nearly four hours from London! There, Squire John Douglas is murdered, found in his study, his head blown off. Taking his fishing equipment, SH and DrW travel there when Inspector MacLeod (Russel Waters) calls the great detective in. This "sealed fortress," is a peaceful spot, "when the moat is up" (sic!), and it was then that Douglas was killed with a sawn-off shotgun. The only people inside apart from servants were Mrs Douglas and a foreign friend John Morelle, who's the obvious suspect. Both he and Douglas have VV341 tattooed on their wrists, a registration mark for their gold claim they'd made with a third party, who since went mad. Macleod wants to arrest Morelle, but in his slow way, he realises he has not yet got enough evidence. "Cherchez la woman" is the motive he's pursuing. SH however is more interested in the fact that there is only one dumbell in the room. Does that matter? Macleod and DrW can't see it does, so SH pursues his own line, fishing that is, in that remarkable moat. Find the man who took the dumbell, is his parting advice. In the moat he has fished, and to celebrate, he slides down the banisters. Drain the moat he orders Inspector MacLeod, who baulks at such an impossible task. But this is but a ruse to get the killer to fish out of the moat his sunken evidence, a heap of clothes, weighted down by that missing dumbell. It's Morelle, and now MacLeod can make his arrest. Ah, but it isn't that simple. The dead man was not actually Douglas but the missing member of the gold syndicate. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . 4 "The Case of the Texas Cowgirl" Arriving in a covered wagon with her pal Slim, is Minnie O'Malley (Lucille Vines) "a-lookin' Mr Sherlock Holmes." (Must be made for the American market!) "Howdy doc," is her firm greeting to Dr Watson. She wants SH's help 'cos there's a body dead in her hotel room, killed with a tomahawk (what else?!) that belongs to Minnie. The hombre must be got out of her room "pronto." "Is that his name?" queries the green DrW, one of several jokes on Anglo-American language differences. Minnie don't want her fiance, the Earl of Warcesster (Worcester) to hear of any possible scandal. The corpse is a 30 year old man, according to DrW, a vengeance killing it seems. Skeleton keys on his person suggest he's a burglar. Using the keys to good advantage, and despite Dr W's protestations, SH hides the body in a neighbouring room. "Relax, doc, leave it to Sherlock," Minnie advises. Page boy Tommy tells SH he'd seen a hand in the room turning a knob on a bedpost. Enter Inspector Lestrade, baffled by the tomahawk. The body is of Sly Sam and it's now in the room of Mr Honeywell, a salesman. What DrW can't understand is why SH has planted the tomahawk by the dead man, when it might well lead L to Minnie. "Grab air," shouts Minnie when the pair return to Baker Street, which being translated is, Hands Up. She too's annoyed, that the tomahawk has been put by the corpse. "Any last wishes Sherlock?" SH is able to reassure her that the tomahwak in question isn't hers, but another, hidden away by the murderer. "Someone's tryin' to frame me," she realises. Chief Running Water is the owner of this second tomahawk. "How," is his well worn opening line. But he no speak English, or even American, though he takes an uncanny interest in L's bald pate. But good old Sgt Wilkins is able to translate the chief's words- the tomahawk really belongs to the owner of Minnie's wild west show, Bison Jack. "Ain't mine," is his terse response. SH is able to solve the case when he proves the motive for the killing was the theft of jewellery in the hotel. It's now hidden in the bedpost. The killer makes a run for it, but the alert DrW rounds him up with a neat swing of Minnie's lasso. "You could really twirl that rope, doc." To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . 5 "The Case of the Belligerent Ghost" It's "absolutely fantastic" but Dr Watson has been given a black eye. And who punched him? A ghost! Sherlock listens as Watson pours out his sorry story. He'd been helping a man who'd had a heart attack whilst walking in the street. Dr W had carried Albert Higgins back to his digs at 19 Hooper Street, but on arrival, Albert was dead. After a pint to steady his nerves, Dr W been walking along Spender Street when he'd bumped into a man- it was Higgins! That's when he'd received his black eye. SH examines Higgins' room. Landlady Mrs Blake is most distressed. Higgins' corpse is there at the morgue- "he's punched his last punch!" Paint under his fingernails might be a clue. He worked at the Pembroke Picture Museum, finishing work each day at 9pm. Which is odd, as Dr W is certain it was soon after 8pm that he died. From Inspector Lestrade, SH's learns that 'Pound Note' Higgins was one of the best counterfeiters around. That evening Dr W gets another shock in Spender Street- there's Higgins again, and this time he pulls Dr W's nose! To SH it's now "quite obvious" that Leonardo's Moonlight Madonna, on exhibition at the museum, loaned by the Italian government, has been stolen. Inspector L doesn't seem convinced, especially when he wakes up the curator, who confirms the painting is still in its proper place. But SH's close inspection shows that it is a forgery! Later SH and Dr W break into the museum and SH starts ripping a painting up, to Dr W's consternation. But behind is the missing Moonlight Madonna. The curator interrupts them and accusing them of robbery, soon finds himself shown up as the thief. SH explains all, even to the extent of admitting he had pulled poor Dr W's "leg," or rather his nose Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . 6 "The Case of the Shy Ballerina" SH's violin playing is getting on DrW's nerves, so they decide to go for a walk. But DrW discovers he has someone else's coat, but whose is it? In a pocket is a cryptic note Twelves Heros with Broken Feet. Written by a woman observes SH, but it appears to be nonsense. The coat's owner solves part of the mystery by returning DrW's coat and then dashing off, taking DrW's bowler hat by mistake. So DrW has to go to the man's house to return the hat. Mrs Chelton explains her husband is out and solicits SH's help: "My husband is being blackmailed." Whilst in St Petersberg he had "inadvertently" passed some military secrets to a ballerina Olga Yaclanov (Martine Alexis), who is now in London and demanding £5,000. SH promises to assist. Then, at dead of night, SH and DrW are awoken by Inspector Lestrade who has come to arrest DrW! His hat has been discovered by the corpse of the Hon Harry Chelton in St James Park! "This is a fine example of British justice," snorts the frustrated doctor. At the park, SH inspects the scene of the crime. He elucidates the mysterious note DrW had found. Twelve is the time: midnight. Heros is really Eros, the statue in this park, and it has broken feet too. Swiftly they move to arrest the ballerina who agrees she had arranged to meet Chelton, but has that familiar excuse, she'd arrived to find him dead. The director of her ballet Serge Smernoff defends her vociferously. The meeting had been about her refusal to perform Chelton's balletic composition The Spider's Web. "Foreigners! Women! Nobody could be logical about them," fumes L, "not even Sherlock Holmes." But the great detective has it all in hand. He exposes the lies that have been told, to L's increasing bemusement, and produces the evidence. "Who are you accusing of murder, Holmes?" begs poor L. "Are you sure this time?!" Third arrest lucky. A rather muddled story, at times attempting some silent film-type melodrama, Eugene Deckers as Smernoff definitely over the top Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 7 "The Case of The Winthrop Legend" As SH mulls over the Dietrich case, Harvey Winthrop (Ivan Desny) seeks the great man's aid. Harvey's elder brother John (Peter Copley) is heir to the family fortune, but if he dies, Harvey inherits, and "his life has been threatened." Threatened in an unusual way, for the family legend states that pieces of eight presages death, and gold dubloons imminent death. That has happened to John, and their father suffered the same fate when he fell down the stairs at Winthrop Manor thirty years ago. Since then the place has been empty, but now John is going there for a kind of reunion. SH and DrW with Harvey and his fiance Margaret Hall reach the draughty manor house, amid thunder and lightning. John is there with Alice his blind wife (Meg Lemmonier). Harvey explains to SH that she won't inherit if John does die. "I don't like it Holmes." A scream, and there at the foot of the stairs is John, his neck broken. A gold dubloon lies at his side. Fact: Harvey and Alice were at the top of the stairs at the time! It seems SH has lost his marbles as he performs "acrobatics." It's to test his theory that if John really had fallen, buttons from his clothing would surely have been ripped off. Thus SH accuses Miss Hall, who had been downstairs at the time. How to prove she is guilty? It looks more like entrapment as he persuades Harvey to tell her he's breaking off their engagement. She jumps to the conclusion it's because he still loves Alice. SH, who has been eavesdropping, breaks in to explain how she killed John. "No court would convict me," she confidently proclaims. So does the murderess walk free? No, for as the thunder claps and lightning flashes she falls down the stairs to her fate. Note- Inspector Lestrade absent. Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 8 "The Case of Blind Man's Bluff" A jolly sing-song in a pub turns ugly when a sailor argues with a Cockney barmaid over a mysterious claw. "Maybe I need some air," cries Faraday (Gregoire Aslan in a tiny role) before he is stabbed in an alleyway. Dr W is enjoying his bath when he's interrupted by a bearded Cockney- it takes him quite a while to penetrate Holmes' disguise! Inspector Lestrade prevents the pair arguing, having casually popped in to sound out SH's thoughts on the Faraday murder. The chicken claw bound with a black ribbon is puzzling L, as a similar object had been found beside the corpse of Howard Shackle. SH is able to enlighten the ignorant policeman that this is a warning of death in Trinidad. Next recipient of The Claw is a Dr Jonas (Colin Drake- billed as "Docteur Jonas") but he claims to have no connection with the previous murders, nor with Trinidad either. Remarks poor L: "this thing doesn't make sense." He's unimpressed with SH who is still convinced of the link with Trinidad. Dr Jonas' next patient is a man in dark glasses (Eugene Deckers) who reminds Jonas they had met five years ago when Jonas was doctor on the ship Gloria North. "You could have tried to stop it," warns the man in dark glasses. That's the end of Jonas. By delving into the hospital records, SH discovers this connection. Further, Shackle had been chief officer, and Faraday a sailor on the Gloria North. The captain was named Pitt, and Holmes surmises he will be the next victim! Yes, he's just received his Claw. There he sits in his chair, awaiting his fate. SH knocks at his door, to be greeted by the man in dark glasses, Vickers. After a long chat, SH can prove that Vickers is not in fact blind, he is indeed the killer. Vickers reveals his motive- the ship was being used to smuggle "natives from Trinidad to England." Perhaps the scriptwriters were unaware that slaving had long been abolished. Vickers' wife was a native, as was his child, and they were on board in chains, when the captain, alerted to possible danger, had had to push his passengers overboard. Before Vickers can kill SH also, Inspector L breaks in to arrest the murderer, in a wordless finale Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 9 "The Case of The Harry Crocker" Escape artist Harry is in "dead trouble," accused of murdering stage-struck chorus girl Sally King. The case against him is strong enough to convince Inspector Lestrade, since he had had an argument with her and her locket is found in his possession. "Poor Harry, why did you murder her?" is the common view. But SH proves he didn't, thanks to some dubious evidence against the doorman Charlie Villiers (Harry Towb, here as Harris Towb). Here's a story full of entertaining moments, with Eugene Deckers who calls himself at first Harry "Croker" seriously overacting, and as a true escapologist persistently eluding Lestrade's handcuffs who thus becomes more and more Lestradish. At the music hall Dr Watson enjoys a few winks with the chorus girls in a characterisation and plot that would surely have given Conan Doyle a heart attack had he lived to see it. Nevertheless it's somehow outrageously fun and ends with SH successful in emulating Crocker's baffling vanishing act. To add to the mystery, the opening and closing music is slightly different to that used for the remainder of the series. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . 10 The Mother Hubbard Case Poor little Frances is lost, so a kind stranger escorts her home. This is a "complex" case, for he's the eighth man to have "evaporated from the face of London" recently. He was Richard Trevor, and his fiancee Margaret (Delphine Seyrig) and her father ask SH to find her intended. Only clue, a note he'd sent her stating he had been "detained because he'd run into a little girl that was lost." Last seen at his gentleman's club, SH traces the carriage that had picked him and the girl up. They'd been dropped off at an empty house. Despite Dr W's protestations, SH breaks in, in quest of a clue. He certainly finds one, in the shape of Trevor's corpse. He'd died from an overdose of strychnine and had been robbed. Now they're off to Brighton to meet RJ Cookson (Billy Beck), owner of the empty house. Who knew he was away from town and had a key? The old charwoman, but "she wouldn't hurt a fly." 322 Radcliffe Way is where she lives with her granddaughter. By an amazing stroke of good fortune, SH and DrW overhear her rehearsing her ward for their next job. Thus SH is able to pose as their next victim when Frances takes her to another empty home. There's he's thanked by her grateful grandmother Mrs Enid (Amy Dalby), who offers SH a glass of milk and some fudge. SH smiles at her: "smells very good." Before she can poison him also, Inspector Lestrade marches in to arrest her. "I needed the money for the child," is her simple explanation. To Holmes Menu . . . . . 11 "The Case of the Red Headed League" Well, here's a genuine Conan Doyle tale. It starts with SH examining the theory of 'gun-prints' which drives poor DrW into a bit of a lather when SH starts firing his revolver. The badinage turns to near tragedy, when a body is found slumped at their door. Not quite dead, but frightened by the shots. Mr Wilson (Alexander Gauge) has a mystery for the great detective to solve. "To the Red Headed League" a newspaper ad reads, 11am Monday, applicants for a vacancy should appear at this time. Vincent Spaulding (Eugene Deckers), Wilson's assistant in his shop, encourages his flame-red headed boss to go along. Philanthropist Hezekiah Hopkins, an American millionaire, had left money in his will exclusively for red heads. "I've never seen anything like it," declares Duncan Ross (Colin Drake) when he examines Wilson's head of hair. He gets the "position," which is to copy an encyclopedia, word for word from 10am to 2pm daily in Ross' office. Starting at 'Aachen,' Wilson industriously sets about his task, being paid four sovereigns each week. After eight weeks, he arrives at the office to read the note 'The Red Headed League is Dissolved.' No sign of Ross. Mr Wilson asks SH to investigate. To keep his investigations secret, SH tells Wilson he is not interested. Exit one very dissatisfied client. SH poses two rather obvious Whys? First, "Why was the League formed?" Obvious answer- to keep Wilson away from his shop each day. Second, But Why? That's the puzzle. Off to the shop where, down in the cellar, they find Spaulding. Whilst DrW distracts him, SH snoops around. The answer is to second problem is now evident- The Westminster County Bank is Spaulding's target. Or, as it is later described, the "Royal Westminter Bank." The vaults there are "impregnable" according to its manager. With Inspector Lestrade, SH waits. Through a wall break our robbers, Spaulding and Ross: "your bankrobbing days are over," L informs them. Thanks are rendered from the grateful manager. Thanks too later from a jovial L. He's rather entertained by the fact that Wilson has complained about the way SH had treated him To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . 12 "The Case of The Shoeless Engineer" - A tranquil day in the country for SH and DrW is interrupted by an exhausted barefoot man, carrying a young lady. "Help me, they may be coming," he cries. In a deep state of shock, according to Dr W's observations, the mute girl is carried all the way back to Baker Street, the distraught man Haterly (David Oxley) accompanying them. He recounts his ordeal. As an hydraulics engineer, he'd been engaged by Col Stark (Richard Warner) to repair a large hydraulic press. In the colonel's house, Haterly had encountered the mute girl: "beauty and fear were sharp in her face." Bruno Carreau, her guardian, also lives in the house. By signs, the girl tries to make Haterly leave. But the £50 fee is sufficient inducement to stay. He realises the press is to make silver amalgam, despite the colonel's claims to the contrary. So that night he reexamines the press. The mute watches as Stark, angry at his secret being discovered, locks Haterly inside the giant press. Like a medieval torture, it threatens to turn him to pulp. Rescue comes via the girl. Together they elude first Carreau with a dagger, then Stark with his gun. The shock has thankfully now stirred speech in the girl. She's called Ruth Connors (June Elliott) and she explains Colonel Stark had shot a previous engineer. She'd attempted to contact the police but couldn't speak! There's only a few minutes left of the film for Inspector Lestrade to effect his arrest. But he finds Stark dead and Carreau has flown. All SH has to do is show L where the counterfeit money is hidden, which is where the wicked Carreau is hiding. This he does by simply tapping the floor- a hollow sound gives away the hiding place. A punch up and Carreau is taken into custody, but you couldn't say SH's intellect is stretched at all in this routine adventure To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 13 "The Case of The Split Ticket" - "Desperate. Will be back in an hour. Brian O'Casey," reads a note shoved under SH's door. This Brian (Harris Towb) asks SH to find a Mr Snow. £8,000 is at stake. Snow holds numbers 3 and 4 of their sweepstake ticket. Brian relates his whole sorry tale. He'd been approached by Belle Rogers in a baker's shop. Her friend Albert Snow had persuaded him to take a third share in a £24,000 sweep, with their number 16634. They had torn their ticket in three and now Snow has disappeared! (They'd also invested in a horse race, but this subplot isn't mentioned further.) SH is unable to talk to Miss Rogers as she has "gone" from her baker's shop, taking a white cake with her. SH had expected all this, naturally. But then she comes to Brian, with the tragic news that Arthur has been drowned in the river. His ticket is lost at the bottom of the river. She sadly tears up her portion of the ticket, and asks Brian to give her his part, to throw into the fire. SH however has been practising legerdemain and has swapped her portion and Brian's for duplicates. He explains the white cake had been for her wedding to Snow. By their trickery they had planned to get hold of the complete sweepstake ticket, only to be outswindled by SH's palming the pieces himself. Note- Though Inspector Lestrade gets a passing mention, he is not in this odd story To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . 14 "The Case of The French Interpreter" - Start- a filmed sequence outside the House of Commons as Dr W hurries to the St Denis Club. Comedy, as it's supposed to be a silent place, but DrW has to fetch SH urgently. Complains a member: "I don't believe such an incident ever occurred before!" DrW explains a Claude Dubec has an urgent case. "Perhaps it was a nightmare," Dubec muses as he recounts how he'd been approached late one night in his role as an interpreter, by a Harold Lattimer (Robert Cunningham). He'd been driven to a secret location to be ordered to interrogate, in French, a French gentleman. But the poor man is tied up in a chair. Question: Will he sign the papers? Answer: Never. After repeated refusals Dubec asks the prisoner some questions of his own, and learns the chap is called Paul. Can SH help? Now it's SH's turn to ask some questions. "I have all the facts at my disposal," he announces after consulting maps. Confident, he picks up Inspector Lestrade at the Yard and makes for the mystery house. Paul is asking for food, Dubec translating his words. Finally the weakened Paul agrees to sign. Just in time SH's carriage draws up. Gunshots and an arrest. The sorry tale is just about explained. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . 15 "The Case of the Singing Violin"- Betty is getting these nightmares, a violinist keeps playing his wretched violin in her bedroom. She's engaged to Johnny though her "austere" stepfather Guy warns the "heartbroken" Johnny that he can never marry Betty because the doctor says she "is losing her mind." Back at the Yard, with a lull in crime, Inspector Lestrade decides to call on SH, to see if he has anything on the go. But right outside 221B he stumbles on a murder. It's poor Johnny who had come to consult the eminent detective, Holmes that is. Inspector L is astounded when SH tells him he's just off to interview the man's murderer! SH's conversation is with Johnny's employee, Guy Durham (Arnold Bell), a rich tea merchant. It's a fairly brief chat, because Guy is rather brusque. But he is the killer SH tells the bemused Dr W afterwards. The motive is clear- 15 years previously Durham's business partner had died in "mysterious circumstances." Durham had then married his late partner's wife, Betty becoming his stepdaughter. She's the inheritor of the family tea fortune as her mother has now died. By a stroke of amazing good fortune, SH overhears Durham plotting with a doctor, who is refusing to declare Betty insane. However he agrees to sign any death certificate ("an overdose of morphine") after Durham has killed her. Quickly SH carries the drugged girl to behind a screen in her bedroom and awaits the attempted murder. However the great man blunders for once, and gets locked in a cupboard, leaving Durham free to commit his foul deed. But fortunately Dr W comes to the rescue! Thus is exposed this "fiend with a diabolical mind." Asks a baffled L: "will somebody please tell me what this is all about?" I'd tell him, it's nothing like any Conan Doyle story I ever read. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 "The Case of The Greystone Inscription" - Frosty moments between friends: DrW is perhaps justifiably irritated as SH has "riddled the wall with bullets." SH's only excuse is that he was celebrating the Queen's birthday- perhaps he was the equivalent of a Victorian yobbo? (Conan Doyle might disagree.) The sad case of Miss Millicant Channing is brought to the great yobbo's, sorry detective's attention. John Cartwright, her fiance (Tony Wright), had recently made "a most fantastic discovery" when poring over an old document. Though he couldn't reveal its nature to Millicent, he knew it meant a certain Professorship if he was correct. To Greystone Castle in Aberdeen he had travelled, residence of eminent professor Sir Thomas Greystone (Archie Duncan). But John has not been seen again. Millicent went there herself only to be informed by Sir Thomas' son Walter that John had never been there. But Millicent knows he had! Our great detective examines the historical documents Thomas had studied: look, there's a pledge left by King Richard II to a Richard Greystone. A thorough search of the castle is promised by SH, even though Sir Thomas and Walter have been searching for it all their lives. It's "worth a fortune!" It's a treasure hunt: Northern Star --- 13 steps --- a secret passage --- down 10 steps, and lo, "here it is!"- a royal treasure. Trapped in the vault, SH completes the poem: "if you're in and can't get out, Strike the Lion on the snout." John is rescued from the tower where Greystone had incarcerated him. Her Majesty sends the yob a personal letter of thanks To Sherlock Holmes Menu . . . . . . 17 "The Case of The Laughing Mummy" - An extrordinary case, in that Holmes accuses a man of murder, without anyone knowing a murder has taken place. Travelling down to Witchingham with SH, 'Blinko' Watson bumps into old school pal 'Sardine' Taunton (film star Barry MacKay in a rare tv appearance). Reggie Taunton asks SH's advice about an Egyptian mummy he's been sent by his uncle, which has the odd but intriguing habit of occasionally laughing. It's even threatening to ruin his engagement to Rowena Featheringstone (June Crawford). Interested, SH examines the mummy in its "exceptionally fine sarcophagus," stored in Taunton's Egyptian room, which is full of artefacts sent from an uncle that Reggie has never even seen. Dining with them at Taunton's ancient pile are Rowena's Aunt Agatha, and Professor von Gaulkins, an expert in Egyptology. Trout is on the menu, but it has to be admitted Rowena's cooking is "unchewable rubber." The sound of laughing, more like wailing really, interrupts the meal. An examination of the chimney by SH traces the weird noise to a weather vane. Mystery solved. However poor DrW slips off the roof and lands in the rhododendrons. Luckily not badly injured. "My compliments, Mr Holmes," proffers the prof, though in fact the mystery isn't quite over. SH has spotted, what the prof seemingly hasn't, that the mummy is of much more recent vintage than its box. On examination, the prof agrees with SH. Then SH adds an astounding accusation- the prof has murdered Reggie's Uncle Joseph. "How do you know?" gasps an astounded DrW. The mummy, it transpires, is that of Uncle Joseph. The prof admits it, relating how he and Joseph had found this ancient tomb in Egypt, and when Joseph had opened it, he had been struck down dead. SH now amends his accusation. The prof can be reassured that Joseph had died from touching the sarcophagus, which is full of needles containing the poison of asps. A worried DrW waits anxiously to see if the same fate will befall himself, as he has touched that box too! To Sherlock Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 "The Case of The Thistle Killer" - A policeman in a forced accent warns a woman pedestrian to beware of The Thistle Killer who's killed one woman a night for the past five evenings. Now she's the sixth! "The man's a maniac," is Dr W's belief. But SH perceives a pattern. Inspector Lestrade however believes it's all "haphazard." He's frantic: "where will it be tonight?" he muses. So ineffective is he that his superior (William Smith) orders him to consult the "amateur" SH, who advises L to spot the pattern. The locations of the killings are: Portland Lane Harris Street Ovington Square Evans Lane Napier Street Ingram Square It's an acrostic, explains SH to the baffled L, and the next murder must be at X- Xerxes Park. "Then we have him," beams L. Yard men are to be posted all around the park and a decoy policewoman is required. "Ever done any amateur theatricals?" the bemused L is asked. But in the end, a real woman is chosen, Miss Colley. Unfortunately it's a rather foggy night as L keeps watch at one gate, SH and Dr W at the other. And unfortunately noone has yet realised the murderer disguises himself as a policeman. 11pm and after several false alarms a policeman enters the park, right under SH's nose, accompanying a young woman. But at last SH's mighty brain realises how the murderer has not been spotted before. Whistles a-blowing, the net closes. The false policeman runs into Inspector L, who is punched on the nose for his pains. However L gets his own back and rather improbably, shoots him- "he's dead." He's recognised as a frustrated policeman who had failed to make the force through "inefficiency." To Sherlock Holmes Menu . . . . . . . 19 "The Case of The Vanished Detective" - DrW is at the Yard to report terrible news- SH has disappeared! Inspector Lestrade seems dubious. Using the great detective's methods, the pair try and deduce where SH might possibly be. After an unsuccessful search, DrW eventually finds a clue- Ye Quaint Old Curiosity Shop, a John Smithson had recently written to SH asking for his help. "We've come to inquire about Sherlock Holmes," DrW informs the owner, not recognising it's SH in disguise! DrW purchases a book and after leaving, confides in L "there's something about that Smithson I don't like!" Using a trick DrW had learned in the Red Headed League case, he returns to the shop, where the blood-stained clothing of SH is found. In the ensuing melee, a customer runs off with the book, which brings about despair from SH- it had contained a secret message to escaped convict John Carson. He once worked in Smithson's shop, and had threatened Smithson, who had sought SH's protection. But at least DrW has been of some use- he has spotted Carson's contact, a girl who works in a dress shop. She doesn't know of Carson's whereabouts, but is sure he wants revenge on old Jeremiah Westlake (Colin Drake), the judge who had pronounced a life sentence on him. The eccentric judge is now retired, and lives in his world of puppets. Strangely unperturbed is he, about any threat on his life. Carson does attack him and his wife, but he's thwarted in his foul deed. Despite a struggle, the puppets are fine, that's the main thing. The judge has forgotten his ordeal already. A very meandering story. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . 20 "The Case of The Careless Suffragette" - Doreen Meredith (an engaging young Dawn Addams): "I demand to be arrested!" She has chained herself to the traditional railings brandishing the placard VOTES FOR WOMEN, DOWN WITH HENRY PIMPLETON. The Hon Pimpleton is an ardent opponent of women's suffrage; Doreen is engaged to Pimpleton's secretary Henry Travers. Even SH's intellect can't grasp how being chained to railings can help get women the vote, but Doreen soon puts him in his place: "you wouldn't understand, you're a man." Henry tells SH the startling news that Doreen's group are planning to use a bomb. "Just a teeny one," adds Doreen, by way of an excuse. Her leader, Miss Agatha, Pimpleton's cousin, had got hold of a bomb by the simple expedient of advertising in The Times: "Wanted- a person who knows how to make a bomb." Thus "anarchist" Boris was introduced to the women. He's a fanatic who sits in his room, surrounded by his creations. One of the Trafalgar Square lions is to be the target. The bomb is disguised as a green croquet ball, carried in a "Bomb Bag"(!) SH scrutinises the ball- it really is a croquet ball, he shrewdly notes. It's one of Mr Pimpleton's croquet set: "he plays every afternoon at 5," comments Travers. The time now is 5 o'clock! Boom! At the scene of Pimpleton's demise, to SH Inspector Lestrade demonstrates what happened. They play a few idle shots, during which time it comes out that Henry Travers is the dead man's next of kin. In a comedy interlude, Doreen delivers her speech on women's suffrage in a rather weedy looking Hyde Park. The thin crowd consists of Sgt Wilkins, Travers, SH and Dr W. A rival speaker attempts to drown her out: "Keep women where they belong, in the kitchen," he cries. Next, SH asks Boris about how the croquet ball got substituted with the bomb. He cannot explain, but points SH in the direction of the maker of the absurdly named Bomb Bag, a Greek named Chen Ten Yung, who lives in Soho. But L has now made his arrest and is looking very smug. Chen has identified Doreen as the purchaser of a Bomb Bag. "An open and shut case." After mock admiration, SH points out that Chen had also sold a Bomb Bag to another client. With a resigned note, L is forced to revise his view. Indeed he seems to have smoke coming out his ears. "I think Lestrade needs a rest," diagnoses Dr W. This is a tongue in cheek tale, a sparkling little drama. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . 21 "The Case of The Reluctant Carpenter" - In a Stepney warehouse fire two are killed, plus a fireman, and a passer-by is stabbed. Inspector Lestrade approaches SH as the Yard lab is so useless, but finds 221B empty. Sgt Wilkins proposes the policemen use SH's equipment to analyse the sample of mud found on the murdered man's shoes. That they know nothing of such scientific investigation is evident in a nicely comic scene when they follow SH's instruction manual: "just like following a cookery book." "Those two idiots'll blow up the flat," warns Dr W who is watching the flat with SH from across the road, as SH is expecting "a thief" to drop in. The 'thief' duly calls and, mistaking L for SH, warns he's started another fire in Covent Garden. He demands £50,000, or more arson attacks will follow. As he departs, Dr W, following SH's preconceived plan, tails him while SH listens to L's tale of woe. 43 Chester Street Bayswater is the thief's destination. But the man is shot dead there, leaving a legacy of a bomb that "somewhere will go off in three hours," ie 6pm. Analysis of the mud shows it contained traces of explosive nitrate. The Yard lab advises the only source in London is the "Army Warehouse Knightsbridge." The Yard lab are wrong even on that one, for it's to the Army Barracks that SH and L repair, to confront three carpenters working there. In their shed they are made to wait until six o'clock. With time running out, one decides he has to leave. He's forced into revealing where he has hidden the bomb- just in time! Notes- This conclusion with carpenters and bombs is used also in the Foreign Intrigue Story #94 Fire Bombs. Sgt Wilkins refers back to an earlier case in which he had assisted SH- that of Lady Beryl (#2). To Holmes Menu . . . . . . 22 "The Case of The Deadly Prophecy" 4am in a Belgian boarding school. Eight year old Antoine is sleepwalking, out of the school, down the street, all the way to the church, outside which he chalks on the pavement the word CAROLAN. That's the name of his headmaster. Then he returns to his bed. This is now the fourth time he's written a name in this fashion, and the three previous people had all died. Now the headmaster dies, apparently of natural causes. Marie Grand invites SH to investigate, so with Dr Watson, the Dover boat train is boarded to take them to Belgium. Dr Dimanche tells them Carolan died of heart failure, but there was nothing suspicious about his death, or indeed any of the others. A local witch, Mme Soule (Helen Manson) had offered each potential victim a good luck cure to ward off the evil, but none had accepted her offer. Mme Soule guarantees to help SH find the killer, if, that is, he pays for her services. But SH can manage without such aid. The motive is the key problem. None of the victims were rich, except for the Comte. So at nearly midnight, SH gathers all these characters in the headmaster's study. His penetrating questions show the count was being blackmailed. One of those present is "a spendthrift and a wastrel." This deceives the criminal into drawing a gun but SH, cool as ever, bluffs his way, saying he has already removed the bullets. Result: the crook is arrested, the plot explained, a triumph for SH. Note- Lestrade not on this case- not allowed out of the country perhaps? . . . To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 23 "The Case of The Christmas Pudding" - Snow outside, inside "in the season of goodwill," a courtroom hears the unseasonal sentence on prisoner John Henry Norton (Eugene Deckers). He is to be hanged- "I'll kill you before I die" he shouts at SH. In Newgate Prison, where the governor's office but not the cells have festive decorations, SH checks that Norton is secure in his cell- "I said 'soon' Holmes, "Norton repeats, "your neck between these two hands." No wonder an "ominous cloud," as Dr W tells us, hangs over Baker Street. SH has an intuition that Norton will escape.... Mrs Norton (June Rodney) brings her Christmas present for her husband, a nice Christmas pud. The governor (Richard Watson) inspects it carefully, but finding nothing dangerous, takes it with Mrs Norton down to the prisoner's cell. The inmate looks quite pleased. Whistling Good King Wenceslas, he makes a long cord of blankets and saws through the bars of his prison and exits into the foggy night. SH and Dr W are awoken by the governor's knocking- he breaks the bad news of Norton's escape. Police Constable Smith is set to guard 221B whilst SH sends Dr W off to see Mrs Norton, but really it's to get him off the scene. Soon Norton, dressed as a policeman, is climbing the stairs to SH's rooms. Darkness. He fires his gun at SH (he seems to have forgotten about the strangling he'd promised earlier). "I told you I'd get you." But as he runs away, gallant Dr W is fortuitously returning from his "fool's errand" and apprehends the villain. And SH is fine, Norton had been shooting at a dummy! The mystery of how Norton sawed his way out of his cell is revealed by SH. The "fancy string" used to tie his parcel has been coated with diamond dust, he explains to the bewildered governor- "and you gave it to Norton yourself.... merry Christmas governor!" Inspector Lestrade not in this one (on his Xmas break??) To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 24 "The Case of The Night Train Riddle" A very slight story, hardly worthy of the immortal Holmes. Off by rail on a short holiday, the train on which Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are travelling brakes violently. The guard requests SH's help in finding a missing boy Paul, son of the 'Canadian Timber King,' who has run away from his governess Lydia Kendall. She had been escorting him to boarding school- Paul hadn't wanted to go there having been forced to say farewell to his beloved horse, his white mice and his friend Coco the Clown. Ever alert, SH, searching the boy's compartment, poses the question "who helped the boy open the window?" With the aid of Miss Kendall and the conductor (the express appears to be delayed all this time), the watchful SH finds a cap along the track and footsteps leading to the local line where the boy and his accomplice appear to have hopped on the local train: "it's fairly possible." The guard rushes them back to their express which then catches up with the local at Manborough where a boy and his "father" had been seen to alight. SH deduces that it's Paul with his 'friend' Coco. But this basic case becomes slightly more sinister when we learn Coco has been paid £100 to kidnap the boy, and then kill him. His wicked Uncle Cecil wanted the inheritance. "He wanted to kill me, and I thought he was a friend," realises Paul who then, good as gold, realises thanks to kind Dr W that school is a jolly good place after all. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 "The Case of The Violent Suitor" - 'Aunt Lottie' of the Daily Observer, a male agony aunt (Brookes Kyle) is in need of advice himself, from SH. He had advised heiress Susan (Marie Sinclair) to break off her engagement to Jack Murdock (the quaintly named "E Micklewood") because of his violent temper tantrums. But the nasty Jack bursts into the newspaper offices- "Aunt Lottie, you have a lot of mending to do." If Lottie doesn't patch things up with Susan... A black eye convinces Lottie that he should go to Bathhampton and advise Susan that he withdraws his comments about Jack. Susan unquestioningly accepts his advice. However Lottie realises that Jack's intentions aren't at all honourable. For Jack was once a racetrack fixer named Freddy, and no worthy husband for the lovely Susan. But if Freddy is exposed, Lottie is warned Freddy will kill him. He's in dire need of SH's help. "Remove Murdock from the picture," is SH's simple plan. But how? To a baffled Dr W, SH explains that he will prove Murdock killed Susan's father who is supposed to have died in a cycling accident. The newspaper photo of his 'accident' is clear proof to SH that it was no accident. Of course Inspector Lestrade avers it was an accident, which is, if you like, almost proof that it wasn't! To Susan's Bathhampton home, SH travels with Dr W and Inspector L, then firing three shots and ordering a prompt retreat. "Bait for a trap," he explains to his mystified accomplices afterwards. The Trap is at Jack Murdock's flat, where Jack's accomplice has rushed, scared by those shots. The pair argue. "We heard everything you said," announces a satisfied Inspector L. Jack draws a gun and nearly escapes, but not quite, thanks to brave Aunt Lottie. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . 25 "The Case of The Baker Street Nursemais" - A curious opening minute as a bee annoyingly buzzes round 221B Baker Street. It seems to bear no relation to anything that follows. Even odder, a basket is delivered, with contents that are even more puzzling. "What is it?" queries Dr W. "You're the doctor," retorts SH, in an attempt at a comedy scene. It's a baby, which Holmes, after some dithering picks up. "Sing it a lullaby," suggests Dr W. SH gives it his rendition of Rule Britannia, which brings on the tears. "What's that?" asks the newly arrived and equally dim Inspector Lestrade. "He's crying," L adds helpfully. A note in the basket explains matters. it's written by Mme Henri Durand, whose husband has been kidnapped from the mansion in Berkeley Square where the family are staying. Whilst Dr W "minds the baby," L accompanies SH to the house, elucidating matters by explaining that Durand has been kidnapped because he has invented "an underwater ship." Unfortunately, whilst they are away, Dr W is hit on the head and baby Tony is snatched. But SH returns and from the kidnap note deduces the child must be at one of three foreign embassies. But this sleuthing proves unnecssary, as it turns out, because SH receives another missive, this one from a Count Tennow (Roger Treville) who warns SH to lay off the case or face "disastrous" consequences. "The man must be an absolute fanatic," complains the angry Dr W. SH faces up to the count, who is clearly worried about SH's brilliant reputation. The sound of crying would however tell the meanest detective that there's a baby nearby, and SH simply demands the "safe return of the Durand family." No deal, replies the count who orders SH out of the house. However Dr W punches the butler unconscious, and proceeds to demonstrate his pugilistic skills to an admiring SH as they rescue the Durands. There's one last surprise for our heroes. Tony is really Toni, a girl. Well even SH isn't that clever To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 27 "The Case of The Perfect Husband" - A frightfully young Michael Gough plays the title role. After guests depart from their first anniversary party, Russel Partridge calmly informs his wife Janet (Mary Sinclair), "I am a murderer." He tells her he murdered his previous seven wives, and now he's going to murder one more- her! At first Janet thinks he's just playing with her, but soon realises this is no bad dream. At exactly nine o'clock tomorrow he says he will strangle her. "Goodnight," he adds, "oh yes, happy anniversary, my dear." Inspector Lestrade's reaction to Janet Partridge's complaint is predictable- "your husband is a wonderful man." Russel had already called on L, to warn him his excitable wife might come with some unlikely tale. Holmes is out when Janet calls on him. But Dr Watson is on hand to endorse L's view of her husband- "he is a wonderful man." But "very clever man" SH is more attentive to her story and decides Russel is "a very interesting man." Indeed "an insane fanatic." So L is persuaded to issue a search warrant. Result- nothing. Apologies to Partridge from a mortified L and a grovelling W. 7 o'clock and SH just knows he has somehow overlooked the hiding place of all those corpses. Via a window he enters the Partridge house and hears Russel admit to his wife that he had killed his previous wives- "the bodies are still here." It's now 8.45pm- "you have 15 minutes." SH realises there's "one place I forgot to look" (!). He tells Janet to obey him, so she walks to the top of the stairs. Russel greets her from the foot: "I admire your courage," he smiles as he walks up the stairs towards her. SH announces himself with a gun. A confident Russel tells our detective that as he's done nothing to his wife, he's got no case. But SH knows now "about the other seven" and reveals their mortal remains buried underneath the staircase. Janet faints. Certainly one of the better stories of the series with a typically confident performance from Michael Gough as the over-confident killer To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 "The Case of The Jolly Hangman" SH is discussing with DrW the future, or otherwise, of moving pictures, when a sad woman calls to consult the great detective. She's Mrs Jessie Hooper (Alvys Maben, playing 'Hoper' according to the screen credits) whose husband Billy has hanged himself in a hotel bedroom in Glasgow. A travelling salesman, he was faced with the sack, and was on his last job. He was so depressed his wife had accompanied him part of the way by train as far as Doncaster, and they had been cheered up on their journey by a very amusing passenger with a jolly laugh. SH puzzles over the death which has been made to look like suicide. Inspector MacDougal, who turns out to be cousin of Lestrade, and who looks just like him except for his thick moustache and even thicker sideburns, isn't convinced, just like his cousin, that SH is right. However with the aid of some rope, SH convinces the Scottish detective that he has to find a murderer. SH even tells him the killer's name, another guest staying in the hotel, one Henry Hampton. But as this name is fictitious, where to find him? After visiting Billy's birthplace in Cornwall, SH is able to tell Jessie something she didn't know, that Billy's grandfather had also been murdered many years ago when Billy was a young child. Billy had a dim recollection of seeing the killer and had recognised him that fateful night. His jolly laugh had betrayed him. After a long search, SH traces this man, known as Baxter (Philip Leaver), sales manager of a rope manufacturing firm. He denies ever having been in Glasgow. But he does go to "console" Mrs Hooper, that is try to poison her. She realises who he must be, and just in time SH and DrW prevent another hanging, a gruesome melodramatic scene enacted in front of Mrs Hooper's staring baby. In trying to get away by leaping out of the window, Baxter is caught by his tie, and meets his own poetic fate. To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . 29 "The Case of The Imposter Mystery" - Irascible Sir Arthur (Basil Dignam) awakes poor Dr W's slumbers, complaining SH owes him £100, as his crime prevention advice has failed miserably. In fact, it's evident someone has been masquerading as Holmes: indeed "he looked exactly like you!" SH promises to uncover the imposter, a promise he has to repeat to Inspector Lestrade ("the laughing stock of Scotland Yard") who has also fallen victim to the villain. "I can't face my men," he tells SH rather pathetically after he has followed the advice of the criminal Holmes. And he can't swallow this "ridiculous" story of a double either. Watson does his own impersonating as a maharajah who owns a fabulous collection of jewels. SH plays his adviser, the grand vizier. Looking suitable regal, the pair are interviewed by a journalist who seems inordinately interested in those jewels. The vizier inquires if the journalist knows of any detective who could guard their riches. The name of SH is put forward. So it comes about that Inspector Lestrade travels to 221B Baker Street to arrest Sherlock Holmes! The imposter, of course, who is in the rooms to receive the maharajah. "It will be a tremendous fillip for you," SH had promised L. But despite surrounding the house with three coppers, when L marches up the stairs to Holmes' rooms, there's an almighty cock-up. SH admires the imposter: "I must say the ressemblance is quite remarkable." But the latter makes a break for it, and in the dark the blundering L arrests the real SH. The bogus Holmes (Bob Cunningham) flees to a pub where SH, following the clue of some putty which the imposter uses to mould his features, tracks down this "superb master of mimicry and disguise." "My head feels quite light," concludes the mystified Lestrade To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 "The Case of The Eiffel Tower" - The chance to include local scenes in Paris, with extensive filming at the Eiffel Tower and at a Paris cabaret. In a London street, a horse runs over and terminates the "romantic career" of a spy. On his body is found a coin with a mysterious poem that doesn't scan: "For a glance at the coin And a cheery good day, The Queen of Lambeth Will send you on your way." Of course, its meaning is beyond Inspector Lestrade, but SH knows to go to Lambeth Square where he is given another message- to go to Westminster Bridge for a cane. Inside the cane is another poem that sets SH and DrW, with L in tow, to the Eiffel Tower. At the very top they are ordered at gunpoint to hand over that coin, it's worth half a million pounds. Quick on the uptake, SH chucks it over the side and they all scurry down to find it. A lady has picked it up and handed it to L, who however doesn't understand her French, and lets her keep the coin. She was a blonde with red cheeks and red lips, he tells SH. She's evidently an actress, deduces the great detective. A scour of the theatres finds one Nina de Melimar (Martine Alexis), a captivating singer. The two spies from the top of the tower have been following the detectives and warn them not to leave the place where Nina has been singing, unless they hand over the coin. Members of their gang are all around. DrW is persuaded to overcome his natural modesty, "for England." "I just don't know what I'm going to write in my report," blushes L, as a dancer perches on his lap. It's part of SH's plan to create a diversion. He explains to Nina their predicament, and she hands over the coin. "We'll start a riot," orders SH, and L promptly obliges by hitting the two spies. A right punch up follows before the police swoop and arrest everyone, including our three detectives. "Maybe I can join the Foreign Legion," sighs L, who has played the comedy for all its worth To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 31 "The Case of The Exhumed Client" - With the death of Sir Charles, Farnsworth Castle, "a mass of crumbling stone," is inherited by Sir George. But Sir Charles' will contains an unusual codicil- Sherlock Holmes must investigate his death, whatever the cause. And an exhumation proves he died of arsenic poisoning. His children are the suspects: George (Alan Adair), Henry (Michael Turner), Elizabeth (Alvys Maben) and Sylvia (Judith Havilland). In a flashback George explains how he challenged his obnoxious father to sleep in the tower. This tower where Sir Charles died has a gruesome legend, stating anyone who sleeps there will die there. "Nonsense," declares DrW who has spotted a clue: Charles had been eating grapes, unusual in January. "Who gave Sir Charles the grapes?" questions Inspector Lestrade. No answer. But SH isn't interested in grapes, he proposes solving the case by sleeping in the tower himself. "Stay awake," is the best advice Elizabeth can offer. "The murderer is going to try and kill me," explains SH to a flabbergasted DrW. Gallantly DrW volunteers to stay too, but SH won't permit it. In flickering candlelight, the wind without howling, SH waits, but in a well executed scene cannot seem to resist the arms of sleep. He cries out in a low voice to DrW as he collapses. Is he unconscious? DrW is certainly asleep, but at 3am he stirs. From the tower, he drags a barely conscious body outside, SH uttering the one word "arsenic." But, hurrah, they are prepared, they have brought an antidote. At breakfast next morning the family are surprised to see SH again. But they are interrupted by an eager L who has found out who purchased those grapes. Sylvia. She admits it, but says she did not do any poisoning. L makes his arrest, though SH is dubious, of course. In the tower, SH gathers the suspects in the usual way of detectives. "Just what is the point of this seance?" asks the sceptical L. But they wait, and they wait: "the eerie room is getting on your nerves." For one of them is breaking. "Open the window," the guilty one screams, for the fact is, as SH explains later, the arsenic was introduced into the sealed room by "arsenic candles"- now there's a new one! Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 "The Case of The Impromptu Performance" - A priest listens to the last request of condemned prisoner Edward (Patrick Shelley): "I want to see Mr Holmes." "Who?" responds the ignorant cleric. Bank clerk Edward had been arrested for stabbing his new young wife Phyllis, or Bo-bo, as she's affectionately known. "I wouldn't kill her," he tells SH, who has acquiesced to the prisoner's request. The couple had had a tiff the night she died over her lipstick, "just a mild little row," Edward explains. However neighbours at his trial had spoken of "a violent argument." Edward had walked around and around the city before deciding to come home to apologise, but by now he was feeling unwell and at his doorstep had fainted. Before he collapsed, he remembers seeing "something" but can't remember what. Amongst his possessions SH uncovers that Something, a packet of tobacco, packed by Carruthers, 14 Hanover Place. Asks a puzzled Inspector Lestrade, not unreasonably, "what has the man's smoking habits to do with the case?" But the matter is too urgent to enlighten L, for SH is rushing to question the tobacconist. He kindly provides a list of his posh customers for this expensive brand. Ever perceptive, SH picks up on Langsley Priam who is the only customer living in "a questionable neighbourhood." No sign of him at his digs, though his landlady adds the illuminating detail that he was expecting to come into possession of £2,000. It's off to the theatre for SH and Dr W, for our detective has spotted a beard in his room, which suggests he's an actor. But which play? Shakespeare. However the manager, Pettyfoot, refuses to interrupt the play simply so SH can question his star actor. But with Edward due to hang shortly SH has to adopt the bohemian method of snatching hairs of Priam's beard as this uncredited actor spouts the immortal Bard. The hairs match those at the digs! The play over, SH faces Priam with his plot. He had connived with Phyllis, persuading her to marry Edward for his insurance, but the plan had gone wrong when she had really fallen in love with her husband. A fight. SH is stabbed with a dagger. Luckily it's not fatal- it's only a theatrical prop! To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . 33 "The Case of The Baker Street Bachelors" - 'Jeffrey Bourne for Parliament' reads a poster. But his career is potentially in ruins when a woman accuses him of attacking her. However for £2,000 she's prepared to keep her silence. Consulting SH, Bourne recounts how he'd met the girl through a marriage bureau. Unlike many episodes, where SH is regaled with his client's life history, this time SH leaps straight into action. With a reluctant Dr W, who declares himself frightened of such establishments, SH files his application with Cupid's Bow, proprietor J Oliver (Duncan Oliver). He's very welcoming once he learns SH is rich! He can match them "immediately:" Miss Pamela for the fawning SH, and Miss Edna for the nervous Dr W. The couples arrange for tea together, but 'Charlie' interrupts them and a brawl ends in SH's arrest. But whilst Dr W looks aghast, SH assures him "we've fallen very neatly into their trap." Inspector Mason (Seymour Grene) effects the arrest but soon Inspector Lestrade is on the spot. He seems rather bucked at the sight of SH behind bars. Dr W brings news that the girl will drop the case if £4,000 is forthcoming. Even L's pleading can't persuade Mason to release the illustrious detective, so Dr W is instructed to "break in" to Oliver's office to find evidence of blackmail- "that's against the law!" interrupts the alert L. It's not exactly Dr W's forte, burglary. But whilst he fumbles, SH deduces where the blackmail material will be hidden- behind a painting. He persuades a reluctant L to go after Dr W and tell him. Of course, the pair are interrupted by Oliver. This could be most embarrassing for L, but Inspector Mason is prevailed upon by SH to rescue them from the office, and thus the blackmailers are arrested. However L is fuming, and to pay SH out, he refuses to let him out of the cell! To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . 34 "The Case of The Royal Murder" - Oh dear, the series reached a real low here. Balkan King Conrad has invited SH and Dr W to join his royal hunting party. Also in the group are Prince Stephan from a neighbouring kingdom, Princess Antonia (Lise Bourdin) and Count Magor, Conrad's adviser. The services of the good doctor are soon required, when Stephan collapses after drinking some wine. "Dead" pronunces Dr W. As Stephan was representing his father King Johann, there could be war unless SH can solve the case quickly. What's the motive, is SH's main puzzle. He's hampered by the fact that the offending wine glass has been washed, but another possible cause of death emerges, when SH learns Conrad and Stephan had had a sword fight earlier, in which the prince had been slightly injured. They'd been arguing over the hand of Princess Antonia. If the king is not exonerated, it will mean certain war, and as SH cannot promise Conrad anything, he's locked in jail, where he returns to the motive for the killing. Noone seems to benefit, but all stand to lose- except Count Magor. Out of prison, SH breaks and pretends to have a sword fight with Dr W to reach the princess. He recreates the crime in front of her and the king and count. "We have found the container containing the poison," announces the great detective. This, for some reason, forces the count to reveal himself. The case concludes with SH and Dr W looking forward to returning to home and to Inspector Lestrade, who is not of course in this story To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . 35 "The Case of The Haunted Gainsborough" Malcolm MacGregan needs SH's help- he looks and sounds exactly like Archie Duncan (alias Inspector Lestrade), only with a native kilt and thick beard. A painting of a lassie named Heather which he's trying to sell is haunted! "She's a very pretty ghost," smiles Dr W. Will SH come to MacGregan's castle to prevent Heather from scaring off her latest potential buyer, Mr Samuel Scott an American? The cash is sorely needed as otherwise Mr Ross is going to foreclose the mortgage on the castle. On their very first night at the castle SH and Dr W see the ethereal Heather (Cleo Rose) descending the staircase, before warning off our detective. Rather cheekily too. She asks SH if he'd like to kiss her! Before he can do so, she disappears. SH's "brilliant" scheme is to hide at the top of the staircase when the ghost next manifests itself to the American. It's a simple plan, if hardly worthy of SH, but anyway the ghost vanishes into thin air: "it's impossible!" But Scott isn't put off and offers £1,000 for the picture, which however is now missing from its frame. "You will not sell it, Malcolm MacGregan," moans the ghost before evaporating again. "You can't catch a ghost," sighs the dispirited MacGregan. He has until midnight to pay off his mortgage so all SH has to do is quickly find that "genooine Gainsbo" for Mr Scott. Down the stairs drifts the ghost once more. But behind her this time is another ghost! The ghost of Heather sees the apparition and screams an unghostlike scream. Ghost number two is only SH who reveals a secret passage half way up the stairway, leading to the missing painting plus a hidden treasure. "Thank you for finding the treasure and saving the castle" To Holmes Menu . . . . . P>. . . . . . . . 36 "The Case of The Neurotic Detective" 1896 and "the greatest criminal of all" first makes his mark. Even the ceremonial jewels of Queen Elizabeth I are not safe from his clutches: "absolutely fantastic," gurgles Watson, "what in thunder is Scotland Yard doing?" Poor Inspector Lestrade almost grovels to SH "I need your help!" The only advice he's given is Catch the Criminal. In a huff L storms out. Dr Watson is puzzled why the "erratic" SH is so disinterested in this major outbreak of crime. But then Dr W thinks he sees a diamond necklace in SH's possession. What is he up to? W determines to find out and follows the great detective, but rather amateurishly: "I realised," W confides to us, "that if one were to match wits with Holmes, one could not employ ordinary methods." His solution is to disguise himself as a cabbie, but naturally SH penetrates his bearded features: "the corners of your beard are in dire need of repair." But then W has a stroke of luck when a man who appears to be chasing after SH hires the cab to take him to 816 Bleak Street. W bravely breaks in to the house and overhears SH planning a robbery with his confederates. Professor A Fishblack (Eugene Deckers, uncredited) is consulted to see if he can throw any light on SH's out-of-character actions. But SH ends up analysing the analyst. "Professor, where are you going?" groans W. So it's the inspector that W has to confide in: "I know who London's master thief is." A glimmer of hope dawns on L's harassed face. But when he's told he can only utter "Holmes? I don't believe it." The two actors milk this scene brilliantly. W and L puzzle what to do. SH, however, is off to the Minister of Foreign Affairs with a young lady. It takes his followers quite a time before they realise he must be planning another robbery. They conceal themselves in the room which contains the minister's safe. After dancing the evening away, SH creeps into the room, immediately, of course, spotting W's shoes hidden behind the curtains. Is SH under arrest? The Commissioner at theYard also steps in to explain SH had been employed by him to test out the Yard's security measures. SH, in mock sorrow, turns to poor Dr Watson, "To think you didn't trust me." To Holmes Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flash Gordon (1954/5) - Made in West Berlin, Steve Holland starred in this low budget, low thrills series of 39 dark stories. 1 The Planet of Death - "You'll murder every man you send to Tarsis." The curse of Belphegor falls on anyone landing on this dead planet. But as "the defence of the galaxy" depends on gravitational experiments being conducted there, our brave Mr Flash must travel to this Planet of Death 8 The Breath of Death - Flash and Dale zoom in the Skyflash to prison planet Gemini to patch up an oxygen purifier. "One of the worst criminals in the universe," No 34, escapes and stows aboard for the return trip. While Ground Control are forced to consider blowing up Skyflash, Flash is compelled to land on a poisonous planet where he and 34 have to hold their breath. A fight. Flash, naturally, has the bigger lungs, and "disintegrator guns" just save Skyflash from annihilation. "Thank heaven!" 10 Return of the Androids - Flash and his buddies hold the secrets of how the robots known as Androids used to be made. Forcing Flash to reveal all will enable an evil Queen take over (shock horror) the galaxy! "Androids - destroy. Attack GBI headquarters!" 17 The Lure of Light - "Can a human being survive at a speed faster than the speed of light?" Evil Queen Credentia wants that secret in order to go back in time to reverse the result of the war she lost, and thus become Queen of the Universe. But it's Flash who braves that epic first journey, thwarting her wicked plan 19 Race Against Time - A ray machine forces Flash to make an emergency landing on Planet Epsilon 30. Waiting are three criminals, who act more like the Three Stooges 21 The Brain Machine - Cmdr Richards and Dr Zarkov cause an explosion on Neptune. Flash clears their names by exposing the Witch of Neptune and her fiendish "brain recorder" which is able to "make every living human bend to her will." Richards and Zarkov end up as dummies (OK, so they always were) as the Witch flees with their secrets. (to be continued) 22 Struggle to the End (part 2) - An electronic memory file holds the secrets of what Dr Zarkov and Cmdr Richards once knew: "their mind's a complete blank!" Learning the secret of matter transference, Flash swears to catch the "mad witch of Neptune" before she rules the galaxy: "I have made the greatest conquest of all" 24 Saboteurs from Space - Flash's craft is "sucked thru space into a trap" whilst machines on Earth are paralysed by an "electronic distorter." But good old Flash foils the attempt to kidnap top scientists 25 The Forbidden Experiment - Electrosillion is wanted on a remote planet by an old colleague of Dr Zarkov, but it's a trap and he's captured by a growling fiend known as The Lion Man. Flash to the rescue, but with all the animals in the jungle at Lion Man's disposal, surely Flash can't succeed? 36 Deadline at Noon - Isis, Osiris and other planets are blown up by an enemy that "has sworn eternal war against the Earth," where an early intimation of Climate Change is the result of a bomb being placed way back in 1953 by the evil planet's representative, who speaks, unsurprisingly, with a German accent. "In one hour, your precious earth explodes," he warns. Dr Zarkov's time machine leads Flash to, where else?, Berlin ("the inhabitants may be hostile") and there's a long chase sequence set around the rubble of West Berlin. With a mere two secs to go the bomb is defused 39 The Subworld Revenge - 1,500 miles inside the earth's core, the evil Zaldo plans to fire his deadly machine that'll turn the earth into a ball of fire. Flash is caught by Zaldo's magnetic field- "poor Flash... and soon it'll be poor us!" Euro Crime Series

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Orient Express (1953) -
Made by Thetis Film Cinetelevision, produced by John Nasht
Uppercut (aka The Gladiator) -
Filmed on location in Italy. The train is approaching Rome, and manager Dan (Patrick Crean) is warning his boxing protege Freddie (Steve Barclay) about the dangers of overconfidence. For Freddie, "the most famous fighter in the world," has never lost a fight yet but the knowing Dan is only too aware that he could "go down the drain," his head turned by money or dames. For Freddie is something of a ladies' man.
In Rome Freddie's Italian father looks up an old friend whose daughter Anna (Nadia Gray) Freddie is soon making eyes at. "Are all Americans as sure of yourself as you?" she asks him naively, as he wines her at a nightclub. Freddie is so enwrapt with her he forgets about an important news conference, which makes "the reporters sore."
Training begins in earnest next day, though Freddie's mind is elsewhere. As Dan comments, "you can't mix late nights with a girl on the brain and a big fight." Anna is persuaded to call off their pre-fight date.
The fight sequence is too long, with Freddie the clear loser. Sore at Anna's apparent rejection he tells her "I don't need your help." His dad though is glad his son has been taught a bit of a lesson: "you're getting too big for your own good." He helps Freddie face up to his feelings and encourages him with "you work at it hard enough, you could be a winner." Now Freddie is man enough to patch things up with dad, and then with Anna.
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Paris Precinct (1955) -
An interesting series filmed in Paris with Louis Jourdan as Inspector Beaumont and Claude Dauphin as Balbec.
"Based on cases from the official files, and filmed with the co-operation of the Paris Police Department."

7 The Actress- The newspaper headlines read 'First Lady of Paris Stage to wed her Director Tomorrow," but today she's shot through the heart in her dressing room. The police conduct interviews with:
* Marie the personal maid, who found the body when she went to give Michelle her final curtain call.
* Jean Paul an actor, on stage at the time of the killing.
* Her fiance, Poiret (Roger Treville) who had "moulded" her. He'd been in his office when the murder had been done. His ex-wife Georgette (Madeleine Robinson), once his leading lady, was jealous of Michelle.
* The understudy, who claims the happy couple had been arguing that night.
The murder weapon arrives anonymously through the post - it's Poiret's revolver!
Beaumont puts on "a little show" as the last act of the play is reenacted. At the end, Poiret is arrested even though privately Beaumont has declared he's not guilty. This action elicits a theatrical monologue from the real killer.
The story ends with an effective scene without any words, as the police escort the killer away.

8 The Cemetry (on 16mm film) - Old Marie interrupts a thief and is murdered. Her son Antoine discovers her body when returning home after finishing his night work as a taxi driver. He'd kept warning his mother not to keep all her cash in the house. The concierge Sara (Maximilienne) says Marie had a habit of talking to strangers. One is traced to a Boucherie, who claims she knew Marie and that Marie and her son often quarrelled over her late husband's will

Police Headquarters - A gendarme picks up a scruffy looking man swaying on the edge of the Seine. Roger Vezenay (Marcel Dalio) has plenty of money. He says it's the ransom for his seven year old boy- the kidnappers have demanded half a million francs to be paid at 10.30am.
Balbec takes Vezenay's place, but at the drop-off cafe he's phoned, ordered to go to the Eifel Tower. Once there, a message is handed to him by a stranger who's promptly arrested rather ostentatiously. "You were careful when you arrested him?" queries a hopeful Balbec. Our tour of Paris takes us next to St Lazarre station. The railway police think Balbec looks suspicious so Beaumont has to intervene just as the station announcer's voice booms up that there's an urgent call awaiting at the Information Desk. Balbec is told to get a 32 bus, which he does. It all seems rather odd observes Balbec- the voice on the phone "sounds like Vezenay himself." The uneventful bus trip takes him to the Champs Elysees. Still nothing. So the police question Vezenay. He's in hospital where a doc solves the case- "there was no kidnapping," he explains to the incredulous policemen. So it was all an excuse to show us round Paris!
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Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955/6)
starring Buster Crabbe as Captain Mike Gallant
The first series was filmed in Morocco, but a second series was made in Italy. Barbara Shelley stated that she appeared in five stories in this latter series.
1.5 Camel Race - Fuzzy unwittingly places a bet with the robbers of a mining company's payroll. He bets on Josephine, the legionnaire's best camel, but as Fuzzy is doped he loses the race and the stake. But Gallant's 80,000 bet on a return race results in the crooks unwisely trying to nobble Josephine, instead they get a deserved kicking from her. So this time Fuzzy is the victor, and the cash he is paid which turns out to be the stolen payroll
1.6 Esprit de Corps - Private Jan Novak, a bad tempered Pole (John Nash), is transferred to Gallant's batallion. He's a top field soldier but a bad legionnaire. He starts badly by brawling in a bar over a girl, and is very unpopular in camp, but on patrol, tracking escaped prisoners at a lonely oasis, he's wounded and rescued by his mates. That surprises him, teaching him a lesson in comradeship
1.7 Carnival in Zagora - Old pal Carla Robinson (Norma Eberhardt), for whom Gallant had got a suspended sentence, has got herself a boyfriend (Robert Christopher) who is involved with the shooting of a vizier, in a plot to secure oil rights. A reformed Carla gets Cuffy to warn Gallant of the scheme (Not sure of the relevance of the title, maybe this is a different episode?)
1.10 The Prayer Rug- General 'Ironfist' is to present an Arab dignitary with a prayer rug, but it is stolen. Captain Gallant has but four hours to retrieve it. For some reason it's worth ten million francs. Blonde Monique puts him on to a limping Arab, the clever oh so clever thief
1.15 Revenge - Now where have we seen this plot before? Aru Mettler (Bob Christopher) swears revenge on the man who has put him behind bars, ie Captain Gallant, "I'm gonna kill him." 8.30pm and if you're still awake, a bullet is fired. And another. "Where do you want it Captain?"
1.16 As Long as There Will be Money - Gallant has to defend Bennet, accused of killing The Wise Man, against an angry mob lead by Wise Man's less wise son. Bennet escapes and Gallant has to catch the real killer and rescue Bennet from the crazed mob
1.20 The Dagger of Judah - Pte Jean Martell refuses to see his parents, "I sure feel sorry for his mother," notes Cuffy. But Jean relents and they order him to do another crime, kidnap a prince. But Cpt Gallant joins their gang also to trap the brains behind the operation
1.21 The Lady from Zagora - Eric Gastin, managing director of Intercontinental Engineering, locks secret revolutionary aircraft plans "worth millions" in his safe, but his secretary removes them. Captain Gallant pursues her to the border and with all guns blazing, grabs the papers in time
1.27 Ransom - George Langton helps Cuffy buy a wallet, and Cuffy nearly repays the favour by preventing Langton's kidnapping. But not quite, and Commodore Langton stumps up the cash for his nephew's ransom, £10,000. Captain Gallant tracks down the kidnapper via his ex-girl Charlene who spills the beans and warns that George has kidnapped himself. Gallant soon rounds up the naughty nephew
1.28 The Legion is Our Home - Cpt Johann Schmidt is reluctant to take his leave in town, something about his spending three years of the war here. Jeannine was his girl, and they are finally reunited, to the anger of her brother Marcel, who, because he was injured in the war, still hates Germans. Makko, jealous of Jeannine, frames Schmidt for Marcel's murder, but Mike Gallant trusts his men and finds a clue, a keyring, that points to the real killer. Makko makes a run for it, taking Jeannine, but the legion always get their men, well, something like that
1.36 The Boy Who Found Christmas - Cuffy has never seen snow, and had been promised a trip to USA for Christmas, but Gallant can't get leave. Cuffy is disappointed again when a camel train with presents and a real Christmas tree fails to show up, so he rides off into the desert to find it. Alone at night, at an oasis, he is scared, but his Legionnaire pals find him and Uncle Mike teaches the lad about peace and goodwill, showing him the first Christmas of all- aaah
2.3 The Long Night - "I don't like it," remarks The Colonel, when Mrs Drexel, Cuffy's aunt, demands to take Cuffy home with her. "I won't go," cries the lad in an unusually emotional tale, complete with violin music. To the cold desert Cuffy runs away (again) with his friend, who falls and breaks a leg. Uncle Mike sends out a search party, the pair are safe and sound and the aunt is so impressed with the legionnaire's devotion, she abandons her plan
2.6 Rodeo - Manuel Gonzalez wants to marry singer Franca (Mara Lane), but brawls with a sergeant and ends up in the guardhouse. A disillusioned Gonzalez deserts, and even more serious, the safe with the legionnaire's pay has been emptied. Gallant is assigned to "bring him back," while Cuffy's stages a rodeo ro raise money so the couple can get married. But Fuzzy accidentally exposes the payroll thieves enabling the marriage to go ahead. After all this, Cuffy has to conclude with "Love's mush!"
2.11 Cuffy's Good Deed - A mother desperately wants to trace her son Renate who joined the Legion four years back. Could he be the one lying in the infirmary after being badly wounded when a patrol were all but wiped out? Cuffy helps mum get reunited with him, while Gallant rides around getting revenge or maybe justice for the massacre. The ending is rather a poignant one
2.21 Dr Legionnaire - Two scouts lead Gallant's expedition into a trap, though natives only want a doctor to treat a sheik who seems terminally ill. Cure him, or be killed, the sheik's brother pronounces. "We'll have to operate immediately." Gallant prevents the wicked brother from trying to ensure the operation fails
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