Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries Volume 1, released on DVD in Germany two years ago, will be issued in the United Kingdom next month by Network.
While the German DVD set from Pidax Film Media featured 10 episodes of the British anthology television series, the forthcoming Network collection will offer 13 of the 26 episodes hosted by Welles.
Network has it scheduled for release on February 11.
Produced by Anglia Television, the 25-minute long episodes were originally broadcast by Britain’s ITV between September 1973 and February 1974.
Showcasing a haunting theme by composer John Barry, these macabre – often supernatural – British dramas featured actors Eli Wallach, Patrick Magee, Donald Pleasence, Peter Cushing, Susannah York, Christopher Lee, Jane Seymour, Ian Holm and others.
Like the previously issued German DVD set, the UK release is in encoded in the PAL, Region 2 format, which means it is not compatible with most North American players. (There has been no word of a U.S. release.)
The episodes featured on this set, include:
A Terribly Strange Bed
Compliments of the Season
The Ingenious Reporter
The Monkey’s Paw
Captain Rogers
For Sale – Silence
La Grande Breteche
An Affair of Honour
In the Confessional
The Furnished Room
Under Suspicion
The Leather Funnel
Trial for Murder
While Welles’ involvement in the series was limited, Orson Welles Great Mysteries no doubt paid the bills and helped fund some Welles-directed projects.
A decade later, Welles hosted the short-lived NBC anthology series Scene of the Crime.
(Thanks to Mido for the heads up on this release.)
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