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Series · 1973

Orson Welles' Great Mysteries

Created by Orson WellesOrson Welles
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries poster
1 Sep 1973First aired
1Season

The series

Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries is a British television anthology series produced by Anglia Television for the ITV network and broadcast between 1973 and 1974. The series presents standalone adaptations of classic mystery, crime, and supernatural stories drawn from literary sources including Dickens, Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, Balzac, Maugham, O. Henry, and others. Each episode is framed by original introductory and closing sequences performed by Orson Welles, who serves as the series’ host and sole recurring on-screen presence. These segments, written and directed by Welles (uncredited), function as stylized narrative framing devices rather than dramatic participation in the stories themselves. The dramatic content of each episode is performed by separate casts and directors, with no continuing characters or serialized narrative, establishing the series as a unified television anthology rather than a collection of standalone films.

Episodes

Season 1 · 26 episodes · 1973

  1. Episode 11 Sep 197325m

    Captain Rogers

    The respectable owner of a quiet inn in 18th century England is blackmailed by a grubby stranger, who knows he is secretly the notorious pirate Captain Rogers.

  2. Episode 28 Sep 197325m

    The Leather Funnel

    When a young man discovers a curious funnel made of leather, he has a presentiment that it was once used as an instrument of torture

  3. Episode 315 Sep 197325m

    A Terribly Strange Bed

    Charles Faulkner, a young American gambler in Paris, should have left the casino after striking it lucky. Why the devil did he accept to sleep in the casino's guest bed? This was to be the most horrible night he had ever lived.

  4. Episode 422 Sep 197325m

    La Grande Breteche

    A Spanish officer, captured by the French during the Peninsular War, is imprisoned at the country house of an elderly aristocrat with a bored young wife - whose lover he becomes, with deadly consequences.

  5. Episode 529 Sep 197325m

    The Dinner Party

    Blake is a brilliant accountant, but does he deserve a promotion to the board of directors? It all depends on the suitability of his wife. His bosses attend a small dinner party given by the Blakes to check her out.

  6. Episode 66 Oct 197325m

    Money to Burn

    A French girl in London finds herself in the awkward position of owing money to a Soho crime boss. But when she pays him off, he contemptuously sets fire to the money. Why?

  7. Episode 713 Oct 197325m

    In the Confessional

    An old tramp takes refuge in a church, and, concealed within the confessional, overhears things of great interest.

  8. Episode 820 Oct 197325m

    Unseen Alibi

    Dean Stockwell stars as the victim of an elaborately staged murder frame centering around a lover's rendezvous.

  9. Episode 927 Oct 197325m

    Battle of Wits

    At the end of the semester, college professor Richard Lumsden is getting ready for vacation - and retirement. However he is interrupted by an angry parent of a student, blaming him for his son's suicide after he was expelled for stealing.

  10. Episode 103 Nov 197325m

    A Point of Law

    A lawyer cannot stop a middle-aged spinster from making a fool of herself with a young fortune-hunter, but he can stop the fellow from getting his hands on her money.

  11. Episode 1110 Nov 197325m

    The Monkey's Paw

    An old army sergeant, back in England after long service in India, shows some old friends a strange possession he's acquired - a monkey's paw which can make wishes come true.

  12. Episode 1217 Nov 1973

    The Ingenious Reporter

    Reporter Harry Langley pretends to be the murderer of unidentified women to boost sales with a special report from prison. But once arrested, the authorities seem to be convinced that he is indeed the killer.

  13. Episode 1324 Nov 1973

    Death of an Old-Fashioned Girl

    Four people are investigated after the death of a woman who ruined an artist's life and drove his wife to leave him.

  14. Episode 141 Dec 1973

    For Sale - Silence

    Businessman Pennington is bribed by a Mr. Briggs due to an extramarital affair. But it seems that Briggs has underestimated his opponent and the tables might be turning.

  15. Episode 158 Dec 1973

    The Inspiration Of Mr. Budd

    How did Mr. Budd become a top-class West End hairdresser after such humble origins in a suburban barbershop? Well, one day, a stranger came in for a shave and a haircut.

  16. Episode 1615 Dec 1973

    An Affair of Honour

    India: After secret plans for the defence of a harbour are secretly copied, British General Sanderson tasks officers Bruce and Rolfe with convincing the apparent traitor Fanshaw to "save his honour" by committing suicide.

  17. Episode 1722 Dec 1973

    Farewell to the Faulkners

    The masquerade is over when a murdered man turns up alive in the guise of his wife.

  18. Episode 1829 Dec 1973

    The Power of Fear

    A handyman, finding that a number of middle-aged housewives require him for rather more than his professional services, turns to blackmail.

  19. Episode 195 Jan 1974

    Where There's a Will

    A letter opened in error provides rather dangerous knowledge concerning a murder case.

  20. Episode 2012 Jan 1974

    A Time to Remember

    Zigorin, a top Russian spy, has defected to the West. But is he really Zigorin or an impostor?

  21. Episode 2119 Jan 1974

    Ice Storm

    An "Ice Storm" traps a woman with a potential thief masquerading as one of three experts invited to view a collection of valuable manuscripts.

  22. Episode 2226 Jan 1974

    Come Into My Parlour

    Two beautiful women chat pleasantly over their martinis in a luxurious flat in Naples. But all is not what it seems - one is plotting an evil revenge on the other.

  23. Episode 232 Feb 1974

    Compliments of the Season

    A penniless man tries to claim a reward from a millionaire at Christmas, and finds it's not as easy as he thought it would be.

  24. Episode 249 Feb 1974

    Under Suspicion

    A pianist on an international tour is forced to spy for the secret police to avoid being detained.

  25. Episode 2516 Feb 1974

    Trial for Murder

    During a murder trial in 19th-century England, one of the jurors begins to have mysterious hallucinations - has he seen a ghost?

  26. Episode 2623 Feb 1974

    The Furnished Room

    A young man's month-long search for a missing girl ends in a haunted room of a boarding house.

Cast

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