As a fan of mysteries and supernatural stories, I was looking forward to seeing this series which I was completely unfamiliar with. One review states that it was meant to be shown on American TV hence the use of several American stars. However the classic British look of filmed exteriors and videotaped interiors would not have gone down well with many Americans viewers in the early 1970s. Only those who watched Public Television would not have been bothered by the format.
This show appears to be patterned after Alfred Hitchcock’s TV series with a celebrated host, Orson Welles, introducing each episode and providing a little epilogue. The 13 episodes that make up this set are a mix of occasional mystery and a little suspense with a few supernatural exceptions (THE MONKEY’S PAW, THE LEATHER FUNNEL, THE FURNISHED ROOM and TRIAL FOR MURDER) These are all by famous authors (W.W. Jacobs, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, O. Henry, Charles Dickens). Then there is Honore de Balzac’s LA GRANDE BRETECHE with its shocking conclusion. Several others have a twist ending a la Hitchcock.
As often happens with most anthology series, some stories are better than others. The classic authors come off best because of their strong writing and mostly period settings. Nothing dates faster than a contemporary setting although having come of age in the 1970s, I enjoyed seeing those fashions and colors once again. The performances are also a mixed bag with such British veterans as Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee & Harry Andrews outshining most of their American co-stars. It was also interesting to see Ian Holm and Michael Gambon early in their careers.
The directors are mostly Hammer veterans like Peter Sasdy and Alan Gibson and sometimes they rise to the occasion and sometimes they don’t. While clearly made for television there are some interesting camera angles and effective lighting employed in some of the episodes. ORSON WELLES GREAT MYSTERIES – VOL. 1 isn’t really great but if you’re a fan of old British TV series than you’ll find this to your liking. The only real mystery is who wrote Orson Welles’ intros and outros. He didn’t and they are often better than some of the episodes.
The Capsule Critic 