The legendary Orson Welles hosts thirteen mysterious tales from this much sought-after anthology series creeping its way on to DVD for the first time.
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Showcasing a haunting theme by John Barry, these macabre – often supernatural – dramas feature an astonishing array of talent, including Rupert Davies, Eli Wallach, Michael Kitchen, Patrick Magee, Donald Pleasence, Peter Cushing, Susannah York, Michael Gambon, Julie Dawn Cole, Kenneth Haigh, Harry Andrews, Dinsdale Landen, Jane Seymour, Ian Holm and Christopher Lee.
The thirteen tales of mystery and suspense featured on this set – including classic tales from Wilkie Collins, W.W. Jacobs, Honoré de Balzac, Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle – are:
DISC ONE
• A Terribly Strange Bed
A young American hits a winning streak in a Paris casino, but finds that his luck changes when he tries to sleep in the casino’s guest bed.
– Starring Colin Baker, Edward Albert, Rupert Davies and Jenny Nevinson
– Dramatised by Anthony Fowles
– From a story by Wilkie Collins
– Directed by Alan Cooke
– Original ITV Transmission 20 July 1974
• Compliments of the Season
A drunken down-and-out returns a special doll to its owner, the young daughter of a millionaire. In doing so, he receives two rewards – one completely unexpected.
– Starring Eli Wallach, Ed Bishop, Hildegard Neil and Billy Hamon
– Dramatised by Donald Wilson
– From a story by O. Henry
– Directed by Philip Saville
– Original ITV Transmission 11 December 1975
• The Ingenious Reporter
A newspaper reporter poses as a suspected murderer, but his plans go awry when he loses his proof of innocence.
– Starring Geoffrey Bayldon, Pam St Clement, David Birney, Anthony Ainley and Ronald Radd
– Dramatised by Carey Harrison
– From a story by Pontsevrez
– Directed by Peter Sasdy
– Original ITV Transmission 18 September 1975
• The Monkey’s Paw
A monkey’s paw with a strange and unnatural past brings fear and disaster to an unsuspecting family.
– Starring Michael Kitchen, Cyril Cusack, Meg Jenkins, Patrick Magee and Robert James
– Dramatised by David Ambrose
– From a story by W.W. Jacobs
– Directed by Alan Gibson
– Original ITV Transmission 7 September 1974
• Captain Rogers
An old shipmate arrives at the inn owned by his former skipper and enmeshes him in a web of blackmail, bribery and terror.
– Starring Donald Pleasence, Kevin Stoney, Donald Gee, Joseph O’Conor, Daphne Heard and Alan Bennion
– Dramatised by Harry Green
– From a story by W.W. Jacobs
– Directed by Alan Gibson
– Original ITV Transmission 6 July 1974
• For Sale – Silence
A criminal seeks an illegal fortune – and pays for it in blackmail.
– Starring Jack Cassidy, Ed Devereaux and Harold Goodwin
– Dramatised by David Ambrose
– From a story by Don Knowlton
– Directed by Peter Sykes
– Original ITV Transmission 9 October 1975
• La Grande Breteche
A French count, master of a chateau known as La Grande Breteche, torments his young wife and wreaks vengeance upon her lover…
– Starring Peter Cushing, Susannah York, Michael Elphick, Morag Hood and Pauline Delaney
– Dramatised by Martin Worth
– From a story by Honoré de Balzac
– Directed by Peter Sasdy
– Original ITV Transmission 27 July 1974
DISC TWO
• An Affair of Honour
When espionage is discovered in a colonial outpost it is dealt with in a gentlemanly manner…
– Starring Michael Gambon, Jenny Hanley, Harry Andrews and Jeremy Clyde
– Dramatised by Carey Harrison
– From a story by F. Britten Austin
– Directed by Alan Bromly
– Original ITV Transmission 30 October 1975
• In the Confessional
A young paranoiac’s confession leads his priest and the police to the unexpected and dramatic solution of a girl’s murder.
– Starring Julie Dawn Cole, Philip Davis, José Ferrer, Milo O’Shea and Shane Rimmer
– Dramatised by David Ambrose
– From a story by Alice Scanlan Reach
– Directed by Peter Sasdy
– Original ITV Transmission 14 August 1974
• The Furnished Room
A young man comes to the big city to search for a missing girl.
– Starring Clarence Williams III, Joan-Ann Maynard, Irene Worth and Sally Travers
– Dramatised by David Ambrose
– From a story by O. Henry
– Directed by Alan Gibson
– Original ITV Transmission 24 July 1976
• Under Suspicion
A concert pianist’s loyalties are torn when she discovers that her lover is a traitor. But is he betraying her love – or his country?
– Starring Julie Crosthwait, Kenneth Haigh, Dinsdale Landen and Janice Rule
– Dramatised by Anthony Fowles
– From a story by Norman Edwards
– Directed by Peter Sasdy
– Original ITV Transmission 16 December 1975
• The Leather Funnel
A young Englishman arrives in Paris to propose to his French girlfriend. But her uncle shows him, through the power of dreams, that his desire to marry into the family could cause him to lose his reason – or his life.
– Starring Christopher Lee, Simon Ward, Jane Seymour, André van Gyseghem and Ralph Arliss
– Dramatised by David Ambrose
– From a story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
– Directed by Alan Gibson
– Original ITV Transmission 13 July 1974
• Trial for Murder
The foreman of a jury at a murder trial is influenced by visions of the victim’s spirit.
– Starring Ian Holm, Jennie Linden and Keith Buckley
– Dramatised by David Lawrie
– From a story by C.A. Collins and Charles Dickens
– Directed by Peter Sykes
– Original ITV Transmission 30 April 1976
