

Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
1973 · 1 season · 26 episodes · Ended · ITV1
Mystery, Drama
TMDB 6.8 · 4 votes
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
- S01E01Captain Rogers1973-09-0125m
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.
- S01E02The Leather Funnel1973-09-0825m
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
- S01E03A Terribly Strange Bed1973-09-1525m
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.
- S01E04La Grande Breteche1973-09-2225m
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.
- S01E05The Dinner Party1973-09-2925m
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.
- S01E06Money to Burn1973-10-0625m
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?
- S01E07In the Confessional1973-10-1325m
An old tramp takes refuge in a church, and, concealed within the confessional, overhears things of great interest.
- S01E08Unseen Alibi1973-10-2025m
Dean Stockwell stars as the victim of an elaborately staged murder frame centering around a lover's rendezvous.
- S01E09Battle of Wits1973-10-2725m
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.
- S01E10A Point of Law1973-11-0325m
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.
- S01E11The Monkey's Paw1973-11-1025m
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.
- S01E12The Ingenious Reporter1973-11-17
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.
- S01E13Death of an Old-Fashioned Girl1973-11-24
Four people are investigated after the death of a woman who ruined an artist's life and drove his wife to leave him.
- S01E14For Sale - Silence1973-12-01
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.
- S01E15The Inspiration Of Mr. Budd1973-12-08
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.
- S01E16An Affair of Honour1973-12-15
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.
- S01E17Farewell to the Faulkners1973-12-22
The masquerade is over when a murdered man turns up alive in the guise of his wife.
- S01E18The Power of Fear1973-12-29
A handyman, finding that a number of middle-aged housewives require him for rather more than his professional services, turns to blackmail.
- S01E19Where There's a Will1974-01-05
A letter opened in error provides rather dangerous knowledge concerning a murder case.
- S01E20A Time to Remember1974-01-12
Zigorin, a top Russian spy, has defected to the West. But is he really Zigorin or an impostor?
- S01E21Ice Storm1974-01-19
An "Ice Storm" traps a woman with a potential thief masquerading as one of three experts invited to view a collection of valuable manuscripts.
- S01E22Come Into My Parlour1974-01-26
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.
- S01E23Compliments of the Season1974-02-02
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.
- S01E24Under Suspicion1974-02-09
A pianist on an international tour is forced to spy for the secret police to avoid being detained.
- S01E25Trial for Murder1974-02-16
During a murder trial in 19th-century England, one of the jurors begins to have mysterious hallucinations - has he seen a ghost?
- S01E26The Furnished Room1974-02-23
A young man's month-long search for a missing girl ends in a haunted room of a boarding house.
Cast
Orson WellesSelf - Host
Joan CollinsJane Blake
Ian BannenGregory Dean- Daphne HeardDeborah Crabbe
Milo O'SheaFather Crumlish
Patrick MageeSergeant Morris
Glyn OwenDet. Inspector Cumberland
Rupert DaviesLemerie
Susannah YorkCountess Josephine
Dean StockwellJerry Norton
Alec McCowenJames Addishaw
André van GyseghemJudge