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.
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (Season 1)
Captain Rogers (Episode 1)
Writer: Harry Green
Air date: 1973-09-01
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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.
The Leather Funnel (Episode 2)
Writer: Arthur Conan Doyle
Air date: 1973-09-08
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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
A Terribly Strange Bed (Episode 3)
Air date: 1973-09-15
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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.
La Grande Breteche (Episode 4) 1.0
Writer: Honoré de Balzac
Air date: 1973-09-22
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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.
The Dinner Party (Episode 5)
Writer: Julian Bond
Air date: 1973-09-29
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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.
Money to Burn (Episode 6)
Writer: Margery Allingham
Air date: 1973-10-06
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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?
In the Confessional (Episode 7)
Writer: David Ambrose
Air date: 1973-10-13
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: An old tramp takes refuge in a church, and, concealed within the confessional, overhears things of great interest.
Unseen Alibi (Episode 8)
Writer: Bruce Graeme
Air date: 1973-10-20
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Dean Stockwell stars as the victim of an elaborately staged murder frame centering around a lover's rendezvous.
Battle of Wits (Episode 9)
Writer: Maisie Sharman
Air date: 1973-10-27
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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.
A Point of Law (Episode 10)
Writer: W. Somerset Maugham
Air date: 1973-11-03
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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.
The Monkey's Paw (Episode 11)
Writer: W.W. Jacobs
Air date: 1973-11-10
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: 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.
The Ingenious Reporter (Episode 12)
Writer: Carey Harrison
Air date: 1973-11-17
Overview: 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.
Death of an Old-Fashioned Girl (Episode 13)
Writer: Stanley Ellin
Air date: 1973-11-24
Overview: Four people are investigated after the death of a woman who ruined an artist's life and drove his wife to leave him.
For Sale - Silence (Episode 14)
Writer: David Ambrose
Air date: 1973-12-01
Overview: 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.
The Inspiration Of Mr. Budd (Episode 15)
Writer: Kenneth Jupp
Air date: 1973-12-08
Overview: 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.
An Affair of Honour (Episode 16)
Writer: Carey Harrison
Air date: 1973-12-15
Overview: 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.
Farewell to the Faulkners (Episode 17)
Writer: Miriam Allen DeFord
Air date: 1973-12-22
Overview: The masquerade is over when a murdered man turns up alive in the guise of his wife.
The Power of Fear (Episode 18)
Writer: Lawrence Treat
Air date: 1973-12-29
Overview: A handyman, finding that a number of middle-aged housewives require him for rather more than his professional services, turns to blackmail.
Where There's a Will (Episode 19)
Writer: Michael Gilbert
Air date: 1974-01-05
Overview: A letter opened in error provides rather dangerous knowledge concerning a murder case.
A Time to Remember (Episode 20)
Writer: James Reach
Air date: 1974-01-12
Overview: Zigorin, a top Russian spy, has defected to the West. But is he really Zigorin or an impostor?
Ice Storm (Episode 21)
Writer: N.J. Crisp
Air date: 1974-01-19
Overview: An "Ice Storm" traps a woman with a potential thief masquerading as one of three experts invited to view a collection of valuable manuscripts.
Come Into My Parlour (Episode 22)
Writer: Elaine Morgan
Air date: 1974-01-26
Overview: 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.
Compliments of the Season (Episode 23)
Writer: Donald Wilson
Air date: 1974-02-02
Overview: 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.
Under Suspicion (Episode 24)
Writer: Norman Edwards
Air date: 1974-02-09
Overview: A pianist on an international tour is forced to spy for the secret police to avoid being detained.
Trial for Murder (Episode 25)
Writer: Charles Dickens
Air date: 1974-02-16
Overview: During a murder trial in 19th-century England, one of the jurors begins to have mysterious hallucinations - has he seen a ghost?
The Furnished Room (Episode 26)
Writer: David Ambrose
Air date: 1974-02-23
Overview: A young man's month-long search for a missing girl ends in a haunted room of a boarding house.
Seasons
Episodes 26