7.2 /10 1 Votes7.2
Genre Crime/Drama Original language(s) English No. of episodes 39 Final episode date 1961 Number of seasons 1 | 7.2/10 Country of origin Great Britain No. of seasons 1 First episode date 1953 Presented by Edgar Lustgarten | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Edgar LustgartenRussell NapierHarry H CorbettJohn Le Mesurier Network American Broadcasting Company Cast Edgar Lustgarten, Russell Napier, John Woodvine, John Carlisle Similar Fabian of the Yard, Square Mile of Murder, Jericho, Colonel March of Scotland, Edgar Wallace Mysteries |
Scotland Yard is a series of 39 half-hour films produced by Anglo-Amalgamated. Produced between 1953 and 1961, they were short films made to support the main feature in a cinema double-bill. Each film focuses on a true crime case with names changed, and feature an introduction by the crime writer Edgar Lustgarten.
Contents
The earlier films were produced by Alec C. Snowden, who was succeeded by Jack Greenwood. Directors included Ken Hughes and Montgomery Tully. The principal character in each film was a Detective Inspector, played by a variety of actors but most frequently by Russell Napier (usually portraying DI Duggan). Many of the films featured actors later to become well-known, in either their debut performances or in small roles. They included Jill Bennett, Peter Arne, James Villiers, Arthur Lowe, Peter Halliday, Wilfrid Brambell, Rita Webb and Roger Delgado.
All of the episodes were shot at Merton Park Studios in London and on location on monochrome 35mm film. Most of the episodes were presented in the old Academy screen ratio of 1.33:1, whilst a handful of the later episodes were shot in a hard-matted widescreen ratio of 1.66:1.
The series later found a new audience on television in both the UK and the US.
The complete series has been released on DVD in the UK by Network.
Blake of scotland yard ch 1 restoration in progress
Episode list
Here is the list of Scotland Yard episodes (with their PAL running times):
US TV scheduling
Scotland Yard aired at 10 p.m. Eastern opposite The $64,000 Challenge on CBS and The Loretta Young Show on NBC. It was replaced on the 1958 fall schedule by the five-week series Encounter, a drama anthology which originated from Toronto, Canada.
The 1960s BBC television series of the same name, and the 1970s London Weekend Television series New Scotland Yard are unrelated to these films.