1950s Mystery TV Shows

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.

An anthology series containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond is an American anthology series created by Merwin Gerard. The original series ran for three seasons on ABC from January 1959 to July 1961.

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

Lt. Frank Ballinger is a no-nonsense plain clothes cop in the elite M Squad Division. The Squad's task is to root out organised crime and corruption in America's Second City, Chicago.

Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their leggy secretary.

An American anthology television series which aired in syndication from 1957 to March 19, 1958. The series was hosted by veteran film actor Everett Sloane.

Suspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC from 1957 through 1959. The executive producer of Suspicion was film director Alfred Hitchcock.

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the title used for two syndicated television series that followed the adventures of fictional private detective Mike Hammer. The gritty, crime fighting detective—created by American crime author Mickey Spillane—has also inspired several feature films and made-for-TV movies.

The Edge of Night was an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984. There were 7,420 episodes, with some 1,800 available for syndication.

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries was a British second-feature film series, produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 46 films in the series, made between 1960 and 1965. The films were loose adaptations of Edgar Wallace's books and stories. Very few used his original titles, and there was no attempt to set them in the period in which Wallace wrote, probably to obviate the need for elaborate costumes and sets. A 1962 article in Scene magazine quotes £22,000 as the budget for an episode then in production.

Jazz pianist Johnny Staccato supplements his meager musician's income by working as a private detective. The background for many of the episodes is his friend "Waldo's" jazz club in New York City's Greenwich Village, featuring performances by the Pete Candoli jazz combo which included Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, Red Norvo and Johnny Williams. The theme was composed by Elmer Bernstein.

New York City policewoman Casey Jones' assignment to fight crime often entails her going undercover in some of the seediest and most dangerous parts of the city. Decoy is a groundbreaking American crime drama television series created for syndication and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957, to July 7, 1958, with thirty-nine 30-minute black-and-white episodes. It was the first American police series with a female protagonist. Many Decoy episodes are in the public domain.

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Seven Color Mask (七色仮面, Nanairo Kamen) is the name and title character of a tokusatsu TV series, later called New Seven Color Mask (新七色仮面, Shin Nanairo Kamen). It was created by Kōhan Kawauchi, who also created Moonlight Mask. This B&W TV show was the first superhero TV series by Toei Company Ltd. It was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from June 3, 1959 to June 30, 1960, with a total of 57 episodes divided into 7 segments. Aside from being Toei's first TV superhero show, this series was also the debut of actor Sonny Chiba, who was 19 at the time, who took over the title role from Susumu Namijima after Episode 32.

Moonlight Mask (aka Gekko Kamen), is a black and white tokusatsu TV drama series, produced by the advertising agency Senkosha and was aired on KRTV (now TBS) from February 24, 1958 to July 5, 1959, with a total of 130 (or 131) episodes, divided into 5 segments. Since the original show, Gekko Kamen has gained the popularity of being the first Japanese live action television superhero, appearing in films and TV shows well past the length of the original series.

Rocky King, Inside Detective is an American television series broadcast on the DuMont Television Network on Sundays at 9pm ET from January 15, 1950 to December 26, 1954. This series was one of DuMont's most popular programs, and was a live crime series set in New York City. The show not only kept Roscoe Karns from retirement, but cast him opposite his son, Todd Karns. The DuMont offices and corridors were used as sets. At the end of each program, King would exchange telephone small talk with his unseen wife Mabel and, after hanging up, say to no one in particular, "Great girl, that Mabel".

The New Adventures of Charlie Chan is a British-American crime drama series that aired in the United States in syndicated television from June 1957, to 1958. The first five episodes were made by Vision Productions in the United States, before production switched to the United Kingdom under ITC Entertainment and Television Programs of America.

The first American television series of Sherlock Holmes adventures aired in syndication in the fall of 1954. The 39 half-hour mostly original stories were produced by Sheldon Reynolds and filmed in France by Guild Films, starring Ronald Howard as Holmes and Howard Marion Crawford as Watson. Archie Duncan appeared in many episodes as Inspector Lestrade. Richard Larke, billed as Kenneth Richards, played Sgt. Wilkins in about fifteen episodes. The series' associate producer, Nicole Milinaire, was one of the first women to attain a senior production role in a television series.

The sons of the great detective Fenton Hardy, Frank and Joe are eager to impress their father with their mystery solving skills.

The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu is a syndicated American television series that aired in 1956. The show was produced by Hollywood Television Service, a subsidiary of Republic Pictures.

The legendary actor Boris Karloff presents a chilling collection of short stories of horror and suspense.

The Errol Flynn Theatre is a short-lived anthology series presented by Errol Flynn, who would also play the lead in every fourth show. His then-wife Patrice Wymore and son Sean also made appearances. It was shot in England at Bray Studios but was made for the American market.

No overview available

A 1950 anthology about people who find themselves `trapped' in various situations.

The George Sanders Mystery Theater is the title of a 30 minute American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC in 1957 and hosted by character actor George Sanders. Some of the actors who were cast in the episodes included: George Sanders, Lyle Talbot, June Vincent, S. John Launer, Paul Petersen, and John Archer.

A team of scientists search for the origin and purpose of a mysterious capsule found on a building site.

No overview available

Star Tonight, an American television anthology series, aired on ABC from February 1955 to August 1956.

This is a 7-part German crime series by Peter A. Horn. In self-contained and unconnected episodes, the great detectives of crime literature solve various cases. Sherlock Holmes (Ernst Fritz Fürbringer) and Dr. Watson (Harald Mannl) start things off, followed by Auguste Dupin, David Wilson, Father Brown, Inspector Bucket, Sergeant Cuff and Hercule Poirot. Every episode of this early crime series in the early days of television was still broadcast live. It could hardly have been more irregular: it was broadcast in loose succession on different days at different start times in prime time, and the length of the broadcast varied between 25 and 50 minutes.

Widowed Mrs Martingale and her four children inherit a castle in the will of an elderly relative. When they move in they find dear old Miss Button, the housekeeper, a whole host of cats and, odder still, a boy called Christopher Sixpence who keeps appearing and disappearing. What is he doing there?

This short-lived French TV series from 1950 features police investigations tinged with astrology. In nine episodes of about ten minutes each, in a humorous style, a duo of private detectives investigates a series of murders involving a marriage agency.

Proposed murder/mystery/thriller series presented by Vincent Price. Was never picked up for air but the pilot episode "Freedom to Get Lost" was eventually released as an extra on the DVD for Price's appearance on Sinister Image.

The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong was an American television series which aired on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. It starred Chinese American silent film and talkie star Anna May Wong, who played a detective in a role written specifically for her. The Gallery of Madame Liu Tsong was the first U.S. television series starring an Asian-American series lead.

The Vampira Show was an American variety show hosted by Vampira. The series aired on the Los Angeles ABC television affiliate KABC-TV from April 30, 1954, through April 2, 1955. The series was produced and created by Hunt Stromberg, Jr., and featured the Vampira character created by Maila Nurmi. Though the show was unseen outside of the Los Angeles area, The Vampira Show has become a cult classic, spawning fan clubs the world over.