DVD Review HTF DVD Review: Ellery Queen Mysteries (1 Viewer)

[Steve...O]

Bought mine at Costco for $29.99 and have been loving this ever since. These episodes are highly entertaining. True, a little campy at times, but that's part of the charm. The big name guest stars are a joy to watch (just saw George Burns and Bill Demarest in the same episode yesterday) and I love John Hillerman's recurring character.


E1 deserves mucho kudos for this release. The print quality is very good and there are English subtitles plus a booklet of liner notes. This set and the A&C TV set that they produced are among the best produced in my collection. These guys do good work.


Fans of mystery novels will especially appreciate the "Mad Hatter" episode. The characters' last names are all noted mystery authors (Gardner, Biggers, Doyle, etc.). By coincidence, David Wayne played the villain "Matt Hatter" on Batman.

Steve "also waiting for the Snoop Sisters" O

 

[GlennH]

This set is the Amazon deal of the day, for $19.99, today only (March 4). I ordered one.


I used to enjoy Columbo and those type shows, but somehow I don't remember ever watching Ellery Queen Mysteries. Based on reviews I'm sure it will be enjoyable.

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched this set go on sale today with only a little regret (since I paid Amazon's sale price back when it was first released). Those new to the show should absolutely love it. These are crackerjack mysteries done in period with great guest stars of the era in every episode. A must see for mystery lovers!

 

[Adam Gregorich]

At $19.99 I took the plunge. I haven't seen it before, but my wife and I love watching Columbo re-runs on DVD. With both Todd and Matt endorsing I don't see how I could go wrong.

 

[gene c]

I bought this set at Fry's on a whim a few months ago and it's as good as I remember it being. The cast is great, the writing as good as you could hope for and the theme music is a hoot! If Columbo's father was a mystery writer/detective in the '40's he'd have been Ellery Queen.


I also like the period cloths, cars, and furniture. John Hillerman is so smug in his re-accurring role as radio detective Simon Brimmer you just want to reach out and slap the tv screen. And Ken Swofford is great as a newspaper columnist (stop the presses!). And there's a silliness about it that adds to it's charm. I was going to watch one episode a week but wound up burning through the whole thing in less than 2 weeks. It's a keeper.

 

[younger1968]

Ellery Queen is a good show to have like murder/mystery party, because you have to determine who done it by the clues. I bought the show and it is very good, especially with acting/scripts. I would strongly recommend this show to anyone who likes murder/mysteries/solving. This is a real good show that lets you think, especially with about 5-8 mins left when Ellery comes on and says do you know who has done it, because i do.

 

[Dave Jessup]

My wife and I have been rolling through the series (finally got hold of it a few weeks back), and we're coming to the end of the run. Looked at episode 21, "The Adventure of the Hardhearted Huckster," this evening. While enjoying the recreation of early "live" television and the power ad agencies had over the programming at that point... we're wondering: At one point we see a cowboy ventriloquist and his dummy (presumably one of the acts for a variety show) exchange words with one of the suspects. Looks sorta like - and sounds an awful like - Neville Brand. But no credit for the character on this episode, no credit for this show for Mr. Brand. Check it out, from 15:02 to 15:23 on the E1 disc. We'd love to know what you think.

 

[Wiseguy]

Not only do they superimpose the Mystery Movie theme over the credits but they show the syndicated opening that states the title is Too Many Suspects, an opening that was never shown on NBC. Then for some strange reason they remove the audio from the Universal logo (the last chance to hear the 1974-75 Univeral music) although on the 22 episodes the original Universal music is heard (the 1975-76 version). Then they name the set "Ellery Queen Mysteries" although the word mysteries was never used on the movie or series. But this is all nitpicking and shouldn't keep anyone from buying the set.