The Wide World of Mystery

I remember certain episodes of this late-night ABC show, including the one where Clifton Davis owes gangster Moses Gunn money, but sets up a plan to electrocute him instead. I also recall seeing an old TV Guide listing an episode that had Mark Hamill in the cast, although he's not listed here. I also recall the John Astin and Patty Duke episode, made when they were married, which was more of a downer than regular episodes which dealt with crime stories. This one was a more serious drama about an ailing child, with the Astins as social workers.

I also remember a comedy musical version of "Superman", called "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman" (which I mistakenly remembered as "Up, Up and Away", that aired in this show's time slot, although it may have been considered a separate special from the series. I recall the cast included Malachi Throne and Al Molinaro (whom I confused at the time with Vic Tayback), with Lesley Ann Warren as Lois Lane and also with Loretta Swit, plus Geoffrey Horne from "River Kwai".

I remember this series fondly from when I was a young adult back in the 1970's. Originally, if I remember correctly, it was called the ABC Wide World Mystery. These were 90 minutes videotaped (PAL format converted to NTSC) commercials included that ran from 11:30 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. EST that were originally called the "Thriller" series in Great Britain. They were taped in England and starred one or two American actors with the rest of the cast being British. Some of my favorites were "Someone at the Top of the Stairs" starring Donna Mills; "Nurse Will Make It Better" a.k.a. "Devil's Web" starring Diana Dors (in a striking character performance; "The Eyes Have It" starring Sinead Cusack (daughter of Cyril Cusack, wife of Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune, Lolita, etc.): "Murder on the Midnight Express" starring Judy Geeson; "Sign It Death" starring Francesca Annis; "Screamer" starring Pamela Franklin; and one starring Carol Lynley (the title escapes me at the moment). All of these have been released to DVD recently, although they may not play on certain DVD players as they were 1) In PAL format 2)Made for another DVD "zone" (not the United States "zone.")

Then, if memory serves, the United States jumped on board and made some entries in the series, on videotape (NTSC this time) 90 minutes, including commercials. These generally lacked the style and intricate video "editing" of their British counterparts, but were interesting in their own way. Over the years I have attempted to reconstruct a list of these episodes and their stars from memory as they have not been listed anywhere in their entirety. I remember most, if not all, of them, at least in part. Some of my favorites were: "The Invasion of Carol Enders" starring Meredith Baxter-Birney (now divorced and back to just Baxter) and Christopher Connelly (now deceased); "The Cloning of Clifford Swimmer" starring Lance Kerwin, Sheree North, and Peter Haskell (now retired and a lawyer, I hear); One starring Carol Williard and Hurd Hatfield (Title?); One starring Tige Andrews (The Mod Squad, etc)(Title?); "Distant Early Warning" starring Mary Frann (now deceased; of the "Newhart" show, remember her?); One starring Susan Strasberg (now deceased) and Michael Parks (Adam "The Bible", "Then Came Bronson" TV series (where's he been?); One starring Clifton Davis (Title?) mentioned by a previous writer; "The Last Bride of Salem" starring Lois Nettleton and Bradford Dillman (I think); One starring Paul Michael Glaser and Kim Hunter (now deceased, "Planet of the Apes" etc.); One starring Peter Coffield (now deceased) and Tisha Sterling (daughter of Ann Sothern and Robert Sterling); One starring Stephen Collins (Seventh Heaven, etc) and Heather McRae (I think); One starring Tim Mathison and Heather McRae.

And finally, "The Break" (is this the correct title?) was shown separately from both of these other two groups. It starred Robert Shaw and his then wife Mary Ure (both deceased), but I guess you could some- what include it in with these as it was 1) Shot on videotape (PAL, I think) 2)90 minutes in length including commercials 3) shown in the ABC Wide World of Mystery slot at least once (11:30 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. EST)

This was a good series that I would like to see more detail on the IMDb.