A plume et à sang

Ellery Queen was one of the greatest television programs of the seventies, and given the short history of the medium, that makes it one of the greatest of all time. Splendid atmosphere, above-average acting and writing, and a wonderful gimmick -- the way Ellery (Jim Hutton) would turn to the camera and tell viewers that they'd already seen all the clues that were necessary to solve the mystery. What separated Ellery Queen from shows like Perry Mason was the fact that it played fair -- everything you needed to know was presented during the first 45 minutes, and if you were smart enough you could figure it out yourself.

Perhaps my view is colored by nostalgia -- I was 13 years old when the show aired. The show is rarely repeated -- the last time I caught a rerun was more than 20 years ago. It's hard to know whether my viewpoint would be different today, though I certainly wish I had the opportunity to find out. (Universal Studios, take note: Here's one guy who would buy the DVD box set.)

Let me add a story here. I remember going door to door one night in 1976, collecting payments for my newspaper route, and I noticed that a family was gathered in the living room, watching "Ellery Queen."

"Heck," I said. "I started watching that show, but it was so easy to figure out, I decided I might as well go around banging on doors instead."

They looked at me, a little dumbfounded. "You figured it out?"

"Sure," I said. "The killer had to be someone who had a copy of the updated movie script. There was only one person who had the copy, and that was..."

Well, I can't remember the actual name of the villain, not all these years later. But I remember these people looking at each other, and saying it made sense, and darned if I might be right, and they'd have to stay tuned to see if I really did figure it out. And of course I was right. For weeks, every time I saw these people, it was all they could talk about. How on earth could I have figured it out? Of all people, their 13-year-old paperboy?

I never did tell them the episode was a repeat.

Ellery Queen, written and produced by the same people who brought us "Murder, She Wrote" nine years later, was ahead of its time with its 1940s atmosphere and mystery plots, older casting and older guest stars.

By the time the mid-'80s came around, the demographics had changed enough to make "Murder, She Wrote" a breakout hit -- but in the '70s, that audience wasn't there yet. It's a shame because Ellery Queen was a superior show in every way to the Angela Lansbury series.

Hutton and Wayne were perfect as Ellery and the Inspector. John Hillerman, in the beginning episodes, was a radio detective and was preferable to the later budinsky, a newspaper man played by Ken Swofford. The pilot for this series, guest-starring Ray Milland, was one of the best ever made, complete with a radio show that had makeshift sound effects.

Guest stars in the series included Tab Hunter, Signe Hasso, Howard Duff, Ida Lupino, Susan Sarandon, Anne Francis, Donald O'Connor, many others. A pity it wasn't a hit - though, done any later, Hutton would not have been alive to play Queen, a role that fit him like a glove.

And thus we approach the wrap-up for another Ellery Queen mystery. This direct audience involvement was just one of the great touches in this all-to-brief series. "You have all the clues..." Well - yes and no. For example, it might have helped to know that, in 1940's Manhattan, telephone numbers were 6 digits long, not the 7 digits we knew in the 70's, so the victim was REALLY dialing...(I won't give it away). OTOH, I had to stop reading TV Guide when I watched this show. This was back in the days when TV Guide had to stretch to fill pages, so they not only gave story synopses, they printed Guest Cast lists for network series. But unfortunately it seemed that The Killer was always listed first in the Guest Cast (or second if the victim was first.) And that was a clue that even dear Ellery lacked!

Jim Hutton is one of the best actors to come out of Hollywood. His performance in the Green Berets with John Wayne is memorable and you come to connect with his character in a very intimate way. As Ellery Queen, Jim Hutton really became the character he played. His boyish good looks, mannerism, and characterizations where beyond measure. The show itself was very well written and the guest actors where also exceptional. I remember waiting in anticipation each week to watch the show. Every show was riveting and the plot superb. The series became the measuring stick I used to judge the quality of other mystery movies and series ever since. It was a great loss to the industry when he died from liver cancer.

My wife and I really looked forward to watching this show every week during its all too short run. Jim Hutton was excellent as the boyish but shrewd Ellery, David Wayne was outstanding as his father, Inspector Queen and Tom Reese was terrific as the lumbering Sergeant Velie. John Hillerman, later Magnum's sidekick, was super as the arrogant Simon Brimmer, Ellery's rival, and Ken Swofford was good as the down to earth reporter, Frank Flanagan. The mysteries were enacted and the clues spread around so you could play at home. I don't think we got more than a couple right. Some of the shows were adapted from the Ellery Queen books and some were originals, but all were very fine quality. Very good guest stars were featured every week, some were up and coming, but many were old veterans. I would love to get this on DVD.