7/10
Good, but nothing more
16 April 2020
Not originally meant as a TV series, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre was a series of B movies, the movies played second in a double feature. In this case the movies were all based on books by Edgar Wallace (surprise, surprise!).

The movies are all murder mysteries and generally involve your standard "murder committed (maybe with a bit of scene setting) - cops arrive and investigate - detective solves case" formula. There are a few exceptions (one of the best episodes has an insurance investigator as the detective).

The plots are pretty good. The murderer is generally not that predictable and there is a fair amount of intrigue, twists and turns. Performances are solid, even for minor characters, and the feel of the movies is one of quality.

However, the character engagement is quite limited. This isn't Poirot: there's no colourful recurring central character. Nearly every movie has a different bunch of characters, including the lead detective, and it's all straightforward, by-the-book policework. There's very little in the way of sub-plots or humour: it's all pretty dour.

Overall: interesting enough, but not brilliant.
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