Three episodes of "Colonel March of Scotland Yard" edited together for theatrical release.Three episodes of "Colonel March of Scotland Yard" edited together for theatrical release.Three episodes of "Colonel March of Scotland Yard" edited together for theatrical release.
Patricia Owens
- Betty Hartley
- (archive footage)
Dana Wynter
- Francine Rapport
- (as Dagmar Wynter)
Peter Butterworth
- Bank clerk
- (uncredited)
Cy Endfield
- Man leaving British Museum library
- (uncredited)
Pat Hagan
- Police Constable at Bank
- (uncredited)
Victor Harrington
- Customer in Bank
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Leo Davis
- John Dickson Carr(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaA pilot comprising three stories which would become episodes of the TV series 'Colonel March of Scotland Yard', filmed in the Autumn of 1952 at Nettlefold Studios: "Hot Money (1956)," "Death in the Dressing Room (1956)," and "The New Invisible Man (1956)."
- GoofsIn the final segment, 'The New Invisible Man', Major Rodman is kept in the police station. It is not clear who, therefore, has lit the fire in his sitting room, and kept it blazing all day.
- Quotes
Insp. Ames: The radiator! Now why didn't I think of that?
Col. March: My dear Ames. Please don't embarrass us both by forcing me to answer that question.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: LONDON
- ConnectionsEdited from Colonel March of Scotland Yard (1954)
Featured review
Boris Karloff Is Great But The Print Quality Is Only So-So.
It's really too bad about the print quality because COLONEL MARCH INVESTIGATES allows us the opportunity to watch BK thoroughly enjoying himself portraying the one-eyed Scotland Yard detective who heads up the one-man "Department Of Queer Complaints" (this name certainly wouldn't fly today). The overall tone is lightly humorous even though 3 murders occur, one in each of the three stories depicted. Contrary to what is generally believed, INVESTIGATES is not part of the COLONEL MARCH TV series. INVESTIGATES was shot in 1952 as the pilot episode for the TV series which would be made later.
The three segments were taken from a series of stories by John Dickson Carr (1906-1977), an American writer of detective fiction who lived in England for a number of years and used a number of aliases. The Colonel March stories were written under the name Carter Dickson. The three stories were adapted by blacklisted American writers Walter Bernstein and Abraham Polonsky who did not receive screen credit. The director was Donald Ginsberg but, surprisingly, the direction is credited to Cy Endfield of ZULU fame, another blacklisted American artist.
The film opens with Colonel March introducing himself and showing us a cabinet containing a collection of curios. The first one is a grotesque rubber mask. A masked thief robs a bank and kills a guard. A cashier tracks him to a lawyer's office but the thief and the money have disappeared. Next out of the cabinet are a Javanese dagger and a ticket telling the story of a murdered Javanese dancer. Finally a nosy neighbor witnesses disembodied gloves commit a murder. Inspector Ames of Scotland Yard (Ewan Roberts) investigates all three incidents without success, so it's left to March to figure things out.
The Carr stories used are HOT MONEY, MURDER IN THE DRESSING ROOM, and THE NEW INVISIBLE MAN. Joining Karloff and Ewan Roberts are several dependable British performers including Richard Wattis, Sheila Burrell, Joan Sims, and Ronald Leigh-Hunt. The production values are minimal but if a quality print had been used, they would look better than they do. The same holds true for the audio. It's of variable quality but isn't that hard to follow. Karloff's voice, not surprisingly, comes off best. The background music is by conductor and arranger John Lanchberry. Episodes of the later TV series can be found online but their print quality is even worse.
The three segments were taken from a series of stories by John Dickson Carr (1906-1977), an American writer of detective fiction who lived in England for a number of years and used a number of aliases. The Colonel March stories were written under the name Carter Dickson. The three stories were adapted by blacklisted American writers Walter Bernstein and Abraham Polonsky who did not receive screen credit. The director was Donald Ginsberg but, surprisingly, the direction is credited to Cy Endfield of ZULU fame, another blacklisted American artist.
The film opens with Colonel March introducing himself and showing us a cabinet containing a collection of curios. The first one is a grotesque rubber mask. A masked thief robs a bank and kills a guard. A cashier tracks him to a lawyer's office but the thief and the money have disappeared. Next out of the cabinet are a Javanese dagger and a ticket telling the story of a murdered Javanese dancer. Finally a nosy neighbor witnesses disembodied gloves commit a murder. Inspector Ames of Scotland Yard (Ewan Roberts) investigates all three incidents without success, so it's left to March to figure things out.
The Carr stories used are HOT MONEY, MURDER IN THE DRESSING ROOM, and THE NEW INVISIBLE MAN. Joining Karloff and Ewan Roberts are several dependable British performers including Richard Wattis, Sheila Burrell, Joan Sims, and Ronald Leigh-Hunt. The production values are minimal but if a quality print had been used, they would look better than they do. The same holds true for the audio. It's of variable quality but isn't that hard to follow. Karloff's voice, not surprisingly, comes off best. The background music is by conductor and arranger John Lanchberry. Episodes of the later TV series can be found online but their print quality is even worse.
helpful•00
- TheCapsuleCritic
- May 6, 2024
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Department of Queer Complaints
- Filming locations
- 140 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, England, UK(exterior Barclays Bank)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 10 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Colonel March Investigates (1953) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer