Rare TV Crime Shows

Here are some crime TV Shows that are one-shot "pilot" shows or simply rare. Available as Mpeg2 digital files.

TV Pilots and Single Episodes

The Shadow: Case of the Cotton Kimono
(1954) Lamont Cranston investigates the murder of a beautiful young singer. Suspects include the woman's lecherous music teacher and her jealous boyfriend, but only the Shadow knows what evil lurks in the heart of the real culprit. Starring Tom Helmore, Paula Raymond; Directed by Charles Haas.

The Shadow: Invisible Avenger
(1958) 58m. TV pilot for a Shadow series. The legendary mind-clouding man of mystery is back in this film noir tale set in New Orleans, where nothing is ever as it seems. Exiled Spanish leader Pablo Ramirez is hiding out on Bourbon Street as plans are laid to overthrow the oppressive dictatorship that currently exists in his country. A fascist generalissimo has planted assassins in the city to dispose of Ramirez and thwart his impending coup d'etat. Lamont Cranston (Richard Derr) -- aka the Shadow -- is summoned to protect Ramirez and thus ensure a successful revolution. The Shadow, summons up his supernatural powers of hypnosis and invisibility to save Ramirez and stop his enemies' diabolical exploits.

Bulldog Drummond: The Ludlow Affair
(1952) Douglas Fairbanks Jr. introduces this small-screen adaptation of H.C. McNeile's popular character, the suave sleuth with a taste for fast cars and beautiful women. Robert Beatty plays Drummond, while future Hammer Films perennial Michael Ripper plays his faithful pal, Kelly.

Unsolved
(1960) Someone kills racketeer and club owner, Martin "Mugsy" Heidel in this thinly veiled retelling of the unsolved 1947 murder of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, the infamous Las Vegas developer. Starring Simon Oakland, Joe DeSantis; Directed by Charles Rondeau.

Chicago 2-1-2
(1957) A serial arsonist is terrorizing Chicago with a string of deadly blazes. Inspector Ed McCook suspects that the perpetrator is among the crowd of curious spectators at the crime scene. Starring Frank Lovejoy, Roy Thinnes; Directed by Norman Foster.

The Bogus Green
(1951) Before the Big Top comes to town, circus advance man Brass McGannon arrives to grease the wheels, making all the necessary arrangements with local officials, police and press. But counterfeit money has also been appearing wherever the traveling show goes, spelling big trouble for McGannon. Starring Preston Foster, Martha Vickers; Directed by Lew Landers.

Cases of Eddie Drake: Shoot the Works
(1952) Only 13 episodes were shot on film of this detective show starring Don Haggerty.

Burke's Law: Who Killed Jason Shaw?
(1964) A call girl returns to her posh suite at the Bel-Air Gardens to find her client in the shower - dead! Captain Burke investigates and makes a startling discovery. Gene Barry as Amos Burke, with Regis Toomey, Gary Conway Tammy Grimes, Burgess Meredith, Keenan Wynn.

The Court of Last Resort

(1957-58) 26 episodes were made about criminal law experts aiding unjustly convicted defendants. Stars Paul Birch as Erle Stanley Gardner.

Clarence Redding Case The infamous "lipstick murderer" is a fiend who stalks and murders young girls. When a drifter is accused of killing Annie Bingham, Investigator Sam Larsen has just three weeks to find the real killer before Redding is executed.
Jim Thompson Case Indian chief Jim Thompson, convicted of killing his wife, appeals to the court.
John Smith Case During his long imprisonment for the slaying of a grocer, John Smith did not receive a single letter, have any visitors nor communicate with the outside world. But he did continue to protest his innocence to the warden, who gave Smith's story to investigator Sam Larsen of the Court of Last Resort.
Mary Morales Case A newspaper reporter asks the Court of Last Resort to investigate the circumstances that led to the conviction of a young Mexican mother for first-degree murder. The reporter feels that the woman was found guilty because of prejudice against her rather than concrete evidence.

The Lone Wolf

Las Vegas Story In this first episode of the series Lanyard arrives in Las Vegas on vacation, where he gets involved with a cop and his brother who is wanted for murder.
Beverly Hills Story Lanyard meets a con artist.
Oil Story Lanyard is asked to find a woman's six-year-old son, whom she believes was kidnapped by his father. Lanyard searches for the boy through the oil fields of Oklahoma.
Karachi Story Lanyard protects the son of religious cult leader.
Stamp Story Lanyard masquerades as a stamp collector after being hired to recover a rare and valuable Algerian stamp, but everything is not as it appears.

Man Behind the Badge
(1953-55) Police anthology series hosted by Charles Bickford.
Capital Crime Laurin Goin, director of the Pittsbugh and Allegheny Crime Laboratory, tries to find a killer who has left some imperceptible clues.
Dying Past State's Attorney Lawrence DeShaw investigates several complaints against a bitter, angry old man who is found beaten to death.
Hot Stock Katherine LeRoy, of the Nebraska Bureau of Securities, tries to trap a con man who sells unregistered securities.
Priceless Passport A former immigration officer comes out of retirement to expose the illegal selling of American passports in Mexico.
Second Chance Charles Wade led two lives in his effort to combat crime.

Front Page Detective

(1951-52) Edmund Lowe stars as David Chase. Stories from "Front Page Detective" magazine.

Seven Seas to Danger (1951) A smuggler stows away on a Siamese freighter bound for the U.S. so he can keep a close eye on a cache of stolen diamonds. Starring Edmund Lowe.
Little Black Book (1951) Newspaper columnist David Chase is harassed by underworld figures who are seeking a little black book he supposedly possesses. Joe Besser guest stars. Starring Edmund Lowe.
Murder Rides the Night Train (1951) A racketeer's enemies plan to stop his train to Washington permanently.

Richard Diamond, Private Eye

(1957-58) David Janssen stars as Richard Diamond, a character created by Blake Edwards.

Picture of Fear A pretty young photographer snaps a candid shot of some hunters in the wild while on vacation at a remote wilderness lodge. She turns to Richard Diamond for protection when she discovers that the hunters are criminals who will commit murder in order to prevent the photos from being published.
Merry-Go-Round Case A gas station attendant is murdered in a botched hold-up. The evidence points to one of Richard Diamond's war-buddies.

Checkmate

(1960-62) Anthony George, Doug McClure and Sebastian Cabot. Don Corey and Jed Sills operate Checkmate, Inc., a very high priced detective agency in San Francisco. Helping them protect the lives of their clients is British criminologist (once an Oxford professor) Carl Hyatt.

The Human Touch A master-minded criminal, Alonzo Pace Graham (Peter Lorre), invents an elaborate scheme to kill Dr. Hyatt (Sebastian Cabot), but his plan fails because he did not take into account the value of the human bond of friendship.
Nice Guys Finish Last Angry at not being promoted to precinct captain, Don's detective friend (James Whitmore) frames a "murder" on an old high school rival (Dennis Patrick) whom he believes is responsible for the pass over. Chris Devlin helps with Checkmate's investigation by posing as a rookie cop.

Code 3 Ad

Code 3

(1956-57) US police series starring Richard Travis as Sheriff George Barnett and Denver Pyle as Sgt. Murchison.

Rookie Sheriff A young deputy's experience as a Czech refugee make him feel that brute force is essential. The man has seen his parents brutally killed.
The Sniper A woman suspects that her husband is the sniper who is terrorizing Los Angeles.
The Benson Case A killer tries to discover which of her cellmates is a police agent.
Man with Many Names Lt. Bill Hollis of the Forgery Detail is baffled by a clever forger. A mannerism of the man provides the clue that Hollis needs.

Follow That Man

(1949-56) Aka. "Man Against Crime." US detective series starring Ralph Bellamy as Mike Barnett.

Paradise Lost Barnett's best friend and fellow private-eye Jackson is murdered, leaving behind a clue in a copy of Milton's Paradise Lost that points to the killer.
Silken Touch Teaming up with an FBI agent, Mike investigates a series of truck hijackings.
The Iceman Barnett unlocks the mystery of a pair of thieves whose speciality is looting the rooms of hotel guests.
Fraternity of Five

The Third Man

(1959-63) Based on characters in the novel "The Third Man" by Graham Greene and in the 1949 movie of the same name. Starring Michael Rennie as Harry Lime and Jonathan Harris as Bradford Webster.

Man Who Died Twice Harry and Brad are on business in San Francisco when they discover a dead body in their hotel room. But when they return with the hotel manager, guess what, the body has vanished.
Dark Island The recovery of a golden goblet leads Harry Lime from London to Istanbul in his quest to solve its mystery.
A Little Knowledge Harry Lime has only been in Madrid for a few hours and already he has been shot at. Why would someone in Spain want him dead?
House of Bon Bons When Harry Lime bought a family business to save an old friend from bankruptcy, he never expected to see a 280% increase in profits in the first year. Harry and Brad fly to Zurich, Switzerland to find out why.

Public Prosecutor

(1947-48) Public Prosecutor was the first dramatic series to be shot on film, instead of being broadcast live. John Howard starred in the title role of a public prosecutor along with Anne Gwynne and Walter Sande. Each mystery with multiple suspects only runs 17 minutes!

Dead Man's Voice
Devil's Heart
Glamour Girls
Innocent Lion
Man Who Wasn't There
Missing Bullets
Missing Hour
Shattered Mirror
Strange Suicide
Thousand Terrors