| COLONEL MARCH OF SCOTLAND YARD BORIS KARLOFF |
John Dickson Carr was a mystery author who specialised in locked-room whodunnits and
other 'impossible' crimes: murder mysteries that seemed to defy possibility. Under the
pen-name Carter Dickson, he published a series of tales called 'The Department of Queer
Complaints', in which a master criminologist is called upon to solve 'X-Files'-type murders.
'Colonel March of Scotland Yard' was a syndicated series, starring Boris Karloff in episodes
based on Dickson Carr's 'Queer Complaints' stories. The production budget for this series
was laughably low; walls and furniture are clearly flimsy sets, and the actors are obviously
taking care not to break anything. When a door opens, the doorframe wobbles. Karloff's
splendid professionalism and innate dignity do much to offset this problem.
As the tweedy Colonel March, Karloff wore a patch over his left eye, although the scripts
never explained how March lost this eye. I found it plausible that Scotland Yard in the 1950s
might retain a one-eyed detective. On the other hand, watching Peter Falk in episodes of
'Columbo' in the 1970s, I find a similar circumstance very implausible. Falk is a brilliant actor,
but he clearly has a prosthetic eye ... and I can't believe that the Los Angeles police force in
the 1970s would retain a one-eyed detective. In 'Colonel March', the eyepatch obscuring
Karloff's vision causes him just occasionally to bump into one of the wobbly sets.
It's no surprise that each episode of 'Colonel March' ends with Karloff tidily solving the
mystery. Unfortunately, in some cases the explanation verged on the supernatural. This
violates the spirit of the 'impossible' crime, in which the solution (however implausible) must
still remain within the laws of scientific possibility.
Karloff was ably abetted by Ewan Roberts, and by veteran character actor Richard Wattis ...
who wore hornrimmed glasses here, and gave a performance less effeminate than usual for
him. For all its many flaws and its very dated appearance, 'Colonel March' remains enjoyable
for mystery fans in general and fans of Boris Karloff in particular.
1956 SERIES
DISC ONE:
THE SORCERER
THE HEADLESS HAT
THE SECOND MONA LISA
THE TALKING HEAD
DISC TWO:
HOT MONEY
DEATH IN THE DRESSING ROOM
THE NEW INVISIBLE MAN
PASSAGE AT ARMS
DISC THREE:
STRANGE EVENT AT ROWEN FALL
STOLEN CRIME
PRESENT TENSE
THE MISGUIDED VASSLE
DISC FOUR:
THE INVISIBLE KNIFE
CASE OF THE KIDNAPPED POODLE
DISC FIVE:
THE DEVIL SELLS HIS SOUL
MURDER IS PERMANENT
DEATH AND THE OTHER MONKEY
ERROR AT DAYBREAK
DISC SIX:
THE MISSING LINK
THE DEADLY GIFT
THE SILENT VOW
THE CASE OF THE LIVELY GHOST
DISC SEVEN:
THE TALKING HEAD
CASE OF THE SILVER CURTAIN
AT NIGHT ALL CATS GREY
ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN
other 'impossible' crimes: murder mysteries that seemed to defy possibility. Under the
pen-name Carter Dickson, he published a series of tales called 'The Department of Queer
Complaints', in which a master criminologist is called upon to solve 'X-Files'-type murders.
'Colonel March of Scotland Yard' was a syndicated series, starring Boris Karloff in episodes
based on Dickson Carr's 'Queer Complaints' stories. The production budget for this series
was laughably low; walls and furniture are clearly flimsy sets, and the actors are obviously
taking care not to break anything. When a door opens, the doorframe wobbles. Karloff's
splendid professionalism and innate dignity do much to offset this problem.
As the tweedy Colonel March, Karloff wore a patch over his left eye, although the scripts
never explained how March lost this eye. I found it plausible that Scotland Yard in the 1950s
might retain a one-eyed detective. On the other hand, watching Peter Falk in episodes of
'Columbo' in the 1970s, I find a similar circumstance very implausible. Falk is a brilliant actor,
but he clearly has a prosthetic eye ... and I can't believe that the Los Angeles police force in
the 1970s would retain a one-eyed detective. In 'Colonel March', the eyepatch obscuring
Karloff's vision causes him just occasionally to bump into one of the wobbly sets.
It's no surprise that each episode of 'Colonel March' ends with Karloff tidily solving the
mystery. Unfortunately, in some cases the explanation verged on the supernatural. This
violates the spirit of the 'impossible' crime, in which the solution (however implausible) must
still remain within the laws of scientific possibility.
Karloff was ably abetted by Ewan Roberts, and by veteran character actor Richard Wattis ...
who wore hornrimmed glasses here, and gave a performance less effeminate than usual for
him. For all its many flaws and its very dated appearance, 'Colonel March' remains enjoyable
for mystery fans in general and fans of Boris Karloff in particular.
1956 SERIES
DISC ONE:
THE SORCERER
THE HEADLESS HAT
THE SECOND MONA LISA
THE TALKING HEAD
DISC TWO:
HOT MONEY
DEATH IN THE DRESSING ROOM
THE NEW INVISIBLE MAN
PASSAGE AT ARMS
DISC THREE:
STRANGE EVENT AT ROWEN FALL
STOLEN CRIME
PRESENT TENSE
THE MISGUIDED VASSLE
DISC FOUR:
THE INVISIBLE KNIFE
CASE OF THE KIDNAPPED POODLE
DISC FIVE:
THE DEVIL SELLS HIS SOUL
MURDER IS PERMANENT
DEATH AND THE OTHER MONKEY
ERROR AT DAYBREAK
DISC SIX:
THE MISSING LINK
THE DEADLY GIFT
THE SILENT VOW
THE CASE OF THE LIVELY GHOST
DISC SEVEN:
THE TALKING HEAD
CASE OF THE SILVER CURTAIN
AT NIGHT ALL CATS GREY
ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN
