Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murder mysteries. Dannay and Lee wrote most of the novels and short story collections in which Ellery Queen appears as a character, and these books were among the most popular American mysteries published between 1929 and 1971. Under the pseudonym Ellery Queen, they also edited more than thirty anthologies of crime fiction and true crime. Dannay founded, and for many years edited, the crime fiction magazine Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, which has been published continuously from 1941 to the present. From 1961 onwards, Dannay and Lee commissioned other authors to write thrillers using the pseudonym Ellery Queen, but not featuring Ellery Queen as a character; some such novels were juvenile and were credited to Ellery Queen Jr. They also wrote four mysteries under the pseudonym Barnaby Ross, which featured the detective Drury Lane. Several movies, radio shows, and television shows were based on their works.
John Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published using the pseudonyms Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson, and Roger Fairbairn.
Valentine Dyall was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series Appointment with Fear.
Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen, known professionally as Ernest Dudley, was an English actor, dramatist, novelist, journalist and screenwriter.
An armchair detective is a fictional investigator who does not personally visit a crime scene or interview witnesses; instead, the detective either reads the story of the crime in a newspaper or has it recounted by another person. As the armchair detective never sees any of the investigation, the reader can attempt to solve the mystery on the same terms as the detective.
Patrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge were pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler, Richard Wilson Webb, Martha Mott Kelley and Mary Louise White Aswell wrote detective fiction. In some foreign countries their books have been published under the variant Quentin Patrick. Most of the stories were written by Webb and Wheeler in collaboration, or by Wheeler alone. Their most famous creation is the amateur sleuth Peter Duluth. In 1963, the story collection The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. In 1949, the book Puzzle for Pilgrims won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière International Prize, the most prestigious award for crime and detective fiction in France.
Richard Ollie Crane was a character actor whose career spanned three decades in films and television. His early career included many uncredited performances in feature films made in the 1940s.
John Herbert Sharp was a British actor who made numerous appearances on television during a career spanning 42 years.
Eille Norwood was an English stage actor, director, and playwright best known today for playing Sherlock Holmes in a series of silent films.
Man on the Run is a 1949 British film noir directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Edward Chapman, Kenneth More and Laurence Harvey.
The Man in Black is a 1950 British thriller film directed by Francis Searle and starring Betty Ann Davies, Sheila Burrell and Sid James. It was adapted by Hammer Film Productions from the popular British radio series Appointment with Fear featuring Valentine Dyall. Dyall here provides the on screen introduction to the film, as "The Story-Teller."
Inspector Hornleigh is a fictional British detective from Scotland Yard, the protagonist of a popular BBC radio series of the 1930s, three British films, a German television series, and three books.
The Broken Horseshoe is a 1953 British "B" crime film directed by Martyn C. Webster and starring Robert Beatty, Elizabeth Sellars, Peter Coke, and Hugh Kelly. It was based on a BBC television series of the same title from the previous year. A surgeon is drawn into a murder case.
Salute the Toff is a 1952 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley and Carol Marsh. The film was based on the 1941 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the sixth in the series featuring upper-class sleuth Richard Rollinson, also known as "The Toff". This film and another Toff adaptation, Hammer the Toff, were shot back-to-back at Nettlefold Studios in the summer of 1951. They were released to cinemas in January and May 1952 respectively.
Eric Taylor was an American screenwriter with over fifty titles to his credit. He began writing crime fiction for the pulps before working in Hollywood. He contributed scripts to The Crime Club, Crime Doctor, Dick Tracy, Ellery Queen, and The Whistler series, as well as six Universal monster movies.
Julia Lang was a film and radio actress and radio presenter. Born in London, she is best known for presenting the BBC radio programme Listen with Mother.
Meet Simon Cherry is a 1949 British mystery film directed by Godfrey Grayson, and an adaptation of the popular BBC radio series Meet the Rev., featuring the crime solving cleric.
Room to Let is a 1950 British historical thriller film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Jimmy Hanley, Valentine Dyall and Constance Smith. It was adapted from the BBC radio play by Margery Allingham, broadcast in 1947.
