''The Best in Mystery'' is an American anthology and mystery television series that ran for three years as a summer replacement series for the

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

'' The Big Story''. The series aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from July 16, 1954, to September 3, 1954, presenting eight episodes on Friday nights from 9 to 9:30 p.m., from July 1955 to September 1955, and from July 13, 1956, to August 31, 1956. The 1955 broadcasts featured MCA-TV productions, most of which had been broadcast on ''

The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse ''The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse'' is an American dramatic anthology series that aired on ABC from 1953 to 1955, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. The show was hosted by Arlene Dahl (1953), Anita Colby (1954), and, finally, Polly Bergen (1955). Initially the s ...

'' or '' Studio 57''. Episodes aired in 1956 featured Dick Powell as Willie Dante, owner of the San Francisco night club Dante's Inferno. They were first broadcast as part of ''

Four Star Playhouse ''Four Star Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956. Four Star Playhouse was owned by Four Star International. Its episodes ranged anywhere from surreal mysteries, such as "The Man on the Train", to light comedie ...

'' on CBS. The program was sponsored on alternate weeks by

Simoniz Simoniz USA, Inc. (Pronounced "Simon eyes") is an American manufacturer of automobile and janitorial cleaning products. The original Simoniz Company was founded in 1910, making it the oldest car care brand in the United States. History Founded i ...

and

American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members ...

, with American Tobacco and the Toni Company alternating in 1956.

Guest stars

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

Tom Drake Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

* Elizabeth Patterson *Harry Harvey, Jr. *

Ross Elliott Ross Elliott (born Elliott Blum, June 18, 1917 – August 12, 1999) was an American television and film character actor. He began his acting career in the Mercury Theatre, where he performed in ''The War of the Worlds (radio), The War of t ...

Mary Field Mary Field (born Olivia Rockefeller; June 10, 1909 – June 12, 1996) was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles. Early life She was born in New York City. As a child, she never knew her biological parents; ...

Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan (October 16, 1900 – November 5, 1969) was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually ...

Jay Novello Jay Novello (born Michael Romano, August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor. Early life Novello was born in Chicago to Joseph Romano and Maria (Salemme) Romano. He had three siblin ...

George Nader George Garfield Nader, Jr. (October 19, 1921 – February 4, 2002) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, including ''Sins of Jezebel'' (1953), ''Congo Crossing'' (1956), and ''The Female Animal'' ...

* Carolyn Jones *

Fay Roope Fay Roope (born Winfield Harding Roope; October 20, 1893 – September 13, 1961) was a Harvard graduate and a character actor who appeared in American theater in New York City from the 1920s through 1950, and in American film and television from ...

* Lynne Roberts *

Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville in Vermilion County in eastern Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in ...

Kim Spalding Kim Spalding (born Ross F. Latimer; December 7, 1915 – November 18, 2000) was an American film, television and theatre actor. Life and career Spalding was born in Washington, Missouri, the son of Ross Latimer. He began his film career in ...

* Marilyn Erskine

Episodes

*''Lullabye - July 16, 1954'' *''Lost Kid - July 23, 1954'' *''Death Makes a Pass - July 30, 1954'' *''Account Closed - August 6, 1954'' *''The Watchers and the Watched - August 13, 1954'' *''Frozen Escape - August 20, 1954'' *''Death Has No System - August 27, 1954'' *''Victim Ann Norville - September 3, 1954''

References

External links

*
The Best in Mystery at ctva.biz
' * 1954 American television series debuts 1954 American television series endings 1950s American crime television series 1950s American anthology television series English-language television shows NBC original programming {{US-tv-prog-stub