True Crime Classics

Mr X

Originally Aired: July 16, 1957 A Case For Doctor Morelle #13, "Mr X," a mysterious patient with no memory or identification lies recovering in a hospital, while author Paula Maitland finds herself tormented by persistent anonymous telephone calls. The caller's voice, strange and unsettling, repeatedly asks about her overdue second novel, driving the successful writer to distraction and preventing her from working. Inspector Hood refers her to the brilliant Dr. Morelle, who agrees to visit her home that evening to hear the mysterious caller for himself. Miss Frayle, ever eager to help, insists on accompanying the doctor in case danger arises. However, before Dr. Morelle can investigate, Paula's husband arrives with a shocking allegation: he believes his wife never actually wrote her bestselling first novel, Broken Journey. He claims she returned from a holiday in Devon with the completed manuscript, but her inability to produce a second book reveals her as a fraud. As Dr. Morelle prepares to untangle this web of mystery, the connection between the amnesiac Mr. X and Paula Maitland's literary deception begins to emerge.

Poisoned Air

Originally Aired: July 9, 1957 A Case For Doctor Morelle #12, "Poisoned Air," Doctor Morelle and his secretary Miss Frayle are invited by Professor Hugo Russell to witness a demonstration of his new poisonous gas, designed to kill insect pests. The professor also mentions his upcoming wedding to his secretary, Miss Bella Goodwin, though his legendary absent-mindedness raises questions about whether he'll even remember to attend his own ceremony. When they arrive at the laboratory the next morning, tension crackles beneath the surface. The professor's assistant, the handsome Kurt Emmanuel from Vienna, harbors deep feelings for Bella and attempts to convince her to call off the wedding. Meanwhile, the dangerous gas they've been developing proves as lethal as promised, capable of causing sudden death with just a whiff. As romantic entanglements collide with deadly scientific work, Doctor Morelle finds himself drawn into a case where poisoned emotions may prove just as dangerous as poisoned air.

The Gambler

Originally Aired: July 2, 1957 In A Case For Doctor Morelle #11, "The Gambler," the famous detective and his secretary Miss Frayle are drawn into a puzzling case when they stumble upon a ringing telephone box during an evening walk. Answering the call, they hear the frantic voice of Mrs. Ludlow summoning a doctor to her Chelsea home, convinced something terrible has happened to her husband Alex. The distressed woman explains she returned early from a party, gripped by a premonition of disaster, but was too frightened to enter her husband's study herself. When Dr. Morelle and Miss Frayle investigate, they find the room empty, despite Mrs. Ludlow's certainty that her husband was inside. As the episode unfolds, hints emerge about Mrs. Ludlow's dangerous gambling obsession, particularly her reckless behavior at the roulette table where she loses considerable sums. Dr. Morelle observes that she exemplifies the gambler's fallacy, refusing to accept that each spin of the wheel is independent of the last. The case promises to spiral into what Dr. Morelle describes as a vortex of disaster and death, with Mrs. Ludlow's compulsion at its center.

The Wedding Dress

Originally Aired: June 25, 1957 A Case For Doctor Morelle #10, "The Wedding Dress," young Audrey Templeton is plagued by mysterious nightmares and unexplained disturbances in the days leading up to her wedding. Her aunt, Mrs. Lambert, seeks Doctor Morelle's help after someone repeatedly enters Audrey's bedroom at night, and the frightened bride-to-be becomes convinced that someone is trying to prevent her marriage to Johnny Fitzgerald. Mrs. Lambert reveals that Audrey was engaged once before three years ago, but her fiancé Richard Conway vanished during a mountain climbing expedition and was never found. While Mrs. Lambert consults with Doctor Morelle in London, a terrifying incident occurs at home. Audrey narrowly escapes being crushed against a garage wall by the family car when the chauffeur Ames fails to notice her presence. Is this another accident, or is someone deliberately trying to harm the nervous bride? Doctor Morelle agrees to visit the Lambert household that evening under the pretense of being interested in haunted houses, hoping to determine whether Audrey's fears are merely pre-wedding anxiety or something far more sinister.

The Black Ruby

Originally Aired: June 18, 1957 A Case For Doctor Morelle #9, "The Black Ruby," Mr. Hampton seeks Dr. Morelle's help after surviving a harrowing plane crash over the Indian Ocean. Hampton recently purchased a legendary Burmese ruby known as the Black Ruby in Bombay, despite warnings from the jeweler who authenticated it. Now safely back in London, Hampton faces a new crisis: his wife Sonia is convinced the cursed gem will bring disaster to their household and desperately wants him to dispose of it. Hampton fears his neurotic wife may do something drastic if he refuses. Dr. Morelle suspects Sonia's anxiety stems from deeper marital problems rather than superstition, particularly Hampton's frequent travels without her in pursuit of precious stones. When the doctor and Miss Frayle accept an invitation to dinner at the Hampton residence to meet Sonia and view the infamous ruby, a chandelier suddenly crashes from the ceiling, nearly killing the couple. Sonia becomes even more convinced the Black Ruby's deadly reputation is real, while mysterious admirers and questionable friends complicate the household tensions surrounding the cursed gem.