Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You (TV 1971)

Detective Ellery Queen has to solve a series of murders where the victims were killed in numerically descending ages, the male victims were strangled with blue cords and the female victims with pink ones.

Director:

Barry Shear

Writers:

Frederic Dannay (novel), Manfred Lee (novel),

Stars:

Peter Lawford, Harry Morgan, E.G. Marshall

Cast

Cast overview:
Peter Lawford	...	Ellery Queen
Harry Morgan	...	Inspector Richard Queen
E.G. Marshall	...	Dr. Cazalis
Skye Aubrey	...	Christy
Stefanie Powers	...	Celeste
Coleen Gray	...	Mrs. Cazalis
Morgan Sterne	...	Police Commissioner
Bill Zuckert	...	Sgt. Velie
Bob Hastings	...	Hal Hunter
Than Wyenn	...	Registrar
Buddy Lester	...	Policeman
William Lucking	...	Lt. Summers
Pat Delaney	...	Miss Price
Tim Herbert
Robin Raymond

Storyline

Detective Ellery Queen has to solve a series of murders where the victims were killed in numerically descending ages and the men were strangled with blue cords, the women with pink ones.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | mystery writer | unsold tv series pilot | based on novel | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 1971 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Peter Lawford's "Ellery Queen" was competing with "Columbo", "McCloud", and "McMillan and Wife" to be on the NBC Mystery wheel.

"Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You" was a super stylish pilot for a projected NBC series for the 1971-72 season.

"Ellery Queen" was up for a slot on the new "Wednesday Mystery Movie" wheel that wound up including "Columbo", "McCloud", and "McMillan and Wife". NBC almost picked "Ellery Queen" over "McMillan and Wife".

Barry Shear's direction of "Ellery Queen" was really stunning (including cartoon segments of the "hydra" killer).

Peter Lawford gave a light, suave, likable performance as Ellery Queen, even if he was miscast.

I wish "Queen" had sold. "Ellery Queen" was really a who-done-it mystery, which you can't say for "Columbo" or "McCloud". "Ellery Queen" could have been a fine fourth detective on the mystery wheel. I think it would have been a success.

I could well have lived with the charming Peter Lawford as Ellery, but if the role had to be recast I think James Wainwright, Roy Thinnes, Mike Farrell, Michael Douglas or Bradford Dillman might have been interesting.

Andrew Duggan or Jose Ferrer would have been cool as Inspector Richard Queen, Ellery's father.

To produce the show, I would have tried to get the great Richard Alan Simmons ("Trials of O'Brien", the "Banyon" movie pilot).