Most television shows that last only one season are swiftly forgotten. This was not the case with Ellery Queen, based on the fictional character of the same name created by Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee. While Ellery Queen did not do particularly well in the ratings, it did develop a cult following. Because of this, it remains remembered to this day.
Ellery Queen starred Jim Hutton as the title character, a mystery novelist whose talent for deductive reasoning led him to assist his father, Inspector Richard Queen, in solving murder cases. Tom Reese played Sgt. Thomas Velie, Inspector Queen's assistant and Ellery's friend. The show's format was very much like the novels upon which the series was based. It would begin with a murder that Inspector Queen, with Ellery's assistance, investigates. As the episode unfolds, viewers get the same clues that Ellery and the Inspector do. Right before the climax of the episode in which the killer was revealed, Jim Hutton would break the fourth wall in which he summarizes the case and invites the viewer to solve the mystery on their own. The series is set immediately following World War II, in the late Forties.
Ellery Queen was based on the novels by cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, who wrote under the pseudonym "Ellery Queen." The characters of Ellery Queen and Inspector Queen first appeared in the novel The Roman Hat Mystery in 1929. While the character of Ellery Queen would undergo various changes over the years, novels featuring the character would be published for decades. Given such popularity, Ellery Queen would make the transition to other media. The first Ellery Queen movie, The Spanish Case Mystery, starring Donald Cook, was released in 1939 and was followed by several more Ellery Queen movies in the early Forties. A radio show, The Adventures of Ellery Queen, aired from 1939 to 1948 on various networks. A TV series of the same name aired from 1950 to 1952 on DuMont and then ABC. The Adventures of Ellery Queen was followed by two more television series in the 1950s. \Ellery Queen, Detective was a syndicated television series that aired in 1954 It was followed by the 1958-1959 series The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen that aired on NBC.
The character of Ellery Queen was still popular when writing partners Richard Levinson and William Link decided to create a TV show based on the character. Together they worked both in print and on television. Notably, they created the character of Lt. Columbo in the teleplay "Enough Rope (which aired as an episode of The Chevy Mystery Show in 1960)." They later produced the TV show Columbo and also the TV show Mannix. Unfortunately, Richard Levinson and William Link's first attempt to get an Ellery Queen TV show on the air would not turn out as they planned.
The result of that first attempt was the TV movie Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You, which aired on November 19, 1971, on NBC. The movie was based on the 1949 Ellery Queen novel Cat of Many Tails and starred Peter Lawford as Ellery Queen and Harry Morgan as Inspector Queen. Notably, Inspector Queen was portrayed a Ellery's uncle in the movie, rather than his father. It seems possible that this may have been because Harry Morgan was simply too young to be Peter Lawford's father--he was only eight years older than Lawford. Regardless, Richard Levinson and William Link were not happy with the changes that producer Leonard Ackerman had made to their teleplay and credited it to their pseudonym Tom Leighton. Fortunately, for Messrs. Levinson and Link, Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You failed to sell as a TV series.
It was in 1974, with the success of Mannix and Columbo behind them, Richard Levinson and William Link decided to take another stab at an Ellery Queen series. Jim Hutton was cast as Ellery Queen and David Wayne was cast as Inspector Richard Queen, and the two characters were father and son as they were in the novels. For the pilot movie, Richard Levinson and William Link adapted the 1965 novel The Fourth Side of the Triangle, although setting it in the late Forties. Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects aired on March 23, 1975. It was in May 1975 that NBC ordered Ellery Queen as a TV series for the 1975-1976 season.
Reviews for Ellery Queen upon its debut were mixed to positive. Jay Sharbutt of the Associated Press gave the show an enthusiastic review, writing "NBC's new entry is old hash but fun to watch." Richard Schickel of Time was less impressed with the show, referring to it as "...a garage-sale period piece." The review by Charles Benbow of the St. Petersburg Times fell in between those by Jay Sharbutt and Richard Schickel. While stating that solving the mystery in the first episode "...could hardly make anyone feel superiror, " he also admitted "...Hutton brings such a marvelous sense of timing and inventiveness to his role as Ellery that he may ave the series for a half-season."
The only regulars on the show were Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, David Wayne as Inspector Richard Wayne, and Tom Reese as Sgt. Velie, but the show did have a few recurring characters. John Hillerman appeared in several episodes as a radio host and Ellery's rival detective Simon Brimmer. The character was created for the shows. Ken Swofford played Frank Flannigan, a reporter who was another one of Ellery's rivals. Flannigan was also created for the show. Nina Roman played Inspector Queen's secretary.
Like Murder, She Wrote after it, Ellery Queen featured a number of big-name guest stars. For example, "The Adventure of Miss Aggie's Farewell Performance" featured Eve Arden as Vera Bethune, who played Miss Aggie on a radio soap opera. Also in the episode were such stars as Nan Martin, John McGiver, Bert Parks, and Betty White. In "The Adventure of Veronica's Veils," George Burns played the producer of a burlesque revival. Also featured in the episode were Julie Adams, Jack Carter, William Demarest, Don Porter, and Hayden Roarke. Over its run, Ellery Queen featured such names as Don Ameche, Dana Andrews, Jim Backus, Ken Berry, Tom Bosley, Joan Collins, Troy Donahue, Rhonda Fleming, Anne Francis, Larry Hagman, Roddy McDowall, Sal Mineo, Donald O'Connor, Walter Pidgeon, Vincent Price, Cesar Romero, Ray Walston, and yet others.
Not only did Ellery Queen feature big-name guest stars, but a big name composed its theme. Elmer Bernstein was already famous for having composed the soundtracks to such movies as The Ten Commandments (1956), The Magnificent Seven (1960), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Great Escape (1963), and yet more.
Unfortunately, Ellery Queen would not do well in the ratings. Much of this may have been due to scheduling. In its original time slot on Thursday night, it aired against The Streets of San Francisco on ABC, which ranked no. 26 in the Nielsen ratings for the season. At mid-season, NBC aired it at an arguably worse time slot on Sunday night. There it aired opposite The Six Million Dollar Man on ABC (which ranked no. 9 for the season) and The Sonny and Cher Show (which ranked no. 23 for the season). In the end, NBC cancelled Ellery Queen after 22 episodes.
Ellery Queen was gone, but not forgotten. While it had received low ratings, it had also developed a cult following who loved the show. Ellery Queen would have an obvious impact on Murder, She Wrote, which Richard Levinson and William Link co-created with Peter Fisher (who was a line producer on Ellery Queen). Like Ellery Queen, Murder, She Wrote centred on a mystery solving writer and regularly featured big-name guest stars. In the Nineties Ellery Queen was rerun on A&E, Plex, and TV Land. It would be released on DVD in both Australia and the United States in 2010. While it is not currently available on streaming, in the past it has been on Hulu and Netflix.
Today it might seem odd that a show that has continued to be popular to this day would last only one season. Beyond the show's scheduling mentioned above, it seems possible there was one other reason that Ellery Queen failed in the ratings during the 1975-1976 season. Quite simply, whodunits were out of fashion on television. The NBC Mystery Movie was winding down and would go off the air in 1977. It would seem that American television viewers wouldn't again develop a taste for whodunits until Murder, She Wrote debuted in 1984. Unlike Ellery Queen, Murder, She Wrote proved to be an enormous success and ran for 12 seasons.
Regardless, Ellery Queen has not been forgotten and is remembered to this day. It clearly had an impact on Murder, She Wrote, which itself would have an impact on yet other mystery shows. To this day many still think of Ellery Queen first out of all the roles Jim Hutton played. It may have only lasted one season, but it will be remembered for decades to come.
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