Get an instant library of some of the greatest mystery classics ever to come out of Hollywood on twelve double-sided DVDs. Never has such a comprehensive collection of great classic mystery features been assembled in one exciting package - all for an amazingly low price!

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These are not some obscure cheapies with unknown actors. They range from second features or 'B' films from the old double feature days in theaters, some of which were better than the first feature, to classic 'A' movies, such as "Suddenly" with Frank Sinatra, "Scarlet Street" with Edward G. Robinson (I watch anything he is in) and "He Walked By Night" with Richard Basehart, not to mention Glenn Ford, Mickey Rooney, Brian Donlevy, William Powell, and, well, the list goes on.

Then there are the great Bulldog Drummond films and the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes features. Rathbone was always THE Sherlock Holmes to me until the advent of Jeremy Brett but he still holds a place near the top.

My only complaint about this set is it has only one of the Topper films, but, how can I really complain? Thank you Treeline Films! Please bring on more of the same! On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this set a 20!

146 of 149 found the following review helpful:

On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection is rated: 6.3Mar 30, 2007
By Annie Van Auken
Based on current polling numbers at a film resource website, the 50 titles in MYSTERY CLASSICS received an average rating (on a 1 to 10 scale) of 6.3.

Not factored in are such considerations as audio/video transfer quality and condition of original footage. An outstanding mix of actors and titles make this collection very attractive for all fans of early cinema. Recommended.

Below is program list, including individual movie ratings, years of release and main actors--

(5.9) Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937) - John Barrymore/John Howard

(5.7) Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) - Ray Milland/Guy Standing

(5.9) Bulldog Drummond In Africa (1938) - John Howard/Anthony Quinn (in a minor role)

(6.4) Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police (1939) - John Howard/Heather Angel

(5.6) Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937) - John Barrymore/John Howard

(6.0) Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938) - John Barrymore/John Howard

(5.5) Dick Tracy(, Detective) - Morgan Conway/Anne Jeffreys

(6.1) Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) - Boris Karloff/Ralph Byrd

(6.0) Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946) - Morgan Conway/Anne Jeffreys

(5.3) The Shadow Strikes (1937) - Rod La Roque/Agnes Anderson

(6.1) International Crime ("The Shadow") (1938) - Rod La Roque/Astrid Allwyn

(6.4) Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939) - Peter Lorre/John Carradine

(4.6) The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934) - Bela Lugosi/Wallace Ford

(5.9) Mr. Wong, Detective (1938) - Boris Karloff/Grant Withers

(6.0) The Sign Of Four ("Sherlock Holmes") (1932) - Arthur Wontner/Ian Hunter

(6.1) The Triumph Of Sherlock Holmes (1935) - Arthur Wontner/Ian Fleming (as Dr. Watson)

(5.9) Silver Blaze ("Murder At the Baskervilles") ("Sherlock Holmes") (1937) - Arthur Wontner/Ian Fleming

(6.9) The Woman In Green ("Sherlock Holmes") (1945) - Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce/Hillary Brooke

(6.4) A Study In Scarlet ("Sherlock Holmes") (1933) - Reginald Owen/Warburton Gamble

(6.8) Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon (1943) - Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce/Lionel Atwill

(7.0) Terror By Night ("Sherlock Holmes") (1946) - Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce/Alan Mowbray

(7.0) Dressed To Kill ("Sherlock Holmes") (1946) - Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce

(6.3) Nancy Drew, Reporter (1939) - Bonita Granville/John Litel

(6.9) The Kennel Murder Case (1933) - William Powell/Mary Astor/Eugene Pallette

(6.3) The Death Kiss (1932) - David Manners/Bela Lugosi

(7.0) Suddenly (1954) - Frank Sinatra/Sterling Hayden

(7.0) Impact (1949) - Brian Donlevy/Charles Coburn

(7.4) He Walked By Night (1948) - Richard Basehart/Jack Webb

(6.4) Quicksand (1950) - Mickey Rooney/Peter Lorre

(6.8) Eyes In The Night (1942) - Edward Arnold/Ann Harding/Donna Reed

(6.0) The Man On The Eiffel Tower (1950) - Charles Laughton/Franchot Tone/Burgess Meredith

(6.9) Topper Returns (1941) - Joan Blondell/Roland Young/Billie Burke

(6.7) The Green Glove (1952) - Glenn Ford/Cedric Hardwicke

(6.0) The Second Woman (1951) - Robert Young/Betsy Drake

(5.2) Fog Island (1945) - George Zucco/Lionel Atwill

(5.2) They Made Me A Criminal - John Garfield

(6.3) Jigsaw (1949) - Franchot Tone/Jean Wallace

(7.1) Algiers (1938) - Charles Boyer/Hedy Lamarr/Alan Hale

(6.0) Murder With Pictures (1936) - Lew Ayres/Gail Patrick

(7.5) The Stranger (1946) - Edward G. Robinson/Loretta Young/Orson Welles

(5.5) Murder at Midnight (1931) - Aileen Pringle/Alice White

(7.5) Kansas City Confidential (1952) - John Payne/Neville Brand/Lee Van Cleef

(7.3) Detour (1945) - Tom Neal/Ann Savage

(7.2) Too Late for Tears (1949) - Lizabeth Scott/Don DeFore/Dan Duryea

(5.0) Mystery Liner (1934) - Noah Beery/George "Gabby" Hayes (in a minor role)

(7.8) Scarlet Street (1945) - Edward G. Robinson/Joan Bennett/Dan Duryea

(6.0) Midnight Manhunt (1945) - William Gargan/Leo Gorcey

(4.4) Murder By Television (1935) - Bela Lugosi/June Collyer/Hattie McDaniel

(6.2) The Moonstone (1934) - David Manners/Phyllis Barry

(6.0) Great Guy (1936) - James Cagney/Mae Clarke

281 of 293 found the following review helpful:

A Good Deal...Jun 24, 2004
By Henry E. Alubowicz
These "50 Movie Packs" are a "Deal". 50 movies on 12 double sided DVDs for a lot less than $1
each. Some of these same movies are being sold in retail stores for between $5 to $15 each.

As to the movie quality, "your mileage will vary". Some are good, most are watchable and there
are a few stinkers {"The Sign Of Four"}. These are NOT classics, like the "Maltese Falcon" is
a classic. They are classics, just because they are old (and marketing by TreeLine).
These are black & white "B Movies" from the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s.

TreeLine Films does a good job of transferring them to DVD. They appear to have found films in
the best condition to do the transfers from. However it appears TreeLine did NOT do any
post-processing to the DVDs; to clean up past imperfections. The Historical Purists, will be
glad to know all the scratches in the films, lighting problems and audio aberrations have been
faithfully preserved, intact. There is only one option, "Scene Selection". The movies are
only broken into four separate scenes. It barely beats "Fast Forward". But, adding options
and doing post-processing clean up would have added to the overhead of production and resulted
in a lessening of "The Deal".

"A Picture" movie stars are sprinkled throughout all these movies. Remember, from the 30s to
early 50s, the Movie Studios ruled. For this period (before TV) outside of the movies, your
evening entertainment options were; going out to a nightclub/bar or staying home to listen to
the radio, read a book or watch the grass grow from your porch. The studios cranked out a lot
of pictures during this period. They liked to keep all their stars working and at times any
picture would do. This was movie making, assembly line style to fill the demand. In this
"50 Movie Pack" are some of the results of those times.

I bought this, because of the Basil Rathbone, Sherlock Holmes movies. Basil Rathbone was the best
Holmes, until Jeremy Brett came along to do Holmes. People will buy these DVDs; because they are
deals, because of their nostalgic value, and because they are movie buffs. {BTW, there is a
lot of real history buried in these films with regards to their context and perspective,
ex., Japan & Great Britain were buddy-buddy, prior to WWII.}

My caveats, I've only viewed 8 of the 50 movies so far. I suspect it will take me the rest of
the year to view them all. They are good filler for when there isn't something better to
watch or do. Not likely, I'll ever get around to the "Nancy Drew" movie. I'm also going to
buy some of the other "50 Movie Packs", but for varying reasons.

89 of 102 found the following review helpful:

super fun!May 03, 2004
By Deborah MacGillivray "Author,"
Already an owner of the 50 - Horror set, and the 50 - Sci-Fi set, I jumped for joy when I got this collection. I love those hokey old B&W mysteries. Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, John Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, Brian Donlevy, Bela Lugosi, James Cagney - even Frank Sinatra!

These are gems, some not so nifty, but still fun films, you have long forgotten or never thought you would see again.

A great addition to any B&W mystery fan. Well worth the price.

26 of 27 found the following review helpful:

I LOVED These Films!Mar 22, 2006
By K. A. Stevenson "WIAPilot"
I am a HUGE fan of movies from the 1920s-1940s. That said, words cannot describe how much I enjoyed watching these films! All of the movies were in very good condition (at least as much as possible considering the age of the movies) and were in black/white.

There were SO many movies that I had never seen before so this isn't just your rehash of TNT or AMC showings. Some of my favorites were: The Shadow (2 movies); Dick Tracey (3 movies) and Mr. Moto.

The fact that these are SO inexpensive just makes them that much better! Definitely a set worth buying if you enjoy these old films as I do!

Likewise, if you wish to "research" detective costumes of the 1940's - this would be a great set. The costume should be something along the lines of classic Bogart in "The Big Sleep" (not included in this set) because you would want to present almost the "stereotype" of a 1940's detective rather than piece for piece historic props.

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