The Mystery of Thirteen (Playhouse 90)

"**The Mystery of Thirteen**"
"The Mystery of Thirteen"
Playhouse 90 episode
	Newspaper ad for "The Mystery of Thirteen"
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 7
Directed by	Robert Mulligan
Written by	David Shaw (adaptation), Robert Graves (story)
Original air date	October 24, 1957
Guest appearances
	Jack Lemmon as Dr. Billy Palmer; Margaret O'Brien as Annie Brookes; Herbert Marshall as Dr. Knight;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Around the World in 90 Minutes"	Next →; "The Edge of Innocence"

"The Mystery of Thirteen" was an American television play broadcast in 1957 as part of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Jack Lemmon starred as the notorious English physician, William Palmer, who was suspected of 13 murders and was hanged in 1856 for poisoning a close friend. Margaret O'Brien co-starred, David Shaw wrote the teleplay, and Robert Mulligan directed.

Plot[edit]

The play is based on the real-life story of an English physician, William Palmer, also known as the "Prince of Poisoners". Palmer was accused of murdering numerous persons, including his own brother and children, and was ultimately hanged for poisoning a close friend. Charles Dickens called Palmer "the greatest villain that ever stood in the Old Bailey".^[1]

Cast[edit]

The following performers received screen credit for their performances:

Jack Lemmon – Dr. Billy Palmer
Margaret O'Brien – Annie Brookes
Herbert Marshall – Dr. Knight
Gladys Cooper – Mrs. Palmer
Henry Jones – Walter Palmer
John Baragrey – John Parsons Cook
Romney Brent

Production[edit]

The production was broadcast live from CBS Television City in Hollywood on October 24, 1957, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. David Shaw wrote the teleplay, as an adaptation of Robert Graves' best-selling novel, They Hanged My Saintly Billy. Robert Mulligan directed, and Martin Manulis was the producer. Jack Lemmon, Margaret O'Brien, and Herbert Marshall starred.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Reception[edit]

Time magazine opined that the sympathetic portrayal of a criminal broke new ground on TV, but proved to be "cold, cold ground." The reviewer concluded that Lemmon's charm and skill could not make the protagonist palatable. Lacking either satire or intrigue, Time found that it "amounted to a catalogue of crime with little more dramatic point or development than the police blotter."^[5]

References[edit]

^ Dickens, Charles (1856). "The Demeanor of Murderers". Household Words. Bradbury & Evans. Retrieved 2 July 2014 – via Old Lamps For New Ones, And Other Sketches and Essays Hitherto Uncollected, page 269. {{cite book}}: External link in |via= (help)
^ "Playhouse 90, Season 2". Classic TV Archive. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
^ Bill Summers (October 25, 1957). "Jack Lemmon Brings Class To Good Playhouse Drama". Orlando Evening Star – via Newspapers.com.
^ Charles Witbeck (October 24, 1957). "Lemmon Playing Second Live TV Role Tonight". The Baltimore Sun – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Television: Review". Time. November 4, 1957.

[1] Dickens, Charles (1856). "The Demeanor of Murderers". Household Words. Bradbury & Evans. Retrieved 2 July 2014 – via Old Lamps For New Ones, And Other Sketches and Essays Hitherto Uncollected, page 269. {{cite book}}: External link in |via= (help)

[CTVA-2] "Playhouse 90, Season 2". Classic TV Archive. Retrieved February 24, 2021.

[3] Bill Summers (October 25, 1957). "Jack Lemmon Brings Class To Good Playhouse Drama". Orlando Evening Star – via Newspapers.com.

[4] Charles Witbeck (October 24, 1957). "Lemmon Playing Second Live TV Role Tonight". The Baltimore Sun – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Television: Review". Time. November 4, 1957.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Playhouse 90
People	John Frankenheimer Martin Manulis Franklin J. Schaffner Rod Serling
Season 1	"Forbidden Area" "Requiem for a Heavyweight" "Sizeman and Son" "Rendezvous in Black" "The Country Husband" "The Big Slide" "Heritage of Anger" "Eloise" "Confession" "Made in Heaven" "Sincerely, Willis Wade" "The Family Nobody Wanted" "Massacre at Sand Creek" "Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses" "The Ninth Day" "So Soon To Die" "The Star Wagon" "So Soon To Die" "The Greer Case" "The Miracle Worker" "The Comedian" "The Coat of White" "The Blackwell Story" "Invitation to a Gunfighter" "The Last Tycoon" "The Hostess with the Mostes'" "Charley's Aunt" "Clipper Ship" "If You Know Elizabeth" "Three Men on a Horse" "Four Women in Black" "Child of Trouble" "Homeward Borne" "Helen Morgan" "Winter Dreams" "Circle of the Day" "Without Incident" "Clash by Night" "Ain't No Time for Glory" "The Fabulous Irishman"
Season 2	"The Death of Manolete" "The Dark Side of the Earth" "Topaze" "A Sound of Different Drummers" "The Playroom" "Around the World in 90 Minutes" "The Mystery of Thirteen" "The Edge of Innocence" "The Clouded Image" "The Jet Propelled Couch" "The Troublemakers" "Panic Button" "Galvanized Yankee" "The Thundering Wave" "For I Have Loved Strangers" "The Lone Woman" "Reunion" "The Last Man" "The 80 Yard Run" "Before I Die" "The Gentleman From Seventh Avenue" "The Violent Heart" "No Time at All" "Point of No Return" "Portrait of a Murderer" "The Last Clear Chance" "The Male Animal" "The Right Hand Man" "Turn Left at Mount Everest" "The Dungeon" "Verdict of Three" "Rumors of Evening" "Not the Glory" "Nightmare at Ground Zero" "Bomber's Moon" "Natchez" "The Innocent Sleep" "A Town Has Turned to Dust" "The Great Gatsby" "A Bitter Heritage"
Season 3	"The Plot to Kill Stalin" "Days of Wine and Roses" "The Time of Your Life" "The Long March" "Shadows Tremble" "Word From a Sealed-Off Box" "Heart of Darkness" "Old Man" "The Return of Ansel Gibbs" "Free Weekend" "Seven Against the Wall" "The Nutcracker" "Face of a Hero" "The Wings of the Dove" "The Blue Men" "The Velvet Alley" "A Quiet Game of Cards" "Child of Our Time" "The Second Man" "The Raider" "The Dingaling Girl" "Made in Japan" "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "A Trip to Paradise" "In Lonely Expectation" "The Day Before Atlanta" "Judgment at Nuremberg" "A Corner of the Garden" "Dark December" "Diary of a Nurse" "A Marriage of Strangers" "Out of Dust" "The Rank and File" "The Killers of Mussolini" "Project Immortality" "Dark as the Night" "The Second Happiest Day"
Season 4	"Target for Three" "The Sounds of Eden" "Misalliance" "The Hidden Image" "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing" "The Tunnel" "The Silver Whistle" "A Dream of Treason" "To the Sound of Trumpets" "The Cruel Day" "Tomorrow" "The Hiding Place" "Alas, Babylon" "Journey to the Day" "The Shape of the River" "In the Presence of Mine Enemies"
Revivals	CBS Playhouse CBS Playhouse 90