Product Details

• Actors: Rex Marshall, Boris Karloff
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 12
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Falcon Picture Group
• DVD Release Date: May 19, 2009
• Run Time: 2610 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001UE66B2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,525 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Primitive, early live TV, September 14, 2009

By 

R. Kinsey "Old Movie Fan" (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Suspense: The Lost Episodes - Collections 1-3 (DVD)

This was a very low-budget live TV series from 49-53. For comparison The Lone Ranger and Superman made at the same time was vastly superior. Most of the stories are poorly developed but there are a few gems. For the price, a chance to see future stars in early roles, and as an example of early TV it is worth while.

I did have to send this back several times because a number of the discs rattled in the player and wouldn't load. I have 3 players and found that the better the player the less likely they were to work.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Facinating early television history, January 1, 2011

By 

Robert A. Bowers "Bowers" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Suspense: The Lost Episodes - Collections 1-3 (DVD)

I must say I agree with the other reviews about the quality of this show. If you buy it expecting the quality of picture etc. used in "Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", you will be sorely disappointed. What is does offer, is a rich lesson in television history. This is television in it's infancy, experimenting, growing and learning it's craft. First these shows are the kinescopes made of LIVE performances to be used in rebroadcast to the West Coast. I can only imagine how stressful and difficult it must have been to switch from multiple cameras etc. for the technicians, and how incredibly distracting it must have been for the actors to have to perform, make costume changes etc. at that pace, while avoiding the cameras and technicians needed to do the broadcast. The shows had to be performed in the time span of the show's slot, unlike filmed shows which had the luxury of multiple days to film and the ability to do retakes, set up closeups, etc, and were confined to the cramped studio, since locations could not be switched. (There are a few crudely filmed bits added to try to serve as location and transition scenes in some episodes.) The actors were also "working without a net", so to speak, since there was no possibility to fix it if there was a mistake. In "Comic Strip Murder" Lilli Palmer moves from one part of the set to another and a camera operator from the previous shot is clearly visible over her shoulder! Camera work is also occasionally blurred especially while trying to move in and out of closeups. So what makes this show 5 stars in my opinion? First, I think it's fascinating to watch them accomplishing so very much within the limitations placed on them by the crude technology of the period and the limited budgets. TV, being almost an experimental medium in 1949, couldn't have attracted the kind of money from sponsors it does today. Secondly, the casts! There is a mixture here of established stars of their day (Karloff, Palmer, Lugosi, etc.) and lots of fresh faces just getting started (Paul Newman, Anne Francis, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith, Cloris Leachman, etc.). So, if what you most want is early television entertainment, go for Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, or Thriller (all excellent suspense tv series which would possibly have never existed if Suspense and other shows hadn't paved the way) but, if you want the added bit of knowing you are watching one of the major industries of our modern life being born, this show is for you!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars suspense, October 20, 2009

By 

Steven A. Willis (Newton, Mississippi 39345) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Suspense: The Lost Episodes - Collections 1-3 (DVD)

this dvd set brings back memories of early television with commercials from the late 40's and early 50's. It would be a good addition to the true collectors library.