The Black Museum
Encyclopedia
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
and based on real-life cases from the files of Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
's Black Museum
Black Museum
The Black Museum of Scotland Yard is a famed collection of criminal memorabilia kept at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in London, England. The museum came into existence sometime in 1874, although unofficially. It was housed at Scotland Yard, and grew from the collection of prisoners'...
. Ira Marion was the scriptwriter, and music for the series was composed and conducted by Sidney Torch
Sidney Torch
Sidney Torch MBE was a British pianist, cinema organist, conductor, orchestral arranger and a composer of light music.Born Sidney Torchinsky of a Ukrainian Father and an Estonian Mother in London, Torch learned the rudiments of music very quickly from his father, an orchestral trombonist...
. Although often mistakenly cited as being produced for the BBC, the series was produced and syndicated commercially by Towers throughout the English speaking world.
Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
was both host and narrator for stories of horror and mystery based on Scotland Yard's collection of murder weapons and various ordinary objects once associated with historical true crime cases. The show's opening began:
- This is Orson Welles, speaking from London.
- (Sound of Big Ben chimes)
- The Black Museum... a repository of death. Here in the grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland YardScotland YardScotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
is a warehouse of homicide, where everyday objects... a woman’s shoe, a tiny white box, a quilted robe... all are touched by murder.
Program format and themes
Walking through the museum, Welles would pause at one of the exhibits, and his description of an artifact served as a device to lead into a wryly-narrated dramatised tale of a brutal murder or a vicious crime. In the closing: "Now until we meet again in the same place and I tell you another tale of the Black Museum", Welles would conclude with his signature radio phrase, "I remain, as always, obediently yours".With the story themes deriving from objects in the collection (usually with the names of the people involved changed but the facts remaining true to history), the 52 episodes had such titles as "The Tartan Scarf," "A Piece of Iron Chain," "Frosted Glass Shards" and "A Khaki Handkerchief.". An anomaly to the series was an episode called "The Letter"; this was the only story not about murder but about forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
.
Broadcast history
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the series aired on the Mutual Network between January 1 and December 30, 1952.
Beginning May 7, 1953, it was also broadcast over Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
sponsored by the cleaning products Dreft
Dreft
Dreft is a popular laundry detergent in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and other markets. First produced by Procter & Gamble in 1933, it was one of the earliest synthetic detergents. Upon its inception, Dreft was touted as a significant improvement over the soap suds of...
and Mirro. Since the BBC carried no commercials, Radio Luxembourg aired sponsored programs at night to England.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a program of similar scope, using many of the same picked cases as The Black Museum, and nearly mirroring its broadcast run was broadcast by NBC called Whitehall 1212. The two shows were different in the respect that while Whitehall 1212 told the story of a case entirely from the point of view of the police starting from the crime scene, The Black Museum was more heavily dramatized and played out scenes of the actual murders and included scenes from the criminal's point of view.
Trivia
- Two episodes, "The Car Tire" and "The Gas Receipt," were the same story with minor differences between the two. Another pair of episodes, "The Baby's Jacket" and "The Spectacles," were based on the same case, as were "The Tan Shoe" and "The Leather Bag."
- Four famous murder cases were dramatized on The Black Museum: John George HaighJohn George HaighJohn George Haigh , commonly known as the "Acid Bath Murderer" , was an English serial killer during the 1940s. He was convicted of the murders of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine...
, the "Acid Bath Murderer"; George Joseph SmithGeorge Joseph SmithGeorge Joseph Smith was an English serial killer and bigamist. In 1915 he was convicted and subsequently hanged for the slayings of three women, the case becoming known as the "Brides in the Bath Murders". As well as being widely reported in the media, the case was a significant case in the...
, the "Brides in the Bath Murderer"; Adelaide Bartlett, whose husband died from chloroformChloroformChloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
poisoning; and Florence MaybrickFlorence MaybrickFlorence Elizabeth Maybrick was an American woman convicted in Great Britain of murdering her considerably older husband, James Maybrick.-Early life:...
, who allegedly used arsenicArsenicArsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
from fly-paper to murder her husband James MaybrickJames MaybrickJames Maybrick was a Liverpool cotton merchant. After his death, his wife, Florence Maybrick, was convicted of his murder by poisoning in a sensational trial. The "Aigburth Poisoning" case was widely reported in the press on both sides of the Atlantic...
(who was recently suspected of being Jack the RipperJack the Ripper"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
courtesy of the 1993 publication of The Diary of Jack the Ripper). - In "Open End Wrench" it's mistakenly stated that the culprit was executed in DartmoorDartmoorDartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
. No 20th century executions were carried out in Dartmoor. Built during the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
to contain French and American POWs, it was, after lying idle from 1815 to 1850, later commissioned as a convictConvictA convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
gaol and used for dangerous long-term prisonersConvictA convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
only.
Cases
The below-listed actual cases were used as the basis for episodes of The Black Museum:- Thomas Henry Allaway - "The Telegram"
- Major Herbert Rowse ArmstrongHerbert Rowse ArmstrongHerbert Rowse Armstrong TD. MA. was an English solicitor and convicted murderer, the only solicitor in the history of the United Kingdom to have been hanged for murder...
- "The Champagne Glass" - Elvira Dolores Barney - "The .22 Caliber Pistol"
- Adelaide Bartlett - "4 Small Bottles"
- Frederick Browne & Pat Kennedy - "The Car Tire" & "The Gas Receipt"
- James Camb - "The Spotted Bedsheet"
- George ChapmanGeorge Chapman (murderer)George Chapman was a Polish serial killer known as the Borough Poisoner. Born Seweryn Antonowicz Kłosowski in Poland, he moved as an adult to England, where he committed his crimes...
- "The Straight Razor" - Christopher Craig & Derek BentleyDerek BentleyDerek William Bentley was a British teenager hanged for the murder of a police officer, committed in the course of a burglary attempt. The murder of the police officer was committed by a friend and accomplice of Bentley's, Christopher Craig, then aged 16. Bentley was convicted as a party to the...
-"Two Bullets" - John Alexander DickmanJohn DickmanJohn Alexander Dickman was an Englishman hanged for murder.He was convicted of the murder of John Nisbet, which took place on a train travelling between Newcastle-on-Tyne and Alnmouth, on 18 March 1910 . Nisbet had been carrying a bag containing the wages for a colliery...
- "The Tan Shoe" & "The Leather Bag" - Samuel Herbert Dougal - "The Lady's Shoe"
- Miles GiffardMiles GiffardMiles William Giffard twice played cricket for the Cornwall County Cricket Club in the 1948 Minor Counties Championship and was later executed for the murder of his parents.-Education:...
- "The Service Card" - Harold GreenwoodHarold Greenwood (solicitor)Harold Greenwood was an English solicitor who was accused and acquitted of murdering his wife by arsenic poisoning. He was tried at Carmarthen Assizes in 1920 and defended by Edward Marshall Hall; his case is a rare example of a legal professional being charged with murder.-Facts:Harold Greenwood,...
- "Weed Killer" - John George HaighJohn George HaighJohn George Haigh , commonly known as the "Acid Bath Murderer" , was an English serial killer during the 1940s. He was convicted of the murders of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine...
- "The Jar of Acid" - Neville HeathNeville HeathNeville George Clevely Heath was an English killer who was responsible for the murders of at least two young women. He was executed in London in 1946.-Early career:Heath was born in Essex, England...
- "The Powder Puff" - Harold Hill - "The Khaki Handkerchief"
- Karl Hulton & Elizabeth Jones - "The Jack Handle"
- Charles Jenkins, Christopher Geraghty & Terence Rolt - "The .32 :Caliber Bullet"
- Patrick Mahon - "The Gladstone Bag"
- Brighton trunk murdersBrighton trunk murdersThe Brighton trunk murders were two unrelated murders linked to Brighton, England in 1934. In both, the dismembered body of a murdered woman was placed in a trunk....
- "The Hammerhead" - Florence MaybrickFlorence MaybrickFlorence Elizabeth Maybrick was an American woman convicted in Great Britain of murdering her considerably older husband, James Maybrick.-Early life:...
- "Meat Juice" - William Henry Podmore - "The Receipt"
- Dr. Edward PritchardEdward William PritchardDr Edward William Pritchard was an English doctor who was convicted of murdering his wife and mother-in-law by poisoning. He was also suspected of a third murder, of a servant, but was never tried for it. He was the last person to be publicly executed in Glasgow.-Early years:Pritchard was born in...
- "The Walking Stick" - Florence Ransom - "The Glove"
- John Robinson - "The Trunk"
- Alfred Arthur Rouse - "The Mallet"
- Edith Thompson and Frederick BywatersEdith Thompson and Frederick BywatersEdith Jessie Thompson and Frederick Edward Francis Bywaters were a British couple who were executed for the murder of Thompson’s husband Percy...
- "The Sheath Knife" - August SangretAugust SangretAugust Sangret was a French-Canadian soldier of First Nations birth, convicted of murdering Joan Wolfe in Surrey, England and hanged. This murder case is also known as the Wigwam Murder.-Joan Wolfe:...
- "The Brass Button" - James Townsend Saward (alias "Jim the Penman") - "The Letter"
- Henry Daniel Seymour - "The Claw Hammer"
- George Joseph SmithGeorge Joseph SmithGeorge Joseph Smith was an English serial killer and bigamist. In 1915 he was convicted and subsequently hanged for the slayings of three women, the case becoming known as the "Brides in the Bath Murders". As well as being widely reported in the media, the case was a significant case in the...
- "The Bath Tub" - Madeleine SmithMadeleine SmithMadeleine Hamilton Smith was a 19th century Glasgow socialite who was the defendant in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857...
- "Small White Boxes" - Frederick Stewart - "The Frosted Glass Shards"
- George Stoner - "The Brickbat"
- Norman Thorne - "The Wool Jacket" & "The Spectacles"
- Jean-Pierre VaquierJean-Pierre VaquierJean-Pierre Vaquier was a French inventor and murderer.He was tried for the murder of Alfred George Poynter Jones, landlord of the Blue Anchor pub in Byfleet, the husband of his mistress Mabel Jones, by poisoning him with strychnine.Vaquier had met Mabel Jones early in 1924 in Biarritz where she...
- "The Dictionary" - Nurse Dorothea WaddinghamDorothea WaddinghamDorothea Nancy Waddingham was a nursing home matron and convicted murderer in the United Kingdom.-Life:Dorothea Waddingham is usually referred to as "Nurse" Waddingham, because the two murders she was accused and convicted of were committed in a nursing home she ran near Nottingham England. In...
- "The Prescription" - William Herbert WallaceWilliam Herbert WallaceWilliam Herbert Wallace was convicted in 1931 of the murder of his wife Julia in their home in Wolverton Street in Liverpool's Anfield district...
- "The Raincoat" - Robert Wood - "The Postcard"
- Episodes yet to be matched with true case histories are:
- Canvas Bag
- Door Key
- Iron Chain
- Mandolin String
- Notes - Kilroy was Here
- Open End Wrench
- Sash Cord
- Shilling
- Shopping Bag
- Silencer
- Tartan Scarf.