Nero Wolfe

Black Orchids

  • Title: Black Orchids
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Black Orchids

Throwback Thursday takes us back to a New York City, a famous detective, and murder. Sent day after day to New York’s flower show to report back to Nero Wolfe on Lewis Hewitt’s famous orchids which have Wolfe obsessed, Archie Goodwin takes notice of a couple in one of the other exhibits who perform the same scene of a summer picnic every day. On the day Wolfe himself arrives to get a look at the orchids, Archie notices something odd about scene, discovering murder has been committed in public and that he, without realizing it, was the method used for the performer’s death.

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And Be a Villain

  • Title: And Be a Villain
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And Be a Villain

Throwback Thursday takes us back to a New York City brownstone on the southside of West 35 Street and the mystery of a murder broadcast live on radio. Originally published in 1948, With more than a dozen Nero Wolfe mysteries under his belt, Rex Stout‘s And Be a Villain gives the great detective a case which will frustrate and confound both Wolfe and Archie for almost the entire novel when he’s hired to discover who poisoned a guest on a popular radio program during the sponsor’s commercial break.

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A Nero Wolfe Mystery – Die Like a Dog

  • Title: A Nero Wolfe Mystery – Die Like a Dog
  • IMDb: link

A Nero Wolfe Mystery - Die Like a Dog television review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to mid 20th Century New York and the private detective offices located at 454 W. 35th Street. A mix-up, a dog following Archie (Timothy Hutton) home, and the detective’s clever idea to play a prank on his boss which backfires, all lead Nero Wolfe (Maury Chaykin) to investigate a murder without a client. The victim was the dog’s former owner and the motive surrounds a woman (Kari Matchett) who almost all of the apartment’s inhabitants are willing to protect. “Die Like a Dog” features on of the show’s more obvious set-ups as the mere fact the dog follows Archie home exposes the identity of the murder (even though it may take Wolfe a bit longer to expose them). If the mystery is a bit pedestrian for the show, there’s still plenty of fun to be had with Wolfe and Archie’s back-and-forth about the dog and Archie impersonating a police detective in order to question the various suspects in the crime.

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A Nero Wolfe Mystery – The Next Witness

  • Title: A Nero Wolfe Mystery – The Next Witness
  • IMDb: link

A Nero Wolfe Mystery - The Next Witness television review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to mid 20th Century New York and the private detective offices located at 454 W. 35th Street. “The Next Witness” is one of the few episodes of the series where Nero Wolfe (Maury Chaykin) spends most of his time outside the confines of the home he is loathsome to ever leave. In this instance Wolfe is subpoenaed to testify in a murder trial. Almost immeadiately tired of the proceedings, Wolfe and Archie (Timothy Hutton) leave the court. Knowing his only course of action to avoid his own prosecution for contempt of court, Wolfe heads off to find the true culprit in the murder he believes the accused (David Schurmann) is innocent of doing in. Unable to go home until the job is done, Wolfe must get to the truth of the case as soon as possible.

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A Nero Wolfe Mystery – Death of a Doxy

  • Title: A Nero Wolfe Mystery – Death of a Doxy
  • IMDb: link

A Nero Wolfe Mystery - Death of a Doxy television review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to mid 20th Century New York and the private detective offices located at 454 W. 35th Street. While the two-part Second Season premiere is still a passable episode, “Death of a Doxy” certainly wouldn’t rank among my favorites. The story feels a bit forced in order to be a “big” episode, with everyone (in front and behind the camera) trying a bit too hard, and the murder plot itself feels like it could have been truncated to a single episode without loosing much. The episode centers around Orrie Cather (Trent McMullen) being charged with the murder of a woman he was seeing on the side. While attempting to do Orrie a favor, Archie (Timothy Hutton) stumbles upon the body. That, plus circumstantial evidence, has even those within the brownstone questioning Orrie’s innocence.

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