THE BLOODSTAINED BRICK BAT and THE BRASS BUTTON THE BLACK MUSEUM

*The Black Museum* was based on real-life cases from the files of [Scotland Yard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_Yard "Scotland Yard")'s [Black Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_Museum "Crime Museum"). The programme was transcribed in 1951 and was broadcast in the United States in 1952 on [Mutual](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_Broadcasting_System "Mutual Broadcasting System").[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Museum_%28radio_series%29#cite_note-dunning1-3) More than 500 of the network's stations carried it.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Museum_%28radio_series%29#cite_note-4) Ira Marion was the scriptwriter and music for the series was composed and conducted by [Sidney Torch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Torch "Sidney Torch"). This same music was used for the opening credits of, and incidental music in, the 1955 film [*They Can't Hang Me*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Can't_Hang_Me "They Can't Hang Me"), starring [Terence Morgan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Morgan "Terence Morgan"). Orson Welles was both host and narrator of stories of horror and mystery, based on [Scotland Yard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_Yard "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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames "Thames") which houses [Scotland Yard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_Yard "Scotland Yard") is a warehouse of homicide, where everyday objects ... a woman's shoe, a tiny white box, a quilted robe ... all are touched by murder." [Robert Rietti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rietti "Robert Rietti") played the lead roles and Keith Pyott was often in the cast. In 2002, Towers produced *The Black Museum* for television and hired director Gregory Mackenzie to be the [showrunner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showrunner "Showrunner") and director for the anthology series using the original narration by Welles. The adaptation was shot on location in London in a [film noir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir "Film noir") style and the pilot starred [Michael York](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_York "Michael York") as Scotland Yard Inspector Russell.