Tue 22 Feb 2022
A Private Eye TV Episode Review: MARKHAM “Coffin for Cinderella.â€
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[10] Comments
MARKHAM. “Coffin for Cinderella.†CBS, 04 February 1960 (Season 2, Episode 34.) Ray Milland (Roy Markham). Guest Cast: Gloria Talbott, J. Pat O’Malley. Screenwriter: Jonathan Latimer. Director: John Rich. Currently available on YouTube.
Oh, for the life of a private eye. Taking a business trip by train from New York to Florida, Markham is surprised by a young girl (Gloria Talbot) coming into his compartment with a porter and greeting him with a kiss and announcing herself as his wife. Maybe I don’t take trains often enough, but such a thing never happened to me, and if you were to tell me it’s happened to you, I wouldn’t believe you.
It turns out that (a) she’s just inherited $33,000,000, (b) someone’s tried to kill her in her bedroom while sleeping, (c) she’s on her way to stay with her uncle for safety, and (d) two men are following her. All good reasons for Markham to take her on as a client until he finds out who’s behind all this. It doesn’t hurt that this Cinderella heiress is also very attractive and just a little flirty.
Markham the TV show was on CBS for two seasons. Markham the character was one of those PI’s who are independently wealthy and could take (or turn down) cases at his own choosing. In spite of a well-known mystery writer coming up with this week’s story line, at only 30 minutes long, there aren’t enough characters to choose from as being the one behind the attacks on Markham’s client, and the crucial clue is truthfully a bit of a stretch.
On the other hand, I can always watch anything with Gloria Talbot in it (last seen by me in an episode of Conflict and reviewed here).

February 22nd, 2022 at 8:17 pm
Poor Ray Milland. How a guy that handsome can weather that badly.
I’ve seen a lot of oddball incidents on trains…stuff does seem to happen…
February 22nd, 2022 at 9:04 pm
An unfortunate format. Thirty minute detective shows, other than Peter Gunn, were on life support, and I took several looks at this series mainly because of Milland’s participation and came away empty. Nevertheless, it ran two seasons, not as bad as it could have been.
February 22nd, 2022 at 9:17 pm
Based on the one I watched, yes, you’re right about the 30 minute format as a big handicap. But it did last two years. The scriptwriters or the authors the stories were based on may have had something to do with it. Besides Jonathan Latimer, other writers involved were Sterling Silliphant, Charles Beaumont & Richard Matheson, Ed Lacy, Norman Jolley, Robert C. Dennis, and Henry Slesar.
February 23rd, 2022 at 7:26 am
I’ll watch anything with the Daughter of Dr Jekyll in it.
February 23rd, 2022 at 7:51 am
Lawrence Block did a novelization based on the series. Read Block’s AFTERWORDS to see how MARKHAM: THE CASE OF THE PORNOGRAPHIC PHOTOS (since reprinted as YOU COULD CALL IT MURDER) came about,
February 23rd, 2022 at 4:04 pm
I have the book, but I never thought to look inside. Next time I come across it, I’ll make sure I do!
February 23rd, 2022 at 1:12 pm
Just last week I saw Talbot in I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE (on Kanopy), said monster being future novelist Thomas Tryon. It’s considerably better than the title would indicate.
Pretty sure I saw at least a few episodes of MARKHAM but wasn’t impressed.
February 23rd, 2022 at 4:07 pm
I’ve been looking, but so far I haven’t come across anything but basic information about the show. I’d really be interested in know what the ratings for the show were.
As for seeing more of the episodes themselves, I’ve discovered that 44 of the 60 are available on collector-to-collector DVDs. The set will set you back $30 to $40. I’m thinking about it, but not too seriously.
February 23rd, 2022 at 8:49 pm
I’m more tolerant of the 30 minute format, but it was dying by this time, only given extra life by PETER GUNN.
There was a final spurt in the heyday of syndication when they had to fill that thirty minute slot after the nightly local news created by FCC regulations and before game shows, expanded news, and ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT proved cheaper with programs like THE PROTECTORS, THE ADVENTURER, PRIMUS, and others stepped in.
June 8th, 2022 at 1:51 pm
Steve, you beat me to it by mentioning the Beaumont/Matheson episode, “The Marble Face,” on which they shared story credit (apparently written under the title “Spirit Unwilling”), with a script by John Kneubuhl of Thriller (e.g., “Pigeons from Hell”) and The Screaming Skull. That one, at least, is on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpdZwESSfuQ