Martin Kane Private Eye - Volume 1 (DVD)

Debuting in 1949, Martin Kane was the first private eye on TV. A tough, no nonsense detective who's always in over his head, Kane's street smarts help him triumph in the end. The show was sponsored by the United States Tobacco Company and filled with vintage tobacco advertisements that were worked into its plot lines. Kane and his pals are regulars at the tobacco shop run by Happy McMann, played by Walter Kinsella, the only cast member to appear in all five seasons.

DOCTORED WILL: John Bixby is killed, and Kane has a hunch that the dead man's last will and testament can help solve the murder.

HOTEL CON GAME: A burlesque queen is strangled at a flophouse operated by a crooked psychic.

MURDER IN THE COURT: A killer on trial shoots the prosecutor in the courtroom with a gun belonging to his defense lawyer.

RECLUSIVE SISTERS: When a solicitor disappears after visiting the home of three shut-in sisters, Kane investigates and finds his mutilated body in a storage trunk.

• television