0405 - Sagamore Cottage (12/31/1975)

Written by Bob Juhren. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Bob Kaliban; Carmen Matthews; Janet Waldo; Bryna Raeburn; Robert Maxwell.

* A young couple rents a cottage from an old woman who lives in a strange house which has a dark secret.

0404 - The Memory Killers (12/29/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Ralph Bell; Patricia Wheel; Robert Dryden; Nat Polen.

Henry Clay Courtland travels to Munich to secure a lucrative account for his advertising firm. But ghosts from the past remind him of the true, horrendous identity of the corporation's president.

0403 - License to Kill (12/26/1975)

Written by Sidney Sloan. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Joan Loring; Larry Haines; Earl Hammond; Sid Sloan; Mary Jane Higby.

A woman is successful in liberating her husband from a sanitarium for the criminally insane.

CBSRMT Trivia: "License to Kill" is the same title of two Mystery Theater episodes (Episode 403: 12/26/75) and (Episode 590: 1/24/77).

0402 - A Christmas Carol (12/24/1975)

Written by Ian Martin. Directed by Himan Brown. Adaptation of a story by Charles Dickens.

Cast: Marian Seldes; Ian Martin; Evie Juster; Robert Dryden; William Redfield.

Series host E. G. Marshall voices the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in this dramatic retelling of Charles Dickens' classic holiday ghost story.

Mystery Theater only aired two Christmas episodes during its nine-year run. The first, "A Very Private Miracle," aired only once, on Christmas Eve of 1974.

The second, "A Christmas Carol," aired on every Christmas Eve from 1975 to 1981 and was the only episode to star Mystery Theater host E. G. Marshall as Ebenezer Scrooge.

0401 - The Murder Market (12/23/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Rosemary Murphy; Robert Dryden; Ann Pitoniak; Ian Martin.

Stuck with a humdrum job and a banal fiancé, a young woman feels challenged by a dynamic business entrepreneur and begins a new career avenue which turns into high intrigue when she becomes the prime suspect in a homicide.

0400 - The Image (12/22/1975)

Written by Elspeth Eric. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Norman Rose; William Redfield; Teri Keane; Marian Seldes.

* In a quest to perfect his image, a ruthless, self-absorbed writer forces his will upon his wife and friends.

0399 - The Corpse Wrote Shorthand (12/19/1975)

Written by Roy Winsor. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Mandel Kramer; Joan Lovejoy; Russell Horton; Joan Shay; Berry Kroeger.

Bank accountant Will Crawford spent 5 years in jail for securities embezzlement, a crime he did not commit. Newly released and determined to clear his name, Crawford and a newspaper reporter question his ex-colleagues.

0398 - Fireball (12/18/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Kim Hunter; Hugh Marlowe; Earl Hammond; Guy Sorel.

When strange things start happening on their estate, the wife of a defense contractor is convinced the new blacksmith they've hired is actually the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.

0397 - The Eleventh Hour (12/17/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Larry Haines; Carol Teitel; Mary Jane Higby; Don Scardino; Arnold Moss.

Feeling guilt over how he has amassed his fortune, a wealthy business owner answers a personal ad from a woman who claims she is a being from another galaxy.

0396 - Burn, Witch, Burn (12/15/1975)

Written by Ian Martin. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Howard DaSilva; Marian Seldes; Kirk Peterson; William Redfield; Court Benson.

A fictitious incident in the life of Cotton Mather, Puritan minister and intellectual during the era of the Salem witch trials.

0395 - Marry for Murder (12/12/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Mandel Kramer; Patsy Bruder; Evie Juster; Arthur Anderson; Dan Ocko.

* Two sisters with different agendas hire the same private detective to look into the affairs of the same man.

0394 - You Can Change Your Life (12/11/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Ralph Bell; Earl Hammond; Bryna Raeburn; Robert Dryden; Martha Greenhouse.

A police detective is bewildered by the murders of two women, but later learns of the connection they shared with a third murder victim.

0393 - Stitch in Time (12/9/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Leon Janney; Bryna Raeburn; Rosemary Rice; Earl Hammond.

A billionaire welcomes into his home the niece he has not seen in 9 years. But his secretary has doubts about the girl's identity and motives.

0392 - How Quiet the Night (12/8/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: William Redfield; Patricia Elliott; Marian Seldes; Court Benson.

Russell Porter is engaged to wealthy Sibyl Malone, then his former girlfriend Cora Jean Buxton shows up.

0391 - Pharaoh's Daughter (12/5/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Jack Grimes; Ian Martin; Joan Shay; Nat Polen; Jordan Charney.

Leonore Drake and her paramour frame a hapless drunkard for their murder of a taxi driver who discovered Drake's millionaire husband dead in his cab.

0390 - Portrait of A Killer (12/4/1975)

Written by Ian Martin. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Michael Wager; Robert Dryden; Joan Lovejoy; Jada Rowland; Russell Horton.

An elderly man stands in quiet fascination at a museum painting believed to be the last remaining artwork of an obscure artist. The man learns he can project himself into the painting and possibly alter the tragic history behind it.

0389 - Promise to Kill (12/3/1975)

Written by Henry Slesar. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Gordon Gould; Earl Hammond; Russell Horton; Hetty Galen; Lesley Woods; Roy LeMay.

* A Vengeful Dave Farmer arranges to have Vernon White, who killed Farmer's wife and daughter, slain in prison.

0388 - With Malice Aforethought (12/1/1975)

Written by Sidney Sloan. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Carlos Carrasco; William Redfield; Marian Seldes; Len Gochman; Robert Maxwell.

* Insisting he was fired upon first, police sergeant Gil Robey shoots and kills a suspect during a drug bust. But no drugs or weapon were found.

Defects: A little background noise.

0387 - The Frammis (11/28/1975)

Written by Sam Dann. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Howard DaSilva; Bryna Raeburn; Joan Shay; Ian Martin; Robert Dryden.

A diamond-like yet worthless piece of glass makes its way from an honest jeweler's shop to a Royal Army officer to a reigning monarch's priceless collection. But then the king asks for an appraisal on the gem.

0386 - The Dead, Dead Ringer (11/27/1975)

Written by Ian Martin. Directed by Himan Brown.

Cast: Don Scardino; Evie Juster; Leon Janney; Jackson Beck.

Mob boss Mario Procacci asks policeman Bruce Hart to deliver a warning message to the lothario husband of Procacci's daughter, Penny.