The Dain Curse

Actor James Coburn returned to TV acting after fourteen years to star as Dashiell Hammett's fictional detective in this complex tale of the 1920s that has the private eye looking into a diamond robbery and finding himself involved with a young woman's obsession with a deadly family curse. The Mystery Writers of America gave the film their annual Edgar Award (for Edgar Allan Poe) as the Best Television Program of 1978, and director E.W. Swackhamer (who replaced Barry Shear) and recent Oscar winner Beatrice Straight both received Emmy Award nominations for the movie.