for the main cast. The cast was the last thing the producers would pick, once they knew how long the actors would be needed for. If they needed a star for only a week "we can afford to get a fairly big name and pay him well" said Pine. But if they needed someone for longer, they got a less expensive star. They did prefer to hire lead actors with some name recognition but would hire experienced bit players so they would not hold up production.

Pine said they often got ideas from the newspapers. They did not make many murder mysteries because