Tales of Tomorrow (1951–1953)

Anthology series featuring both classic and modern sci-fi themes.

Stars:

Leslie Nielsen, Cameron Prud'Homme, Theo Goetz

Cast

Series cast summary:
Leslie Nielsen	...	Farragut (6 episodes, 1952-1953)
Cameron Prud'Homme	...	Borden (4 episodes, 1951-1953)
Theo Goetz	...	Doctor Jarvis (4 episodes, 1951-1952)
Olive Deering	...	Ginny Walker (4 episodes, 1951-1953)
Edith Fellows		(4 episodes, 1951-1953)
Walter Abel		(4 episodes, 1951-1952)
Nancy Coleman	...	Jean (3 episodes, 1952-1953)
Don Hanmer	...	Henry Judson (3 episodes, 1952-1953)
Edgar Stehli	...	Burroughs (3 episodes, 1951-1952)
Barbara Joyce	...	Dr. Maroff (3 episodes, 1951-1952)
Thomas Mitchell	...	Captain Nemo (3 episodes, 1951-1952)
Lon McCallister	...	Gordon Kent (3 episodes, 1951)
Brian Keith	...	Peters (3 episodes, 1952)
Roger De Koven	...	Narrator (3 episodes, 1952)

Storyline

Anthology series featuring both classic and modern sci-fi themes.

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Plot Keywords:

anthology | live broadcast

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1951 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

George F. Foley

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 25 min (84 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For a production of "Frankenstein" Lon Chaney Jr. played the creature. Due to his heavy drinking, he thought that the actual performance was just another rehearsal. Instead of actually smashing the props on the set, he simply went through the motions as he did for the rehearsals.

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Soundtracks

Ballet music from "Romeo and Juliet"
Prokofiev

User Reviews

At Last! On DVD!

The classic January 18, 1952 live TV broadcast of "Frankenstein" with Lon Chaney, Jr. is finally available on DVD!

I had never even heard of this program until I was browsing in my local dollar store and happened to flip through their bin of dollar DVD's and saw a black and orange package bearing the title Tales of Tomorrow with a picture of three men in space suits staring at me.

I picked it up and immediately spotted Thomas Mitchell on the back cover photo. Any television appearance with Thomas Mitchell is worth seeing, but when I saw that the first episode was "Frankenstein," I knew I had a genuine find on my hands!

The three episodes are as follows:

Frankenstein (1-18-52) Starring John Newland and Lon Chaney, Jr. This, of course,is the prize of the lot. Chaney's performance (drunk or not) still hints at the sensitivity and greatness he was capable of. I'm left wondering what he might have done during an "actual" performance.

The Crystal Egg (2-29-52)Stars Thomas Mitchell and is based on a story by H G Wells. Mitchell sees Mars inside the titular crystal egg -which promptly goes missing and there's dirty work afoot!

Appointment on Mars (6-22-52) Leslie Nielsen (looking unusually young and virile) appears as one of a trio of space explorers in this weirdly disturbing drama which comes across as a low-rent adaptation of The Martian Chronicals.