Tales from the Crypt (1972)

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writers:

Johnny Craig (comic book stories Tales From The Crypt and The Vault of Horror)
Al Feldstein (comic book stories Tales From The Crypt and The Vault of Horror)

Release Date:

9 March 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

DEATH LIVES in the Vault of Horror!

Plot:

Five people get lost in a crypt and meet up with a strange crypt keeper who tells them stories of how they died.

Plot Keywords:

Crypt | Future | Tour | Infidelity | Sword

Cast

Joan Collins	...	Joanne Clayton (segment "All Through The House")
Peter Cushing	...	Arthur Edward Grimsdyke (segment "Poetic Justice")
Roy Dotrice	...	Charles Gregory (segment "Wish You Were Here")
Richard Greene	...	Ralph Jason (segment "Wish You Were Here")
Ian Hendry	...	Carl Maitland (segment "Reflection of Death")
Patrick Magee	...	George Carter (segment "Blind Alleys")
Barbara Murray	...	Enid Jason (segment "Wish You Where Here")
Nigel Patrick	...	Maj. William Rogers (segment "Blind Alleys")
Robin Phillips	...	James Elliott (segment "Poetic Justice")
Ralph Richardson	...	The Crypt Keeper
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Guide
David Markham	...	Father (segment "Poetic Justice")
Robert Hutton	...	Neighbour (segment "Poetic Justice")
Angela Grant	...	Susan Blake (segment "Reflection of Death") (as Angie Grant)
Susan Denny	...	Mrs. Maitland (segment "Reflection of Death")

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1972) (original rating) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (re-rating) | West Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM14 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) (cinema version) (cut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Amicus Productions

Trivia:

Peter Cushing is said to "act as himself" in this movie: Cushing's wife had died recently and he was very depressed; while Cushing's character is a widower who uses a ouija to talk with his dead wife.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When a close-up is shown of the skeletal motorcyclist following Ralph Jason in the "Wish You Were Here" segment, his facial features can clearly be seen behind the skeletal mask.

Quotes:

Maj. William Rogers: [Hearing his dog bark in the room beside him] Well, at least feed my dog, please!
George Carter: [Somber] He'll be fed alright.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Stephen King's World of Horror (1986) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Toccata and Fugue in D minor

finally on DVD, Tales from the Crpyt!

This is one of my favorite anthology movies that I was dismayed was not on DVD when I finally got a DVD player a few years ago. Now it is, and it was a perfect antidote for having mistakenly watched the hideously bad "Creepshow 3" a couple days ago. This is based on the EC Comics of the 50's (which the original Creepshow was based on as well, but that was played more for humor than this is). A group of people are on a tour of some catacombs, it seems, but they become separated from their guide and come across a chamber with a man in a hooded robe (Ralph Richardson) who shows them how they each came to be there. Joan Collins seems to have murdered her dear husband on Christmas Eve only to become the victim of a psycho Santa Claus. Ian Hendry told his wife he was off on a business trip when he was really running away with another woman only to be the victim of a traffic accident, and so on. All of these tales are ghoulish good fun, and this is one of the best horror anthology films to come out of the UK. If for some reason you've never seen this it's well worth your time, and hey, there was even a TV show based on it, but to be honest, I've never seen it. 8 out of 10.