Tales That Witness Madness (1973)

Dr Tremayne is an enigmatic Psychiatrist running a Futuristic asylum housing four very special cases. Visited by colleague Nicholas, Tremayne explains his amazing and controversial theories... See full summary »

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writer:

Jennifer Jayne

Stars:

Kim Novak, Georgia Brown, Jack Hawkins

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kim Novak	...	Auriol (segment 4 "Luau")
Georgia Brown	...	Fay Patterson (segment 1 "Mr. Tiger")
Joan Collins	...	Bella Thompson (segment 3 "Mel")
Jack Hawkins	...	Dr. Nicholas
Donald Houston	...	Sam Patterson (segment 1 "Mr. Tiger")
Michael Jayston	...	Brian (segment 3 "Mel")
Suzy Kendall	...	Ann / Beatrice (segment 2 "Penny Farthing")
Peter McEnery	...	Timothy Patrick (segment 2 "Penny Farthing")
Michael Petrovitch	...	Kimo (segment 4 "Luau")
Donald Pleasence	...	Prof. R.C. Tremayne
Russell Lewis	...	Paul Patterson (segment 1 "Mr. Tiger")
Leslie Nunnerley	...	Vera (segment 4 "Luau") (as Lesley Nunnerley)
Leon Lissek	...	Keoki (segment 4 "Luau")
Mary Tamm	...	Ginny (segment 4 "Luau")
David Wood	...	Tutor - Phillipe (segment 1 "Mr. Tiger")

Storyline

Dr Tremayne is an enigmatic Psychiatrist running a Futuristic asylum housing four very special cases. Visited by colleague Nicholas, Tremayne explains his amazing and controversial theories as to why each of the four patients went mad... cue four distinct tales each with a different set of characters: 'Mr Tiger' tells of Paul, the sensitive and troubled young son of prosperous but constantly bickering and unlovely parents, and the boy's 'imaginary' friend, a tiger. 'Penny Farthing' tells of Timothy, an antique store owner propelled backwards in time by a penny-farthing bicycle in his shop, all the while being watched over by the constantly changing photograph of Uncle Albert, which endangers the lives of both Timothy and his beautiful wife, Ann. 'Mel' tells of Brian, a man who brings home an old dead tree and prominently displays it in his living room as a work of art. His fiery wife Bella soon becomes jealous of the tree, which the husband has lovingly named Mel, and it seems to be ...

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Plot Keywords:

tiger | tree | asylum | bicycle | patient | 

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Taglines:

It happens beyond madness - where your mind won't believe what your eyes see.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Witness Madness

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

World Film Services

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack Hawkins's voice was dubbed by Charles Gray.

User Reviews

You Standard 1970s British Anthology -- I Love It

Visited by colleague Dr. Nicholas (Jack Hawkins), Dr. Tremayne (Donald Pleasence) explains his amazing and controversial theories as to why each of his four patients went mad... cue four distinct tales each with a different set of characters!

I love anthologies and was therefore instantly interested in this one. My only disappointment was that there were four segments. At 90 minutes, there should probably only have been three. We just never have time to fully develop the stories... (Although, I have to say a decent job was done here.)

Hooray for director Freddie Francis, best known for his work with Hammer. And hooray for Kim Novak, perhaps best known for "Vertigo". The Encyclopedia of Horror says the film "avoids farce and develops a nicely deadpan style of humour which is ably sustained by the excellent cast in which only Novak appears unable to hit the right note." Not sure why they singled her out... I thought she did fine.

Interestingly, this was the last film of both Frank Forsyth and Jack Hawkins, and Kim Novak had been semi-retired when she replaced Rita Hayworth to take her role here.