Well Cooked Hams (3 Nov. 1993)

Inept struggling magician Miles Federman murders rival master magician Kraygen so he can steal Kraygen's Box of Death trick and finally achieve the success he's been striving for. However, ... See full summary »

Director:

Elliot Silverstein

Writer:

Andrew Kevin Walker (screenplay)

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Billy Zane, Maryam d'Abo

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Martin Sheen	...	Kraygen / Thomas Miller / Zorbin the Magnificent
Billy Zane	...	Miles Federman
Maryam d'Abo	...	Greta Kreutzel
John Kassir	...	Crypt Keeper (voice)
Candi Brough	...	Cassandra
Randi Brough	...	Rachel

Storyline

Inept struggling magician Miles Federman murders rival master magician Kraygen so he can steal Kraygen's Box of Death trick and finally achieve the success he's been striving for. However, events from Federman's past come back to haunt him on the night he premieres his new act.

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Plot Keywords:

learning to speak french | coffin | magician's assistant | flower | corpse | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 1993 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Tales From The Crypt Holdings

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Average tale from the crypt.

Tales from the Crypt: Well Cooked Hams starts as hopeless magician Miles Federman (Billy Zane) is approached by the master magician Kraygen (Martin Sheen) to come & see his spectacular 'Box of Death' illusion. After seeing the act & sensing that he could improve his own failing act with it Miles convinces Kraygen to reveal the secret of the illusion & then murders him. Miles new show is a hit but things come back from the past to haunt him...

This Tales from the Crypt story was episode 8 from season 5, directed by Elliot Silverstein this isn't a particularly good episode. The script by Andrew Kevin Walker was based on a story from the 'Tales from the Crypt' comic book & is a pretty weak entry in a usually strong series, the whole build up feels quite bland & dour, there's none of the morbid black humour & the average just deserts twist at the end felt routine & didn't really do much for me. Everythng that makes for a good Tales from the Crypt episode seems absent in Well Cooked Hams, the premise, twist & character's are below the usual standards. Also I just don't understand the Well Cooked Hams title, did I miss something or am I just being stupid?

This one is a period piece presumably set during the start of the 20th century & it looks nice enough, there's no gore here either apart from a bit of blood. The acting is OK by a decent cast although Martin Sheen's accent sounds rather silly.

Well Cooked Hams isn't that great but at only 30 odd minutes it passes the time harmlessly enough.