CBS Library: Once Upon a Midnight Scary (1979)
Vincent Price hosts and narrates this episode of the CBS Library series. This here has three different horror tales told with the main goal of making kids interested in reading the actual books. Richard Peck's "The Ghost Belonged to Me" deals with a young man who gets a premonition due to a ghost in his barn. Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" deals with the subject that we all know. Finally, John Bellairs' "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" deals with a possible magician.
I'm really not familiar with this series and mainly watched this episode since it featured Price. As you'd expect, Price is a great host thanks in large part to that terrific voice and he does a very good job here. He only appears in between all the episodes but he's certainly fun to watch and listen to.
As far as the stories go, they're all aimed at children and they're told in a way that children would be entertained. I thought all three stories were rather entertaining for what they were but the best would probably be the first one and then the final one. The Sleepy Hollow wasn't bad but we've certainly heard this story countless times and what was offered here wasn't the greatest.
The film benefits from some nice production design and there's no question that all three stories are well-made. It's interesting to note that none of the three stories are completed because, as Price states, kids will need to read the books to find out how they end. This little gimmick is actually a nice and creative way to make kids want to read.
Episode; B