The Weird Tailor
- Episode aired Oct 16, 1961
- 1h
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
205
YOUR RATING
A man seeks to resurrect his son by using a suit crafted using black magic.A man seeks to resurrect his son by using a suit crafted using black magic.A man seeks to resurrect his son by using a suit crafted using black magic.
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Sondra Blake
- Anna Borg
- (as Sondra Kerr)
Diki Lerner
- Hans the Dummy
- (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
Joe Ploski
- Waiter
- (uncredited)
Edwin Rochelle
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe original short story by Robert Bloch was one of four Bloch stories adapted for the 1972 British horror movie "Asylum".
- GoofsIn his introduction of the main starring actors, Karloff clearly introduces Sondra Kerr as Sandra Carr.
Featured review
Robert Bloch and Henry Jones
"The Weird Tailor" marks Robert Bloch's first script of this second season, and like the later "Waxworks" would be included among the stories for an Amicus anthology feature (this one the second segment of Roy Ward Baker's 1972 "Asylum"). Genuinely creepy from start to finish, opening with an embarrassing turn from Gary Clarke as the drunken son of wealthy necromancer Mr. Smith (George Macready), accidentally killed during a black mass, his grief stricken father calling upon sightless spiritualist Madame Roberti (Iphigenie Castiglioni) to put him on the trail of the one man who can help him restore the life that was taken. Where would one expect to find an ancient tome to raise the dead but a used car lot, whose owner (Abraham Sofaer) has been waiting 15 years for someone to meet his price, $1 million, then shortly after is killed in a plane crash (Madame Roberti believes his sins preordained this fate). Smith discovers the spell required and finds the right material for a tailor to shape into a suit for his son, to be sewn by hand during specific night time hours, otherwise the needle cannot penetrate the cloth. The story now shifts to immigrant couple Erik and Anna Borg (Henry Jones and Sondra Kerr), about to lose their tailor shop due to nonpayment of the rent, when Smith miraculously offers a lifeline with a job worth $500 to be paid upon delivery in one week. This couple is not so much weird as incompatible, Erik an unlikable tyrant guilty of physically and verbally assaulting his much younger wife, like a child bride who escapes her unhappy lot in a fantasy world, her only friend Hans a damaged storefront mannikin that now resides in the privacy of her bedroom (their one sided conversations padding out the already brief running time). As if black magic and spousal abuse wasn't enough for 1960s prime time, we have the confrontation between Smith and an insistent Borg, refusing to turn over the suit until he is paid, followed by an attempted strangling when his orders to burn it are not followed by the uncomprehending Anna. THRILLER was known for its uncompromising shock endings, and this one must be considered among the strongest, leaving bewildered younger viewers with endless nightmares for years to come. George Macready was never the most expressive of actors yet adequately conveys his character's obsessions, but the real standout is Henry Jones, brilliantly cast against type and still able to earn a measure of sympathy during his drinking binge with landlord Schwenk (Stanley Adams). The uncredited Dikki Lerner will have another opportunity to show off his pantomime skills in "The Innocent Bystanders," while Jones would be saddled with an even more disagreeable spouse in Bloch's "'Til Death Do Us Part." In "Asylum" the bereaved father would be played by Peter Cushing, the far more sympathetic tailor by Barry Morse.
helpful•20
- kevinolzak
- Dec 26, 2021
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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