Tales from the Crypt is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
horror movie, made in 1972 by
Amicus ProductionsAmicus Productions is a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England. It was founded by American producer and screenwriter Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg.-Horror:...
. It is an
anthology filmAn anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...
consisting of five separate segments, based on stories from
EC ComicsEntertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
. Only two of the stories, however, are actually from EC's Tales from the Crypt. The reason for this, according to Creepy founding editor
Russ JonesRuss Jones is a Canadian novelist, illustrator, and magazine editor, active in the publishing and entertainment industries over a half-century, best known as the creator of the magazine Creepy for Warren Publishing...
, is that Amicus producer
Milton SubotskyMilton Subotsky was an American TV and film writer/producer. In 1964, in England, he formed Amicus Productions with Max J Rosenberg.Together they produced a number of low budget science fiction and horror films....
did not own a run of the original EC comic book but instead adapted the movie from the two paperback reprints given to him by Jones. The story "Wish You Were Here" was reprinted in the paperback collection The Vault of Horror (Ballantine, 1965). The other four stories in the movie were among the eight stories reprinted in Tales from the Crypt (Ballantine, 1964).It was directed by
Freddie FrancisFrederick William Francis BSC was an English cinematographer and film director.He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer, including winning two Academy Awards, for Sons and Lovers and Glory...
and was filmed at
Shepperton StudiosShepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
.
Tales from the Crypt is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
horror movie, made in 1972 by
Amicus ProductionsAmicus Productions is a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England. It was founded by American producer and screenwriter Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg.-Horror:...
. It is an
anthology filmAn anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...
consisting of five separate segments, based on stories from
EC ComicsEntertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
. Only two of the stories, however, are actually from EC's Tales from the Crypt. The reason for this, according to Creepy founding editor
Russ JonesRuss Jones is a Canadian novelist, illustrator, and magazine editor, active in the publishing and entertainment industries over a half-century, best known as the creator of the magazine Creepy for Warren Publishing...
, is that Amicus producer
Milton SubotskyMilton Subotsky was an American TV and film writer/producer. In 1964, in England, he formed Amicus Productions with Max J Rosenberg.Together they produced a number of low budget science fiction and horror films....
did not own a run of the original EC comic book but instead adapted the movie from the two paperback reprints given to him by Jones. The story "Wish You Were Here" was reprinted in the paperback collection The Vault of Horror (Ballantine, 1965). The other four stories in the movie were among the eight stories reprinted in Tales from the Crypt (Ballantine, 1964).It was directed by
Freddie FrancisFrederick William Francis BSC was an English cinematographer and film director.He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer, including winning two Academy Awards, for Sons and Lovers and Glory...
and was filmed at
Shepperton StudiosShepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
.
In the film, five strangers encounter the mysterious Crypt Keeper (
Ralph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
) in a
cryptIn architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
, and he tells each in turn the manner of their death. Richardson's hooded Crypt Keeper, more somber than the EC original (as illustrated by
Al FeldsteinAlbert B. Feldstein is an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife...
and
Jack DavisJack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories...
), has a monk-like appearance and resembles EC's GhouLunatics. In the EC horror comics, the other horror hosts (the Old Witch and the Vault Keeper) wore hoods, while the Crypt Keeper did not.
The screenplay was adapted into a tie-in novel by
Jack OleckJack Oleck was an American novelist and comic book writer particularly known for his work in the horror genre.The brother-in-law of comics pioneer Joe Simon, Oleck's comic book career was basically in two parts. During the Golden Age of comics Oleck wrote for EC Comics and the Simon-Jack Kirby...
, Tales from the Crypt (Bantam, 1972). Oleck, who wrote the novel Messalina (1950), also scripted for EC's Picto-Fiction titles, Crime Illustrated, Shock Illustrated and Terror Illustrated. A sequel,
The Vault of HorrorThe Vault of Horror is a British portmanteau horror film made in 1973 by Amicus Productions. Like its predecessor, Tales from the Crypt, it is based on stories from the EC Comics series written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines...
, with a tie-in also written by Oleck, was released in 1973.
Plot
Five strangers go with a
touristTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
group to view old catacombs. Separated from the main group, they find themselves in a room with the mysterious Crypt Keeper, who details how each of the strangers will die.
...And All Through the House (
The Vault of HorrorThe Vault of Horror was a bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Haunt of Fear, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies...
#35) - After Joanne Clayton (
Joan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
) kills her husband on
Christmas EveChristmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, she prepares to hide his body but hears a
radioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
announcement stating that a homicidal maniac (
Oliver MacGreevyOliver MacGreevy was an actor who appeared in many films and television series from the mid 50s until retiring in 1984.Among his notable parts he played Housemartin in the The Ipcress File...
) is on the loose. She sees the killer (who is dressed in a
Santa ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
costume) outside her house but cannot call the police without exposing her own crimes. Believing the maniac to be Santa, Joanne's daughter unknowingly lets him into the house, and he apparently starts to strangle her to death.
Reflection of Death (Tales from the Crypt #23) - Carl Maitland (
Ian HendryIan Hendry was an English film and television actor. He is best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s such as The Avengers, and for his roles in 1970s films such as Get Carter .-Career:Hendry was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Culford School...
) abandons his family to be with Susan Blake (
Angela GrantAngela Grant is a British actress best known for her appearances in Carry On Up the Khyber and Carry On Girls. Before she started acting she was a teenage fashion model for the Lucie Clayton agency, she now does public speaking and work for charity. She lives in Knightsbridge, London.-External...
). After they drive off together, they are involved in a car accident. He wakes up in the wrecked car and attempts to hitchhike home, but no one will stop for him. Arriving at his house, he sees his wife (Susan Denny) with another man. He knocks on the door, but she screams and slams the door. He then goes to see Susan to find out that she is blind from the accident. She says that Carl died two years ago from the crash. Looking in a reflective tabletop he sees he has the face of a corpse. Carl then wakes up and finds out that it was a dream but the moment he does, the crash occurs as it did before.
Poetic Justice (
The Haunt of FearThe Haunt of Fear was a bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in 1950. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Haunt of Fear was sold at newsstands beginning with its May/June 1950 issue...
#12, March-April 1952) - Edward Elliott (David Markham) and his son James (
Robin PhillipsRobin Phillips is an English actor and director.Phillips was born in Haslemere, Surrey, the son of EllenAnne and James William Phillips. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic and worked as an actor and director for many years in the United Kingdom, finishing as Artistic Director at the Greenwich...
) are a snobbish pair who resent their neighbor, retired garbage man Arthur Grimsdyke (
Peter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
) who owns a number of animals and entertains children in his house. To get rid of what they see as a blight on the neighborhood, they push Grimsdyke into a frenzy by conducting a
smear campaignA smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
against him, first resulting in the removal of his beloved dogs (while one of them came back to him), and later exploiting parents' paranoiac fears about child molestation. On Valentine's Day, James sends Grimsdyke a number of poison-pen Valentines, supposedly from the neighbors, driving the old man to suicide. One year later, Grimsdyke comes back from the dead and takes revenge on James: the following morning, Edward finds his son dead with a note that says he was bad and that he had no heart-- the word "heart" represented by James' heart, torn from his body.
Wish You Were Here (The Haunt of Fear #22, November-December 1953), is a variation on
W. W. JacobsWilliam Wymark Jacobs , was an English author of short stories and novels.-Writings:Jacobs is now remembered for his macabre tale "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Toll House"...
' famed short story "
The Monkey's Paw"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by author W. W. Jacobs. It was published in England in 1902.The story is based on the famous "setup" in which three wishes are granted. In the story, the paw of a dead monkey is a talisman that grants its possessor three wishes, but the wishes come with an...
." Ruthless businessman Ralph Jason (
Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene was a noted English film and television actor. A matinee idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1960.It has been...
) is close to financial ruin. His wife Enid (
Barbara MurrayBarbara Ann Murray is an English actress. She was married to the actor John Justin and had three daughters, but they divorced in 1964....
) discovers a
ChineseChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
figurineA figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
that says it will grant three wishes to whoever possesses it; Enid decides to wish for a fortune; surprisingly, it comes true, however, Ralph is killed on the way to his lawyer's office to collect it. The lawyer then advising Enid she will inherit a fortune from her deceased husband's life insurance plan. She uses her second wish to bring him back to the way he was just before the accident but learns that his death was due to a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
(caused by fright when he sees the figure of 'death' following him on a motorcycle). As she uses her final wish to bring him back alive and will live forever, she discovers that he was embalmed and that she has now trapped him in eternal pain.
Blind Alleys (Tales from the Crypt #46, February-March 1955), Major William Rogers (
Nigel PatrickNigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.-Biography:...
), the new director of a home for the
blindBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, makes drastic financial cuts, reducing heat and rationing food for the residents, while he lives in luxury with Shane, his Belgian Malinois. When he ignores complaints and a man dies due to the cold, the blind residents exact revenge by constructing in the basement a maze of narrow corridors lined with razor blades. They starve the Major's dog, place the Major in the maze's center, release the dog and turn off the basement lights.
After completing the final tale, the Crypt Keeper reveals that he was not warning them of what would happen, but telling them what had happened, they had all committed their various sins and died their various ways. Clues to this "twist" can be spotted throughout the film, including Joan Collins' character wearing the brooch her husband had given her for Christmas just before she killed him. The door to
HellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
opens, and the visitors all enter. "And now... who is next?" asks the Crypt Keeper, who then turns to face the camera and says, slowly and melodramatically, "Perhaps you?" Breaking the fourth wall.
Cast
- Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
- The Crypt Keeper
- Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
- Joanne Clayton
- Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
- Arthur Edward Grimsdyke
- Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
- Charles Gregory
- Richard Greene
Richard Marius Joseph Greene was a noted English film and television actor. A matinee idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1960.It has been...
- Ralph Jason
- Ian Hendry
Ian Hendry was an English film and television actor. He is best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s such as The Avengers, and for his roles in 1970s films such as Get Carter .-Career:Hendry was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Culford School...
- Carl Maitland
- Patrick Magee
Patrick Magee was a Northern Irish actor best known for his collaborations with Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, as well as his appearances in horror films and in Stanley Kubrick's films A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon.-Early life:He was born Patrick McGee in Armagh, County Armagh, Northern...
- George Carter
- Barbara Murray
Barbara Ann Murray is an English actress. She was married to the actor John Justin and had three daughters, but they divorced in 1964....
- Enid Jason
- Nigel Patrick
Nigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.-Biography:...
- Major William Rogers
- Robin Phillips
Robin Phillips is an English actor and director.Phillips was born in Haslemere, Surrey, the son of EllenAnne and James William Phillips. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic and worked as an actor and director for many years in the United Kingdom, finishing as Artistic Director at the Greenwich...
- James Elliot
- Geoffrey Bayldon
Geoffrey Bayldon is a British actor. After playing roles in many dramas including Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series Catweazle , after turning down the opportunity to play both the First and Second Doctors in the long-running BBC science fiction...
- Guide
- David Markham
David Markham was an English stage and film actor for over forty years.Markham was born Peter Basil Harrison in Wick, Worcestershire and died in Hartfield, East Sussex....
- Edward Elliot
- Robert Hutton
-Early life:Robert Hutton was the son of a hardware merchant and was a cousin of the Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. He attended Blair Academy, a small, exclusive boarding school in Blairstown, New Jersey...
- Mr. Baker
- Angela Grant
Angela Grant is a British actress best known for her appearances in Carry On Up the Khyber and Carry On Girls. Before she started acting she was a teenage fashion model for the Lucie Clayton agency, she now does public speaking and work for charity. She lives in Knightsbridge, London.-External...
- Susan Blake
- Chloe Franks
Chloe Franks is an American actress. She portrayed Katy Coombs in Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? alongside actress Shelley Winters who played Aunt Roo, and actor Mark Lester, who played her brother, Christopher....
- Carol Clayton
- Martin Boddey
Martin Boddey was a British film and television actor.He was a founder member of the Lord's Taverners charity.-Selected filmography:* The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery * Cairo Road...
- Richard Clayton
- Clifford Earl
Clifford Earl is an English actor who has appeared in numerous television programmes and films. He appeared in the TV series Doctor Who twice, as the Station Sergeant in The Daleks' Master Plan in 1965, and as Major Branwell in The Invasion in 1968...
- Police Sargeant
- Harry Locke
Harry Locke was a British character actor.He was born and died in London. He was a familiar face in three decades of British cinema, with appearances including Passport to Pimlico , Reach for the Sky , Carry On Nurse , The Devil-Ship Pirates and The Family Way .In 1969 he appeared in Randall...
- Harry
- Oliver MacGreevy
Oliver MacGreevy was an actor who appeared in many films and television series from the mid 50s until retiring in 1984.Among his notable parts he played Housemartin in the The Ipcress File...
- Santa Suit Maniac
- Robert Rietti
Robert Rietti , usually credited as Robert Rietty, is a Italian actor and director.- Biography :Born of Italian heritage, Lucio Rietti was “discovered” at the age of 8 by his father Vittorio who noticed the boy had completely memorized a copy of a script he had given Lucio having wanted help from...
- Radio Announcer
DVD release
Tales From The Crypt along with the sequel,
The Vault of HorrorThe Vault of Horror is a British portmanteau horror film made in 1973 by Amicus Productions. Like its predecessor, Tales from the Crypt, it is based on stories from the EC Comics series written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines...
, was released on a double feature DVD on September 11, 2007.
Connections to the TV Series
All Through the House, Blind Alleys, and Wish You Were Here were all somewhat remade into episodes for the
Tales From the CryptTales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
television show. Blind Alleys and Wish You Were Here were both changed.
Blind Alleys was now Revenge is the Nuts and was about a beautiful blind girl who comes to live at the house, where the sadistic director (played by
The Dead ZoneThe Dead Zone is a 1983 horror-thriller film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed by David Cronenberg, the film stars Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, and Tom Skerritt...
s
Anthony ZerbeAnthony Jared Zerbe is an American stage, film and Emmy-winning television actor. Notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; Milton Krest in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill;...
) tries to sexually assault her. In the end, she and the other residents take their revenge on the director in the same fashion as in the original story.
Wish You Were Here is similar in to the TV series' 7th season episode Last Respects in that both borrow plot elements from W. W. Jacobs's classic story "The Monkey's Paw" and both are directed by the original film's director
Freddie FrancisFrederick William Francis BSC was an English cinematographer and film director.He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer, including winning two Academy Awards, for Sons and Lovers and Glory...
. Like many of the show's episodes, "Last Respects" uses the title of an existing story from the comics (Tales From The Crypt #23), but does not use the story itself. The statue from the film is reverted to the original monkey's paw in the TV episode, and the story now deals with three sisters who come into possession of it. One wishes for a million pounds, and she and the second sister are in a car crash where she dies, and her life insurance policy is for one million pounds. When the third sister wishes that the dead sister was the way she was just before the crash, she learns that she was actually killed by the second sister. In a form of revenge, the third sister gives her last wish to her sister, but she did not say which sister she wanted to give it to, beating the monkey's paw at its own game. The wish is transferred to the dead sister, who comes back to kill the second sister.
External links