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Tales That Witness Madness

 
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Tales That Witness Madness

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Tales That Witness Madness
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  • Director: Freddie Francis
  • AMG Rating: starstar
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Movie Type: Supernatural Horror, Horror Comedy
  • Themes: Time Travel
  • Main Cast: Joan Collins, Jack Hawkins, Russell Lewis, Peter McEnery, Kim Novak, Donald Pleasence, Mary Tamm
  • Release Year: 1973
  • Country: UK
  • Run Time: 90 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: R

Plot

Essentially a reworking of their earlier omnibus Asylum, this is another anthology of pulp horror tales from Amicus, this one helmed by the ever-reliable Freddie Francis. It features a quartet of eerie vignettes involving four patients in the care of psychiatrist Dr. Tremayne (Donald Pleasence), who is attempting to justify his strange theories to a colleague (Jack Hawkins, who died shortly after his scenes were filmed) by explaining the horrific events that drove the patients to their current state. The first tale centers on a young boy (Russell Lewis), whose parents' constant squabbling prompts him to conjure an imaginary tiger to devour them. The second involves a Victorian-era bicycle which allows its finder (Peter McEnery) to travel back in time and live as his own ancestor. The goofy third chapter pits a jealous wife (Joan Collins) against a strange rival for her husband's attention: a tree possessed by a human soul. The final segment stars Kim Novak (a last-minute replacement for Rita Hayworth) as a literary agent who must sacrifice her own daughter (Mary Tamm) to appease the restless spirit of her client's mother. Although certainly not the studio's best effort, this is still an amusing diversion, featuring the standard twist ending and a flamboyant approach suggestive of EC horror comics. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Review

Fans of horror anthology films will enjoy Tales that Witness Madness, a middling yet entertaining entry into that genre. As with almost all such omnibus affairs, it's an uneven excursion, as some segments simply work better than others, and the opinion as to which ones are the stronger (or weaker) will undoubtedly vary depending upon the tastes, experiences and expectations of the viewer. However, it's a fairly safe bet that the "living tree" episode will provide the most sheer entertainment, and the "lewd luau" the least. The former is in most ways the most ludicrous of the bunch, but that actually counts in its favor: after all, how seriously can one take a tale in which the chief rival is from the plant family? Joan Collins gets a great deal of mileage out of the part and is enormously fun to watch. By contrast, poor Kim Novak in the luau segment turns in a performance that is self-conscious and embarrassed, which only helps to sink the already-poor sequence. This viewer thinks that the time travel story is the most interestingly told and rewarding, but readily admits that many will find it slow and obvious. And while the tiger piece holds few surprises in terms of plot, the image of the boy calmly playing his piano as his parents are brutally disposed of is decidedly chilling. While Freddie Francis' direction is fairly standard for this kind of film, he does work with his cinematographer to create some striking visuals. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Cast

Georgia Brown - Fay Patterson [Mr. Tiger]; Joan Collins - Bella; Jack Hawkins - Nicholas; Donald Houston - Sam Patterson [Mr. Tiger]; Michael Jayston - Brian; Suzy Kendall - Ann/Beatrice; Neil Kennedy - [Penny Farthing]; Leon Lissek - Keoki; Peter McEnery - Timothy; Kim Novak - Auriol; Michael Petrovich - Kimo; Donald Pleasence - Dr. Tremayne; Zohra Segal - Malia; Mary Tamm - Ginny; David Wood - Tutor; Russell Lewis - Paul; Frank Forsyth - Uncle Albert; Beth Morris - Polly; Leslie Nunnerley - Vera; Richard Connaught - Moving Man

Credit

Roy Walker - Art Director, Peter Saunders - First Assistant Director, Freddie Francis - Director, Bernard Gribble - Editor, Bernard Ebbinghouse - Editor, Bernard Ebbinghouse - Composer (Music Score), Eric Allwright - Makeup, Norman Warwick - Cinematographer, Norman Priggen - Producer, Milton Subotsky - Producer, Michael Almont - Set Designer, Nolan Roberts - Sound/Sound Designer, Ken Ritchie - Sound/Sound Designer, Jennifer Jayne - Screenwriter, Jay Fairbank - Screenwriter
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Wikipedia: Tales That Witness Madness
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Tales That Witness Madness
Directed by Freddie Francis
Produced by Norman Priggen
Written by Jennifer Jayne (as Jay Fairbank)
Starring Donald Pleasence
Joan Collins
Kim Novak
Jack Hawkins
Music by Bernard Ebbinghouse
Cinematography Norman Warwick
Editing by Bernard Gribble
Release date(s) October 31, 1973
Running time 90 minutes
Country  United Kingdom
Language English

Tales That Witness Madness is a 1973 British horror film produced by Norman Priggen, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, and written by actress Jennifer Jayne.

It was one of several in a series of portmanteau films made during the 1960s and 1970s which included Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965), Torture Garden (1967), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Asylum (1972), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (film) (1973), and From Beyond the Grave (1973).

This is similar to the Amicus portmanteau horror films of the time, but was not an Amicus production. It was produced by World Film Services.

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." [1]

Plot

A psychiatrist in a high tech modern mental asylum, Dr. Tremayne (Donald Pleasence), discusses a bold new psychiatric theory with colleague Dr. Nicholas (Jack Hawkins). Tremayne uses four patients who went insane - Paul, Timothy, Brian and Auriol - to illustrate the theory, presenting each in turn to Nicholas:

In Mr. Tiger, Paul (Russell Lewis) is the sensitive and introverted young son of constantly bickering parents Sam (Donald Houston) and Fay Patterson (Georgia Brown). Amid the unhappy domestic situation he befriends an "imaginary" tiger. Features David Wood as Paul's tutor Phillipe.

In Penny Farthing, Timothy (Peter McEnery) an antique store owner, stocks a strange portrait of "Uncle Arthur" (Frank Forsyth) and a penny farthing bicycle. In a series of episodes Uncle Arthur compels Timothy to mount the bicycle and he is transported to an earlier era where he observes the apparently mourning Polly (Beth Morris). These travels place Timothy's wife Ann (Suzy Kendall) in peril. Features Neil Kennedy and Richard Connaught as the removal men.

In Mel, Brian Thompson (Michael Jayston) brings home an old dead tree, which he lovingly calls Mel, mounting it in his modern home as a bizarre piece of objet d'art. He increasingly shows unusual attention to Mel angering his jealous wife Bella (Joan Collins).

In Luau literary agent Auriol Pageant (Kim Novak) lasciviously courts a new client Kimo (Michael Petrovich), however he shows more interest in her beautiful young daughter Ginny (Mary Tamm). Auriol organises a sumptuous luau for him as per the detailed instructions of Kimo's associate Keoki (Leon Lissek). However it is actually a ceremony to reincarnate Kimo's deceased mother Malia (Zohra Segal), and a requirement is that the flesh of a virgin he consumed. Features Leslie Nunnerley as Vera.

Production

Filmed at Shepperton Studios on 35 mm with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. This was the last film of Frank Forsyth who appears as Uncle Albert. Jack Hawkins died shortly after his scenes were filmed. Hawkins had had his larynx removed in an operation in 1966 and here his voice was dubbed by Charles Gray in post-production. (Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide) [2] This was Hawkins' final film appearance.[1]

Kim Novak broke a four year hiatus from films with her appearance in this film. She replaced Rita Hayworth shortly after production started.[1]

External links

  1. ^ a b c Milne, Tom. Willemin, Paul. Hardy, Phil. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Horror, Octopus Books, 1986. ISBN 0-7064-2771-8 p 284
  2. ^ Allmovie

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