Tales of Frankenstein (1958)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

"Fee.... Fye.... Foe.... Fum!"When it comes to 1950's TV-Horror - I'd say that this British, pilot episode (for a series that never materialized) actually delivered quite an effective little spin on the old, familiar tale of Frankenstein and his "creation".Judging by the obvious production values of this one episode - It was clear to see that there was a sizable budget in play here. And it was also quite apparent that the tone of Gothic "atmosphere" was definitely the name of the game.Featuring a competent cast of sincere actors - I especially liked Don Megowan's portrayal of the mute, tormented monster. At a towering 6' 6" - Megowan certainly stood a head taller than anyone else and he sure put in a convincing performance as the outraged creature who receives an unexpected "cerebellum" make-over.

TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN of 1958 is the pilot from the British Hammer Studios, which was never continued as a TV series. This was made right after Hammer's first successful and highly influential Gothic Horror film THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) starring the great Peter Cushing in the role of the eponymous Baron, a role which he would reprise five more times. On the one hand, it is highly regrettable that TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN, which stars the sinister Anton Diffring, never became a show. On the other hand, it is debatable whether Hammer had made any sequels to their first success, if their had been a FRANKENSTEIN show on TV; since the FRANKENSTEIN sequels from Hammer are entirely great, some arguably even greater than the 1957 film, their not having been produced would be tragic for the world of Horror.TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN is interesting in particular due to the charismatic performance of Anton Diffring, a specialist for sinister characters, and due to the fact that it mixes the styles of Hammer and the original Universal Horror films. Especially by its looks, this has a stronger resemblance to the Classic Horrors from Universal. The set pieces are Gothic and elegant, and the film has a nice, eerie atmosphere. The storyline is interesting enough: Baron Frankestein (Diffring) is experimenting on his creation, trying to make the monster less aggressive. A terminally ill concert pianist (Richard Bull) and his wife come to Frankenstein's castle in order to ask for the Baron's help...Overall, this 28-minute flick is a highly interesting little gem that especially Classic Horror fans should not miss. Diffring is great (even though not quite as great as Cushing), the atmosphere is gloomy, and the story interesting. Ignoring the previously made assumption that making the TV show might have resulted in the film sequels not being made, one can only say: Too bad this series was never made. It would have probably been quite something. Not to be missed.

This is the pilot for a TV series that didn't get picked up. It features a different telling of the familiar story of Baron Frankenstein and his monster. Well acted with good sets and fine production values, I'm surprised this didn't get a shot as a regular series. Features some stock footage from old Universal horror films, but if your going to use stock footage, that is perfect for this type of show. Was produced by Hammer Studios, who were famous for their own horror movies. Richard Bull, who was Mr. Olsen on Little House on the Praire, has a significant role in this show.Well worth picking up, as this is part of many different public domain horror collections. I picked this up in Mill Creek's 250 movie Horror Collection, and this has been one of the big highlights. The quality of this print was very good, with clear audio and a nice picture.I gave this 7 out of 10.

This unused pilot for a television series about Frankenstein's Monster is very good,for what it is. I would have liked to have seen what else they could have thought of. Yes it is cheesy,even for a horror film,but you must remember it was meant to be that way. The plot is great actually for a series pilot.I would have liked to have seen what would have happened next,and with Curt Siodmak,one of the fathers of the Universal Horror Genre,and Creator of The Wolf Man, in the writer,and directors chair we could have had a real treat.