"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 (1958) *** (out of 4) Hammer originally produced this as a TV pilot but when it didn't sell they just threw it into theaters as a short and it turned out to be a pretty good one. Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster but accidentally uses a criminal's brain. He gets a chance to correct the mistake when a man dies after his wife begged the doctor to keep him alive. The doctor decides to put the dead man's brain into the body of the monster. I can understand this thing not selling as a TV pilot because there's really no place to go but as a short the thing is quite the success and in the end turns out to be a rather effective version of the classic tale. What I enjoyed most was the actual monster who had a pretty good look and he's given quite a bit to do. I really enjoyed the first creation scene when the monster attacks Frankenstein only to have some electrical equipment to go crazy and give him a real shock. The stuff at the end, when the dead man remembers who he is, was also very effective. The make up was clearly trying to look like the Karloff version but the large actor and the puffy cheeks makes him look more like Chaney from THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. The performances were good as is the direction so fans of the monster will certainly want to check this out.

Frankenstein's reputation has done well for him. He has created another "monster", but needs a mind to control it. When a terminally ill subject enters his lab, he sees an opportunity to create the perfect being -- not having to rely on dead or criminal brains.Anton Diffring ("Beast Must Die") stars as Baron Frankenstein and does a fine job. So does everyone else. For a television show, I'm uncertain ho this would have fared, particularly in the 1950s. And what would the story be? Would Frankenstein try a new brain each week? That would get old... or I've heard rumor it as to feature a different monster. That has some merit, but how many monsters are there? Dracula would make a much better ongoing character...Luckily for us this pilot survived as a short film, and a decent one at that. Perhaps not a memorable one, but a strong piece of the Frankenstein story from a director ho knows the man and the monster ("Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman", for example).This one crossed my desk through a box set. I'm not sure ho easily available it is, but if you get a chance to check it out, do so. It's only 27 minutes long, so you'd hardly be "wasting" time on this better-than-average attempt at a good horror story. "Tales From the Crypt" has done worse.

For years the only thing I knew about TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN was from a still I had seen in "Famous Monsters" magazine. Then a promotional trailer for this film/T.V. pilot turned up in the Zacherle video "Horrible Horror." For years I remained very curious about this film/T.V. pilot, but the damn thing was impossible to see. Then one day a copy of this film turned up on the shelves at my favorite video rental store and I was able to satisfy my curiosity.In TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN the good Dr. Frankenstein has created a being from bits and pieces of dead bodies stolen from graves. He brings the monster to life but discovers its mind is blank. Dr. Frankenstein decides a living brain is needed and is soon met by a dying man and is told by Dr. Frankenstein he can make him immortal if agrees to allow him to be used in an experiment. The dying man gets more than he bargained for when he wakes up in the horrible disfigured body of Frankenstein's creation.The monster's make-up in the film resembles the classic Universal monster with puffy cheeks giving the impression it is starting to develop acromegaly. The production values are not up to Hammers usual standards. The films sets look very stagey. Then again, this was a 1958 T.V. show, not a feature film. I have heard conflicting accounts on what this T.V. series was supposed to be. One states its was supposed to be a weekly series with each weeks episode telling the tale of a famous monster (i.e one week Dracula, next week The Mummy etc.) Another account claims each week would be about a different adventure in the life of Dr. Frankenstein. The latter seems unlikely. However, its doubtful either could have resulted in a long running series. The show would have ran out of plots very quickly.