Dr. Nicholas (Jack Hawkins) arrives at the insane asylum run by the eminent Prof. Tremayne (Donald Pleasence) to hear his absolutely bizarre theories as to how four of his patients ended up there.The first is young Paul (Russell Lewis), who lived with quarrelling parents Sam and Fay (Donald Houston, Georgia Brown), and who had concocted an imaginary friend dubbed Mr. Tiger. Or is he imaginary?Next is Timothy (Peter McEnery), whose newly acquired penny farthing - it's a sort of bicycle - is able to transport him back in time, all while a leering portrait of his uncle Albert (Frank Forsyth) watches over him.Then we meet Brian (Michael Jayston), who frustrates his wife Bella (Joan Collins) by bringing home - and falling in love with (I kid you not) - a tree. A creepy looking tree that seems to be named Mel.Finally, in the tale that takes up most of the movies' running time, the story of Auriol (Kim Novak) is told. She's having to deal with a rebellious daughter, Ginny (Mary Tamm) while entertaining a writer named Kimo (Michael Petrovitch).Only the fourth tale, "Luau", has any real kick to it. And it's an appreciably twisted tale indeed. But overall, the segments of "Tales That Witness Madness" are bland and lack style. A shame, given that director / cinematographer Freddie Francis *could* do solid work in this format. Things get a little too silly a little too often, especially in the sequence with Brian and Bella, and the endings are rather predictable. Certainly this excellent cast of familiar faces does some good work; Pleasence is a pleasure to watch as always. And the movies' final moments come complete with yet another twist before the end credits start rolling.However, if you're looking for a good horror anthology from this period, check out "Asylum" or "Tales from the Crypt" instead.Five out of 10.

'Tales that Witness Madness', isn't that a great title! Problem is it's the best part of the film. This is another of those horror anthology movies that seemed more popular in the 70s. There are a few I really enjoyed like 'Asylum'. I watch them hoping for more of the same. This one seemed to have real potential with a cast that includes Donald Pleasence, Jack Hawkins, Joan Collins and even Kim Novak. It's another example of how even a good cast can't save a dull movie. The stories are predictable and even laughable at times. It even seemed to me like a comedy spoof of horror anthologies. The first story has been done way too many times. It's about a lonely child's imaginary friend that turns out to be all too real. Then there's a story about a haunted photograph. It made little sense. The most laughable of the stories was the one with Joan Collins. She plays the beautiful and seductive wife of a man who is more in love with a strange looking tree he finds. Yes, I said a tree. He moves it into their living room. Eventually it takes the place of Joan in the bedroom too. Talk about a wooden lover! Yeah this dork actually picks a tree over his beautiful wife. The last film with Kim Novak was too disturbing. Not disturbing because it's scar,y disturbing because I don't like to see bad things happening to good people like what happens to the innocent young girl. Mr. Pleasence and Mr. Hawkins are used in the framing story about two Psychiatrists who are colleagues. One claims to have made some sort of discovery. That is the start of the stories. The surprise ending to the framing story was also predictable. Still at least the finale was a bit scary. I give this movie a generous 4 out of 10.

Freddie Francis directed a lot of the best omnibus films that Amicus had to offer; but unfortunately, this isn't one of them. It would seem that the studio was running out of ideas after the likes of The House that Dripped Blood and The Vault of Horror, as every story in this film feels like an afterthought. The wraparound revolves around a mental home, where Doctor Tremayne is showing someone around his various patients. We then get treated to the story behind how they all got there. These films normally start off with a lacklustre tale, and this one is no different as the first features a young kid with a tiger. Nothing particularly of note for this tale, except for the fact that you'll be hoping it gets better. It does, but only slightly. The second story is completely stupid and also rather boring as we follow an antique store owner who gets a penny farthing bicycle and finds that it's a time machine and he can go back into the past, under the watchful eye of a painting of 'Uncle Albert'. Again, there's nothing particularly of note here and the way it plods out is far from interesting.The third tale is undoubtedly the best, and is the weird story of a man who falls in love with a tree stump. Aside from the obvious fact that you simply wouldn't bring an old piece of wood into the house (even if you are in a film about madness), this story is pretty good; it's funny enough and interesting in all the right places. It's not enough to save the film in its own right, but had all the segments been as good as this one; Tales That Witness Madness would have been a decent film. The final tale is extremely tedious and succeeds only in bring a slow end to the movie. The final tale follows a weird bloke who is involved in some kind of devilish sorcery. I know I won't remember what happened for long. These films almost always conclude their wraparound stories, and Tales That Witness Madness is no exception. However, like the rest of the film; the conclusion to the wraparound feels a lot like an afterthought and doesn't succeed in bringing any intrigue to a film severely lacking in it. Overall, Tales that Witness Madness features one decent story and three limp ones, and Amicus have certainly done a lot better.

This stylish horror anthology, made by the same guy who directed the equally effective TALES FROM THE CRYPT a year before, packs a real punch. Each of the four stories are ghoulish and chillingly memorable. The first, MR. TIGER, concerns a little boy who introduces his feuding parents to his "imaginary" tiger. The second, PENNY FARTHING, is about an old-fashioned bicycle which sends its new owner back in time to unveil a sinister crime. The third, MEL(My favorite), has the beautiful and sexy Joan Collins struggling to keep her husband's wandering eyes on her and her alone. The twist is her competition is a tree!!!!! The fourth and final segment, LUAU, is a grisly tale of murder and voodoo rites. Truthfully, the last segment, even though it's the goriest, is probably the weakest, and is notable mainly for the presence of the lovely and talented Kim Novak(VERTIGO) whose first film this was in four years. But each tale is worth viewing, and good fun!