# Tales from the Crypt (film)
*Tales from the Crypt* is a 1972 British-American horror anthology film directed by Freddie Francis, in which five strangers separated from a tour group in an English churchyard catacomb meet the Crypt Keeper ([Ralph Richardson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-richardson)), who shows each of them how they will die.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448) • [2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm) It was written and produced by Milton Subotsky with Max J. Rosenberg for Amicus Productions and Metromedia Producers Corp., and it was the first feature film production for Metromedia.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | March 1972; Los Angeles premiere 14 March 1972; 92 minutes, Eastmancolor, RCA Sound, rated PG[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54448-TALES-FROMTHECRYPT) |
| Production | Early September to mid-October 1971 at Shepperton Studios, Middlesex; copyright registered 8 March 1972 (LP40885)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54448-TALES-FROMTHECRYPT) |
| Source | Stories by Johnny Craig, Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines from the EC Comics titles *Tales from the Crypt*, *The Vault of Horror* and *The Haunt of Fear* (1950–1955)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54448-TALES-FROMTHECRYPT) |
| Principal cast | Ralph Richardson (the Crypt Keeper), Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ian Hendry, Richard Greene, Nigel Patrick, Patrick Magee[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448) • [2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm) |
| Segments | "And All Through the House," "Reflections of Death," "Poetic Justice," "Wish You Were Here," "Blind Alleys"[2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm) |
| UK classification | Classified 5 April 1972 at 93m 0s with cuts; distributor Cinerama Releasing (UK) Ltd[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/tales-from-the-crypt-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodgymjm) |
| Reception | 90% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 20 reviews; 69% audience score[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tales_from_the_crypt_1972) |
## Spoilers
### The five stories
The frame story places five tourists (Joanne Clayton, Carl Maitland, James Elliot, Ralph Jason, and [William Rogers](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-rogers)) in the catacombs beneath an English churchyard, where a monk-like figure, the Crypt Keeper, recounts each one's fate.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54448-TALES-FROMTHECRYPT) • [2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm)
- **"And All Through the House."** On Christmas Eve, housewife Joanne Clayton ([Joan Collins](https://www.edgepedia.org/joan-collins)) murders her husband, then finds herself barricading the house against an escaped maniac dressed as [Santa Claus](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-claus), whom her trusting young daughter lets in.[2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm)
- **"Reflections of Death."** Carl Maitland ([Ian Hendry](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-hendry)) leaves his wife and children for his mistress and crashes his car; when he climbs from the wreck, everyone he meets flees in horror.[2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm)
- **"Poetic Justice."** Arthur Grimsdyke (Peter Cushing), a kindly widower who works as a garbage collector, is hounded out of the neighborhood by a smear campaign run by his snobbish neighbors and drives himself to suicide; a year later, on Valentine's Day, he returns from the grave for revenge.[2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm) • [8](https://www.reelstreets.com/films/tales-from-the-crypt/)
- **"Wish You Were Here."** Enid Jason uses a Chinese figurine that grants three wishes to save her bankrupt husband Ralph (Richard Greene); the wishes bring him a fortune, then death, then a resurrection as an embalmed corpse condemned to eternal pain.[2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm) The segment is also suggested by W. W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw."[7](https://eofftv.com/tales-from-the-crypt-1972/)
- **"Blind Alleys."** Former army major William Rogers (Nigel Patrick) becomes director of a home for the blind and cuts heating and food rations while living in luxury; the residents, led by George Carter (Patrick Magee), revolt and corner him between a savage guard dog and a narrow alleyway lined with razors.[2](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm)
The stories follow the [EC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/ec-comics) pattern in which wrongdoers face ironic, macabre punishments fitted to their misdeeds.[9](https://bureau42.com/view/28313/movie-review-tales-from-the-crypt-1972)
## Production background
Amicus Productions was founded by Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg and, run from a shed at [Shepperton Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/shepperton-studios), became known in the 1960s and 1970s for portmanteau horror films, beginning with Francis's *Dr. Terror's House of Horrors* (1965).[6](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/amicus-crypts-wax-museums-locations) *Tales from the Crypt* was the fourth of Amicus's anthology films and the first of two, along with *The Vault of Horror* (1973), based on stories from EC Comics.[7](https://eofftv.com/tales-from-the-crypt-1972/) Subotsky worked from a paperback reprint that collected stories from both *Tales from the Crypt* and its sister title *The Vault of Horror*, so only two of the film's five stories actually come from the *Tales from the Crypt* comic itself.[7](https://eofftv.com/tales-from-the-crypt-1972/)
The crew included cinematographer Norman Warwick, editor Teddy Darvas, production designer [Tony Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-curtis), and composer Douglas Gamley; the opening credits use Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," played by Nicholas Kynaston.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54448-TALES-FROMTHECRYPT) In the opening credits the actors' names are listed sequentially, while in the closing credits they are grouped by the stories in which they appeared.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448)
## Censorship and release
The [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) passed the film on 5 April 1972 at 93 minutes with cuts as part of the classification process, and it was distributed in the UK by Cinerama Releasing (UK) Ltd.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/tales-from-the-crypt-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodgymjm) Later home-entertainment versions were classified at shorter running times, 91m 56s in 1988 and 88m 29s in 2010.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/tales-from-the-crypt-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodgymjm) In the United States the film was rated PG.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448)
## Reception and legacy
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 90% Tomatometer from 20 reviews and a 69% audience score.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tales_from_the_crypt_1972) Reviewers have singled out [Peter Cushing](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-cushing)'s performance in "Poetic Justice"; Matt Brunson of Film Frenzy called it "one of the finest performances of his long career."[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tales_from_the_crypt_1972) Encyclopedia.com describes *Tales from the Crypt* as Francis's most successful film commercially.[10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/movies/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/francis-freddie)
**Afterlife of the property.** In 1973, producers Charles Fries, Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky made a sequel under the Amicus banner, *The Vault of Horror*, directed by Roy Ward Baker and based on other "Tales from the Crypt" stories.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448) In 1989 the HBO cable network adapted the EC stories into the anthology series *Tales from the Crypt*, which ran from 1989 to 1996; many of its episodes were written for the show rather than adapted from the comics.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448) The series in turn inspired the feature films *[Demon Knight](https://www.edgepedia.org/demon-knight)* (1995) and *Bordello of Blood* (1996).[11](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William-Proctor-2/publication/353986996_Building_imaginary_horror_worlds/links/680f5333df0e3f544f4c25f6/Building-imaginary-horror-worlds.pdf)
## References
1. [Tales from the Crypt (1972), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54448)
2. [Tales from the Crypt (1972), Moria: The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review](https://moriareviews.com/horror/tales-from-the-crypt-film-1972.htm)
3. [Tales from the Crypt, AFI Catalog full entry](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54448-TALES-FROMTHECRYPT)
4. [Tales From The Crypt, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/tales-from-the-crypt-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodgymjm)
5. [Tales from the Crypt (1972), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tales_from_the_crypt_1972)
6. [Amicus at 60: in search of its crypts, wax museums and other locations, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/amicus-crypts-wax-museums-locations)
7. [Tales from the Crypt (1972), EOFFTV](https://eofftv.com/tales-from-the-crypt-1972/)
8. [Tales from the Crypt, Reelstreets](https://www.reelstreets.com/films/tales-from-the-crypt/)
9. [October Countdown: Tales from the Crypt (1972), Bureau 42](https://bureau42.com/view/28313/movie-review-tales-from-the-crypt-1972)
10. [Francis, Freddie, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/movies/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/francis-freddie)
11. [Building Imaginary Horror Worlds (Horror Franchise Cinema), ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William-Proctor-2/publication/353986996_Building_imaginary_horror_worlds/links/680f5333df0e3f544f4c25f6/Building-imaginary-horror-worlds.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Supernatural horror films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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