Henry Jones stars as the titular weird tailor, who is hired by an equally weird customer(played by George Macready) to make a most special suit to very specific directions. In desperate need of money, the tailor accepts but his wife Anna feels uneasy about the whole thing, and with good reason, since unknown to them, the customer intends to use the suit in a black magic ceremony to resurrect his recently deceased son... Not entirely convincing yet effective tale is best known for its chilling twist ending involving Hans the mannequin that does indeed make the episode work. Later filmed with Barry Morse for the anthology film "Asylum". Morse is better than Jones, but otherwise this is the superior version.
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AaronCapenBanner31 October 2014
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classicsoncall18 February 2012Say, how appropriate was it for Mr. Smith (George Macready) to be directed to a used car salesman for what was to be a mystical connection to bring his son back from the dead? A used car salesman! If that isn't classic, I don't know what is. However I had to replay the section a number of times when Honest Abe/Nicolai (Abraham Sofaer) calls his book of black magic 'Mysteries of the Worm'. Did I get that right? That's sure what it sounded like.
Well you could see where this one was headed fairly early on. I think the bigger mystery for me was how weird tailor Eric (Henry Jones) ever hooked up with his pretty wife Anna (Sandra Kerr), and how they remained married considering all the abuse he heaped on her. I know, it was a different time and all, but after a while one reaches their limit.
I guess that limit was reached by the end of the story. If I were directing the show, I don't think I would have had the suit dummy Hans use that goofy robotic motion to go after Eric. Something more menacing would have fit the bill much better. Nevertheless, this is one of those classic Thriller episodes that gets etched in your memory after you've seen it, a tale well suited for viewers who appreciate the bizarre. -
Hitchcoc28 November 2016A quirky Robert Bloch script. In this one, a man studying sorcery, inadvertently brings about the death of his son, a prodigal drunk. He goes to a fortune teller to find out how to bring his son back to life. He is then sent to a second man who sells him a book of spells. The information in the book has him petition a suit from a whiny, but nasty, tailor. The man lives with a woman whom he mistreats. She is mentally ill and talks to a damaged mannequin. The tailor is a drunk and desperate for money. What ensues is the making of the suit which, if properly used, will bring his son back to life. Unfortunately, these types of things don't always work out. The suit is a tour de force for the tailor and he must head all across Manhattan to give the suit to the man. Unfortunately, there are intervening circumstances. Quite clever and off the wall. One of the better offerings.
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plwblj9 December 2008Amazing episode-well executed,well-paced,well-acted-well-everything ! Robert Bloch's story is a classic from the pages of "WEIRD TALES" the classic pulp for decades('20's-50's). Remarkable.
Thriller gets a hold of this gem and expands on it beautifully. Henry Jones,MacReady,Kerr,etc. Everyone is doing a tour-De-force job;
The ambiance is superb: it is what you expect from this under rated TV Classic show which ran for two Seasons in 1960 to 1961.
The venerable Karloff sets us up deftly w\his excelled hosting and narration.
Special effects are really nicely done especially portraying "the enchanted suit."
Stanley Adams is quite a revelation as the stern Landlord and shows us some nuance towards the end of his scene towards the doomed Jones and adroitly reflects just the right amount of humanity.
The pace is effective,always moving,holding our attention.
Undoubtedly,this Tale is a top tiered entry and is rather memorable: everything plainly works ! -
kevinolzak26 December 2021"The Weird Tailor" marks Robert Bloch's first script of this second season, and like the later "Waxworks" would be included among the stories for an Amicus anthology feature (this one the second segment of Roy Ward Baker's 1972 "Asylum"). Genuinely creepy from start to finish, opening with an embarrassing turn from Gary Clarke as the drunken son of wealthy necromancer Mr. Smith (George Macready), accidentally killed during a black mass, his grief stricken father calling upon sightless spiritualist Madame Roberti (Iphigenie Castiglioni) to put him on the trail of the one man who can help him restore the life that was taken. Where would one expect to find an ancient tome to raise the dead but a used car lot, whose owner (Abraham Sofaer) has been waiting 15 years for someone to meet his price, $1 million, then shortly after is killed in a plane crash (Madame Roberti believes his sins preordained this fate). Smith discovers the spell required and finds the right material for a tailor to shape into a suit for his son, to be sewn by hand during specific night time hours, otherwise the needle cannot penetrate the cloth. The story now shifts to immigrant couple Erik and Anna Borg (Henry Jones and Sondra Kerr), about to lose their tailor shop due to nonpayment of the rent, when Smith miraculously offers a lifeline with a job worth $500 to be paid upon delivery in one week. This couple is not so much weird as incompatible, Erik an unlikable tyrant guilty of physically and verbally assaulting his much younger wife, like a child bride who escapes her unhappy lot in a fantasy world, her only friend Hans a damaged storefront mannikin that now resides in the privacy of her bedroom (their one sided conversations padding out the already brief running time). As if black magic and spousal abuse wasn't enough for 1960s prime time, we have the confrontation between Smith and an insistent Borg, refusing to turn over the suit until he is paid, followed by an attempted strangling when his orders to burn it are not followed by the uncomprehending Anna. THRILLER was known for its uncompromising shock endings, and this one must be considered among the strongest, leaving bewildered younger viewers with endless nightmares for years to come. George Macready was never the most expressive of actors yet adequately conveys his character's obsessions, but the real standout is Henry Jones, brilliantly cast against type and still able to earn a measure of sympathy during his drinking binge with landlord Schwenk (Stanley Adams). The uncredited Dikki Lerner will have another opportunity to show off his pantomime skills in "The Innocent Bystanders," while Jones would be saddled with an even more disagreeable spouse in Bloch's "'Til Death Do Us Part." In "Asylum" the bereaved father would be played by Peter Cushing, the far more sympathetic tailor by Barry Morse.
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planktonrules26 October 2018When the story begins, a father (George Macready) is dabbling in black magic and he accidentally kills his son! In desperation, he goes to an astrologer and then the owner of a black magic book. He ends up spending his entire fortune for the book and then arrives at a tailor's. He instructs the tailer about how to construct a suit for the son made out of magic fabric...supposedly to bring the boy back, though he hasn't told the tailor that. As for the tailer (Henry Jones), he's a cruel and awful man and horribly mistreats his wife. She, in turn, is so lonely that her only friend is a mannequin that she talks to. What's going to happen with all this? Watch and see for yourself.
This is an okay episode...modestly enjoyable but a bit predictable. My biggest complaint, though, is that I just didn't enjoy seeing the cruelty between the tailor and his young wife....if was hard to watch and that's why I scored it a 6 despite being original. Perhaps you won't think so.