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» » Thriller The Weird Tailor (1960–1962)

Short summary

When a scholar, Mr. Smith, inadvertently kills his son Arthur during a mystic magic ritual, he tries to make amends by turning to black magic to resurrect his child. Smith designs a unique suit of unearthly material, and hires a financially-stricken tailor to make it to the unique specifications. Meanwhile, the tailor's abused wife turns to a damaged mannequin for solace.

The original short story by Robert Bloch was one of four Bloch stories adapted for the 1972 British horror movie "Asylum".

Robert Bloch adapted his own short story but had to add material not in the story to be able to turn it into an hour of television. He adapted his story again for the film Asylum later on but that time it took up less screen time and is more faithful to the content of the short story.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Trex
    Amazing 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 whis 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 !
  • comment
    • Author: Gandree
    Say, 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.
  • comment
    • Author: Akta
    A 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.
  • comment
    • Author: Chilldweller
    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.
  • comment
    • Author: Terr
    When 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.
  • Episode cast overview:
    Boris Karloff Boris Karloff - Himself
    Henry Jones Henry Jones - Erik Borg
    George Macready George Macready - Mr. Smith
    Abraham Sofaer Abraham Sofaer - Nicolai
    Stanley Adams Stanley Adams - Mr. Schwenk
    Sondra Blake Sondra Blake - Anna Borg (as Sondra Kerr)
    Iphigenie Castiglioni Iphigenie Castiglioni - Madame Roberti
    Gary Clarke Gary Clarke - Arthur Smith
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