CBS Library (TV Series) Once Upon a Midnight Scary (1979) User Reviews

The mighty Vincent Price commands you...to read more books!

[Coventry · 5/10 · 8 December 2023]

According to IMDb, and our beloved IMDb never lies, "Once Upon a Midnight Scary" is only one episode in a series called "CBS Library". I never heard of it before, and probably never will bother to seek out the other seven episodes, because the sole reason for me (and I guess for most people) to see this is Vincent Price. The greatest actor of all times does here what he does best and what he also loves doing the most, namely using his uniquely ominous voice and natural charisma to narrate spooky tales, and to simultaneously promote a form of art/culture. Clearly the objective of this anthology, and the whole "CBS Library" series, is to encourage people to read more! Who can deliver such a message better than the almighty Vincent Price?

So, basically, this anthology movie exists of a wraparound story and three creepy tales that are based on books, and they are meant to make you curious enough to read the full books. Clever! Didn't work on me, though...

The short stories are adequate, except that the first and second story are too short while the third one is too long. The first one, "The ghost belongs to me", is completely unknown but feels very familiar. It revolves about a young boy who's the only person to see the ghost of a deceased child and she warns him about an upcoming tragedy that can prevent. The second and third story, respectively "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "The House with a Clock in its Walls" are quite famous nowadays, thanks to successful film-adaptations by directors Tim Burton and Eli Roth, but I'm guessing they weren't yet well known in 1979 when "Once Upon a Midnight Scary" came out. The "Sleepy Hollow" story is fun but too talkative and cut too short, whereas "Clock in the Walls" is also talkative, too long, and rather childish. Not really recommended, except if you - like me - desire to watch literally everything Mr. Price ever starred in.

Vincent Price...the book salesman?

[The_Void · 5/10 · 19 April 2009]

Once Upon a Midnight Scary is an episode of some TV series (I guess) that I've never heard of. I saw it because Vincent Price is in it. The film runs for less than forty five minutes, and it's an omnibus. This made me worry before I even started watching it; how can a forty five minute film possibly provide three tales of terror? Well...I guess that telling tales wasn't exactly this film's intention; and instead what we get is truncated versions of classic stories. It's actually rather weird because they're not complete stories; mostly just a couple of scenes from each book, and then Vincent Price tells us to read the book that each tale is based on. It's almost like the whole point of this film is to sell books! Anyway, for my fellow Vincent Price fans; I've got to say that this is a disappointment. He's only the narrator of the wraparound story and he's barely in the film at all. He also looks dishevelled and bored; and I don't blame him because that's how I looked by the time it finished; which fortunately wasn't a long time after it started. Anyway...watching this was really pointless, and I wouldn't recommend anyone else bothers to see it.

Absolute classic! I love it (maybe spoilers)

[the_asylum666 · 22 February 2006]

This is a true rare gem, and its a shame that not many people have heard of it. It stars the awesome vincent price as a storyteller who introduces 3 stories, (its an anthology film basically) These include one about a boy who is the only one who can see a ghost, the legend of sleepy hollow (we all know that one) and one about a boy searching for a clock that could bring about Armageddon. Its not scary and is pretty tame stuff (though it might frighten really small children, specially the witch in one segment) but is very addictive and great fun. I got my copy from ebay and i highly recommend it to anyone. Its quite short at about 5o mins but that will only get you rewinding and watching again and again, i certainly did. A must own.

A Rare Gem Worth Seek Out

[Rainey-Dawn · 8/10 · 5 February 2017]

A rare gem worth seeking out and enjoy watching it... if for no other reason than Vincent Price. Price narrates 3 ghost stories. And this is NOT an animation as it says, it is a rare episode from the CBS Library TV movie specials that aired every-so-often from 1979 to 1983). I believe it was mainly geared toward getting children to read.

1) "The Ghost Belonged To Me" - it's about a ghost that only a young boy can see. It was OK, my least favorite of the 3.

2) "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - I think most all of us know this tale. This is a very cute version of it. My favorite of the 3 and a bit too short for my taste, I wish it was longer.

3) "The House With A Clock In Its Walls". A young boy lives with his uncle after he lost his parents. His uncle has clocks all over his walls but there is one clock within the walls, one with a ghost that threatens to kill the boy, his uncle and is deadly for all mankind. This is the longest story of the 3 and a very good one indeed. My 2nd favorite of the trilogy of tales.

I like this one more than I should. I found it fun, refreshing and loved the spooky atmosphere throughout the film.

8/10

Fun and Creative Episode

[Michael_Elliott · 19 July 2016]

CBS Library: Once Upon a Midnight Scary (1979)

Vincent Price hosts and narrates this episode of the CBS Library series. This here has three different horror tales told with the main goal of making kids interested in reading the actual books. Richard Peck's "The Ghost Belonged to Me" deals with a young man who gets a premonition due to a ghost in his barn. Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" deals with the subject that we all know. Finally, John Bellairs' "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" deals with a possible magician.

I'm really not familiar with this series and mainly watched this episode since it featured Price. As you'd expect, Price is a great host thanks in large part to that terrific voice and he does a very good job here. He only appears in between all the episodes but he's certainly fun to watch and listen to.

As far as the stories go, they're all aimed at children and they're told in a way that children would be entertained. I thought all three stories were rather entertaining for what they were but the best would probably be the first one and then the final one. The Sleepy Hollow wasn't bad but we've certainly heard this story countless times and what was offered here wasn't the greatest.

The film benefits from some nice production design and there's no question that all three stories are well-made. It's interesting to note that none of the three stories are completed because, as Price states, kids will need to read the books to find out how they end. This little gimmick is actually a nice and creative way to make kids want to read.

Episode; B