Tales of Tomorrow (TV Series) The Crystal Egg (1951) User Reviews

Not bad, but the cheapness of the production sure didn't help.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 19 September 2012]

"Tales of Tomorrow" had two strikes against it. First, it aired on ABC--which, at the time, was a struggling second-tier network. Second, unlike most TV shows, it had a tough time keeping sponsors. Combined, both problems meant very, very low budgets for the show and sometimes it was painfully obvious. "The Crystal Egg" was set in England--and this created a problem due to the costs. So, the London streets are obviously painted and look a bit crummy--even by 1951 standards. But the worst problem was the darn organ music which made it sound like an old time radio program. Sometimes, this wasn't so bad, but in "The Crystal Egg" it was very annoying and distracted from the plot.

As for the plot, it's a strange story from H.G. Wells. It seems that a certain curio shop has a crystal egg in the window and a customer is REALLY interested in buying it--so interested that the owners assume this cheap trinket is really quite valuable. So, instead of selling it, they stall the guy and have the professor (Thomas Mitchell) examine it. What its strange secret is and how it impacts on the professor is something you'll just have to see for yourself.

The plot is original but also seems dated and silly. This, combined with the cheapness, undo what was otherwise a decent performance by Mitchell and a great paranoid ending. Not bad but it doesn't quite hit the mark.

Tacky Special Effects--Pretty Good Story

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 30 July 2013]

I'd forgotten this Wells story. It involves a man who becomes obsessed with a large crystal egg when he sees images that seem to be interplanetary when stared at. The plot revolves around an impatient stranger who wishes to buy the egg, but who hasn't enough money and must return. As the story unfolds, we may wonder why he feels the need to go away and come back later. The down side of this episode has to do with the terrible representation of the planet Mars. I mean, the view is a child's painting one might see on a wall. There's no movement or precision. The fact that he assumes it's Mars is a bit hard to swallow. Still, if his conclusion is true, it makes for a good tale of Wellsian science fiction. Read the story. It's much better than this.

TALES OF TOMORROW: The Crystal Egg {TV; Short} (Charles S. Dubin, 1951) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 12 October 2013]

This is the fourth episode I have watched from this Sci-Fi TV series, after FRANKENSTEIN (with a drunken Lon Chaney Jr. as the Creature!), Paul Newman's debut ICE FROM SPACE, and the Victor Jory-starring WORLD OF WATER. Having just gone through two distinct H.G. Wells adaptations – by the same director! – of "The Food Of The Gods", I opted to make this (based on an obscure story by that visionary author) my next venture. The compelling plot (which may have influenced Nigel Kneale's "Quatermass And The Pit", but also M.R. James' "A View From The Hill"!) revolves around the pursuit of an apparently ordinary egg-shaped crystal found in an antique shop, first by a mystery man insistent on acquiring it and, then, an ageing Professor (Thomas Mitchell) who obsesses over the crystal egg after he is asked by the current owner to evaluate it and, upon inspection, discovers a foreign landscape within…as well as a monstrous-looking inhabitant presumably serving as a watcher into our way of life! All in all, the film emerges as an exemplary piece of fantasy – with a subtle yet unmistakable, and certainly topical, "Red Scare" feel at its core.

Simple, low-budget TV episode but based on a great source

[jamesrupert2014 · 7/10 · 30 November 2021]

A scientist discovers that a sought after crystal egg contains a view of life on Mars...but if you are watching them, are they watching you? Based on one of H. G. Wells' more poetic science fiction short stories, the story is intriguing and, although Wells included no obvious link to his better known Mars-themed tale ('The War of the Worlds'), the 'crystal egg' as a Martian spying device became a minor trope in later 'invasion' stories. Needless to say the very limited budget of the early teleplay precluded creating the book's exotic winged Martians and their unEarthly architecture but this episode of the venerable sci-fi anthology series is still worth watching for fans of the genre. The plot is altered to include a hint of espionage, which may reflect the beginning of the 'paranoia' trend that was characteristic of many fifties sci-fi films (Wells' Victorian era story has been updated to the 1950s).

"I was looking at another planet."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 14 April 2023]

What you have to keep in mind while watching these 'Tales of Tomorrow' is that they were made in the early 1950's with television still in its infancy. The sets look cheap and the stories are very minimal, but the writing for them managed to be fairly original, at least for the few I've seen. 'The Crystal Egg' starts out as a curio shop holdover from a 'pile of junk' as the shop owner's wife (Josephine Brown) described it, but when a tall stranger entering Cave's (Edgar Stehli) store expresses interest, it gives the shopkeeper the idea that he might be able to gouge the buyer for a few extra pounds. To be sure, he brings it over to Cambridge University professor Frederick Vaneck (Thomas Mitchell) to check it out and perhaps run some tests. To Vaneck's astonishment, the rather large crystal glows in the professor's study, and upon closer inspection, a landscape appears to form inside. From the positioning of what looks like the planets Neptune and Saturn in the egg, Vaneck surmises that what he's seeing is a portion of Mars! There's even a horrible creature that shows up peering out of the crystal, causing Vaneck to write up his research and have it published lest his colleagues think he's going insane. However, the original curio shop owner, anxious to make a profitable sale, takes back the egg while Vaneck fears for his life over the discovery he made. An off-screen gunshot and a mysterious hand breaking Vaneck's recorded study of the crystal egg prove his fear of being killed to be well founded. From what I can tell from the few 'Tales of Tomorrow' I've seen, the abrupt ending seems to be a hallmark of this anthology program.

From the "Tales of Tomorrow" TV Series (1951-1953)

[Bernie4444 · 8/10 · 12 February 2024]

Series 1 episode 9 Episode aired 12 October 1951 Director Charles S. Dubin Starring Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Stehli, Josephine Brown Basic story from H. G. Wells

It is a copy of an old recording so do not expect remastered clarity.

A crystal egg is on display in an antique shop. There is exceptional interest in the Egg, so the proprietor decides to have it examined by a scientist.

The Scientist (Thomas Mitchell) goes gaga over the crystal egg revealing a live tableau of the planet Mars.

Oops the egg is missing and now the professor is no longer egg-droit.

One side thing is that the story being dictated is being recorded on some old vinal or wax disk recording device.

Will the story end with a shot in the dark?

What is that on your desk?

See Thomas Mitchell again Stagecoach (1939) Stagecoach (1939).

Thomas Mitchell's Mad for Martians

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 7 January 2011]

Cambridge physics professor Thomas Mitchell (as Frederick Vaneck) is asked to examine a crystal for some London antique shopkeepers. The large egg-shaped object seems like nothing, at first sight. But later, Mr. Mitchell is entranced by the mysterious crystal, eventually seeing something he believes is the landscape of Mars. Eventually, Mitchell begins to see Martian life, neglects younger girlfriend Sally Gracie (as Georgette), and has trouble returning the egg to owner Edgar Stehli (as Charles Cave). After Mr. Stehli is killed and "The Crystal Egg" disappears, nobody will heed Mitchell's warning. It's sufficiently spooky, for the time.

**** The Crystal Egg (10/12/51) Charles S. Dubin ~ Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Stehli, Josephine Brown, Sally Gracie