Ray Bradbury Theater, The (A Twist In The Tale)

1 9 8 5 – 1 9 9 2 (UK/France/Canada)
65 x 30 minute episodes

One of the most prolific novelists of the late 20th century, Ray Bradbury was accorded the distinction of having an entire series built around his work in this unique co-production deal involving Granada TV in England, Ellipse Programme (France) and Atlantic Films of Canada.

Once the stories were chosen for filming (by Bradbury, his wife and the production companies) each of the companies produced a third of the episodes in their own studios and with their own actors.

Among the stories which all parties agreed on were The Crowd, The Coffin, Marionettes Inc, Banshee, Tyrannosaurus Rex, The Man Upstairs and The Small Assassin.

Ray himself adapted the stories and also acted as host for the half-hour episodes which were filmed with a number of well-known actors including Donald Pleasance, Peter O’Toole, Alan Bates, William Shatner, Elliott Gould, Robert Vaughn, Denholm Elliott, Jeff Goldblum, Shelley Duvall, David Carradine, Drew Barrymore and Eugene Levy.

In America and Canada, the anthology was shown under the generic title The Ray Bradbury Theater while in Britain and France it was known as A Twist In The Tale.

It is generally thought by viewers that the Granada productions are the most stylish, while the episode from the Manchester studios which attracted the best review was The Coffin, directed by Tom Cotter and starring Denholm Elliott and Dan O’Herlihy.