Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) Skeleton in the Cupboard (1987) User Reviews

The Quintessence Of Tales Of The Unexpected

[omendata · 8/10 · 26 February 2021]

This is probably one of the best episodes of the series; strange though how it appears in the last ever series.

It has it all from a dazzling performance by the ever so suave Charles Dance who in my opinion should have been the primary choice of James Bond before Dalton or any that came after and he just effortlessly makes his way with class, style and intelligence through this episode and makes this episode so much more than it would have been without him.

It also has quite a bit of that old sparkle that Hammer House Of Horror conveyed and an air of uneasiness pervades this episode and of course it has an actual Unexpected ending whereas most of the series has been pretty poor as I have been making my way through each episode from Series 1 on its current re-run on the Sky Arts channel it brings back dearest of memories from a bygone era when class , style, good stories and acting were the rage - ahhh the good old days!

Decent Tales of the Unexpected episode.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 26 May 2007]

Tales of the Unexpected: Skeleton in the Cupboard starts as powerful executive Robert Smythe (Charles Dance) gets hold of a letter from a Jane Fisher (Francesca Brill) who is looking for information on someone who used to be a member of the MG club, Robert has a sinister secret & the memories come flooding back when he learns of Jane & her quest. He believes she is looking for him & what she knows could ruin his marriage, his job & his life. Robert decides he needs to take drastic action...

This Tales of the Unexpected story was episode 1 from season 9 & originally aired here in the UK during December 1987, the first of three Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Paul Annett this is an OK way to kick of the final ever season of the show but like so many episodes it's nothing particularly special. The script by Tony Wilmot is an OK tale that is saved somewhat by it's neat twist although generally speaking up-to that point Skeleton in the Cupboard is a touch predictable, then there's the whole set up of this story which is necessary but rather dull & forgettable. I mean nothing else in these Tales of the Unexpected episodes matter much apart from the twist (when there is one) & if Roald Dahl isn't involved they tend to be rather dour affairs, during this episode Robert's car is scratched & it's mentioned a couple of times but absolutely nothing becomes of it, nothing at all. In fact apart from the ending I don't really remember much about this episode at all & I saw it only a few hours ago, this is watchable at only 25 odd minutes but not outstanding.

This one hasn't dated that badly & it looks alright, it's reasonably well made but the low TV budget does show. Again as usual for this show there's a good cast here including Charles Dance & Zoe Wanamaker.

Skeleton in the Cupboard is an OK time waster & I'm sure fans of the show will lap it up as it pretty much follows a standard somewhat familiar pattern.

Old sins cast long shadows in this classy production.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 22 February 2016]

Businessman Robert Smythe has a bug secret that must be kept hidden at all costs, but a woman named Jane appears, and threatens to expose his secret, he has to act.

The casting director did a superb job here, we are treated to both the very excellent Charles Dance, and the wonderful Zoe Wanamaker. Both are such strong performers, they bounce of each other wonderfully well. Dance delivers a superb performance, one of the show's best.

This episode recaptures some of the quality of the first few series, that has for the most part been lacking for some years. It feels like a classy production, it's well made, nicely filmed, beautifully acted, a really nice accompanying music, a hell of a twist, altogether it just works.

It has the feel of a mini thriller about it, it's very, very good.

9/10.

The best I've seen so far.

[plan99 · 10/10 · 13 August 2022]

I've recently watched about 20 episodes and this is by a long way the best one so far, if only all of them had been to the standard of this one, or even close to it.