in the cemetery ( . direct by boris sagal ) and a loathsome money hungry nephew and jeremy evans ( roddy mcdowell and play him a a really slimy scumbag ) ready and willing to horde on his uncle inheritance and just wait for the old timer and william hendricks ( george macready ) cripple and ravage by a stroke that have take his mean of movement and communication and to croak . his uncle be once a painter obsess with death . his work often evoke that . osmond portifoy ( ossie davis ) have be under employ to the old man for many year and jeremy relish in remind the butler who will be dip their hand in the money jar . to show you just how virulent jeremy can be and he point out to portifoy ( . and for extra slander and he use portifoy nearly every sentence with a sneer ) how his mother work her finger to the bone without ever ask uncle for a dime and that he always desire to live the good life and but need the mean to do so . mcdowell be in command carry this heavy smell of pomp and greed ( i be a black sheep nephew with an itch ) . you just love to hate him . jeremy find out that he will receive his uncle inheritance due to the fact that his mother be dead and her share will go to him thanks to a clause in hendrick will . so jeremy lock his uncle wheelchair next to an open window allow the draft to kill him ( . while also let his uncle peer at the family graveyard a a reminder of where the old man be about be head ) . oh and but you know jeremy get his comeuppance come to him and yes sir . jeremy notice a painting on the wall ( hendrick portrait line the wall of the stairwell ) and the freshly dug grave where dear dead uncle be bury begin to change every time he look at it . watch a jeremy slowly unravels a he see uncle casket appear and then open and then show someone rise slowly walk to the front door of the manor . but and all be not what it seem . i do think mcdowell tour de force performance approach high camp but i just enjoy it immensely . he such a blood suck leech and a real weasel . watch jeremy squirm and ultimately become frighten out of his wit be a ton of fun . the end be a bit silly ( . and rather logically unsound ) and point out another schemer out for a payday and but overall i think it fun and if derivative somewhat . the idea of the ever change portrait be a cool idea and i thought . the second tale and eye ( . direct by steven spielberg ) star joan crawford a an acid tongued and rich and blind woman and claudia ( who have build her own apartment complex in new york and live a it only tenant ) and who blackmail a surgeon and dr. frank heatherton ( barry sullivan ) into perform a dangerous and unorthodox grafting procedure transplant the central optic nerve of an obsessive gambler eye and sidney ( tom bosley of happy day fame ) need 9 grand to pay off a debt from a bookie threaten his life . although the procedure will only grant her 11 hour of sight and she willing to have that for just the precious moment to see color and object always darken to her . but and in a nasty bit of irony to match her own behavior towards others like heatherton and new york city go through a black out rid her of those precious moment she have so long for . this tale have that rod serling intellectual banter between character you remember from stage like episode of twilight zone a fate be contemplate and discussion be bat around . this also have the come out stylistics of a future filmmaker . the third tale and the escape route ( . direct by barry shear ) follow a nazi name strobe ( richard kiley and with a scar cover one eye for extra impact ) hide away in south africa and haunt by memory of his war crime and constantly look over his shoulder worry about be catch by agent who specialize in hunt his kind out . he become pre occupy or transfix with a museum painting of some fisherman on a mountain lake . his desire be to enter the painting a a mean of escape from the torment of run . he try to shake an old jew and bleum ( the marvelous sam jaffe and whose frail and wrinkle body and offer a terrify example of what torture and imprisonment and death can do to one who have see it all ) who seem to recognize him . a creepy crucifixion paint depict one suffer lead u into strobe and bleum first meeting . and and for a reason you will find late and be as important to this tale a the fisherman painting . a chill exploration of a tired monster with few escape route whose wish be grant . just not the way he think . a expect ( consider the title ) each episode feature within it plot the importance of a portrait . all three tale bear rod serling distinctive writing style with the usual gotcha . twist irony one grow to expect . i guess the first one be close to the night gallery series and but this film be much good than what come after it because of serling strong involvement in every tale present . he be also the host introduce u to each macabre tale .