Tales from the Crypt (1972) featured veteran stage and screen star Ralph Richardson as the saturnine Crypt-Keeper. Geoffrey Bayldon - known especially as TV's Catweazle - played the tour guide and horror legend Peter Cushing had one of his best roles as a kindly old man driven to suicide. Joan Collins, in between her starlet days and her career renaissance on TV soap Dynasty, was also in a segment and so was Richard Greene, star of the long-running British series The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Less well-known cinematically were actors like David Markham and Robin Phillips, who played father and son in this film and in Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969). Phillips in particular had a remarkable theatrical career as an actor, director and artistic director - including six seasons in Canada's Stratford Festival where he directed 36 productions in six seasons.

The follow-up, Vault of Horror (1973), included actors with both stage and screen reputations including Glynis Johns (Mary Poppins), siblings Daniel (Star!) and Anna Massey (Frenzy), and writer and actor Michael Craig, who would later star in the Australian TV series GP.

Tales That Witness Madness (1973) was the final film role for veteran Jack Hawkins (Lawrence of Arabia) whose larynx had been removed because of cancer (he was dubbed by Charles Gray). A touch of Hollywood glamour came from Kim Novak (Vertigo).

Presumably the name of horror writer Stephen King and screenwriter and director George A Romero attracted some big movie names to Creepshow and Creepshow 2, the 1980s homages to EC. In the second film, Dorothy Lamour, best remembered for the Road movies with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, had her last role opposite Oscar winner (for Cool Hand Luke) George Kennedy. In the first film, the cast included veteran Leslie Nielsen (in between the comedies such as Flying High! that gave his career a surprising boost), E.G. Marshall (12 Angry Men) and Hal Holbrook (All the President's Men).

While some might disagree with the "There are no small parts, only small actors" idea, it's certainly true that good actors can lift what might be considered lesser material.