The Comedy of Terrors
 Film poster by Reynold Brown | ||
| Starring | Vincent Price Peter Lorre Boris Karloff Basil Rathbone | |
| Directed by | Jacques Tourneur | |
| Produced by | Anthony Carras | |
| Written by | Richard Matheson | |
| Editing by | Anthony Carras | |
| Music by | Les Baxter | |
| Cinematography | Floyd Crosby | |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures | |
| Released | 12/25/1963 | |
| Runtime | 84 minutes | |
| Country | United States | |
| language | English | |
| Website | AFI Catalog of Feature Films | |
The Comedy of Terrors (1964) is an American International Pictures comedy horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Joe E. Brown (in his final film appearance). The film also features Orangey the cat, billed as "Rhubarb the Cat". It is a rare blend of comedy and horror, much in the vein of Universal Pictures's 1948 classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The film recycles many of the character dynamics and situations (not to mention the cast) from the comedic "The Black Cat" segment of Tales of Terror, made by AIP the year before.
Synopsis
Set sometime in the mid to late nineteenth century in New England, the film tells of drunkard Trumbull (Price), an unscrupulous undertaker who murders people in their own homes in order to keep himself in business and to have enough money for more drink.
One night, after one failed attempt when the widow of his victim leaves without paying his fee, Trumbull and his lowly servant Gillie (Lorre) decide to murder their landlord, Mr. Black (Rathbone), who is said to have bouts of death-like sleep, which Trumbull and Gillie are unaware of.
Black seemingly dies of a heart attack from being frightened by Gillie, and Trumbull places the supposedly-deceased Black in his family crypt and returns home to celebrate his new-found wealth. However, Black awakes and returns to the funeral parlour, quoting random lines from Shakespeare's Macbeth, which he was reciting from a script at the time of his heart attack. Humorous events follow as Black chases Trumbull and Gillie around the parlour before (finally) being killed after a lengthy monologue.
Gillie elopes with Trumbull's abused wife, who he has taken a shining for, and Trumbull is left a depressed heap on the floor. His father-in-law (Karloff) appears after only a few short appearances throughout the film, and gives Trumbull some "medicine" (which is actually poison) that Trumbull was attempting to feed him throughout the film. The medicine works as intended, and Trumbull drops dead as Karloff makes his way back to bed, oblivious to any unusual happenings.
It's worth noting that Black once again sniffs with an allergic reaction to Cleopatra, the cat, at the end of the movie, once again proving quite how indestructible he is.
Main cast
- Vincent Price - Waldo Trumbull
- Peter Lorre - Felix Gillie
- Boris Karloff - Amos Hinchley
- Basil Rathbone - John F. Black, Esq.
External links
- Review The Comedy of Terrors at the Internet Movie Database
- The Comedy of Terrors at All Movie Guide
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