The Comedy of Terrors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Comedy of Terrors | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for The Comedy of Terrors |
|
| Directed by | Jacques Tourneur |
| Produced by | Anthony Carras |
| Written by | Richard Matheson |
| Starring | Vincent Price Peter Lorre Boris Karloff Basil Rathbone |
| Music by | Les Baxter |
| Cinematography | Floyd Crosby |
| Editing by | Anthony Carras |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  January 22, 1964 |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Comedy of Terrors (1964) is a 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's 1948 classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
[edit] Synopsis
Set sometime in the Victorian era (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" that Trumbull was attempting to feed his father-in-law throughout the film. But the "medicine" turns out to be poison, and Trumbull drops dead by Black's side.
[edit] Main cast
Vincent Price ... Waldo Trumbull
Peter Lorre ... Felix Gillie
Boris Karloff ... Amos Hinchley
Basil Rathbone ... John F. Black, Esq.
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||
 |
This 1960s comedy film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
