Theater of Blood [Blu-ray]

Director: Douglas Hickox Douglas Hickox

Overview

Vincent Price fulfills the vicarious dreams of many an actor as the "hero" of the stylish horror romp Theatre of Blood. Price plays Edward Lionheart, a Shakespearean ham who exacts a cunning revenge when he is denied a "Best Actor of the Year" award by an aggregation of influential London theatre critics. After supposedly committing suicide, Lionheart, together with his loyal but woefully misguided daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg) and a group of zombie-like derelicts, arranges the deaths of all eight critics, with each killing inspired by a scene from a Shakespeare play. Michael Hordern is drowned in a butt of malmsey a la Richard III; Richard Coote loses a pound of flesh, in the manner of The Merchant of Venice; Robert Morley is force-fed his own poodles in a variation on the climax of Titus Andronicus; and so forth. Only Ian Hendry, the most likeable and least pretentious of the critics, begins to detect a subtle pattern emerging when his colleagues begins dropping like flies. Theatre of Blood is admittedly a one-joke movie, and does fall victim to repetition and predictability after a while; still, Price is a delight to watch, while the various victims seem to be having a high old time getting knocked off. Sidebar: one of the most violent retributions is enacted upon Coral Browne, who in real life fell in love with Vincent Price on the set of Theatre of Blood and shortly thereafter became his third wife.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/07/2021
UPC:	0738329254988
Original Release:	1973
Rating:	R
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00
Sales rank:	5,342

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Vincent Price	Edward Kendal Sheridan Lionheart,Hector Snipe
Diana Rigg	Edwina Lionheart
Ian Hendry	Peregrine Devlin
Milo O'Shea	Inspector Boot
Harry Andrews	Trevor Dickman
Coral Browne	Miss Chloe Moon
Robert Coote	Oliver Larding
Jack Hawkins	Solomon Psaltery
Michael Hordern	George Maxwell
Arthur Lowe	Horace Sprout
Robert Morley	Meredith Merridew
Diana Dors	Mrs. Psaltery
Joan Hickson	Mrs. Sprout
Renee Asherson	Mrs. Maxwell
Madeline Smith	Rosemary
Eric Sykes	Sgt. Dogge
Brigid Eric Bates	Agnes,Meths Drinker,Agnes
Tony Calvin	Police Photographer
Bunny Reed	Policeman
Peter Thornton	Policeman
Tutte Lemkow	Meths Drinker
Jack Maguire	Meths Drinker
Joyce Graeme	Meths Drinker
John Gilpin	Meths Drinker
Eric Francis	Meths Drinker
Sally Gilmore	Meths Drinker
Declan Mulholland	Meths Drinker
Renée Ashershon	Mrs. Maxwell
Michael Lewis	Composer

Technical Credits

Anthony Greville-Bell

Douglas Hickox	Director
Anthony Greville-Bell	Screenwriter
John Kohn	Producer
Stanley Mann	Producer
John Stears	Special Effects
Terry York	Stunts
Gustave Berne	Producer
Simon Kaye	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Vincent Price obviously had a great time making this wickedly funny horror-comedy, and his exuberance carried over to the rest of the cast. Price is Edward Lionheart, a deluded Shakespearean actor who believes that the local critics' circle robbed him of an acting award he deserved. Presumed dead after a suicide attempt, Price dons a variety of disguises -- from a masseuse to a gay hairdresser -- in order to make sure the critics meet gruesome deaths based on those in Shakespearean plays. One critic is decapitated in his bed (Cymbeline), another has a pound of flesh removed (The Merchant of Venice), a third is tricked into killing his wife (Othello), and in the most elaborate set-up, the effeminate Robert Morley is forced to eat his beloved poodles baked in pies a la Titus Andronicus. Price attacks his role with gusto, switching roles and disguises in the tour-de-force of his career, while Douglas Hickox (Zulu Dawn) directs with more flair than is usually seen in British horror. This cult favorite is a real treat, and -- especially for actors -- a deliciously vicarious revenge.