The Comedy of Terrors

The alcoholic director of the Hinchley & Trumbull Funeral Parlor Waldo Trumbull (Vincent Price) is a cheater that has married Amaryllis Trumbull (Joyce Jameson) in a marriage of convenience to get control of the business of her father Amos Hinchley (Boris Karloff). Trumbull has been using the same casket for more than thirteen years, dumping the corpses in their graves to resell the coffin. He also blackmails his only employee Felix Gillie (Peter Lorre) that had robbed a bank and is an abusive husband, threatening to poison his father-in-law and not allowing Amaryllis to sing. Gillie has a crush on Amaryllis and loves to hear her singing.

Trumbull owes more than one year of rental of his premise to Mr. John F. Black (Basil Rathbone) and he has no client. So he decides to improve his business killing Mr. Phipps (Buddy Mason) to get a new client. However his wife Mrs. Phipps (Beverly Hills) flees to Europe with all her possessions and does not pay for the funeral service. When Mr. Black duns his debts, Trumbull decides to kill him to make some money and resolve his financial problem. But Mr. Black is epileptic and his family wants to keep his body in a crypt instead of burying him in a grave. During the night, the Cemetery Keeper (Joe E. Brown) hears a cry and releases Mr. Black from the coffin in the beginning of a tragic night.

... "Comedy of Terrors" is a very funny comedy of black humor. The veterans Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone have incredibly comic performances. The movie begins hilarious before the credits and I laughed and repeated many scenes so funny they are. It is impossible to list the best scenes since there are many of them. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Farsa Trágica" ("Tragic Farse")

French born Jacques Tourneur, is the director behind stylish horror-classics like "Cat People", "I walked with a zombie" and "Night of the demon"! He made "The comedy of terrors" 20 years after "Cat People", and shows a director with great sense of comedic timing! The cast is wonderful, with a devilishly funny Vincent Price, in maybe a career best, as the drunken scrupulous undertaker! Boris Karlof is great fun as his aging father in law, and Peter Lorre equally funny as Prices partner! Also starring is the wonderful Basil Rathbone as the rich landlord who never dies, and Joyce Jameson as the undertakers neglected wife.

This is maybe the greatest gothic comedy ever! Perfect casting, directing, cinematogrophy and editing! A great classic, and a must see!!!

I just couldn't resist a film that boasts Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre all together, all in one film! Their chemistry is amazing, and they all come off as seasoned actors who are just having a really good time. Price and Lorre are the perfect duo of undertakers in search of their next job. Price consistently insults, threatens and demeans Lorre (and everyone else-he is so delightfully despicable!)

Peter Lorre, who I consider to be a neglected comic genius in his own right, plays the perfect bumbling and lovable assistant. The scenes between him and Joyce Jameson (an argument for hearing protectors if ever there was one) are beautiful and absurd in their ingenuousness, as if the 60 year old Peter Lorre was but a smitten schoolboy mooning over a damsel.

The scenes at the dinner table are perfect in their comic timing, the decrepit Boris Karloff sitting peacefully unaware of Vincent Price's palpable loathing of him and his daughter, occasionally coming out with gems like "The Egyptians used to pull the brains out through the nose with a hook!" before returning to drinking his milk in a charming and doddering manner.

Basil Rathbone, however, is the hammy fist of the production, so to speak. He plays the inflexible and imperious landlord who owns the establishment out of which the funeral home of Hinchley and Trumbull operates, and he plays it up to the hilt, using every ounce of overacting he saved up from his Shakespearian stage days to render Macbeth like it has never been heard before! This is perhaps Basil Rathbone's finest hour, and you must watch the film to see why. Trust me on this one!

This delightful horror comedy romp stars horror legends Vincent Price and Peter Lorre as an undertaker and his assistant, who have problems paying the rent due to a lack of customers. However, the only reason work is slow is because people aren't dying. And that's a fact that our hero has no qualms about changing. The undertaker profession is ripe for making a black comedy out of, and this film makes the best use of that. It is true that the film isn't consistently funny, but most of the jokes in the film work; and some of them are downright hilarious. Aside from the two legends already mentioned, this film also features a performance from another of horrors greatest stars; Boris Karloff. This isn't the first time these three great stars have worked together, but seeing them on screen will always be a treat for the horror fan and it certainly proves to be in this movie, especially since it's done with a big smile on it's face and its obvious that all concerned had a good time making it.

Vincent Price isn't an actor that I would expect to blend well with straight comedy, as I'm used to seeing him in more macabre outings, but he is really good at it. His delivery of one-liners is faultless, and this performance shows his range as an actor. Peter Lorre has a fantastic screen presence and he's not an actor that you can see and then forget. There's nobody quite like Peter Lorre, and that's what makes him so great. His pathetic persona blends well on screen with Price's amoral and sarcastic one, and the two make an awesome comedy duo. As if this wasn't enough for you, Boris Karloff joins them as Price's father in-law. Karloff doesn't get to do a lot in the film, but he too bodes well with comedy and it's a treat to see him along with another two legends. Also of note is the fact that the film is directed by one of horror's true greats - Jacques Tourneur. This film isn't up there with his atmospheric masterpieces such as 'Cat People' or 'I Walked With a Zombie', but it's a solid film in his oeuvre and is highly recommended.

Highly recommended to those with a devilish sense of humour. Vincent Price is wonderfully evil as the desperate undertaker. Peter Lorre is disgusting but lovable as the assistant caught between Price's evil ways and his lovely (opera-punishing) wife (played with gusto and terrible audibility by Joyce Jameson). Boris Karloff (who never seems to get his medicine) is excellent as JJ's elderly father.

Honours go to their demanding landlord, Basil Rathbone, who.... well, watch the film and find out.