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Theatre of Blood
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Theatre of Blood
Theatre of Blood (released as Theater of Blood in the United States) is a 1973 British horror comedy film directed by Douglas Hickox. It stars Vincent Price as a deranged Shakespearean actor who takes revenge on his critics, using methods inspired by death scenes from the Bard's plays. Diana Rigg co-stars as his daughter and confidant. The ensemble supporting cast features Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne, Jack Hawkins, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Robert Morley, Milo O'Shea, Diana Dors, Dennis Price, and Robert Coote in one of his final roles.
The film was released by United Artists on March 16, 1973, receiving both critical and commercial success. Considered a cult film, Theatre of Blood is well-regarded by fans of Vincent Price, and was considered by both Price and Diana Rigg as one of their favourite of their own films. A stage adaptation was produced at the Royal National Theatre in 2005.
After being humiliated by members of the London Theatre Critics Guild at an awards ceremony, Shakespearean actor Edward Kendal Sheridan Lionheart is seen committing suicide by diving into the Thames from a great height. He survives and is rescued by a group of vagrants. Two years later, beginning on the Ides of March, Lionheart sets out to exact vengeance against the critics who failed to acclaim his genius, killing them one by one in ways very similar to murder scenes in the season of William Shakespeare's plays that he last performed. Before each murder, Lionheart recites the critic's damning review of his performance in the role.
The first critic, George Maxwell, is repeatedly stabbed by a mob of murderous homeless people, suggested by the murder of Julius Caesar in Julius Caesar. The second, Hector Snipe, is impaled with a spear, and his body is dragged away to appear at Maxwell's funeral tied to a horse's tail, replicating the murder of Hector in Troilus and Cressida. The third, Horace Sprout, is decapitated while sleeping, as is Cloten in Cymbeline. The fourth critic, Trevor Dickman, has his heart cut out by Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, the play being rewritten so that Antonio is forced to repay his debt with a pound of flesh. The fifth, Oliver Larding, is drowned in a barrel of wine, as is George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence in Richard III.
For the next play, Romeo and Juliet, Lionheart lures the critic Peregrine Devlin to a fencing gymnasium, where he re-enacts the sword fight from the play. He badly wounds Devlin but chooses not to kill him at this juncture. The sixth critic to die, Solomon Psaltery, an obsessively jealous man, murders his wife Maisie, believing her to be unfaithful, as portrayed in Othello. Although Psaltery survives, his actions lead to his imprisonment, and he will likely die in prison. The seventh critic to die, Miss Chloe Moon, is electrocuted to replicate the burning of Joan of Arc in Henry VI, Part 1. The eighth critic to die, flamboyant gourmand Meredith Merridew, is force-fed pies made from the flesh of his two toy poodles until he chokes to death, replicating the demise of Queen Tamora in Titus Andronicus.
It is revealed that Lionheart is being aided by his adoring daughter Edwina. She kidnaps Devlin and brings him to the theatre, where Lionheart tells him to give him the award or be blinded with red-hot daggers, as happens to Gloucester in King Lear. He refuses, but the contraption meant to blind him gets stuck. Lionheart sets fire to the theatre. In the confusion, one of the vagrants kills Edwina by striking her on the head with the award statuette, unwittingly casting her in the role of Cordelia, Lear's youngest daughter. Lionheart retreats, carrying her body to the roof and delivering Lear's final monologue before the roof caves in, setting him ablaze and sending him to his death. Devlin, a critic even in the face of death, then gives Lionheart's performance a positive if mixed review.
Like other movies in the last years of his life, Jack Hawkins was dubbed by his friend Charles Gray. Both Hawkins and Dennis Price died within a few months of the film's release. This was also the final film role of Robert Coote.
The film was originally to be titled Much Ado About Murder. The screenplay was written by Anthony Greville-Bell, based on a story by producers Stanley Mann and John Kohn. Robert Fuest, director of The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), was originally offered this film to direct, but turned it down on the grounds of not wishing to be typed as "the guy who makes Vincent Price theme killing movies."
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Theatre of Blood
Theatre of Blood (released as Theater of Blood in the United States) is a 1973 British horror comedy film directed by Douglas Hickox. It stars Vincent Price as a deranged Shakespearean actor who takes revenge on his critics, using methods inspired by death scenes from the Bard's plays. Diana Rigg co-stars as his daughter and confidant. The ensemble supporting cast features Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne, Jack Hawkins, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Robert Morley, Milo O'Shea, Diana Dors, Dennis Price, and Robert Coote in one of his final roles.
The film was released by United Artists on March 16, 1973, receiving both critical and commercial success. Considered a cult film, Theatre of Blood is well-regarded by fans of Vincent Price, and was considered by both Price and Diana Rigg as one of their favourite of their own films. A stage adaptation was produced at the Royal National Theatre in 2005.
After being humiliated by members of the London Theatre Critics Guild at an awards ceremony, Shakespearean actor Edward Kendal Sheridan Lionheart is seen committing suicide by diving into the Thames from a great height. He survives and is rescued by a group of vagrants. Two years later, beginning on the Ides of March, Lionheart sets out to exact vengeance against the critics who failed to acclaim his genius, killing them one by one in ways very similar to murder scenes in the season of William Shakespeare's plays that he last performed. Before each murder, Lionheart recites the critic's damning review of his performance in the role.
The first critic, George Maxwell, is repeatedly stabbed by a mob of murderous homeless people, suggested by the murder of Julius Caesar in Julius Caesar. The second, Hector Snipe, is impaled with a spear, and his body is dragged away to appear at Maxwell's funeral tied to a horse's tail, replicating the murder of Hector in Troilus and Cressida. The third, Horace Sprout, is decapitated while sleeping, as is Cloten in Cymbeline. The fourth critic, Trevor Dickman, has his heart cut out by Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, the play being rewritten so that Antonio is forced to repay his debt with a pound of flesh. The fifth, Oliver Larding, is drowned in a barrel of wine, as is George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence in Richard III.
For the next play, Romeo and Juliet, Lionheart lures the critic Peregrine Devlin to a fencing gymnasium, where he re-enacts the sword fight from the play. He badly wounds Devlin but chooses not to kill him at this juncture. The sixth critic to die, Solomon Psaltery, an obsessively jealous man, murders his wife Maisie, believing her to be unfaithful, as portrayed in Othello. Although Psaltery survives, his actions lead to his imprisonment, and he will likely die in prison. The seventh critic to die, Miss Chloe Moon, is electrocuted to replicate the burning of Joan of Arc in Henry VI, Part 1. The eighth critic to die, flamboyant gourmand Meredith Merridew, is force-fed pies made from the flesh of his two toy poodles until he chokes to death, replicating the demise of Queen Tamora in Titus Andronicus.
It is revealed that Lionheart is being aided by his adoring daughter Edwina. She kidnaps Devlin and brings him to the theatre, where Lionheart tells him to give him the award or be blinded with red-hot daggers, as happens to Gloucester in King Lear. He refuses, but the contraption meant to blind him gets stuck. Lionheart sets fire to the theatre. In the confusion, one of the vagrants kills Edwina by striking her on the head with the award statuette, unwittingly casting her in the role of Cordelia, Lear's youngest daughter. Lionheart retreats, carrying her body to the roof and delivering Lear's final monologue before the roof caves in, setting him ablaze and sending him to his death. Devlin, a critic even in the face of death, then gives Lionheart's performance a positive if mixed review.
Like other movies in the last years of his life, Jack Hawkins was dubbed by his friend Charles Gray. Both Hawkins and Dennis Price died within a few months of the film's release. This was also the final film role of Robert Coote.
The film was originally to be titled Much Ado About Murder. The screenplay was written by Anthony Greville-Bell, based on a story by producers Stanley Mann and John Kohn. Robert Fuest, director of The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), was originally offered this film to direct, but turned it down on the grounds of not wishing to be typed as "the guy who makes Vincent Price theme killing movies."