The Comedy of Terrors (1963)

Waldo Trumbull, an undertaker who hasn't had any 'customers' in a long time is forced the pay one year's back-rent. To get money he starts to kill people in order to get new clients.

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writer:

Richard Matheson (screenplay)

Stars:

Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Vincent Price	...	Waldo Trumbull
Peter Lorre	...	Felix Gillie
Boris Karloff	...	Amos Hinchley
Joyce Jameson	...	Amaryllis Trumbull
Joe E. Brown	...	Cemetery Keeper
Beverly Powers	...	Mrs. Phipps (as Beverly Hills)
Basil Rathbone	...	Mr. John F. Black
Alan DeWitt	...	Riggs
Buddy Mason	...	Mr. Phipps
Douglas Williams	...	Doctor
Linda Rogers	...	Phipps' Maid
Luree Holmes	...	Black's Servant
Orangey	...	Cleopatra (as Rhubarb)

Storyline

Waldo Trumbull, an undertaker who hasn't had any 'customers' in a long time is forced the pay one year's back-rent. To get money he starts to kill people in order to get new clients.

---

Plot Keywords:

undertaker | presumed dead | organ | funeral | sword fight | 

---

Taglines:

They put new life in the undertaking business!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Horror

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Graveside Story

Filming Locations:

Producers Studios - 5330 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Completed September 1963.

---

Goofs

Peter Lorre's stunt double is quite obvious - he's clearly a younger man (with longer, darker hair), wearing a Lorre mask.

---

Quotes

Felix Gillie: [to Mr. Trumbull, referring to Mr. Black] I don't think he's quite dead enough to bury.

---

Connections

References The Court Jester (1955)

User Reviews

Contains Basil Rathbone's finest moments in film!

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!