Blood Fiend (1967) Theatre of Death (original title)

Director:

Samuel Gallu

Writers:

Ellis Kadison
Roger Marshall

Release Date:

November 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

Where Acting Can Be Murder.

Plot:

The Theatre of Death in Paris specialises in horror presentations. A police surgeon finds himself becoming...

Plot Keywords:

Fortune Teller | Murder | Guillotine | Serial Killer | Guitar

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Philippe Darvas
Julian Glover	...	Charles Marquis
Lelia Goldoni	...	Dani Gireaux
Jenny Till	...	Nicole Chapelle
Evelyn Laye	...	Madame Angelique
Ivor Dean	...	Inspector Micheaud
Joseph Fürst	...	Karl Schiller (as Joseph Furst)
Betty Woolfe	...	Colette
Leslie Handford	...	Joseph
Fraser Kerr	...	Pierre
Dilys Watling	...	Heidi
Steve Plytas	...	Andre, Patron of Cafe
Miki Iveria	...	Patron's Wife
Terence Soall	...	Ferdi
Ester Anderson	...	La Poule (as Esther Anderson)
Peter Cleall	...	Jean (as Peter Cleoll)
Suzanne Owens-Duval	...	Girl On Scooter (as Suzanne Owens)
Julie Mendez	...	Belly Dancer
Lita Scott	...	Voodoo Dancer
Evrol Puckerin	...	Voodoo Dancer

Directed by
Samuel Gallu

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ellis Kadison
Roger Marshall

Produced by
William J. Gell	....	executive producer
E.M. Smedley-Aston	....	producer

Original Music by
Elisabeth Lutyens

Cinematography by
Gilbert Taylor

Film Editing by
Barrie Vince

Art Direction by
Peter Proud

Makeup Department
Elsie Alder	....	hair stylist
Jill Carpenter	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Alfred W. Marcus	....	production manager (as Al Marcus)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eric Rattray	....	assistant director
Jack N. Green	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Ron Jackson	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Pat Marsden	....	first assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Kenneth McCallum Tait	....	set dresser (as K. McCallum Tait)
Len Townsend	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Peter Davies	....	sound recordist
A.W. Lumkin	....	recording director
Allan Morrison	....	dubbing editor
Ken Nightingall	....	boom operator
Len Shilton	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Kindred	....	camera operator
Mike Roberts	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Vi Murray	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Philip Martell	....	conductor

Other crew
Tony Evans	....	titles
Angela Martelli	....	continuity
Trix Wilkin	....	production secretary (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Pennea Productions Ltd.

Distributors

• London Independent Producers (1966) (UK) (theatrical)
• Hemisphere Pictures (1967) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1968) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Theatre of Death" - UK (original title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1970) | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Pennea Productions Ltd.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Drive-In Madness! (1987)

Soundtrack:

Shock Treatment

Kind like a Hammer version of the Giallo

Theatre of Death isn't a particularly bad film, but it's a disappointing one as it really could have been a lot better. The film plays out something like a British version of the popular Italian 'Giallo' subgenre, and features Christopher Lee as the head of a Parisian theatre. The film makes this theatre its central location, and it provides a good place for a macabre tale like this to take place. Two years earlier, Mario Bava showed how a colourful location could benefit a movie about various people being killed with Blood and Black Lace, and it would seem that director Samuel Gallu realised how this could be used as the theatre at the centre of the tale utilises a bright colour scheme, similar to the one in Blood and Black Lace. The theatre at the centre of the film specialises in horror productions, and this is taken to a new extreme when performers at the theatre begin turning up dead. We focus on a police inspector who is tied to the murders through his attraction to one of the performance artists, and he soon realises that there could be a link between the murders and the theatre.

For a plot like this to engage the audience, it needs both thrills and intrigue, and while this film has both; it doesn't utilise either to a satisfying degree, and this makes the resulting movie rather cold and difficult to engage with. The acting is above average for this sort of film, however, and lesser known members of the cast manage to stand out despite Christopher Lee's massive star profile. The film seems to have taken influence from the prolific Italians on the actress front, as Theatre of Death features some beautiful women, which bodes well with the grandiose central location. Christopher Lee doesn't deliver his best performance in this film, and really never breaks a sweat in the lead role, but it's always a pleasure to see him. The mystery is never too interesting, and the short running time never really does it justice. Full credit goes to the film for the ending, however, as the film comes good by the time of the climax, even though the mystery could have gone on a little longer, had it built up more tension. Overall, this is a decent enough movie; I wouldn't recommend going into it with high expectations, but Theatre of Death is worth seeing for fans of this sort of film.