Theater of Blood (1973)

Director:

Douglas Hickox

Writers:

Anthony Greville-Bell (screenplay) and
Stanley Mann (idea) ...
(more)

Release Date:

5 April 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Horror

Tagline:

At your own risk

Plot:

A Shakespearean actor takes poetic revenge on the critics who denied him recognition.

Plot Keywords:

Critic | Revenge | Actor | Police | Theater

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Edward Lionheart
Diana Rigg	...	Edwina Lionheart
Ian Hendry	...	Peregrine Devlin
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
Dennis Price	...	Hector Snipe
Milo O'Shea	...	Inspector Boot
Eric Sykes	...	Sergeant Dogge
Madeline Smith	...	Rosemary
Diana Dors	...	Maisie Psaltry
Joan Hickson	...	Mrs. Sprout
Renée Asherson	...	Mrs. Maxwell
Bunny Reed	...	Policeman
Peter Thornton	...	Policeman
Charles Sinnickson	...	Vicar
Brigid Erin Bates	...	Agnes
Tutte Lemkow	...	Meths Drinker
Stanley Bates	...	Meths Drinker
Eric Francis	...	Meths Drinker
Sally Gilmore	...	Meths Drinker
John Gilpin	...	Meths Drinker
Joyce Graeme	...	Meths Drinker
Jack Maguire	...	Meths Drinker
Declan Mulholland	...	Meths Drinker
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Calvin	...	Police Photographer (uncredited)
Charles Gray	...	Solomon Psaltery (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Douglas Hickox

Writing credits
Anthony Greville-Bell		screenplay and
Stanley Mann		idea &
John Kohn		idea
William Shakespeare		(plays) uncredited

Produced by
Gustave M. Berne	....	executive producer (as Gustave Berne)
Sam Jaffe	....	executive producer
John Kohn	....	producer
Stanley Mann	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael J. Lewis

Cinematography by
Wolfgang Suschitzky

Film Editing by
Malcolm Cooke

Production Design by
Michael Seymour

Set Decoration by
Ann Mollo

Costume Design by
Michael Baldwin

Makeup Department
George Blackler	....	makeup artist

Production Management
David Anderson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dominic Fulford	....	assistant director

Art Department
Richard Rambaut	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Simon Kaye	....	sound mixer
Les Wiggins	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
John Stearns	....	special effects

Stunts
Terry Yorke	....	stunts (as Terry York)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ronnie Taylor	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Chris Kelly	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Michael J. Lewis	....	conductor
Lawrence Ashmore	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Tutte Lemkow	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Cineman Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1973) (UK) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (video)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• PlayArte Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1987) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

Much Ado About Murder
Theatre of Blood (UK) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #23502) | Ireland:18 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | West Germany:16 | Norway:(Banned) (1973-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green, London, England, UK

Company:

Cineman Productions

Trivia:

Lionheart's theatre hideout was the Putney Hippodrome, built in 1906. It had been boarded up for fourteen years when it was chosen as a location for this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Peregrine Devlin arrives at the fencing school you see him attach a cable to the back of his fencing kit (which would signal a hit with a buzzer), yet when the other fencer reveals himself to be Edward Lionheart and they start fencing the cable is no longer attached to Devlin's back.

Quotes:

Miss Chloe Moon: These are very funny rollers, Butch.
Edward Lionheart: Naughty, naughty! Don't touch, Butch knows best. They're something new from Gay Paree.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Coral Browne: Caviar for the General (1989) (TV)

Who Is Killing The Great Critics Of London?

One of Vincent Price's best films is a black comedy that stars a whole slew of talented British players about a classical ham actor who is taking revenge on the critics who have panned his performances for years. It's really the kind of role any player would sell his soul to have, one where he can lose all restraints and feed on a winter's supply of scenery.

Price is the only American in the cast in this film set in London, but with his classical training and magnificent speaking voice it's not anything even a critic might find fault with.

One thing I do love are the names of the characters, you would think that Charles Dickens might have collaborated with Edgar Allan Poe had this been done a century earlier.

Price has saved each bad review he's gotten and dispatches the critics with a method from the play. Some of the Bard's work used are Julius Caesar, Troilus and Cressida, Titus Andronicus, and King Lear and others.

Diana Rigg plays Price's daughter and such worthy people as Jack Hawkins, Dennis Price, and Robert Morley are some of the critics. Morley's performance and method of shuffling off this mortal coil are the best in the film.

For those who like seeing the light side of Vincent Price, do not miss Theater of Blood.