The Comedy of Terrors (1963)

Dishonest undertaker Waldo Trumbull and his sidekick Felix Gillie are creating their own customers when they cannot find willing ones.

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.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | undertaker | animal in cast credits | unhappy marriage | sword | 

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Taglines:

They put new life in the undertaking business!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

An article in the December 18, 1963 edition of Variety noted that the hydraulically-operated coffin specially built for this film cost $9,300 ($78,000 in 2020).

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Waldo Trumbull: To... uh... paraphrase the venerable adage: we shall kill two birds, with one... pillow.

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Connections

Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: The Comedy of Terrors (1973)

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!

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:

Alta Vista Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1