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:

Where the GHOULS are...is where the FUN is!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

After the "sword"-fight with Peter Lorre, Vincent Price states, "Oh, what a night!" Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons released a song with that title in 1975; the song's opening lyric is "Oh, what a night; late December, back in '63." The Comedy of Terrors (1963) premiered on December 25, 1963.

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Goofs

When Mr. Black swings his sword at the three red candles, it is obvious that the candles have been previously cut and stuck back together - they aren't even straight.

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Quotes

Felix Gillie: [Trumbull has decided that another customer is needed after the Phipps fiasco] What is the same thing happens that happened to us the other night?
Waldo Trumbull: Well, it's never happened before, has it?
Felix Gillie: But what if it does happen? Are we going to go out another night and another night and look for another man and another man and -...
Waldo Trumbull: We'll pick someone who isn't married, Mr. Gillie.
Felix Gillie: And how are you going to do that, huh? Wake up everybody before you do that horrible thing to him and ask him whether he's married? ...

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Connections

Featured in The Unauthorized Hagiography of Vincent Price (2014)

User Reviews

One of my favorites

This film really shouldn't be taken seriously. It's a spoof of itself, through and through, and it looks like the cast had a good time with it.

My three favorites are here: Vincent Price plays the unscrupulous mortician, whose impatience brings his floundering business some new customers. Peter Lorre is his unwilling partner and Boris Karloff is the bumbling father in law. Pretty Joyce Jameson is here too, with a singing voice that could shatter nerve endings but which nonetheless weaves a siren spell over lovesick Lorre. Basil Rathbone is here too, playing his part of The Rich Jerk with an unrivaled prissy elegance. Vincent Price has never played a better slimy villain; his performance is truly hysterical. This is a very satisfying film; it's funny, it's spooky when it needs to be and it has a great happy ending where everyone who deserves comeuppance gets it and everyone else goes away happily ever after. I actually prefer this film to "The Raven" and would only name "The Masque of the Red Death" as my absolute favorite out of all the Corman/Price vehicles.

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