Theater of Blood (1973)

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

Director:

Douglas Hickox

Writers:

Anthony Greville-Bell (screenplay), Stanley Mann (idea)

Stars:

Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vincent Price	...	Edward Lionheart
Diana Rigg	...	Edwina Lionheart
Ian Hendry	...	Peregrine Devlin
Harry Andrews	...	Trevor Dickman
Coral Browne	...	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 Psaltery

Storyline

Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) stars as an actor overlooked for a critics' acting award, despite producing a season of Shakespeare plays. After confronting the Critics' Circle, an attempted suicidal dive into the Thames results in Lionheart being rescued by your typical paraffin/meths/turps swigging tramps. Lionheart then (presumed dead) exacts his grizzly, and quite amusing revenge on the critics who denied him his finest hour.

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Plot Keywords:

critic | actor | revenge | police | theater critic | 

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Taglines:

Vincent Price has reserved a seat for you in the "theatre of blood."

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Theater of Blood

Filming Locations:

Oakley Court, Windsor Road, Oakley Green, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harbour Productions Limited,Cineman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (title sequence) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The picture of the handsome Elizabethan young man in black cape and white tights shown during the opening credits, and later used as the model for the film's Critic's Circle Award is a painting entitled Young Man Among Roses by Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619), and is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
George Maxwell: That damn editor's cut the best part of my review!
Mrs. Maxwell: So I noticed, dear. You ought to have a chat with him.
George Maxwell: My most provocative comment, too, where I said the leading lady attacked her role with both hands and strangled it to death.

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Alternate Versions

Early UK TV showings and video releases featured a U.S print which used the American spelling of 'Theater of Blood' during the opening credits. The UK MGM DVD uses the British title of 'Theatre of Blood'.

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Connections

Featured in Vincent Price: Working with Vincent Price (2007)

User Reviews

The mighty Vincent is out on a deliciously absurd vengeance-spree again!!

I better be generous and praising in my comments on Theathre of Blood here…you never know the spirit of the late Vincent Price resurrects from the grave to annihilate me! J Oh, I'll be sleeping peacefully tonight…I have no intentions of bashing the master and his role here. Price personifies Edward Lionheart, a classical actor who put his heart and soul in a series of Shakespeare plays and expected to be honored for it. But…instead of that, respected critics mocked him and eventually drove him into committing suicide. Yet, Lionheart survived and the group of critics who denied his talent starts to die in peculiar ways. Each of them is found murdered, like Shakespeare described it in his plays… Plot sounds more or less familiar? Well, it should be because Theathre of Blood is nothing more then a propagation of Dr. Phibes' success! The settings and Price's background are different, but the structure and creativity indicate that this film simply is `The Abominable Dr. Phibes part 3'.

Hey, I'll be the last person to complain for this…Even though not very original, Theathre of Blood is extremely amusing and yet another comedy-horror triumph in Price's career. Following the tradition, this film contains some highly exiting killing scenes, including a decapitation, a drowning and 6 more ravishing methods. No need to say Vincent Price is brilliantly grotesque as the obsessed `punisher' and he receives good feedback from other well-appreciated actors, such as Ian Hendry (Repulsion, Children of the Damned) and Diana Rigg (known from the good James Bond episode On her Majesty's Secret Service). The endless amount of Shakespeare references are a must for fans of historical drama and the sequences with Price as a devoted ‘Shakespearean-actor' make you long to see a long-feature event… I'd pay good money to see Vincent Price star in Richard III or King Lear, for example. Theathre of Blood is terrific entertainment and gets forgotten too easily. Therefore, I recommend it to all horror fans and hopefully, it's status will be jacked up a little…