The Comedy of Terrors (1964)

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre AND Basil Rathbone... you'd think you wouldn't even need a script or a story, right? Legends of mystery, horror and comedy all together for a satire of their own onscreen lives! And if you plow through almost all of the reviews here on IMDB you'd be hopped up for a ribald comedy and a satisfying yarn, to feast on...Unfortunately what you get instead is a terrible story featuring four bored and uninspired actors who trudge slowly from unfunny scene to unfunny scene. A funeral parlour knocking off the locals to stay financially afloat... How could you possibly mess that idea up? Well, somehow it's managed and the result is a dire look at past masters struggling to maintain their dignity as the story starts off lame and grinds to a halt immediately.I waded through this torture only because of the acting legends in it. Everything else was as painful and as excruciatingly awful as movie making can get.You'll think less of the cast after watching this and that's a shame.

Someone on the forum for this film made a nice comment a while back, for which I'll paraphrase: he or she said something how the film "Airplane" was for airports as "Comedy of Terrors" is for undertakers. I couldn't have said it any better myself, even though I would've liked a few creepy scenes, considering the fine horror ensemble, and even a cat thrown in there, but this was 100% comedy. You know the cast by now, so I'll skip those details, but Vincent Price and Peter Lorre had fine chemistry together. If I knew this was a pure comedy and nothing to do with horror, I probably would've skipped the film, but I didn't know Price and Lorre could be just as entertaining as they were in "Tales of Terror", even though the latter is a better film. The only real negatives I can think of is Joyce Jameson's annoying singing, even though I know it was done on purpose, but it got tedious, as did Basil Rathbone's routine of rising from the dead. I don't think this film did too well at the box office, as plans for a sequel were nixed, but there are some truly funny moments by veteran horror actors that may be worth seeing.

It's a black comedy, which was quite scarce back then. Vincent Price is charismatic and energetic. Joyce Jameson is nice as the sad wife. Beverly Powers is so beautiful as the lady of the first murdered man. And I loved the last 5 minutes' twists. As you see, listing the "good" points in this movie is easy. Yet listing the "bad" ones is easier; they're EVERYTHING ELSE ! Oh God, what a tormenting time. It tried to be horror mixed with slapstick, but the outcome is something awful, with no real horror or droll slapstick.Although the scenes are short, and the editing is kind of fast-paced, but the bore is dominant. Simply because there is a whole lot of nothing going on from start to finish. The plot is thin, with not much imagination. At times, it seemed that the writer didn't have a plan for what to do next. For a big example, I thought that the first murder is just one sketch in what would be many sketches ahead, however it turned out to be pointless, and something truly bland to begin with (why didn't they rob the guy after killing him ?!?!). Then, the movie remains in that endless, and unfunny, undying landlord situation, till the movie turns into "remains" indeed ! That undying man is an appropriate idea for a running side gag, but not for a complete movie, or this complete movie for that matter. By the end, I was yelling at the screen : "Please stop it, I CAN'T BEAR MORE !!".Frankly I didn't laugh, not even once, because there is naught to laugh at. Aside from the main dead gag, there were some gags, no less dead, repeating annoyingly; Peter Lorre pronounces Price's name wrong, Price wants to poison his father-in-law, Lorre can't break into some house, and Price's wife sings horribly (God, this was horrible enough alone!). Moreover, situations that were handled wrongly; for instance, Joe E. Brown, in his cameo as the graveyard's guard, talks to the dead, and releases him from his coffin, THEN screams out of fear.. OK, it doesn't work !! Price didn't have much to do, unless acting as a drunk for all the time, till it pushes you to the edge of tedium. Lorre was performing in uninterested and stiff manner. And Boris Karloff looked like a stinking corpse, with stupidly heavy make-up.As for the movie's image, the word "poor" comes to mind, and for convincing reasons. While being colorful, the image exposed the penniless budget, and was ugly-looking sometimes; like the scene of sneaking into the first murdered man's hall. The sets and special effects were between cheap and weak; just look at the shattered drinking glasses, the very clear previously cut-off candles, and the busts' line on the stairs; which was unbelievable idea in the first place ! The production company "American International" music theme was the first and last interesting music around, since the rest was mostly unattractive. To get what I mean, listen to the opening credits' music score; it's torn, rather confused, between many directions like the silent movies soundtracks, and the funeral homes' melodies, with a musical phrase for every name on the credits; which sounded eventually discordant.And that cat ?? What was that already ?! It has no role, no comedic moments; it's just there to be cut to, maybe to rest a little from the weary cast, or that astray plot ! In short, this is so dry Laurel and Hardy movie, and one of the longest 80 minutes movies I have ever seen. It's based on one dull joke, which had been used, and overused, till triteness itself got a headache. And while it aspired after being a comedy of terrors, it ended up with no comedy, no terrors, just the terror of that mix's failure ! P.S : During the end credits, the camera follows that slow-moving cat while it goes nowhere. So why is that ?? Whatever the reason was, it embodied the sluggish and stray nature of this movie perfectly !

Despite a couple of minor flaws, it's impossible to dismiss this comedy movie as a failure thanks to the sheer pedigree behind it. Everything looks in place at a first glance: the script is written by one of the most famous horror writers of all time, Richard Matheson. The film is directed by that master of horror, Jacques Tourneur (NIGHT OF THE DEMON). And of course the film has been released by AIP, who made the hugely successful Corman/Poe series at the same time. THE COMEDY OF TERRORS is similar to THE RAVEN in that it teams up a number of major horror stars for a creepy tale with lashings of comedy. This film follows a template that some people may find off-putting; for instance the dialogue is unrealistic and "purple" all the way through, with characters speaking totally unrealistically. The emphasis is on comedy throughout and there are lots of hijinks, pratfalls and plentiful banter between the characters.The film looks relatively cheap with a few exceptions and takes place mostly in a single location. The special effects are limited and cheesy, but there are some nicely Gothic images of carriages rattling through the countryside and a fog-enshrouded graveyard. In fact the film manages to be pretty atmospheric and/or spooky in a number of spots, especially the graveyard scenes with Irish comedian Joe Brown which expertly mix the comedy and horror genres with ease. However, this is more of a comedy film with horror trappings. Despite on screen death and violence (swordfighting!) the emphasis is on bizarre and amusing characters and the way they interact.Every character is flawed in this film and loathsome in some way, even the pretty blonde heroine (the buxom Joyce Jameson) who vainly imagines herself as a talented opera singer when in fact she can't sing for tuppence. Vincent Price is utterly hammy in the lead and seems to be totally enjoying himself as a drunkard who doesn't mind smothering people in their beds. Despite his horrible character Price is great as always in a role that doesn't require him to be totally serious, thus suited to his acting style. Peter Lorre is also on hand as Price's put-upon assistant, Felix, and typically Lorre is abused both physically and verbally through the course of the movie. Then we have the delightful Boris Karloff as a hilarious old man who's lost his mind (Karloff gets some priceless dialogue at the dinner table: "Alexander the Great was embalmed in honey" "Edward the 3rd was buried standing up!"), the best thing in the film. One cannot go without mentioning Basil Rathbone, excellent as a victim of catalepsy who cannot die and goes around solemnly quoting Macbeth all the while. It cracks me up every time. Although the film is slow-paced and without a lot of incident, it showcases four of the best actors ever and is fun viewing just to see them together on screen.