Theatre of Blood

Shakespeare's of Fulham!

Theatre of Blood is directed by Douglas Hickox and adapted to screenplay by Anthony Greville-Bell from an idea by Stanley Mann and John Kohn. It stars Vincent Price, Diana Rigg and a whole host of British thespian talent! Music is by Michael J. Lewis and cinematography by Wolfgang Suschitzky.

Edward Kendall Sheridan Lionheart (Price) considered himself a master Shakespearean actor, he also considered all the critics of his time to be harsh and unflattering towards his ability. When he is over looked for a prestigious award he jumps out of a building to his apparent death. Not long after though, all the critics of the London circle so despised by Lionheart start to be killed in ways reminiscent of Shakespeare's...

Vincent Price is delightfully camp and over-the-top in this compendium of tales of revenge. He plays a Shakespearean actor slighted by the critics and denied his due plaudits; so he sets out - with the help of mistress of disguise (?!) Diana Rigg (his daughter) to avenge himself by disposing of each of his antagonists in a fashion prescribed by the bard himself. Robert Morley is great as the poodle-loving ham, and we have some fun appearances from Jack Hawkins, Ian Hendry, Arthur Lowe as the wonderfully named "Horace Sprout" married to Joan Hickson and a cast of the great and the good of late 1960s British comedy cinema. The very nature of the storylines can make the individual vignettes a bit convoluted, and the incompetence of the police ...

Shakespeare-quoting Price hams it up in this horror/thriller black comedy

Vincent Price stars as a bitter Shakespearean actor in modern London who is thought to be dead due to suicide. Actually, he's alive-and-not-well and goes after his unrelenting highbrow critics. Diana Rigg plays his understanding daughter while Milo O'Shea is on hand as the inspector.

The score is excellent, even moving, and the first act is quite serious. But then Price's hammy approach and the increasingly unbelievable murder scenarios thrust the movie into black comedy territory. Still, it's just serious enough to (sort of) suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride. It's another take on the basic plot of "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) and its sequel (197...