Theatre of Blood (1973) Review
Theatre of Blood (1973)
Price stars as Shakespearean actor Edward Kendall Sheridan Lionheart. He considers himself to be the greatest performer in his field however a particular group of critics think otherwise. Denied their Critic’s Circle Award for Best Actor and consistently ridiculed for his hammy acting, Lionheart attempts suicide by throwing himself from a balcony and into the River Thames below.
Instead of dying Lionheart is washed up on a muddy shore, still very much alive but presumed dead in the press. He is found by vagrants and becomes part of their community. Utilising his newfound ‘dead’ status, and assisted by his adoring daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg), Lionheart kills off the same critics he denied him the award he considered rightfully his. As the basis, by which to dispatch his former critics, Lionheart uses the Shakespearean plays he performed in his final season.
If there was ever a time to reappraise the worth of actor Vincent Price this release of his acclaimed Theatre of Blood marks it. Often overlooked for being hammy, despite an impressive body of work, Price once and for all silenced his critics and with this classic British revenge horror. The actor considered Theatre of Blood a personal favourite amongst the films he’d starred in. His role as Lionheart couldn’t have been more perfect for him. Despite a varied career in film, Price became typecast within the horror genre, often called upon to be hammy for entertainment’s sake rather than actually having to act properly.
Consequently critics have never been too kind to him over the years and thus underrated for the truly gifted performer he was. There are parallels between Price and Theatre of Blood’s Lionheart’s career standings; however the film affords the legendary actor the opportunity to display the remarkable breadth he had as a performer. From reciting Shakespeare, playing an English policeman, a chef, a homosexual hairdresser and a French masseur, Price is afforded free reign to display his versatile and range as an actor. He clearly relishes the opportunity ably supported by a terrific cast of British talent.
Theatre of Blood was seen, to be similar to Price’s own The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Unquestionably there are a number of similarities however each works as a separate entity and should be viewed as such. Arguably scriptwriter Andrew Kevin Walker lifted elements of Blood’s structure for his wonderful Se7en whereby the killer meticulously planned and murdered people in accordance with the seven deadly sins.
Comedy cops Inspector Boot and Sergeant Dogge (played respectively by Milo O’Shea and Eric Sykes) may irritate some with their constant stupidity but that shouldn’t distract from what is an amusing, camp, grisly black comedy horror classic.
The killings, executed by Lionheart, are imaginative and a delight to watch, and more interesting because of their source lying in the writings of our country’s greatest playwright – an innovative usage of Shakespeare’s work and a world away from the usually pompous, stuffy adaptations that are adapted from them.
Vincent Price met his third, and final, wife Coral Browne during filming, after being set-up to each other by co-star Diana Rigg, who noticed the spark between the pair, marrying her following the film’s production. Like Price former The Avengers star Diana Rigg considered this to be her best film. She is virtually unrecognizable for the majority of the film. For both Jack Hawkins and Robert Coote Theatre of Blood was their final theatrical film.
Originally entitled Much Ado about Murder and directed by Douglas Hickox, father of Anthony (director of Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth), Theatre of Blood is a classic of the genre and certainly one of the better British flicks of the Seventies. If you haven’t seen it yet I urge you to do so, and if you have seen it then do yourself a favour and see it again. Theatre of Blood is a delight from start to finish.
