Theatre of Blood

"It's curtains for his critics!"

1973 1h 44m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

88%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 260🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●81Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 12,604

ComedyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“It's curtains for his critics!”

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Cast

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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Douglas Hickox
Writers: Anthony Greville-Bell
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Douglas Hickox, shot by Wolfgang Suschitzky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael J. Lewis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Malcolm Cooke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Vincent Price and Diana Rigg and Ian Hendry carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's curtains for his critics!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0070791 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Douglas Hickox directs. Wolfgang Suschitzky behind the camera. Michael J. Lewis scores. Malcolm Cooke cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

153 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Douglas Hickox, shot by Wolfgang Suschitzky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Michael J. Lewis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Malcolm Cooke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Vincent Price and Diana Rigg and Ian Hendry carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "It's curtains for his critics!".
7IMDB entry: tt0070791 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Wolfgang Suschitzky
Original score: Michael J. Lewis
Editing: Malcolm Cooke
Production design: Michael Seymour
Costume design: Michael Baldwin
Makeup / hair: George Blackler
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Status: Released
Box office: $1,000,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Theatre of Blood (1973)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 81/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 12,604 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 win & 2 nominations

Also by

Douglas Hickox

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-09-11
★ 8/10
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 plays. What you have read or heard about Vincent Price the actor is true, he was great. Same with Theatre of Blood, beloved by his fans and correctly held up as a homage to Price by many of his acting peers. The critics, perhaps unsurprisingly, were very mixed about it on release, but time has been very kind to it. It's a darkly comic and macabre tale, often gruesome while letting Price strut his stuff with an elegant pomposity that's as absurd as it is utterly enjoyable. Rigg is also brilliant, while the roll call of actors lining up to be murdered in grizzly fashion don't put a foot wrong. Pick a favourite death? Me, Robert Morley as Meredith Meredew, his death here has haunted me since I first saw the film some 30 odd years ago. Entertaining, memorable and along side Witchfiner General as essential viewings for anyone interested in the greatness of Vincent Price. 8/10
CinemaSerf2023-05-27
★ 6/10
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 stretches the already quite thin plot a little too much, but as an ensemble piece of comedy horror - and although it really isn't at all scary any more, it is still well worth catching up with.
Wuchak2024-08-24
★ 6/10
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 (1972). It's also reminiscent of "House of Wax" (1953), although I give that one the edge. The jaw-dropping Madeline Smith is on hand on the female front, but she's unfortunately underused as a decidedly peripheral character. There's Rigg, of course, if you find her attractive. I don't, but she's likable enough. The movie's colorful like Hammer flicks, albeit with a slightly bigger budget and the corresponding location shooting. Fans of Vincent Price horror and, especially, the three movies noted above should eat this up while others might find it too talky, one-dimensional and overlong. The movie runs 104 minutes and was shot in London, Brentford & Windsor, England. GRADE: B-