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Vincent Price left behind a truly staggering body of work. His roles in the Corman-produced films garnered him cult status in the mid-20th century, and his roles in mainstream films like Edward Scissorhands and The Great Mouse Detective exposed him to a wider audience. Theater of Blood, released in 1973, tends to fall under the radar given Price’s huge body of work. However, it is a deliriously entertaining horror-comedy.
Price portrays Edward Lionheart, a Shakespearean actor humiliated by a slew of critics at an awards ceremony. Lionheart is so distraught that he attempts to commit suicide by plunging into the Thames. However, Lionheart survives and is rescued by a crew of vagrants. It’s pure lunacy, but it gets even more ridiculous. Lionheart decides to seek vengeance based on the plays where he plied his trade. It gets…weird. And gory.
True fans of Price will note that this isn’t the only movie with inspired kills. The Abominable Dr. Phibes features kills with Biblical origins. The Shakespeare influence is used to great effect. A critic is drowned in a barrel of wine, like the Duke of Clarence in Richard III and Lionheart sends his homeless minions (it is never explained why exactly they follow his orders, but they do, and really does it matter?) to stab a critic to death, a la Caesar’s demise in Julius Caesar. The most notorious death, however, is clearly when Vincent Price force-feeds pies to a critic. PIES THAT ARE MADE OF THE CRITIC’S POODLES. (The inspiration is Titus Andronicus.)
Vincent Price feeds someone their own poodles in this movie.
Lionheart is aided by his daughter, Edwina (Diana Rigg, aka Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones). They make a fearsome duo, and Price truly is in his element throughout. You don’t need to be a devotee of The Bard in order to enjoy this film. It is gory, but it has a demented sense of humor we can all enjoy. It’s an over-the-top spectacle, and Price’s abilities shine through.