Drive-In Dust Offs: THEATRE OF BLOOD

“You begin to resent an actor if you always have to give him bad notices.” Upon his death in 1993, Vincent Price left an unfillable chasm in the horror community. He was our King Ghoul, the Gentleman of Terror who never missed a lipsmack or an arched eyebrow. His leering, singsong tones were music to horror lovers’ ears, every syllable a delicious symphony of delight. To the fans, that is – Price, while alive, was dismissed by the press as a preening ham not to be taken seriously. How fitting then, that he should find his greatest role as a vengeful actor lashing out at his critics in the most macabre of ways? Theatre of Blood (1973) reflected on Price’s place in the pantheon, and showed the naysayers once and for all his innate gifts.

Released by United Artists in April, Theatre of Blood, or Theater of Blood (to paraphrase a Joe Walsh album title, ‘You Watched It - You Name It’) brought in $1 million in North America, and was praised for it’s witty, literate script and a very sly turn by Price. If only the critics in the film had been as kind…

Following an awards banquet hosted by the London Theatre Critics Circle, Edward Lionheart (Price), a Shakespearean actor of doubtable talent, faces the group of critics after failing to secure an acting prize at the ceremony. Distraught, he throws himself off the building into the river Thames, in front of his daughter (Diana Rigg – The Avengers TV series) and the disbelieving group. Miraculously he survives, and is taken in and nourished by a throng of drunken homeless people. A year later, the critics are disposed of one by one in accordance with the deaths presented in each of Shakespeares’ plays that Lionheart performed in his final season before his alleged death. Of course, we know who is responsible, and why. It’s up to Inspector Boot (Milo O’Shea – Barbarella) to solve the case before the critics become a Circle of none.

Although Theatre of Blood can be seen as Price’s revenge on his critics, they weren’t that terrible to him – certainly not on the level of vitriol leveled at Lionheart. Yes, he was dismissed – ‘just’ a horror actor, nothing to be taken seriously. And I think it probably bothered his fans more than him – he had many outside interests, being a master chef and an accredited art scholar among them – that they felt he deserved more recognition.

Of course he deserved a closer look. It was the 50’s when he took the plunge into the bloody end of the pool with House of Wax, from there to a series of acclaimed Poe adaptations from Roger Corman and American International Pictures. In ’71, he essayed the title role of The Abominable Dr. Phibes, followed a year later by a sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again. Both were great successes, but more importantly showed that with the right script and director, he didn’t have to work so hard to carry a picture – his irascible charm and larger than life persona could shine unencumbered, buttressed with talent and enthusiasm his equal. But while the Phibes films reveled in an opulent Art Deco style firmly entrenched in the 20’s, Theatre shows a very current London, and is way more vicious and graphic than those films. It’s certainly his most hip film to that point, away from cobwebbed hallways and rainy graveyards.

This is part of the reason that it holds up so well today. Director Douglas Hickox (Brannigan) deglamorizes London, showing a city filled with squalor and shame, gloomy and downtrodden. No romanticizing, thank you kindly, and the screenplay by Anthony Greville – Bell (Perfect Friday) positively drips with scrumptious bon mots delivered not only by Price and Rigg, but the large and superb supporting cast with equal aplomb.

The revenge formula of the Phibes films is revived here – well known personality seeks retribution against those who’ve wronged him – but the attitude of Theatre makes Phibes look like The Sound of Music. As anyone who has read Shakespeare can attest (and I did ask them, as I slept through English Lit class more than I was awake), Billy’s writings could be incredibly violent and sadistic, and with the enthusiastic make up work of George Blackler (To the Devil a Daughter) fleshing out the scenes and not shying away, is shown in surprising detail for the times.

Speaking of fleshing out, if one wanted to attribute even more to Greville –Bell’s screenplay (and why not? It’s nearly perfect), we could look at the relationship between the homeless and Lionheart. They take Lionheart in, nurture, feed, and bring him back to life. They are always by his side, and assist in the dismantling of the Critics Circle. The homeless, in essence, are Price’s fans. Always with him, supportive, and willing to do almost anything to lift him on high (he does befall a tragedy near the end at the hands of his followers), Theatre shows the price of fandom can be as steep as respect.

The cast is amazing, a mixture of theatre and film veterans, who after reading the script were more than willing to participate. Ian Hendry, Robert Morley, et al, are game for everything thrown their way – from stabbings, flayings, some horse drawn action, electrocutions, intoxication, vigorous pie eating – and all find the right tone that keeps the proceedings from becoming morose. Rigg is subtle and superb as Lionheart’s long suffering daughter, who has a very hard time letting go of her father.

However, the spotlight is not big or bright enough to contain Vincent Price in this, his penultimate performance. Edward Lionheart will remain his crowning achievement because it plays to all of his strengths. Price never did get the chance to do Shakespeare in his long career (who would take him seriously?), but look what he does when he gets the chance. Instead of playing the speeches straight (which I’m sure was tempting, and without a doubt within his reach), he elevates them ever so slightly, to show that Lionheart did have talent, but was unable to rein it in at the appropriate moments. So Price, with a chance to show he could ‘act seriously’ (Billy’s works being the gold standard for respect) chooses to shade his character instead, making Edward his most rounded, grounded creation.. A lesser actor would try to prove he could do Shakespeare – Price proves that the best are selfless.

Theatre of Blood was Price’s pinnacle, and I think he knew it. After this, he started to explore his other passions, with the occasional foray into acting whenever it caught his fancy, usually spoofing his persona. He really had nothing left to prove. What he left behind is a rich tapestry of film, multicolored and woven throughout the 20^th century. If you’re a horror fan new to his work, start with House of Wax and work your way up, through all the great AIP work, Corman collaborations and various side streets (Scream and Scream Again comes to mind). But you should always end (or circle back to) here. Unlike Lionheart, Price was remembered fondly by critics upon his passing. They say respect is earned - but in the eyes of his legion of fans, that debt was paid in full long before his final curtain was drawn.

Theatre of Blood is available on DVD from MGM’s Midnite Movies Collection.