Watch The Comedy Of Terrors Dailymotion
Ello gov'na, what's this then, another bit of vintage tomfoolery courtesy of some classic horror legends? Watch Pyaar Impossible! Online there. By Jove we'll ave some of that then.. So this popped up on my radar out of absolutely nowhere, never heard of it before, a complete shock.. Apparently this movie is a follow up of sorts to the classic Poe/Corman 1. The Raven', which also had the same trio of greats. That trio of course consisting of Karloff, Price and Lorre, only this time the epic Basil Rathbone joins the fray.
Not to mention the fact that Rathbone, Lorre and Price all starred together in another horror comedy called 'Tales of Terror' the year before (milking it much?). Anyways, I say follow up, that's only in terms of the main lead cast, this isn't a sequel or continuation of the 6. Corman picture, merely a new project bringing the classic cast together again. Bloody good show! Sooo Vincent Price plays the titular Mr Trumbull, a grumpy, miserable, Scrooge- esque type of rotter.
He runs an undertakers business (what else) in New England circa the late 1. He has a close personal assistant by the name of Mr Gillie played by the ever kooky Lorre. Gillie is a more submissive, quiet man who tries to stand by his principles and do what is right, alas he is bullied and overpowered most of the time by his boss Mr Trumbull. The dastardly duo con people by dumping their dead loved ones into graves minus their coffin. They then reuse the same coffin over and over for other customers, saving the cost of buying new coffins.
Unfortunately business is drying up and Trumbull owes his landlord (Mr Black played by Rathbone) a years worth of rent. So, in order to gain some income, Trumbull decides to start snuffing people out so he can then get the business of burying them. After what promises to be a good start, things start to go awry and the duo end up going after Mr Black. What follows are the humorous complications of Trumbull and Gillie trying to kill off Mr Black whilst not getting caught, trying to keep Trumbull's wife at bay, and hoping ancient Mr Hinchley (Karloff) doesn't dip his little fly in the ointment. So bottom line, is this funny? Errmm.. not really, I mean its not terrible or anything, but its just not particularly funny.
Was it funny back in the day? I don't think it was actually. I can't be sure but the film generally didn't do very well on release and a sequel was cancelled, so I must assume the general public didn't think much of it. Dare I say its quite possible that just maybe the general public might have been a tad bored of seeing these old horrors legends doing the same routine? I don't wanna be put up on charges of blasphemy of anything but the films I have already mentioned earlier aren't exactly vastly different in terms of tone.
Essentially they could all be the same movie if you really wanted to believe that, or an anthology at least. I mean looking at the film, visually it does look cool and atmospheric for sure. Everything we see is generally sets and admittedly you can easily tell its all sets (nothing unusual), but it all looks quaint and charming in its dusty, olde worlde type way. The main location of Trumbull's rented house is clearly a set on a studio lot with a matte painted background, its obvious but cute.
Beverly Powers, Actress. known for Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), The Comedy of Terrors (1963) and Brides of Blood (1968). watch trailers.
- Born: Aug 07, 1939
- Age: 78