Funny, Silly, Overall Entertaining

So last night I watched The Comedy of Terrors, starring Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorre, about an undertaker and his assistant who have fallen on hard times and decide to increase business by bumping off wealthy local citizens. It is far too silly to be taken seriously, but for those who insist, there are about three murders as well as one repeatedly attempted murder. One of the silliest aspects is that this undertaker and his inept assistant are Johnny on the spot when these deaths occur and no one gets suspicious but welcomes their presence.

There may be a bit of smoking in this movie and there is surely a huge amount of drinking. The Vincent Price character spends the entire film about half-crocked to passed out drunk. He is terribly verbally abusive to his wife, but there is little to no direct domestic violence. I guess if you can’t love who Vincent is playing, you can love watching him which is the great thing about him.

One very interesting moment in this film is a scene of two people hiding in a room while a third person breaks down the door with an axe. The only horror film with which I was familiar where this happens was The Shining. Of course this is a horror comedy film but I was surprised to see that the same thing was done years earlier. That scene is either not in the book of The Shining or is done differently as there is no axe in the book. The movie scene is one of the most famous in cinema.

This film is entertaining and good for a few laughs. One funny thing is how Basil Rathbone, who gives an impressively lively performance, won’t stop hammily quoting Shakespeare no matter what anyone does to him. Rhubarb the cat, who also appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, is a great presence as well, stealing every scene he is in. (I believe this was a male cat playing a female role here, since her name was Cleopatra.) Not for anyone who is overly sensitive about death or for anyone who can’t stand some silliness.