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The Comedy of Terrors

Play trailer Poster for The Comedy of Terrors 1964 1h 28m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Waldo Trumbull (Vincent Price) is an amoral undertaker in 19th-century New England who takes to murdering people to have enough cash to support his drinking habit. Desperate for money after a widow stiffs him for a burial, Trumbull and his assistant, Gillie (Peter Lorre), decide to kill the wealthy Mr. Black (Basil Rathbone), their landlord, to whom they're indebted. But murdering Black proves to be quite a challenge, as he seems to keep recovering from death every time they do him in.

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The Comedy of Terrors

Critics Reviews

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 09/10/2021
3/4
A giddy romp. Go to Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid 09/03/2021
3/4
Everyone seems to be having a wonderful time, and some of the silly dialogue can stick in your head. Go to Full Review Alberto Abuín Espinof 04/16/2020
'The Comedy of Terrors' is almost an operetta, a vaudeville full of wit, with triumphant entrances and exits of its characters, clinging to life, embracing death. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Paul Chambers Movie Chambers 11/01/2014
B+
An all-out horror comedy set in 19th century New England with some of the best names in the business. Besides Price, there's Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone and in a small, but funny, segment, Joe E. Brown. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 01/25/2008
B+
Wonderfully chilling but silly film. Go to Full Review Mark Bourne DVDJournal.com 04/05/2006
There's some terrific comic interplay, and director Jacques Tourneur (Night of the Demon) keeps it all looking good and moving forward. Nonetheless, this is an 84-minute film spun from 42 minutes worth of material. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Homu L @AkemiLord May 3 Fantastic movie. I really enjoyed watching this. Great film! See more nick s @Nick_S Oct 14 A comedy of sorts. But the timing feels off and it's really straining for laughs. So falls quite flat for me. Just fun to see the collection of famous actors they've put together. One of Lorre's last outings I imagine. See more Kalissa H @kali_416 Oct 4 Great acting, of course. Vincent Price seemed to have fun. I liked how they included the cat in the beginning credits. Amazing dialogue. See more Michael C @Michael71 01/06/2025 The 1964 horror comedy "The Comedy of Terrors" is just a so-so movie, but it does have its moments. One such moment is the late Vincent Price. he is just plain terrific as drunken undertaker Waldo Trumbull. He steals every scene he is in. The rest of the cast does a good job in their respective roles as well. The late Boris Karloff does very little in the film and is almost a throwaway performance. The late Peter Lorre (Who died just two months after this movie was released in theaters.) is OK as Trumbull's bumbling assistant Felix Gillie. The movie is helped by some moments of greatness in the form of a few clever lines of dialogue and some well-done slapstick moments. Despite the positive moments, overall, the movie is not all that good. I do not give it a high recommendation. if you are a fan of Vincent Price as I am, you might want to check it out. Otherwise, I would not bother. See more CodyZamboni Z @CodyZamboni 03/18/2024 Lame horror comedy, Should've been alot better given the talent involved, The plot - Vincent Price starts killing folks to pay his rent. Movie torpedoed by some really annoying supporting characters, and loads of unfunny slapstick, Cheap production values further sink this film. That said, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and Basil Rathbone, do give their all. See more Dallas H @RT53171010 03/17/2024 Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff are the perfect trio to appear in incredible campy movies like this one. And it occurred to me while watching The Comedy of Terrors that Peter Lorre should have acted as Gollum in an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Is that too demeaning to suggest? See more Read all reviews
The Comedy of Terrors

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Cast & Crew

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Jacques Tourneur

Director

Vincent Price

Waldo Trumbull

Peter Lorre

Felix Gillie

Boris Karloff

Amos Hinchley

Joyce Jameson

Amaryllis Trumbull

Joe E. Brown

Cemetery Keeper

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The Comedy of Terrors

The Comedy of Terrors (1964) The Comedy of Terrors (1964) The Comedy of Terrors (1964) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Waldo Trumbull (Vincent Price) is an amoral undertaker in 19th-century New England who takes to murdering people to have enough cash to support his drinking habit. Desperate for money after a widow stiffs him for a burial, Trumbull and his assistant, Gillie (Peter Lorre), decide to kill the wealthy Mr. Black (Basil Rathbone), their landlord, to whom they're indebted. But murdering Black proves to be quite a challenge, as he seems to keep recovering from death every time they do him in.
Director
Jacques Tourneur
Producer
Samuel Z. Arkoff, Anthony Carras, James H. Nicholson
Screenwriter
Richard Matheson
Distributor
American International Pictures
Production Co
American International Pictures (AIP)
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 22, 1964, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 19, 2017
Runtime
1h 28m