The Comedy of Terrors as All-Star Third Acts
Grumpy Old Creeps might apply were The Comedy of Terrors reissued today,
ground since 1963 littered by aged men not venerable but ill-content and objects
less of laughter than derision. “Your Favorite Creeps Together Again!” was
legend over flattering portraiture of Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff,
and “Also Starring” Basil Rathbone, the artist Reynold Brown depicting each on
affectionate terms. The Comedy of Terrors was maybe a first for headlining old-timers to mirth-make and be respected despite ’63 youth-be-served attitude otherwise prevailing. Comedy’s creeper clutch had never been away
since beginning eons before, joy to masses and now offspring since
the 1930’s. All were of “Spook Show” tradition even though none to my knowing worked
matinee spoof stages (as Bela Lugosi of departed league had). Each could be funny as in laugh with us, not at us, but here were clown masks on and us entreated
to guffaw for whole of 84 minutes. To view The Comedy of Terrors best however is to ponder things
other than what is said and done on the screen.
Was Vincent Price the only Comedy creep who would someday work for fans
who lined up to see his AIP’s? (Tim Burton a hirer at near career-close for
VP). Price had edge of age (younger) and understood inherent humor in the genre he served. He is beyond broad in The Comedy of Terrors and
so is Lorre. Peter Lorre had been a goofy gargoyle doing all sort of support
work and being unlike any definition one could apply to acting, clear case
since 1930 and Germany’s M. Did he really have no memory of doing Moto
mysteries for all-of-time drug loop? I believe it for Lorre himself having
confessed so. He would play mean practical jokes and scamper away when victims
retaliated (ask George Raft). You’d think being short and pudgy would make Pete
more cautious, but no. He was dear friends with Humphrey Bogart and not many
people were. A stuntman wears a Lorre mask in The Comedy of Terrors and it
looks spookiest of all faces on view. I was able to identify to some
degree with favorites, but Lorre … might as well be a man on the moon. Halloween
was busiest time on all of casts' calendar. You hope they gathered up nuts
enough to eat through sunnier days when phones rung less, but hold --- Karloff secured posterity with a Christmas project, the Grinch he’s
best known for now and maybe for always. Boris offscreen was too genial for monsters,
and lots knew it. I recall Castle of Frankenstein’s cover headline for Die,
Monster, Die that Karloff was “Playing a Monster for the First Time in 30
Years,” and me thinking, well who needs that? I’ll take him in a wheelchair and
just talking, thank you.
I read of Chaney showing up in mid-sixties, his and the apx. date, at
amusement parks to hand out flyers of himself in varied monster guise. What was
needed was all of us older, maybe approaching our own sixties, to show up, be
worshipful, and tell Lon how revered he’d be in nostalgia years to come.
Presumably only Price lived long enough to grasp full dimension of monster fan
culture. Yes, we were out there when The Comedy of Terrors played first-run,
buying Famous Monsters, staying up late to see veterans young then, old and
still serving yet, an emerging army loving them either way. Trouble was we
weren’t connected to each other, small/large towns isolation wards for genre-loving to exclusion of adult endorsed recreation. Look today at the
Classic Horror Film Board, lore and fan exchanging that never sleeps. I’ll bet
there are more of the dedicated today than ever was during so-called Monster
Booms of the fifties and sixties, which for all its remembered glories, was lonely
outpost for overwhelming most. Is there present-day joy in watching The Comedy
of Terrors? Depends on mood, capacity to look back longingly. I forgive any or all overage from this cast. “Karloff timed
his delivery of that line flawlessly,” I will say … “Rathbone steals the show
with his most exquisite late-in-life performance!” Too much cat squalling via “Rhubarb”
(didn’t he/she once work with Ray Milland?), Joyce Jameson whom the script insists
“sing,” Joe E. Brown (why? Because he’d been funny in Some Like It Hot?). There are those who assign
“labored” to The Comedy of Terrors. Mere jiggery-pokery, I say. Will admit however to its
not being for everyone, appeal limited perhaps to Grumpy Old Creeps now approaching age of Comedy's quartet.
8 Comments:
John,
There are people who wake up one day speaking with what sounds like an accent (it's called Foreign Accent Syndrome), so your dream of suddenly developing Rathbone-like intonations isn't entirely out of the question. But please be kind to people who call you Sherlock, few though they may be these days.
As a young eager movie fan, being freshly introduced to the glories of Golden Age Hollywood via countless television broadcasts of black and white features, I wrote fan letters to both Basil Rathbone and Lon Chaney Jr. (both around 1966, I figure).
I received an autographed card back from Chaney, which thrilled my Wolf Man loving little heart. From Basil, however, I heard nothing. At the time of my letter I knew nothing about Rathbone's current plight in horror and sci fi features. Although i can't recall the contents of my letter to him I know that it would have reflected my enthusiasm over his memorable crossing of swords with Flynn and Power, a subject to which you write that Basil warmed.
I sometimes wonder if Rathbone ever read my letter in what was approaching his final year. Even though he didn't respond to it (not a good sign, I suppose) I hope it gave him a modicum of pleasure at a time when he was scrambling for employment in some pretty dire "B" film productions.
A friend, by the way, while browsing in a second hand book shop, came across a copy of Basil's autobiography, In And Out of Character. Much to his surprise it was actually signed by Rathbone on the title page, something the store's owner must not have noticed judging by the relatively modest price he had on the item. That book now holds an honoured place in my friend's his film book collection.
All but Rathbone seemed to embrace becoming lovable monsters (as opposed to villains you love to hate). Price would still play horror parts in earnest when needed, but elsewhere cheerfully mocked his image. Karloff's genteelness complemented his frailness; when he wanted he could imply there was something dangerous behind that soothing voice, but increasingly often it was a joke that he made evil sound so benign. With age and added weight Lorre was almost always comic; now and again there was an intentional pathos. Rathbone took everything seriously, at least in front of an audience. His comic villains were played to give the comics something to react to.
Lorre warned Barbara Eden against the day when it would seem a good idea to let somebody else sign the checks. He said that's why he was still working at his age.
Phil Smoot shares data on the Karloff/Lorre NY tour for THE RAVEN:
"Karloff and Lorre made a NY boroughs bus tour to promote The Raven and we can imagine fervid greeting they got from monster kids youthful still but walking much among us."
I Line Produced 7 or 8 movies for Bill Greenblatt (who's son is James Marshall, best remembered as James the Motorcyle guy on "Twin Peaks" and as the young Marine on trial in "A Few Good Men"). James and his sister are the children of Bill's (now late) Rockette bride.
Bill worked for Radio City Music Hall for years before moving to California at the behest of his friend Martin Sheen (to produce several TV movies). Bill told me that he played cards and spent time with Karloff/Price/Lorre on that NY engagement for "The Raven" (although Bill did not remember the film).
I told him how much I envied his time with them).
- Phil
Richard M. Roberts shares thoughts on THE COMEDY OF TERRORS and its veteran cast:
John,
THE COMEDY OF TERRORS was, of course, a follow up to AIP's big box office on THE RAVEN, but sadly, the comedy is a bit too forced for it to be any improvement on the gentle comedy that came across on THE RAVEN. COMEDY OF TERRORS has it's moments, but THE RAVEN is a much better film.
Some interesting tidbits: apparently Rathbone and Karloff traded roles early on in the production, the part Rathbone would end up playing was thought to be too physical for Boris in his then less-mobilized condition. Sadly, Peter Lorre's health was in such decline by that time that stuntman Harvey Perry, who had doubled Lorre since back in the Mr. Moto days, doubles Lorre in the aforementioned Lorre mask through pretty much anything physical throughout the film. Vincent Price remembered it as a happy set though, and recalled that a reporter from some magazine showed up to cover the shoot with an eye to making fun of these old has-been actors being forced to do horror movies, but actually came away with real admiration for their professionalism and talent in making the film work as well as it does.
Karloff, though his part is perhaps not as important to the film as the others, is actually quite funny as the potty old pater-undertaker, his absent-minded delivery of the eulogy is beautifully done. And it must be said about Rathbone, both here and in his other late films, that no matter the level of production, he always gave his all. I was always amazed how well he gets into the slapstick in GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI, and even in HILLBILLIES IN A HAUNTED HOUSE he looks like he's having a good time working with John Carradine and Lon Chaney Jr. And as Canuto Perez, the weary ghost in Rathbone's final Mexican-made film AUTOPSY OF A GHOST, he brings way more to the part that it probably deserved, but gives it both some humor and pathos against John Carradine who is having a high old time playing the Devil.
All of these films are worth watching because of the quality of the performers working in them. Bless companies like American International Pictures who understood that these old pros brought real life to these potboilers, and kept them working when they weren't getting so much work from the majors. This is why we are still looking at these films all these years later.
RICHARD M ROBERTS
I can remember when Boris Karloff was still alive. We didn't have internet then so there was no way I could know how debilitated Karloff was at the end of his life. We went to the movies on payday and I was always waiting in vain for a new Karloff horror movie to suggest.
I went to THE RAVEN expecting a scare and was wowed to find it so wonderfully funny and fun so I was eager for COMEDY OF TERRORS and not a bit disappointed. I really wish Bela had lived long enough to experience the AIP resurgence. Old horror stars never die. We just wake up one day to learn they have gone away. They left us treasures. Their names are BIGGER today than the stars who got BIGGER billing in their day.
I enjoyed this; I was impressed that all of Rathbone's lines were originally written by William Shakespeare - and I thought he played the role of the deathless ham very well indeed.
Karloff's eulogy was also very funny, as Richard M. Rogers pointed out above; while I thought Lorre's performance was also good, and from time to time it seemed to me that he displayed some subtlety in his acting, especially whenever he shared the screen with one of the beautiful ladies in the cast.
Speaking of which, I even liked Joyce Jameson's singing - I thought it distinguished the character of the leading lady, making her somewhat more than just another pretty face.
Finally, I note that the ending of the film renders it "Production Code compliant", insofar as the evil is punished while the good remain alive - so my sense of morality was also ended up being satisfied, which is not something I can say about most horror or even comedy films.
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