THE COMEDY OF TERRORS

When it comes to horror films, I like my frights delivered straight with no chaser. I prefer pure horror films than those that leaven the shocks with laughs. Humorous horror films are more often than not overdone, over-the-top affairs that grate on your nerves more than provide either laughs or shocks. For instance, I find Frank Capra's ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944), while generally a crowd pleaser, to be a shrill, manic movie that annoys more than entertains.

That said, I do recognize the deep vein of sly humor that runs throughout James Whale's masterpiece BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) (my all-time favorite horror film, by the way), and I have laughed heartily when viewing ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) (the last hurrah of the classic Universal monsters), THE GHOST AND MR CHICKEN (1966) (starring one of my all-time favorite comic actors, Don Knotts) and Mel Brooks's hysterical send-up YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974).

Which brings us to THE COMEDY OF TERRORS (1964), I film I had never seen until a few days ago. On the surface, it looks like another Roger Corman directed adaptation of some obscure Edgar Alan Poe story but the film owes nothing to either Corman or Poe. It's directed by genre auteur Jacques Tourneur from an original screenplay by Richard Matheson. There's a great Lex Baxter score, sharp cinematography by Floyd Crosby and nice period art direction by Daniel Haller. All of that behind-the-scenes talent supports a cast of horror icons including Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone.

Price and Lorre star as owners of an impovershed funeral home in late 19th century New England. They own only one coffin (which is recycled after each "burial" by dumping the corpse into the grave) and are about to be foreclosed on by their landlord, Basil Rathbone. Price has taken over the business from the original owner, a dottering and deaf Karloff, by marrying Karloff's daughter, the busty Joyce Jameson. Price hates his wife while Lorre admires her horrendous singing talent (and her other "charms").

Price hits upon the idea of killing people to provide income for the business but when his first murder provides no money he decides to kill two birds with one stone by targeting landlord Rathbone. The trouble is, Rathbone proves awfully difficult to kill due to a tendency to lapse into the occasional cataleptic state (which resembles death), only to revive later. Everything comes to a "comedy of errors" climax in which Karloff gets the last laugh while Lorre (surprisingly) gets the girl.

It's clear from the very beginning that all of the leads are having a ton of fun playing for laughs rather than frights. And, surprisingly enough, they all acquit themselves quite well, with each of the leads earning some well deserved chuckles from this otherwise purist viewer.

You won't bust a gut laughing while watching THE COMEDY OF TERRORS but it does provide some genuine laughs and, at the very least, should put a smile on your face while watching these beloved icons of horror have a ball trying to kill each other.