Theatre of Blood
Encyclopedia
Theatre of Blood is a horror film
starring Vincent Price
as vengeful actor Edward Lionheart and Diana Rigg
as his daughter Edwina Lionheart. The cast includes such distinguished actors as Harry Andrews
, Coral Browne
, Robert Coote
, Jack Hawkins
, Michael Hordern
, Arthur Lowe
, Joan Hickson
, Robert Morley
, Milo O'Shea
, Diana Dors
and Dennis Price
. It was directed by Douglas Hickox
.
), had thought he was the greatest Shakespearean actor of his day. Abetted by his daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg
), Lionheart sets about murdering, one by one, a group of critics who had both ridiculed his acting throughout his career and declined to award him their "Critic's Circle Award for Best Actor", which Lionheart felt was merited by his final season of performances in various Shakespearean plays; humiliated in the aftermath of the awards ceremony, he attempts suicide and is presumed dead. Unbeknownst to the critics, and the police, Lionheart survives the suicide attempt and is adopted into a community of meths-drinking vagrants who do his bidding.
The manner of Lionheart's revenge on each critic is inspired by deaths of characters in the plays of Lionheart's last season of Shakespeare. In most cases the critic is first duped by Lionheart's acting initially to "play the part" before Lionheart's murderous intentions are revealed, followed by a forced recantation and an ironic, humiliating and grotesque dispatch of the critic. The first victim is butchered by a group of tramps on March 15 (the Ides of March
), in a reenactment of the death of Julius Caesar
. The next is speared and his corpse dragged behind a horse, the fate of Hector
at the hands of Achilles
in Troilus and Cressida
. The Merchant of Venice
is reworked so that Shylock
gets a pound of flesh (a critic's heart). Other murders include: a drowning in a butt of wine, based on the murder of the Duke of Clarence
in Richard III
; the wife of one critic, who was drugged to sleep soundly, awakens next to her husband's decapitated body, as Imogen
awoke to find the headless body of Cloten in Cymbeline
; quasi-cannibalism — the effeminate Meredith Merridew is tricked into eating his "babies" (his beloved poodles) just as Queen Tamora was fed the flesh of her two sons, baked in a pie, in the climax of Titus Andronicus
; one critic is tricked into believing his wife has been unfaithful, driving him to smother her in a jealous rage (i.e. Othello
) and spend the rest of his life in prison; the sole female critic (played by Coral Browne
, shortly to become Price's third and last wife) is electrocuted by hair curlers as Lionheart recites a passage in which Joan of Arc
is burnt at the stake, "Spare for no fagots [bundles of sticks], let there be enough..." (from Henry VI, part 1
). Many of the deaths are patterned to the weaknesses of the critics - the one that got his heart ripped out showed lusty behaviour earlier, the one drowned in wine is an alcoholic and a gluttonous person choked on pie while being force-fed. Each critic can be seen to represent one of the Seven Deadly Sins
, with punishment fitting the particular sin. Some are more convincing and frightening than others.
A "duel" scene features Lionheart and the chief critic, Peregrine Devlin bouncing around on trampolines while slashing at one another with rapiers, in the manner of the swordfight between Tybalt
and Mercutio
in Romeo and Juliet
. Lionheart uses this appearance to establish that he did indeed survive his suicide attempt, and thereby get his daughter, the police's chief suspect, released from custody and surveillance, to be falsely presumed the innocent daughter of a madman. Lionheart spares Devlin, who recognizes him and whom he needs to inform the police, as he intends to save Devlin, as head of the Critic's Circle, for last anyway.
The audience and sometime-participants in the mayhem are methylated-spirits
-drinking vagrants, who saved Lionheart from drowning after his attempt at suicide by leaping into the river. As the cheap but toxic methylated spirits have damaged their senses, Lionheart finds them easy to manipulate to help him murder the critics. After the principal series of killings, one of these meths-drinkers is disguised as Lionheart as a diversion to lure the police away while the remaining critic Devlin is kidnapped. Police capture the drunk and using the lure of hard alcohol, get him to divulge the whereabouts of Lionheart.
The film ends following Lionheart's attempt to force the remaining critic, Peregrine Devlin, to present him with the "coveted" Critic's Circle Award for Best Actor. Taking the blinding of the Earl of Gloucester in King Lear
as inspiration, Lionheart has arranged a contraption containing two red-hot daggers, which are poised to blind the critic should he refuse to recant and whom he will release otherwise. Devlin stands his ground despite the menace and refuses to change his original choice for the award. The slow-moving contraption is released; however, police sirens are heard outside and the device becomes stuck temporarily. Lionheart sets fire to the theater to thwart the police, who save Devlin just in the nick of time. In the confusion, one of the group of vagrants kills Edwina (i.e. the Cordelia-like devoted daughter), hitting her over the head with the award. Lionheart retreats, carrying Edwina's body to the roof and delivering Lear's final monologue just before the roof caves in and plunges, flaming, to his death. To this, Devlin comments "A remarkable performance. He was overacting
as usual, but he knew how to make an exit."
, that is the question..."); Mark Antony's self-serving eulogy for Caesar from Julius Caesar
("Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears..."); "Now is the winter of our discontent..." from the beginning of Richard III
; and finally, the raving of the mad King Lear at the loss of his faithful daughter.
Some critics disliked the film as Price made Lionheart too sympathetic a character, especially compared to his enemies, the critics, who were all (with the exception of Devlin) portrayed very unsympathetically. The film is sometimes considered to be a spoof or homage of The Abominable Dr. Phibes
: presumed-dead protagonist (who is a professional performer) seeking revenge, nine intended victims (one of whom actively works directly with Scotland Yard and survives), themed murders rooted in literature, young female sidekick, etc.
Theatre", was actually the Putney
Hippodrome in London, which had been built in 1906 and was vacant and dilapidated for over a decade before being used in the film. It was later demolished in 1975 to make way for housing units. The Hippodrome was also used in director Hickox's previous film, Sitting Target
(1972) with Oliver Reed
and Ian McShane
.
Lionheart's tomb is an actual monument in Kensal Green Cemetery
, London. It belongs to the Sievier family, and shows the sculpted figures of a seated man, one hand placed on the head a woman kneeling in adoration, while the other holds the Bible, its pages opened to a passage in the Book of Luke
. This monument was altered for the film by plaster masks of Price and Rigg substituting for the statue's real ones, the Bible became a volume of Shakespeare and there is a suitable engraving at the front with Lionheart's name and dates.
Peregrine Devlin's impressive Thames-side apartment was in reality the penthouse
flat at Alembic House (now known as Peninsula Heights) in Lambeth. The property became the London home of departure lounge novelist, failed politician and former jailbird Jeffrey Archer.
, with Jim Broadbent
playing Edward Lionheart and Rachael Stirling
, Diana Rigg's daughter, playing her mother's role of Edwina. The play differs from the film as the critics are from the major British newspapers (examples including The Guardian and The Times), and it is all set within an abandoned theatre. The play is also set in the seventies rather than contemporary times, and makes fun of the politics of theatre at that time. Another change is the reduction in the number of deaths, and the police characters are more or less entirely removed. The killings based on Othello and Cymbeline have been omitted, presumably because they would have to take place outside the theatre due to their impact on secondary characters. Also, the name of Lionheart's daughter is changed from 'Edwina' to 'Miranda' to enhance the Shakespearean influence. This adaptation ran in London at the National Theatre
between May and September 2005 and received mixed reviews. Tim Walker, the Sunday Telegraphs theatre critic, wrote: "If you were in on the jokes, it was all rather rude and uncouth, and, if you weren't, it must have been rather mystifying."
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
starring Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
as vengeful actor Edward Lionheart and Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
as his daughter Edwina Lionheart. The cast includes such distinguished actors as Harry Andrews
Harry Andrews
Harry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
, Coral Browne
Coral Browne
Coral Browne was an Australian-American stage and screen actress.-Career:Coral Edith Brown was the only daughter of a restaurant-owner. She and her two brothers were raised in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, where she studied at the National Gallery Art School...
, Robert Coote
Robert Coote
Robert Coote was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady.-Biography:Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex...
, Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
, Michael Hordern
Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
, Arthur Lowe
Arthur Lowe
Arthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:...
, Joan Hickson
Joan Hickson
Joan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...
, Robert Morley
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
, Milo O'Shea
Milo O'Shea
-Early life:He was born and raised in Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street, along with his friend Donal Donnelly.He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the "37 Theatre Club" on the top floor of his shop The Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street...
, Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
and Dennis Price
Dennis Price
Dennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
. It was directed by Douglas Hickox
Douglas Hickox
Douglas Hickox was an English film director. Hickox was born in London, where he was educated at Emanuel School. Hickox worked extensively as an assistant director and second unit director throughout the 50's and early 60's, making his first major picture in 1970...
.
Plot
Edward Kendall Sheridan Lionheart (Vincent PriceVincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
), had thought he was the greatest Shakespearean actor of his day. Abetted by his daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
), Lionheart sets about murdering, one by one, a group of critics who had both ridiculed his acting throughout his career and declined to award him their "Critic's Circle Award for Best Actor", which Lionheart felt was merited by his final season of performances in various Shakespearean plays; humiliated in the aftermath of the awards ceremony, he attempts suicide and is presumed dead. Unbeknownst to the critics, and the police, Lionheart survives the suicide attempt and is adopted into a community of meths-drinking vagrants who do his bidding.
The manner of Lionheart's revenge on each critic is inspired by deaths of characters in the plays of Lionheart's last season of Shakespeare. In most cases the critic is first duped by Lionheart's acting initially to "play the part" before Lionheart's murderous intentions are revealed, followed by a forced recantation and an ironic, humiliating and grotesque dispatch of the critic. The first victim is butchered by a group of tramps on March 15 (the Ides of March
Ides of March
The Ides of March is the name of the 15th day of March in the Roman calendar, probably referring to the day of the full moon. The word Ides comes from the Latin word "Idus" and means "half division" especially in relation to a month. It is a word that was used widely in the Roman calendar...
), in a reenactment of the death of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. The next is speared and his corpse dragged behind a horse, the fate of Hector
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...
at the hands of Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
in Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. It was also described by Frederick S. Boas as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The play ends on a very bleak note with the death of the noble Trojan Hector and destruction of the love between Troilus...
. The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
is reworked so that Shylock
Shylock
Shylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...
gets a pound of flesh (a critic's heart). Other murders include: a drowning in a butt of wine, based on the murder of the Duke of Clarence
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 1st Earl of Warwick, KG was the third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the...
in Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
; the wife of one critic, who was drugged to sleep soundly, awakens next to her husband's decapitated body, as Imogen
Imogen (Shakespeare)
Imogen was the daughter of King Cymbeline, in Shakespeare's play, Cymbeline. She was described by William Hazlitt as "perhaps the most tender and the most artless" of all Shakespeare's women.-Name:...
awoke to find the headless body of Cloten in Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
; quasi-cannibalism — the effeminate Meredith Merridew is tricked into eating his "babies" (his beloved poodles) just as Queen Tamora was fed the flesh of her two sons, baked in a pie, in the climax of Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
; one critic is tricked into believing his wife has been unfaithful, driving him to smother her in a jealous rage (i.e. Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
) and spend the rest of his life in prison; the sole female critic (played by Coral Browne
Coral Browne
Coral Browne was an Australian-American stage and screen actress.-Career:Coral Edith Brown was the only daughter of a restaurant-owner. She and her two brothers were raised in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, where she studied at the National Gallery Art School...
, shortly to become Price's third and last wife) is electrocuted by hair curlers as Lionheart recites a passage in which Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
is burnt at the stake, "Spare for no fagots [bundles of sticks], let there be enough..." (from Henry VI, part 1
Henry VI, part 1
Henry VI, Part 1 or The First Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare, and possibly Thomas Nashe, believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
). Many of the deaths are patterned to the weaknesses of the critics - the one that got his heart ripped out showed lusty behaviour earlier, the one drowned in wine is an alcoholic and a gluttonous person choked on pie while being force-fed. Each critic can be seen to represent one of the Seven Deadly Sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
, with punishment fitting the particular sin. Some are more convincing and frightening than others.
A "duel" scene features Lionheart and the chief critic, Peregrine Devlin bouncing around on trampolines while slashing at one another with rapiers, in the manner of the swordfight between Tybalt
Tybalt
Tybalt is a fictional character and the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. He is Lady Capulet's nephew, Juliet's hot-tempered cousin and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert/Tybalt the "Prince of Cats" in Reynard the Fox, a point of...
and Mercutio
Mercutio
Mercutio a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. He is a close friend of Romeo, and Romeo's cousin Benvolio, and also a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, being neither a Montague nor a Capulet, Mercutio is one of the few in Verona...
in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
. Lionheart uses this appearance to establish that he did indeed survive his suicide attempt, and thereby get his daughter, the police's chief suspect, released from custody and surveillance, to be falsely presumed the innocent daughter of a madman. Lionheart spares Devlin, who recognizes him and whom he needs to inform the police, as he intends to save Devlin, as head of the Critic's Circle, for last anyway.
The audience and sometime-participants in the mayhem are methylated-spirits
Methylated spirit
Denatured alcohol or methylated spirits is ethanol that has additives to make it more poisonous or unpalatable, and thus, undrinkable. In some cases it is also dyed....
-drinking vagrants, who saved Lionheart from drowning after his attempt at suicide by leaping into the river. As the cheap but toxic methylated spirits have damaged their senses, Lionheart finds them easy to manipulate to help him murder the critics. After the principal series of killings, one of these meths-drinkers is disguised as Lionheart as a diversion to lure the police away while the remaining critic Devlin is kidnapped. Police capture the drunk and using the lure of hard alcohol, get him to divulge the whereabouts of Lionheart.
The film ends following Lionheart's attempt to force the remaining critic, Peregrine Devlin, to present him with the "coveted" Critic's Circle Award for Best Actor. Taking the blinding of the Earl of Gloucester in King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
as inspiration, Lionheart has arranged a contraption containing two red-hot daggers, which are poised to blind the critic should he refuse to recant and whom he will release otherwise. Devlin stands his ground despite the menace and refuses to change his original choice for the award. The slow-moving contraption is released; however, police sirens are heard outside and the device becomes stuck temporarily. Lionheart sets fire to the theater to thwart the police, who save Devlin just in the nick of time. In the confusion, one of the group of vagrants kills Edwina (i.e. the Cordelia-like devoted daughter), hitting her over the head with the award. Lionheart retreats, carrying Edwina's body to the roof and delivering Lear's final monologue just before the roof caves in and plunges, flaming, to his death. To this, Devlin comments "A remarkable performance. He was overacting
Overacting
Overacting is the exaggeration of gestures and speech when acting. It may be unintentional, particularly in the case of a bad actor, or be required for the role. For the latter, it is commonly used in comical situations or to stress the evil characteristics of a villain...
as usual, but he knew how to make an exit."
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Harry Andrews Harry Andrews Harry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the... |
Trevor Dickman |
| Renée Asherson Renee Asherson Renée Asherson , born Dorothy Renée Ascherson, is an English actress of stage, film and television.Much of Asherson's theatrical career was spent in Shakespearean plays, appearing at such venues as the Old Vic, the Liverpool Playhouse and the Westminster Theatre... |
Mrs. Maxwell |
| Brigid Erin Bates | Agnes |
| Stanley Bates Stanley Bates Stanley Bates is a British actor and screen writer most famously known for the role of Bungle, and as a scriptwriter, in the children's television programme, Rainbow between 1973 and 1988. Other credits include roles in The Tomorrow People and Theatre of Blood.In 2001 Bates caused controversy due... |
Meths Drinker |
| Coral Browne Coral Browne Coral Browne was an Australian-American stage and screen actress.-Career:Coral Edith Brown was the only daughter of a restaurant-owner. She and her two brothers were raised in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, where she studied at the National Gallery Art School... |
Chloe Moon |
| Tony Calvin | Police Photographer |
| Robert Coote Robert Coote Robert Coote was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady.-Biography:Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex... |
Oliver Larding |
| Diana Dors Diana Dors Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,... |
Maisie Psaltery |
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Eric Francis | Meths Drinker |
| Sally Gilmore | Meths Drinker |
| John Gilpin John Gilpin (dancer) John Brian Gilpin was a leading English ballet dancer and actor.He was born in Southsea, Hampshire, England, and began as a child actor in films, such as They Were Sisters and The Years Between, opposite Michael Redgrave... |
Meths Drinker |
| Joyce Graeme | Meths Drinker |
| Charles Gray Charles Gray (actor) Charles Gray was an English actor who was well-known for roles including the arch-villain Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft Holmes in the Granada television series, and as The Criminologist in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show in... |
Voice of Solomon Psaltery |
| Jack Hawkins Jack Hawkins Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,... |
Solomon Psaltery |
| Ian Hendry Ian Hendry Ian Hendry was an English film and television actor. He is best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s such as The Avengers, and for his roles in 1970s films such as Get Carter .-Career:Hendry was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Culford School... |
Peregrin Devlin |
| Joan Hickson Joan Hickson Joan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :... |
Mrs. Sprout |
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Hordern Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:... |
George Maxwell |
| Tutte Lemkow Tutte Lemkow Tutte Lemkow was a Norwegian actor and dancer, who played mostly villainous roles in British television and films. His chief claims to mainstream familiarity were his roles as "the fiddler" in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof and the old man who translates for Indiana Jones in Raiders of... |
Meths Drinker |
| Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:... |
Horace Sprout |
| Jack Maguire | Meths Drinker |
| Robert Morley Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment... |
Meredith Meredew |
| Declan Mulholland Declan Mulholland Thomas Declan Mulholland was a Northern Irish character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films.... |
Meths Drinker |
| Milo O'Shea Milo O'Shea -Early life:He was born and raised in Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street, along with his friend Donal Donnelly.He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the "37 Theatre Club" on the top floor of his shop The Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street... |
Insp. Boot |
| Dennis Price Dennis Price Dennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G... |
Hector Snipe |
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Vincent Price Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St... |
Edward Lionheart |
| Bunny Reed | Policeman |
| Diana Rigg Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.... |
Edwina Lionheart |
| Charles Sinnickson | Vicar |
| Madeline Smith Madeline Smith Madeline Smith is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex) is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2... |
Rosemary |
| Eric Sykes Eric Sykes Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter... |
Sgt. Dogge |
| Peter Thornton Peter Thornton Peter Kai Thornton CBE was a museum curator and writer. He was keeper of furniture and woodwork at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London between 1966 to 1984, and curator to Sir John Soane's Museum, in Lincoln's Inn Fields between 1984 and 1995... |
Policeman |
Critical reception
This film is considered by some to be among Price's greatest work, and it was a personal favourite of his, as he always wanted the chance to act in Shakespeare, but found himself being typecast due to his work in horror films. Before or after each death in the film, Lionheart recites passages of Shakespeare, giving Price a chance to deliver choice speeches such as Hamlet's famous fifth soliloquy ("To be, or not to beTo be, or not to be
"To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet , Act III, Scene 1. It is the best-known quotation from the play and probably the most famous in world literature but there is disagreement on its meaning, as there is of the whole speech.- Text :This...
, that is the question..."); Mark Antony's self-serving eulogy for Caesar from Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
("Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears..."); "Now is the winter of our discontent..." from the beginning of Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
; and finally, the raving of the mad King Lear at the loss of his faithful daughter.
Some critics disliked the film as Price made Lionheart too sympathetic a character, especially compared to his enemies, the critics, who were all (with the exception of Devlin) portrayed very unsympathetically. The film is sometimes considered to be a spoof or homage of The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 horror film starring Vincent Price. Its art deco sets, dark humor and performance by Price has made the film and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again classics.-Plot:...
: presumed-dead protagonist (who is a professional performer) seeking revenge, nine intended victims (one of whom actively works directly with Scotland Yard and survives), themed murders rooted in literature, young female sidekick, etc.
Filming locations
Theatre of Blood was rather exceptional in that it was filmed entirely on location instead of staging scenes inside a movie studio. Lionheart's fictional hideout, the "BurbageRichard Burbage
Richard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....
Theatre", was actually the Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
Hippodrome in London, which had been built in 1906 and was vacant and dilapidated for over a decade before being used in the film. It was later demolished in 1975 to make way for housing units. The Hippodrome was also used in director Hickox's previous film, Sitting Target
Sitting Target
Sitting Target is a 1972 British film directed by Douglas Hickox and shot in London.-Plot:It is a violent crime thriller starring Oliver Reed as Harry Lomart, a convicted murderer, and Ian McShane as Birdy Williams, as two convicts planning a breakout. Before the two men can abscond to another...
(1972) with Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
and Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
.
Lionheart's tomb is an actual monument in Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
, London. It belongs to the Sievier family, and shows the sculpted figures of a seated man, one hand placed on the head a woman kneeling in adoration, while the other holds the Bible, its pages opened to a passage in the Book of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
. This monument was altered for the film by plaster masks of Price and Rigg substituting for the statue's real ones, the Bible became a volume of Shakespeare and there is a suitable engraving at the front with Lionheart's name and dates.
Peregrine Devlin's impressive Thames-side apartment was in reality the penthouse
Penthouse apartment
A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
flat at Alembic House (now known as Peninsula Heights) in Lambeth. The property became the London home of departure lounge novelist, failed politician and former jailbird Jeffrey Archer.
Stage adaptation
The film was adapted for the stage by British company ImprobableImprobable theatre
Improbable theatre is a UK theatre company founded in 1996 by Lee Simpson, Phelim McDermott, Julian Crouch and producer Nick Sweeting. Improbable is funded by Arts Council England, London. The theatre company has produced twelve shows...
, with Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
playing Edward Lionheart and Rachael Stirling
Rachael Stirling
Rachael Atlanta Stirling is an English stage, film and television actress. She is a two-time Olivier nominee for her stage work, but is best known for her performance as Nancy Astley in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet.-Personal life:...
, Diana Rigg's daughter, playing her mother's role of Edwina. The play differs from the film as the critics are from the major British newspapers (examples including The Guardian and The Times), and it is all set within an abandoned theatre. The play is also set in the seventies rather than contemporary times, and makes fun of the politics of theatre at that time. Another change is the reduction in the number of deaths, and the police characters are more or less entirely removed. The killings based on Othello and Cymbeline have been omitted, presumably because they would have to take place outside the theatre due to their impact on secondary characters. Also, the name of Lionheart's daughter is changed from 'Edwina' to 'Miranda' to enhance the Shakespearean influence. This adaptation ran in London at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
between May and September 2005 and received mixed reviews. Tim Walker, the Sunday Telegraphs theatre critic, wrote: "If you were in on the jokes, it was all rather rude and uncouth, and, if you weren't, it must have been rather mystifying."