Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre AND Basil Rathbone... you'd think you wouldn't even need a script or a story, right? Legends of mystery, horror and comedy all together for a satire of their own onscreen lives! And if you plow through almost all of the reviews here on IMDB you'd be hopped up for a ribald comedy and a satisfying yarn, to feast on...Unfortunately what you get instead is a terrible story featuring four bored and uninspired actors who trudge slowly from unfunny scene to unfunny scene. A funeral parlour knocking off the locals to stay financially afloat... How could you possibly mess that idea up? Well, somehow it's managed and the result is a dire look at past masters struggling to maintain their dignity as the story starts off lame and grinds to a halt immediately.I waded through this torture only because of the acting legends in it. Everything else was as painful and as excruciatingly awful as movie making can get.You'll think less of the cast after watching this and that's a shame.

Despite a couple of minor flaws, it's impossible to dismiss this comedy movie as a failure thanks to the sheer pedigree behind it. Everything looks in place at a first glance: the script is written by one of the most famous horror writers of all time, Richard Matheson. The film is directed by that master of horror, Jacques Tourneur (NIGHT OF THE DEMON). And of course the film has been released by AIP, who made the hugely successful Corman/Poe series at the same time. THE COMEDY OF TERRORS is similar to THE RAVEN in that it teams up a number of major horror stars for a creepy tale with lashings of comedy. This film follows a template that some people may find off-putting; for instance the dialogue is unrealistic and "purple" all the way through, with characters speaking totally unrealistically. The emphasis is on comedy throughout and there are lots of hijinks, pratfalls and plentiful banter between the characters.The film looks relatively cheap with a few exceptions and takes place mostly in a single location. The special effects are limited and cheesy, but there are some nicely Gothic images of carriages rattling through the countryside and a fog-enshrouded graveyard. In fact the film manages to be pretty atmospheric and/or spooky in a number of spots, especially the graveyard scenes with Irish comedian Joe Brown which expertly mix the comedy and horror genres with ease. However, this is more of a comedy film with horror trappings. Despite on screen death and violence (swordfighting!) the emphasis is on bizarre and amusing characters and the way they interact.Every character is flawed in this film and loathsome in some way, even the pretty blonde heroine (the buxom Joyce Jameson) who vainly imagines herself as a talented opera singer when in fact she can't sing for tuppence. Vincent Price is utterly hammy in the lead and seems to be totally enjoying himself as a drunkard who doesn't mind smothering people in their beds. Despite his horrible character Price is great as always in a role that doesn't require him to be totally serious, thus suited to his acting style. Peter Lorre is also on hand as Price's put-upon assistant, Felix, and typically Lorre is abused both physically and verbally through the course of the movie. Then we have the delightful Boris Karloff as a hilarious old man who's lost his mind (Karloff gets some priceless dialogue at the dinner table: "Alexander the Great was embalmed in honey" "Edward the 3rd was buried standing up!"), the best thing in the film. One cannot go without mentioning Basil Rathbone, excellent as a victim of catalepsy who cannot die and goes around solemnly quoting Macbeth all the while. It cracks me up every time. Although the film is slow-paced and without a lot of incident, it showcases four of the best actors ever and is fun viewing just to see them together on screen.

I must say that the combination of Vincent Price and Peter Lore works big time. I really enjoyed the comedy that ran throughout this film. To be honest I wish that Hollywood would make a lot more films like this rather than just rehash old movies as they seem to be doing these days. These old films really show of the actors. Vincent Price gave everything you expected of him. Peter Lore care a virtuoso performance and the we have the legend that is Boris Karloff in the background. I have to say that Basil Rathbone's character did get a bit annoying. The not dying I could understand in a movie such as this but the quoting from plays really was annoying plus, at the end, he didn't actually do much. So, anyway, watch it and make up your own mind. I guess those of a certain age my enjoy it, younger people maybe not, but who knows. Worth a watch anyway, just to find out.

'The Comedy of Terrors' has great pieces but unfortunately the whole is a weak and often very stupid mess. It is Vincent Price film through and through and depending on what you think of Vincent Price your opinion on this film will change. In my opinion this is the absolute lowest point the horror genre has ever descended to. It has taken respectable brilliant men and has forced them to parody their lifeblood and throw away their dignity for the cheapest and silliest laughs. 'The Comedy of Terrors' is a mess and it doesn't have a single laugh in it.Vincent Price is a controversial figure for me to discuss because I don't really have all that positive a view of him in terms of his impact on the horror genre. I think he all but destroyed the Gothic horror genre. His Corman produced Poe films and the likes of 'Comedy of Terrors' turned the genre into comedy. To be far though I think Price was a highly entertaining performer and his interviews are fascinating to watch. The problem was he wasn't a Karloff. He never sought to give souls to "monsters". Price was more concerned with having fun with bizarre characters and playing for a reaction(which many times was often a laugh rather than a shriek). When looking at a Price film one is not looking at a horror film. I want to use 'Comedy of Terrors' as a discussion point because I think it is the most blatant example of Price's impact on the horror film.Karloff, Rathbone, and to a lesser extent Peter Lorre were all icons of the horror genre. Here all three are old and on their last legs and they have to parody what cemented them as great artists. I'm sorry but I found it depressing. It would be one thing if the humor here was actually funny but it isn't. Most of the comedy here is slapstick that wouldn't be funny if Moe, Larry, and Curly did it or Karloff prodding around as a senile old fart. The film seems to think it's humor is dark and macabre but it is far too afraid to take any risks. There is no deeper or darker subtext behind any of the jokes. I was hoping to see Karloff be a nasty old pervert or for there to be some naughtiness behind something. This film probably could be released with a G rating today I'd imagine. It's a shame to see our old friends reduced to such a low. Price on the other hand is right at home here. His character is throughly disgusting and unlikeable. Price can be good in creating horror comedies but the problem here is that this film seems to aspire to be a comedy rather than a bizarre horror hybrid that Price usually starred in. One thing I like about Price is that although his roles weren't deep he always seemed to have fun with them. Price consistently plays with a wink in his eye and it's always weird (sometimes delightfully so) but here it is jarring. This quasi-meta feel is a constant trait of all Price's films but it greatly hurts this one more than any others because of this terrible character. Waldo Trumball spends the whole movie being a contemptible ass who hates and bullies every character. How are we supposed to like Price in the role? He over indulges in it's quirks for a reaction and it's really really off putting especially when Trumball brutally belittles Karloff's character. To add to the matter Trumball is a very misogynistic character. Vincent Price quirkiness isn't fun when he is saying horrible things about women. The performance is far too punctuated and so Price isn't savoring bizarre quirks with his audience here. No, he's bringing to life a hateful character in a disjointed way.This is a clash between two types of horror films. The Karloff brand and the Vincent Price brand. I for one prefer the Karloff brand where the Gothic tradition had mystery and dignity. The Price brand is not without it's charm but this is a bad example of it. It's not funny or fun, it's mainly sad.