Thanks for the memories!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I think I may have seen this in high school. It features a group of masters of horror: Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and Basil Rathbone. They take turns out-mugging one another, as they portray a crooked undertaker, his partner, and his victim. Rathbone is the biggest scene-stealer, quoting "Macbeth" and taking forever to die. It is strictly a comedy with a hard edge. Everything revolves around Price who abuses everyone, making those around him serve his whims. He is a drunk and a shyster. There is also a blonde woman who Price had promised to make an opera singer. She has about as bad a voice as one could put in a human being. The plot is clever and the direction by Jacques Tournier is so much fun.

What a cast in "Comedy of Terrors!" Only Bela Lugosi of the "monster" actors was dead when Hollywood made this film. And only Lon Chaney Jr. was missing from among those "frightful" players still living. But, "Comedy of Terrors" is a very good showcase for several actors who variously thrilled, scared or bemused audiences for decades. Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone make this a formidable 'Who's Who' ensemble of frightful character film actors from the early to mid-20th century. And, they must have had fun together making this comedy. The plot is a simple but good one. Waldo Trumbull married Amaryllis Hinchley to become a partner with her father in his mortician business. But he has "driven the business into the ground," as Amaryllis says; and he affirms that's where it should be. Now he lives only to drink and verbally abuse his wife and employee, Felix Gillie. Amos Hinchley is still alive but old age has taken its toll. Amaryllis wonders why she married Waldo instead of pursuing an opera career. The answer to that soon becomes clear to the audience. Waldo has barely kept the business afloat and himself in whisky, by an occasional late night visit to some wealthy older person whom he smothers with a pillow. Then he and Gillie just happen to be in the neighborhood when a funeral must be arranged. His business is further threatened by the landlord, John Black, to whom he owes a full year's back rent. How will things work out (or not?) for Waldo Trumbull and the others? That's the question this film pursues in very funny scenes and with outlandishly hilarious dialog at times. The screenplay is more for adults. In places, the dialog is a lesson in bad manners – of what not to say or how to act. Vincent Price's Waldo is "horribly" funny in his role. Peter Lorre's Felix secretly pines for Waldo's wife, Amaryllis, whom he hears Waldo verbally mistreat all the time. Felix also has very bad hearing or some nuts loose, because he thinks Amaryliss sings beautifully. She is played superbly by Joyce Jameson. She gives the best film performance ever of a tone-deaf would-be singer. (Not that studios or performers would be clamoring to make films of such content.) Her two songs toward the end are too much. At funeral services for Black, she croaks out, "He is not dead, but sleepeth." Later, she squawks, "Felix, you've stolen my heart." It's so unbearable to listen to, yet hilarious. Boris Karloff plays Amos Hinchley who has the funniest very long line in the film. His eulogy uses many foreign and archaic terms for coffin – the word he can't remember. Basil Rathbone is John Black who reads Shakespeare aloud in bed, with associated actions. He suffers from catalepsy, which contributes to some very funny scenes. Joe E. Brown tries Irish brogue as the cemetery keeper. The cat, Cleopatra, is shown in the film credits as Rhubarb, and is used nicely in camera shots and shooting of some scenes. The rest of the cast all perform well. This film may not be for everyone. But movie buffs, who enjoyed these actors in any of their films over the years, should enjoy it. The Quotes section under this IMDb Web page for the film has many lines of funny dialog from the film. Here are some of my favorites. Waldo Trumbull, "If you could or would, for one brief moment, shut that vast resounding chasm of a mouth, I should be grateful, madam. Grateful."Amaryllis Trumbull, "I could have been the greatest opera singer in the world." Waldo, "What world? Would the vocal emissions of a laryngitic crow be qualifications? Yes, then maybe you could have been."Waldo, "Allow me madam, in this moment of your most desolate bereavement, to lift from your sorrow-laden shoulders the burdensome task of exequiem sepulture." Mrs. Phipps, "What?" Waldo, "I'll bury him for you."Felix Gillie, "There must be a little more honest way to conduct a funeral business." Waldo, "I might have expected that kind of talk from a criminal."Waldo, "I wonder what idiot ever thought of putting bodies in a crypt instead of in the ground where they belong." Felix, "Yeah, and they fertilize plants too." Waldo, "What a terrible thing to say. Shut up." Amaryllis, "Couldn't you find it in your heart to love me, Waldo?" Waldo, "Get up. You're sitting on my money."

The alcoholic director of the Hinchley & Trumbull Funeral Parlor Waldo Trumbull (Vincent Price) is a cheater that has married Amaryllis Trumbull (Joyce Jameson) in a marriage of convenience to get control of the business of her father Amos Hinchley (Boris Karloff). Trumbull has been using the same casket for more than thirteen years, dumping the corpses in their graves to resell the coffin. He also blackmails his only employee Felix Gillie (Peter Lorre) that had robbed a bank and is an abusive husband, threatening to poison his father-in-law and not allowing Amaryllis to sing. Gillie has a crush on Amaryllis and loves to hear her singing.Trumbull owes more than one year of rental of his premise to Mr. John F. Black (Basil Rathbone) and he has no client. So he decides to improve his business killing Mr. Phipps (Buddy Mason) to get a new client. However his wife Mrs. Phipps (Beverly Hills) flees to Europe with all her possessions and does not pay for the funeral service. When Mr. Black duns his debts, Trumbull decides to kill him to make some money and resolve his financial problem. But Mr. Black is epileptic and his family wants to keep his body in a crypt instead of burying him in a grave. During the night, the Cemetery Keeper (Joe E. Brown) hears a cry and releases Mr. Black from the coffin in the beginning of a tragic night. ... "Comedy of Terrors" is a very funny comedy of black humor. The veterans Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone have incredibly comic performances. The movie begins hilarious before the credits and I laughed and repeated many scenes so funny they are. It is impossible to list the best scenes since there are many of them. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Farsa Trágica" ("Tragic Farse")

'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.