Wonderful character development!

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

"The Theatre of Death" is a troupe of actors in Paris who put on Grand Guignol type productions. Their director is a cruel, demanding tyrant named Philippe Darvas (Sir Christopher Lee) who manipulates his performers in nasty ways in order to get the kind of performances that he wants. Concurrently, a series of vampire-like killings is plaguing the city, and easygoing police surgeon Charles Marquis (Julian Glover) takes the case. Charles is dating one of the troupes' stars, Dani Gireaux (Lelia Goldoni), and he finds that the murders seem to be leading back to the theatre.Stylishly directed by Samuel Gallu, this slick British production (even though the characters are supposed to be French, very few of the actors bother with attempting French accents) tells a reasonably absorbing mystery. It lays out a few enticing twists and revelations, while filling the widescreen frame with lots of colourful detail. It's a good looking film and fairly effective as a horror story, with a respectable amount of bloodletting. The atmosphere is pretty good, and Gallu and screenwriters Ellis Kadison and Roger Marshall hit the ground running with a gore gag right up front.The brunette Goldoni and the blonde Jenny Till (who plays Nicole) are very lovely, and the acting is solidly engaging from everybody concerned. Handsome young Glover is an amiable hero; Ivor Dean, Evelyn Laye, Joseph Furst, and Steve Plytas all offer indelible support, but it's unsurprisingly the late, great Lee who rates this a must see. He's so utterly commanding and authoritative that the film can't help but suffer a little when he's not around.A worthy viewing for discerning genre fans.Seven out of 10.

Pigalle slums, Paris , there takes place severals murders . As police are baffled by a series of mysterious killings . Meanwhile, new Theatre director Phillipe Darvas (the great Christopher Lee , still performing), son of the old director, vows to dedicate his life to the Theatre, as did his father. At the opening night cast party, patroness Mme Angelique (Evelyn Laye) requests that Darvas give a preview of coming attractions, so Darvas asks Dani Gireaux (Lelia Goldoni) and newcomer Nicole Chapelle (Jenny Till who receives an "introducing" credit) to play a scene from 'The Witches of Salem'. But Dani's sweetheart , Dr. Charles Marquis (Julian Glover), interrupts the scene . Once again occur murders , each bearing a trace of Vampirism , being main suspect Darvas . The picture is based on a real Theatre known as the Grand Guignol ,it was a Theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialized in naturalistic horror shows. Its name is often used as a general term for graphic, amoral horror entertainment . A genre popular whose founder was Oscar Méténier was the Grand Guignol's and original director. Under his direction, the theater produced plays about a class of people who were not considered appropriate subjects in other venues: prostitutes, criminals, street urchins, and others at the lower end of Paris's social echelon. At the Grand Guignol, patrons would see five or six plays, all in a style that attempted to be brutally true to the theatre's naturalistic ideals. The plays were in a variety of styles, but the most popular and best known were the horror plays, featuring a distinctly bleak worldview as well as notably gory special effects in their notoriously bloody climaxes . Some of the horror came from the nature of the crimes shown, which often had very little reason behind them and in which the evildoers were rarely punished or defeated. To heighten the effect, the horror plays were often alternated with comedies . Paula Maxa was one of the Grand Guignol's best-known performers. From 1917 to the 1930s, she performed most frequently as a victim and was known as "the most assassinated woman in the world". During her career at the Grand Guignol, Maxa's characters were murdered more than 10,000 times in at least 60 different ways and raped at least 3,000 times . Terror , killing , suspense , well-planned intrigue and mayhem make up the principal ingredients of the Theatre De Morte . This exciting , bizarre film contains tension , thriller , drama , mystery , plot twists and shocks , including decent scares with tense terror sequences especially in its final part , in a creepy denouement . The movie is intriguing and some moment brilliant, and the players are quite reliable . Eerie movie builds taut by showing virtually well staged killings , adequate theatre settings , unsettling score and evocative cinematography . Although is sometimes slow moving , overlong and stagy , however is entertaining for continuous suspense . Sinister , mysterious atmosphere is nicely photographed by magnificent cameraman Gilbert Taylor , and standing out the scenarios with luxurious images . Suspenseful and frightening soundtrack heightens the suspense .This flick displays genuine chills , thrilling events , mystery and dark atmosphere and a twisted finale , being skillfully proceeded by Samuel Gallu . Director Sam Gallu, who once sang tenor for Toscanini, and star Chris Lee hurled snatches of arias at each other between takes. Sam Gallu was a craftsman who founded his own production company, Gally Productions, in the 1950's , his Productions included "Border Patrol" and "The Blue Angel¨ . He wrote , produced and directed a few movies such as ¨Arthur , Arthur¡¨ , ¨The limbo lime¨ , ¨The man outside¨ and this , ¨Theatre of death¨ that resulted to be his best movie . Rating : 6.5/10 . The movie will appeal to Christopher Lee fans .

THEATRE OF DEATH Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Techniscope)Sound format: MonoMembers of a Parisian Grand Guignol theatre fall under suspicion when the opening of their latest play - featuring a vampire - coincides with a series of murders in which the victims are drained of blood.Timid shocker, the feature debut of noted playwright and TV/radio producer Samuel Gallu ("Give 'Em Hell, Harry!"). While the theatrical milieu evokes a Gothic tone, the script unfolds like a UK variation on BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964), in which a series of crimes are traced back to a playhouse run by Christopher Lee, an unpleasant Svengali-like character whose sinister demeanour pegs him as an obvious suspect right from the start (which means he's clearly innocent - or does it?). Lee's strengths as an actor are foregrounded during a handful of scenes in which he spars with performers of equal dramatic stature, especially former singing star Evelyn Laye as the theatre's owner, who tolerates Lee's eccentricities for commercial reasons, and talented starlet Lelia Goldoni (HYSTERIA) as the heroine with a dubious history of mental illness who falls under suspicion when Lee goes missing halfway through the picture (or does he?). Jenny Till and Julian Glover are OK in crucial supporting roles. However, the busy plot is stifled by a lack of urgency in Gallu's direction, and Gilbert Taylor's expansive cinematography is slightly compromised by the switch from formal compositions to hand-held anarchy during major (and sometimes not-so-major) set-pieces. Originally released in the US as BLOOD FIEND.

Very much in the Hammer studios vein, with sumptuous sets, and glorious, gory Technicolor, this is a competent chiller. A mix of detective story and vampiric horror, it has a neat twist, and a mundane cast, with Christopher Lee hamming it up as usual. Certainly one to watch on a late night, but no classic.