Vincent Price appears yet again in Douglas Hickox’ horror-comedy Theater of Blood (1973).  The central role of a hammy Shakespearean actor who submits his most vociferous critics to torture and death is a perfect fit for Price, who was a terrific actor who — like so many other top horror stars — appeared in far too many bad movies.  Theater of Blood is a good film (though not a great one) and Price is delightful to watch in it.

Almost as delightful is Diana Rigg, the sexy, talented British actress whose film career never really blossomed.  As Price’s dutiful daughter, Rigg is held in check most of the time having to play straight man to the plot, yet her sassy personality still shines at various moments.

It is the cleverness and giddy gruesomeness of the story that viewers remember so fondly.  Pompous actor Edward Lionheart (Price) is so wrathful at not winning the Critics Circle award of 1970 that he returns after a two-year absence to render his own judgment upon the critics who shunned him, utilizing scenes from Shakespeare’s plays to frame and inspire his lethal revenge.  It’s a neat concept that, happily, has not materialized in reality.  But as fiction, it’s a top-notch idea, filled with black humor and grisly fun.

Adding to the fun is the casting of prominent British actors as the critics, including Robert Morley, Ian Hendry, Jack Hawkins, Harry Andrews, Michael Hordern and Coral Browne.  Each actor is dispatched or compromised in ways imaginative and eloquent, as befits the inspiration of the Bard.  Morley’s fate in particular has always resonated with me over the years, diabolical as it is.

But it is Vincent Price and his mellifluous readings of Shakespeare’s prose that is most satisfying.  Price is just hammy enough to indicate why the critics failed to reward Lionheart’s acting, yet tempers his character with the fierce conviction that he is beyond reproach whether onstage or as a deliverer of death.  Though he often descended into self-parody, there is none of that in this performance, certainly one of Price’s finest.  My rating:  ☆ ☆ ☆.  (9:4).