London critics snub a Shakespearean actor following his career-capping cycle of some of the Bard’s most difficult plays.  Deeply injured, he first tries to steal the trophy for Best Actor and then commits suicide in front of the surprised critics.  Three years later, those critics begin to die one by one by means that mimic murders committed in the plays.  It turns out that the suicide was unsuccessful and the actor has returned with his daughter to gain his revenge.

Vincent Price chews the scenery as the Shakespearean ham.  His performance is perfect in that each time he recites a famous soliloquy we cringe at his overwrought line readings and showy mannerisms.  Diana Rigg strangely spends half the film in drag while playing various roles in Price’s elaborate murder plots.  The murders are often creative and the link to the plays is interesting, but eventually the script has too many holes and improbabilities to be taken even a little seriously.  That is probably the exact point, but I found myself wishing director Douglas Hickox had taken this promising premise and constructed a more thoughtful piece about the interface between critics and artists.  Price fans hold the film in high esteem, but beyond demonstrating why he followed in Karloff’s footsteps rather than Olivier’s, it holds limited interest for the casual viewer.  ✰ ✰.

MJM  09-27-2011