Theater of Blood (1973)
July 29, 2024 6:13 PM - Subscribe
A Shakespearean actor feels he's been robbed of a prestigious award and takes arms against his sea of critics.
I saw at least part of this on TV back in the seventies; I'm sure that it was at least partially censored, but there was no concealing the amount and type of violence, i.e. it was pretty clear that Robert Morley was being forced to eat his dogs.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:05 AM on July 30
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:05 AM on July 30
Such a fun movie. Not only has both Vincent Price and Diana Rigg, but at one point it's Vincent Price in an afro and Diana Rigg in hippie mustache and sideburns. The amount of scenery-chewing is off the charts, which includes some pretty blatant gay stereotyping, but if you can get past that it's a strange, silly, gory watch.
posted by mediareport at 9:24 AM on July 30 [4 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 9:24 AM on July 30 [4 favorites]
I love this movie! If memory serves me right, Price said it was one of his favorite roles, since by that stage in his career he otherwise wouldn't get to perform Shakespeare.
posted by Gelatin at 10:17 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]
posted by Gelatin at 10:17 AM on July 30 [1 favorite]
This used to show up on the 3pm weekday movie. We'd get home from school around 3:30 and miss the first part, but we always made sure to watch this one. Guy choking to death by being force-fed his pet dogs? Played for laffs! Stuff like this made me the person I am today.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:47 AM on July 30 [2 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 11:47 AM on July 30 [2 favorites]
Yup the Titus Andronicus death is great. This makes a great double feature with The Abominable Dr Phibes.
posted by miss-lapin at 4:05 PM on July 30 [1 favorite]
posted by miss-lapin at 4:05 PM on July 30 [1 favorite]
The gay stereotyping on this really stood out to me too, enough that I finally looked into whether Vincent Price was family (I'd had a feeling for ages that he might be). Apparently after his daughter came out as a lesbian, Price confided to her that he had had a number of relationships with men over the years. Of course that doesn't mean that the actors and/or screenwriter and/or director can't have been dealing with internalized homophobia--and, given how camp the film is, I wonder if that might be an explanation for it. Otherwise the mockery seems so cruel and unnecessary, even in a film taking obvious delight in ornate murder.
posted by johnofjack at 5:40 PM on July 30
posted by johnofjack at 5:40 PM on July 30
Great movie - one of those you can watch again and again.
posted by Paul Slade at 1:00 AM on July 31 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 1:00 AM on July 31 [1 favorite]
I finally looked into whether Vincent Price was family
Oh, he's been an icon of bisexuality for a while now. Apparently had open marriages, criticized anti-queer shithead Anita Bryant back in the 1970s, etc. I give him a pass the same way I give a lot of mid-20th-century culture a pass when it comes to the casual homophobia of the time.* Back then, any kind of portrayal was at least a little daring, but yeah, it's not ideal (Robert Morley's simpering foodie in this movie is also pretty hard to take).
*well, not really a pass, but I've learned to temporarily move beyond it and enjoy what else is present
posted by mediareport at 3:36 AM on July 31 [2 favorites]
Oh, he's been an icon of bisexuality for a while now. Apparently had open marriages, criticized anti-queer shithead Anita Bryant back in the 1970s, etc. I give him a pass the same way I give a lot of mid-20th-century culture a pass when it comes to the casual homophobia of the time.* Back then, any kind of portrayal was at least a little daring, but yeah, it's not ideal (Robert Morley's simpering foodie in this movie is also pretty hard to take).
*well, not really a pass, but I've learned to temporarily move beyond it and enjoy what else is present
posted by mediareport at 3:36 AM on July 31 [2 favorites]
I was thinking in particular of Morley's foodie when I mentioned homophobia, and was curious why Price would have signed onto this given that representation (which I'm assuming was there in the script and not entirely provided on-set). Still, it's not like there's always solidarity within the queer community, and I could have been overestimating his influence anyway.
I tend to favor paranoid readings over reparative readings, to my own detriment. The last few decades have given me no evidence whatsoever that identifying flaws here can forestall them there.
posted by johnofjack at 7:54 AM on August 4
I tend to favor paranoid readings over reparative readings, to my own detriment. The last few decades have given me no evidence whatsoever that identifying flaws here can forestall them there.
posted by johnofjack at 7:54 AM on August 4
Is this where I plug in that Vincent Price was a serious gourmet? Here is a short article about his cooking show and cookbook for the BBC. I have his cookbook, A Treasury of Great Recipes, on my wishlist. If you want a deeper article on Price's career and culinary path, then here is another one from Serious Eats.
posted by jadepearl at 3:05 AM on August 5 [2 favorites]
posted by jadepearl at 3:05 AM on August 5 [2 favorites]
Price also recorded a spoken word album promoting California wines along with advice for choosing, pairing, and serving them.
posted by Gelatin at 6:42 AM on August 8 [1 favorite]
posted by Gelatin at 6:42 AM on August 8 [1 favorite]
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posted by miss-lapin at 7:18 PM on July 29 [2 favorites]