THE COMEDY OF TERRORS
is one heck of a funny movie that offered horror titans Vincent Price and
Boris Karloff the opportunity to deliver the most hilarious performances
of their careers. On top of that, THE COMEDY OF TERRORS also
allowed Peter Lorre a number of wonderfully amusing moments, as well as
providing Basil Rathbone with a scene stealing turn that had this reviewer
howling with laughter. The macabre comic plot of THE COMEDY OF TERRORS
concerns an unsuccessful mortuary business being run into the ground by
Waldo Trumbull (Price), an inebriate, who has taken to manufacturing new
clients, much to the horror of his assistant Felix Gillie (Lorre).
Preventing Gillie from walking out on his murderous boss is the presence
of Amaryllis (Joyce Jameson), Trumbull’s lovely wife, whom Gillie
secretly loves. Also in the household is Amaryllis’ dotty old father
Amos Hinchley (Boris Karloff), who Trumbull repeatedly tries to poison in
the guise of giving the old man his "medicine." The story takes
the expected twist when landlord John F. Black (Rathbone) threatens
Trumbull with eviction, thus earning Mr. Black the top spot on the
Trumbull’s potential clients list.
MGM Home Entertainment has
made THE COMEDY OF TERRORS in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation
that has been enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. No question about
it, this is a glorious looking transfer. The image is sharp and very well
defined, which shows off Floyd Crosby’s fine cinematography and makes
this low budget affair look like a million bucks. Colors appear pretty
vibrant, with red appearing especially pleasing. Flesh tones have all the
naturalness one would associate with the name Max Factor, especially the
odd pallor applied to Karloff. One will marvel at the cleanness of the
film element used for the transfer, which is virtually pristine. Blacks
are accurately rendered and contrast is just fine. Digital compression
artifacts are a non-issue. The Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack is crisp
sounding, as well as being relatively free background hiss and other audio
anomalies. Fidelity is a bit limited, but Les Baxter’s music holds up
well enough. Subtitles are provided in English, French and Spanish.
******
THE RAVEN is another
comic horror hoot- starring many of the same players. In this outing,
Vincent Price portrays Dr. Erasmus Craven, the son of a legendary
magician, who has managed to quietly maintain his own superior sorcerer
skills. One evening a raven appears on Craven’s doorstep claiming to be
Adolphus Bedlo (Lorre), who has been placed under an enchantment by a
powerful Magician named Scarabus (Boris Karloff). After restoring the
raven to human form, Craven learns that Bedlo has seen a woman resembling
Craven’s supposedly deceased wife Lenore (Hazel Court) in Scarabus’
castle. Wanting to determine if his wife is alive or dead, Craven sets out
to confront Scarabus, which leads to a duel pitting each magician’s
prowess against the other. THE RAVEN also features an early
performance by am up and coming Jack Nicholson. Although not quite as
funny as THE COMEDY OF TERRORS, THE RAVEN uses low-key humor
to charm its audience into a continuous smile and repeated chuckles.
THE RAVEN comes in a
rather nice looking 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for playback on 16:9 displays. Visually, THE RAVEN isn’t quite as
attractive as THE COMEDY OF TERRORS; with the film elements
displaying more age related blemishes and a bit less definition. Colors
aren’t as snappy in appearance as they are on THE COMEDY OF TERRORS,
but they hold their own. Of course, I don’t want to give the impression
that THE RAVEN looks bad or merely average, the presentation is
actually quite nice for a low budget affair; however, THE COMEDY OF
TERRORS is a better looking film with a decidedly better looking
transfer. Blacks are fairly accurate and the whites appear stable.
Contrast is good and shadow detail is respectable. Digital compression
artifacts are usually well concealed. The Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack is free from exaggerated hiss and other audible anomalies,
although the fidelity is limited, which leaves the music sounding a bit
flat and uninspired in places. Fortunately, the dialogue is usually crisp
and always fully understandable. English, French and Spanish subtitles are
included with the feature.
Each film is offered on a
separate side of the DVD, with the basic interactive menus offering access
to the standard set up and scene selection features, as well as some nice
extras. Each film comes with a newly produced featurette with screenwriter
Richard Matheson sharing his memories of each production. Richard
Matheson Storyteller: The Comedy Of Terrors runs nine minutes,
while Richard Matheson Storyteller: The Raven is six minutes
in length. Corman’s Comedy Of Poe runs six minutes and
features director Roger Corman talking about THE RAVEN. The
complete content of a promotional recording for THE RAVEN (courtesy
of private collector Greg Krieger), plus theatrical trailers
for each film close out the extras.
THE COMEDY OF TERRORS
and THE RAVEN is a genuinely delightful double feature that every
horror fan will want to add to their collections just for the simple
pleasure of seeing these genre icons strutting their comic stuff. MGM has
done a great job with the DVD, offering terrific presentations for both
films, THE COMEDY OF TERRORS especially. If you love Price,
Karloff, Lorre or Rathbone, this is a must have DVD- especially at a
bargain asking price of $14.98. Highly recommended.
THE COMEDY OF TERRORS
is one heck of a funny movie that offered horror titans Vincent Price and
Boris Karloff the opportunity to deliver the most hilarious performances
of their careers. On top of that, THE COMEDY OF TERRORS also
allowed Peter Lorre a number of wonderfully amusing moments, as well as
providing Basil Rathbone with a scene stealing turn that had this reviewer
howling with laughter. The macabre comic plot of THE COMEDY OF TERRORS
concerns an unsuccessful mortuary business being run into the ground by
Waldo Trumbull (Price), an inebriate, who has taken to manufacturing new
clients, much to the horror of his assistant Felix Gillie (Lorre).
Preventing Gillie from walking out on his murderous boss is the presence
of Amaryllis (Joyce Jameson), Trumbull’s lovely wife, whom Gillie
secretly loves. Also in the household is Amaryllis’ dotty old father
Amos Hinchley (Boris Karloff), who Trumbull repeatedly tries to poison in
the guise of giving the old man his "medicine." The story takes
the expected twist when landlord John F. Black (Rathbone) threatens
Trumbull with eviction, thus earning Mr. Black the top spot on the
Trumbull’s potential clients list.
MGM Home Entertainment has
made THE COMEDY OF TERRORS in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation
that has been enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. No question about
it, this is a glorious looking transfer. The image is sharp and very well
defined, which shows off Floyd Crosby’s fine cinematography and makes
this low budget affair look like a million bucks. Colors appear pretty
vibrant, with red appearing especially pleasing. Flesh tones have all the
naturalness one would associate with the name Max Factor, especially the
odd pallor applied to Karloff. One will marvel at the cleanness of the
film element used for the transfer, which is virtually pristine. Blacks
are accurately rendered and contrast is just fine. Digital compression
artifacts are a non-issue. The Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack is crisp
sounding, as well as being relatively free background hiss and other audio
anomalies. Fidelity is a bit limited, but Les Baxter’s music holds up
well enough. Subtitles are provided in English, French and Spanish.
THE RAVEN is another
comic horror hoot- starring many of the same players. In this outing,
Vincent Price portrays Dr. Erasmus Craven, the son of a legendary
magician, who has managed to quietly maintain his own superior sorcerer
skills. One evening a raven appears on Craven’s doorstep claiming to be
Adolphus Bedlo (Lorre), who has been placed under an enchantment by a
powerful Magician named Scarabus (Boris Karloff). After restoring the
raven to human form, Craven learns that Bedlo has seen a woman resembling
Craven’s supposedly deceased wife Lenore (Hazel Court) in Scarabus’
castle. Wanting to determine if his wife is alive or dead, Craven sets out
to confront Scarabus, which leads to a duel pitting each magician’s
prowess against the other. THE RAVEN also features an early
performance by am up and coming Jack Nicholson. Although not quite as
funny as THE COMEDY OF TERRORS, THE RAVEN uses low-key humor
to charm its audience into a continuous smile and repeated chuckles.
THE RAVEN comes in a
rather nice looking 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for playback on 16:9 displays. Visually, THE RAVEN isn’t quite as
attractive as THE COMEDY OF TERRORS; with the film elements
displaying more age related blemishes and a bit less definition. Colors
aren’t as snappy in appearance as they are on THE COMEDY OF TERRORS,
but they hold their own. Of course, I don’t want to give the impression
that THE RAVEN looks bad or merely average, the presentation is
actually quite nice for a low budget affair; however, THE COMEDY OF
TERRORS is a better looking film with a decidedly better looking
transfer. Blacks are fairly accurate and the whites appear stable.
Contrast is good and shadow detail is respectable. Digital compression
artifacts are usually well concealed. The Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack is free from exaggerated hiss and other audible anomalies,
although the fidelity is limited, which leaves the music sounding a bit
flat and uninspired in places. Fortunately, the dialogue is usually crisp
and always fully understandable. English, French and Spanish subtitles are
included with the feature.
Each film is offered on a
separate side of the DVD, with the basic interactive menus offering access
to the standard set up and scene selection features, as well as some nice
extras. Each film comes with a newly produced featurette with screenwriter
Richard Matheson sharing his memories of each production. Richard
Matheson Storyteller: The Comedy Of Terrors runs nine minutes,
while Richard Matheson Storyteller: The Raven is six minutes
in length. Corman’s Comedy Of Poe runs six minutes and
features director Roger Corman talking about THE RAVEN. The
complete content of a promotional recording for THE RAVEN (courtesy
of private collector Greg Krieger), plus theatrical trailers
for each film close out the extras.
THE COMEDY OF TERRORS
and THE RAVEN is a genuinely delightful double feature that every
horror fan will want to add to their collections just for the simple
pleasure of seeing these genre icons strutting their comic stuff. MGM has
done a great job with the DVD, offering terrific presentations for both
films, THE COMEDY OF TERRORS especially. If you love Price,
Karloff, Lorre or Rathbone, this is a must have DVD- especially at a
bargain asking price of $14.98. Highly recommended.
