From The Grave
A SHAKESPEARAN BLOODFEST
Edward Lionheart is an actor who could not take criticism very well. He was an actor who felt modern theatre and modern stories were beneath him. Giving hammy performances of nothing but Shakespeare earned him the moniker of “Greatest actor of all time”, but that was only in his mind. Thus in 1973, audiences were given one of the best Vincent Price films and no other character fit Price better!
The film opens with a phone call from the police to Theatre critic George Maxwell (Michael Hordern---Barry Lyndon, How I won the war, Where Eagles Dare.) about an old abandoned theatre overtaken by derelicts. He arrives at the scene greeted by two police officers. They tell him the homeless needed to be round up and escorted out. Maxwell jumped at the chance to move the scum out. Instead, things got ugly quickly. The derelicts surrounded Maxwell and as they were ready to tear him apart, the officers removed their disguises to reveal they are actor Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price---needs no introduction!) and his daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg---The Avengers, Her Majesties Secret Service, The Hospital). It has to be one of the more terrifying scenes of the 70’s as a band of fifty homeless people catch Maxwell against a plastic tarp and proceed to do him in, all in accordance to the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, stabbing and clubbing him multiple times.
Lionheart proceeds, in full Roman garb, to recite from the play and toss coins to his murderous cohorts. As it turns out, Maxwell is a part of a theatrical critic’s circle who are the target of Edward Lionheart’s rampage. They are already gathered and waiting for Maxwell to join them, when Devlin’s (Ian Hendry---The Avengers, Repulsion, Get Carter) secretary tells everyone that Maxwell was murdered. Devlin joins Inspector Boot (Milo O’shea---Barberella, The Verdict, Zeffireilli’s Romeo and Juliet) to look into Maxwell’s murder. Boot seems to be in the same vein as Columbo in regards appearing not knowing what’s going on, but he actually has a lot in common with Police Detective in The Exorcist. He’s mild mannered, nonchalant, and not as stupid as the film leads you to believe. Devlin sees a poster from an old stage showing of Julius Caesar, and of course it states in the headline that it starred Edward Lionheart, which Devlin gives just a taste of how much he and his fellow critics despised the actor, also letting the audience know that Lionheart was dead.
Next up, Edwina leads Hector Snipe (Dennis Price—Twins of evil, Son of Dracula) to another old theater dressed as a male hippie, afro wig, bushy mustache, tented sunglasses and a fur coat. Snipe is beside himself, looking around he finds a scrapbook with the clippings from newspapers describing Lionheart’s performances. A trap door lowers a man dressed as a Persian soldier. Lionheart removes his helmet, revealing himself to Snipe. After a bit of a chat, Lionheart impales Snipe with a spear. Later, at Maxwell’s Funeral, a horse rides through, dragging Snipe’s body.
"...no other character fit Price better!"
I will not go into detail of each murder, but I will tell you about the two most memorable ones. Edwina, posing as a blonde haired actress, leads Trevor Dickman (Harry Andrews----The Ruling Class, Superman) to her living theatre group for a rendition of The Merchant of Venice. They include Dickman as a racist merchant opposing Lionheart dressed as Shylock, a Jewish money lender. They trade lines until Lionheart utters the phrase, “A pound of flesh to be cut off by him (Shylock) nearest the Merchant’s heart…” in which they cut open Dickman’s chest and remove his heart. Weighing the heart, Lionheart finds it’s an ounce over. He removes a fatty artery and weighs the heart again. One pound exactly.
The second, (probably more memorable than the Merchant of Venice scene) is with Meredith Merridew (Robert Morley----The Loved One, The Great Muppet Caper, High Road to China), a pompous gay theatre critic who loves his poodles more than the humans he deals with on a daily basis. Still under police protection (as were all of the other critics) Merridew comes home, whistling and calling for his “Doggie-woggies” his “Children”. He pulls a curtain open and finds Lionheart and cohorts dressed as Chefs and a television crew. Lionheart explains: “This is your dish” is being taped for television audience and proceeds to serve Merridew his meal. “What a divine surprise!” Merridew exclaims. Enjoying his meal, Merridew calls out for his “Babies”. Lionheart informs Merridew, “They are part of the surprise,” extracting a long curly hair from the plate of food. Merridew panics, asking for his babies. Lionheart and his staff call out for them. Then, Lionheart removes the lid to a tray, saying, “two dogs….for two pies!” The heads of Merridew’s poodles reside on a plate. Merridew realizes he’d been eating his own pets the entire time. Lionheart tells him about the play Titus Andronicus, where Queen Tamora was served a meal with her own children as the main course. Lionheart and his cohorts push Merridew on a table and force feed the rest of the pie to him, and in the end, causing affixation.
The film was masterfully directed by Douglas Hickox (Sky Riders, Zulu Dawn). Price had said the film was one of his favorites, citing he was given an opportunity to appear as different characters and recite Shakespeare. Dianna Rigg became a lifelong friend and even introduced Price to his last wife, coral Browne, who plays critic Chloe Moon in the film. Often considered a spoof of Abominable Dr. Phibes, is in many respects just that, but its equal as well. It does bare loads in common with Phibes and its sequel. Price is the star for one, has a cast of great character actors and Lionheart has a female sidekick. All three films are spectacular as macabre merriment and chaotic as all get out. Hilarious scenes, topped off with fine acting. There was a stage adaption starring Dianna Rigg’s daughter, Rachel Stirling in the same role.
Criterion has a DVD version in HD along with a booklet.
Mark Slade, HMS
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