User reviews

Pigalle slums, Paris , there takes place severals murders . As police are baffled by a series of mysterious killings . Meanwhile, new Theatre director Phillipe Darvas (the great Christopher Lee , still performing), son of the old director, vows to dedicate his life to the Theatre, as did his father. At the opening night cast party, patroness Mme Angelique (Evelyn Laye) requests that Darvas give a preview of coming attractions, so Darvas asks Dani Gireaux (Lelia Goldoni) and newcomer Nicole Chapelle (Jenny Till who receives an "introducing" credit) to play a scene from 'The Witches of Salem'. But Dani's sweetheart , Dr. Charles Marquis (Julian Glover), interrupts the scene . Once again occur murders , each bearing a trace of Vampirism , being main suspect Darvas . The picture is based on a real Theatre known as the Grand Guignol ,it was a Theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialized in naturalistic horror shows. Its name is often used as a general term for graphic, amoral horror entertainment . A genre popular whose founder was Oscar Méténier was the Grand Guignol's and original director. Under his direction, the theater produced plays about a class of people who were not considered appropriate subjects in other venues: prostitutes, criminals, street urchins, and others at the lower end of Paris's social echelon. At the Grand Guignol, patrons would see five or six plays, all in a style that attempted to be brutally true to the theatre's naturalistic ideals. The plays were in a variety of styles, but the most popular and best known were the horror plays, featuring a distinctly bleak worldview as well as notably gory special effects in their notoriously bloody climaxes . Some of the horror came from the nature of the crimes shown, which often had very little reason behind them and in which the evildoers were rarely punished or defeated. To heighten the effect, the horror plays were often alternated with comedies . Paula Maxa was one of the Grand Guignol's best-known performers. From 1917 to the 1930s, she performed most frequently as a victim and was known as "the most assassinated woman in the world". During her career at the Grand Guignol, Maxa's characters were murdered more than 10,000 times in at least 60 different ways and raped at least 3,000 times .

Terror , killing , suspense , well-planned intrigue and mayhem make up the principal ingredients of the Theatre De Morte . This exciting , bizarre film contains tension , thriller , drama , mystery , plot twists and shocks , including decent scares with tense terror sequences especially in its final part , in a creepy denouement . The movie is intriguing and some moment brilliant, and the players are quite reliable . Eerie movie builds taut by showing virtually well staged killings , adequate theatre settings , unsettling score and evocative cinematography . Although is sometimes slow moving , overlong and stagy , however is entertaining for continuous suspense . Sinister , mysterious atmosphere is nicely photographed by magnificent cameraman Gilbert Taylor , and standing out the scenarios with luxurious images . Suspenseful and frightening soundtrack heightens the suspense .

This flick displays genuine chills , thrilling events , mystery and dark atmosphere and a twisted finale , being skillfully proceeded by Samuel Gallu . Director Sam Gallu, who once sang tenor for Toscanini, and star Chris Lee hurled snatches of arias at each other between takes. Sam Gallu was a craftsman who founded his own production company, Gally Productions, in the 1950's , his Productions included "Border Patrol" and "The Blue Angel¨ . He wrote , produced and directed a few movies such as ¨Arthur , Arthur¡¨ , ¨The limbo lime¨ , ¨The man outside¨ and this , ¨Theatre of death¨ that resulted to be his best movie . Rating : 6.5/10 . The movie will appeal to Christopher Lee fans .

The plot centers around the cast of a Grand Guginol theatre group.Guginol refers to bloody & horrific explotative plays.The troupe is lead by the cold & cruel Darvas.(Darvas is wonderfully played by Christopher Lee).Darvas thinks nothing of ridiculing & humiliating his cast to get exactly what he wants. Seemingly he has no soul and no regard for human emotions other than acting them out.

A series of vampiric murders is tied in with the theatre group.Is Darvas more than just a Svengali? Is he a vampire? Without giving too much away cannibalism is the driving force behind the murders.Who is the killer stalking the cast?

This clocks in at above average. There are plenty of red herrings but the cast plays it gamely.Everyone has secrets to hide,some more terrible than others. The ending is a bit of a twist.You could do worse than to watch this one.

In the dark streets of Paris, innocent victims mysteriously die, having had all their blood drained from their bodies by sharp punctures. A Theatre of Death, or Grand Guingol theatre, is nearby and a great success, thanks in large part to the efforts of its somewhat mysterious, demented, hypnotic director Phillipe Darvas. Christopher Lee plays the director in this above-average horror-mystery. A friend of the cast, Julian Glover, and a policeman, somehow find that the theater and the mysterious deaths are related. Lots of red herrings in this one and a neat, creative story tying up the loose ends. Not a lot of action but more mood and psychological horror. The setting is Paris but you only know that, because everyone has French names - otherwise it seems like London. Production values are pretty good, and the film boasts some fine scenes such as when two actresses rehearse a Salem witch-burning scene for the first time whilst one is hypnotized by Lee and the house of the director is a truly scary place with a very good painting of Lee that has eyes cut out and a back panel. Good old-fashioned horror here!

Theatre of Death is a pretty below the radar example of British horror. It rarely seems to get much of a mention and is relatively unknown. Having just seen it I have to say that this is a somewhat unfair situation. On the face of it, it is quite similar in terms of subject matter to a Hammer film. But in reality it has more in common with a super-stylish Italian flick from the period, like the kind of thing Mario Bava might have directed. The reason for this is that, while it stars Hammer regular Christopher Lee and has a horror based story, it is set in chic Paris and, more importantly, it looks absolutely gorgeous. The art direction really is rather fine, with nice décor and exceptional use of colours, especially red and black. And most significant of all is the sumptuous cinematography by Gilbert Taylor. It may be a low budget movie but it looks absolutely great and that kind of craftsmanship counts for a lot in my book.

The setting is a theatre based on the famous Grand Guignol of Paris. This was a place that put on macabre and gory plays. It operated for decades and had something of a reputation. Likewise in Theatre of Death the plays on offer are of the dark and sinister kind. We have a nice set-piece to enjoy of one such example, 'The Witches of Salem'. Lee plays the intense, sadistic theatre director and he comes under suspicion when a series of serial killings occur that have all the hallmarks of a vampire attack. From here on in several of the cast attempt to solve this mystery and get to the bottom of these gruesome murders. It all winds up with a climax in the theatre during a particularly impressively erotic voodoo dance sequence. It's a stylish ending to a great looking movie. This is a film that definitely deserves far more recognition.

Theatre of Death isn't a particularly bad film, but it's a disappointing one as it really could have been a lot better. The film plays out something like a British version of the popular Italian 'Giallo' subgenre, and features Christopher Lee as the head of a Parisian theatre. The film makes this theatre its central location, and it provides a good place for a macabre tale like this to take place. Two years earlier, Mario Bava showed how a colourful location could benefit a movie about various people being killed with Blood and Black Lace, and it would seem that director Samuel Gallu realised how this could be used as the theatre at the centre of the tale utilises a bright colour scheme, similar to the one in Blood and Black Lace. The theatre at the centre of the film specialises in horror productions, and this is taken to a new extreme when performers at the theatre begin turning up dead. We focus on a police inspector who is tied to the murders through his attraction to one of the performance artists, and he soon realises that there could be a link between the murders and the theatre.

For a plot like this to engage the audience, it needs both thrills and intrigue, and while this film has both; it doesn't utilise either to a satisfying degree, and this makes the resulting movie rather cold and difficult to engage with. The acting is above average for this sort of film, however, and lesser known members of the cast manage to stand out despite Christopher Lee's massive star profile. The film seems to have taken influence from the prolific Italians on the actress front, as Theatre of Death features some beautiful women, which bodes well with the grandiose central location. Christopher Lee doesn't deliver his best performance in this film, and really never breaks a sweat in the lead role, but it's always a pleasure to see him. The mystery is never too interesting, and the short running time never really does it justice. Full credit goes to the film for the ending, however, as the film comes good by the time of the climax, even though the mystery could have gone on a little longer, had it built up more tension. Overall, this is a decent enough movie; I wouldn't recommend going into it with high expectations, but Theatre of Death is worth seeing for fans of this sort of film.

Christopher Lee is given top billing in this film but is in it less than one expects from that billing. Regardless this is a very good murder mystery which keeps one on one's toes and guessing right up till the end. Julian Glover is the real star of this film as former police surgeon Charles Marquis who has taken it upon himself to investigate the mysterious murders which involved victims being stabbed in the neck and drained of all their blood? A modern vampire perhaps? or perhaps the explanation is something else entirely?

This one kept me entranced to it until the end and while the conclusion does disappoint slightly, I still would recommend this one to fans of murder mystery and horror.

THEATRE OF DEATH

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Techniscope)

Sound format: Mono

Members of a Parisian Grand Guignol theatre fall under suspicion when the opening of their latest play - featuring a vampire - coincides with a series of murders in which the victims are drained of blood.

Timid shocker, the feature debut of noted playwright and TV/radio producer Samuel Gallu ("Give 'Em Hell, Harry!"). While the theatrical milieu evokes a Gothic tone, the script unfolds like a UK variation on BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964), in which a series of crimes are traced back to a playhouse run by Christopher Lee, an unpleasant Svengali-like character whose sinister demeanour pegs him as an obvious suspect right from the start (which means he's clearly innocent - or does it?). Lee's strengths as an actor are foregrounded during a handful of scenes in which he spars with performers of equal dramatic stature, especially former singing star Evelyn Laye as the theatre's owner, who tolerates Lee's eccentricities for commercial reasons, and talented starlet Lelia Goldoni (HYSTERIA) as the heroine with a dubious history of mental illness who falls under suspicion when Lee goes missing halfway through the picture (or does he?). Jenny Till and Julian Glover are OK in crucial supporting roles. However, the busy plot is stifled by a lack of urgency in Gallu's direction, and Gilbert Taylor's expansive cinematography is slightly compromised by the switch from formal compositions to hand-held anarchy during major (and sometimes not-so-major) set-pieces. Originally released in the US as BLOOD FIEND.

Investigators in Paris (e.g. Julian Glover) focus on the domineering director of a Grand Guignol theatre (Christopher Lee) when a string of murders break out. Jenny Till plays the bully's new muse and Lelia Goldoni one of the performers.

"Theatre of Death" (1967) plays like Hammer meets Dario Argento with shades of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Dorian Gray." It's a colorful mixture of Hammer's "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" (1960) with the basic setting of the future "StageFright" (1987). DON'T expect the black comedy or hammy approach of Price's "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) or "Theater of Blood" (1973).

While this is a curiously obscure flick, the exacting and bossy Philippe Darvas is easily one of Christopher Lee's most entertaining roles. You can't beat the Gothic ambiance (even though it's set in the modern day, aka 1966 when the movie was filmed). The last act holds a surprise as well.

It runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, which is just north of London.

GRADE: B.

A super surprise! I think I have rather dismissed this in the past either confusing it with the Vincent Price classic, Theatre of Blood or taking average reviews at face value. This is great fun and really creepy. Borrowing a little from giallo, this relishes in setting scenes up and then confounding one's expectations by lurching off somewhere else. Quirky and exotic (loved the risqué voodoo dance towards the end- great bra!) this has a great atmosphere throughout and with super cinematography is always good to look at. Lee is fiendishly good and probably at his very best looking. Set in a Paris within a sensational theatre depicting ghoulish and bloodthirsty pieces we get Lee getting involved with hypnotism and the ladies to great effect. Very often such films, whilst pleasant enough, can slow a little but here we just keep going from one surprise to another. There is one particular scene where Lee wants a young women out of his house and he brings her to tears, rubs her mascara about her face and virtually throws her out leaving us reeling because we rather thought he might take her to one side, as it were! Must see.

Theatre of Death is directed by Samuel Gallu and written by Ellis Kadison and Roger Marshall. It stars Christopher Lee, Julian Glover, Lelia Goldoni, Jenny Till, Evelyn Laye and Ivor Dean. Music is by Elisbeth Lutyens and cinematography by Gilbert Taylor.

Out of Pennea Productions and filmed in Techniscope/Technicolor, Theatre of Death is based in Paris and finds Lee as a suspicious and bombastic theatre owner whose plays deal in the macabre. When bloodless bodies start popping up in the area, the police take great interest in the goings on at The Theatre de Mort...

OK! This is definitely tugging on the coat tales of Hammer Horror, that much is pretty evident from the opening credits, but although blood letting is in short supply here, this is a very nifty and beautiful little creeper. More concerned with the mystery elements than scare tactics, Gallu and Taylor soak the picture in glorious colours and Guignol like atmosphere, and with Lee on blunderbuss overdrive and Lutyens' eerie music hovering spectrally over the top of plotting, this is very much a production of some distinction.

Will it scare you? No not really. Is it suspense packed? Again, no not really. But with good twists married to the excellent tech credits, this is very much a horror film for the old classic purists. 7/10

Samuel Gallu's "Theatre of Death" starts out interesting but peters out once Christopher Lee disappears. The movie can't be seen as Lee's finest moment but he makes the movie worth seeing. He plays a theater director whose theater may be linked to a series of murders. The only other prominent cast member is Julian Glover, who played Walter Donovan in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and now stars on "Game of Thrones" (which I haven't seen). Christopher Lee plays a really impressive role, as does Leila Goldoni, but the movie would've been a whole lot better had Lee stayed in the whole thing.

Does anyone know if Samuel Gallu directed any other movies?

Or the kind of film where you expect to see Anton Diffring or Donald Pleasance in the main role isn't it? I don't know the director, never heard of him, but this more or less Giallo like horror film is pretty enjoyable, it may remind some William Castle atmosphere; Good little horror thriller typical of the mid sixties, where Color doesn't jeopardize the whole material. Speaking of horror film around theater, I prefer THEATER OF BLOOD, made several years later, in the early seventies, and starring Vincent Price, it was really better. I like the Paris atmosphere, maybe a tribute to PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE movie, also a chiller taking place in capital of France.

I can`t say I`ve ever thought of Christopher Lee as much of an actor . There`s just something about him that makes he think that he`s a sort of British William Shatner in that he`s both totally over the top and very hammy at the same time , and his performances aren`t helped by the fact he`s played a lot of bad guys in very bad movies . Mind you he was an absolute revelation in THE LORD OF THE RINGS and he was also very good in ATTACK OF THE CLONES

And to be honest Lee does give one of his better performances in THEATRE OF DEATH . Remember when you were at school and there would be this really nasty teacher with an university degree in sarcasm ? That`s the sort of role Lee plays here as an acting teacher with lines like " Look at you . You`re about as frightening as a baby with a rattle " THEATRE OF DEATH also contains the ironically biting line " Acting in the true sense of the word - in my sense of the word ... " where you can insert your own punchline about Lee`s acting style if you want to be cruel

Of all the cast Christopher Lee probably gives the best performance since the rest of the actors are very disappointing especially Julian Glover . It`s also impossible not to notice this but since all the characters are French and the story takes place in Paris there is absolutely no sense of time and place . The audience are only reminded the film is set in France when one of the characters mentions it on screen

A word of warning - If you`re going to watch THEATRE OF DEATH expecting a horror film you`re probably going to be disappointed since it`s far more of a murder mystery / whodunnit rather than a straight horror movie

Not to be confused with the 1973 Vincent Price/Diana Rigg movie "Theatre of Blood," "Theatre of Death" (1966) gives us the story of a serial killer in modern-day Paris, who stabs victims and drains their blood (kind of like a 20th century Jacques the Ripper). The director of the local Theatre of Death, a Grand Guignol-type of entertainment, falls under suspicion, and, as played by that former neck nosher himself, "Mr. Tall, Dark and Gruesome," Christopher Lee, is is easy to see why. This sneaky, tyrannical, egomaniacal, Svengali-like, mesmerizing petty dictator is one intimidating personage indeed, and a likely suspect, to say the least. Anyway, I must admit that this little film has been stylishly shot and directed, handsomely produced, and well acted by one and all. However, it is also somewhat static, never especially scary or suspenseful, and certainly suffers when Lee's character mysteriously disappears halfway through. Still, it does somehow manage to hold the viewer's attention, although I'm still a trifle puzzled as to WHY the killer decided to go on a sudden homicidal spree, as well as a few other loose ends. To the film's credit, though, that killer's identity DOES come as something of a surprise (well, it did for me, anyway, but I've always been lousy at guessing this kind of thing). Yes, despite that gruesome title, and Mr. Lee's presence, this film IS more of a mystery thriller than a horror picture. Oh, and one other thing: An 11-minute interview with Mr. Lee makes for just one of the many fine extras on the crisp-looking DVD that I just watched.

The most interesting thing about this O.K. programer is the presence of Leina Goldina in the lead. She had a someone odd career, appearing in the lead in a Casavettes film, doing a bit of T.V. doing two Hammer films right in the middle of a ten hear lay off, then comming back in some big mid seventies films (small parts) and occasional appearences after that. I used to see ads for her acting workshop in the trades.

This is the 67th Christopher Lee movie I have reviewed for IMDb, so you could say I'm a fan; the prolific actor is superb on this occasion, playing a totally despicable character who deservedly meets an untimely end. Sadly, the film as a whole isn't on a par with Lee's performance: the plot is forgettable, the direction by Samuel Gallu is uninspired, there is little in the way of scares or tension, and the film's murders are extremely tame.

Lee plays theatre director Philippe Darvas, who is renowned for his shocking 'Grand Guignol' shows in Paris (although the fact that 99% of the British cast don't attempt French accents makes one wonder why they didn't just set the film in London). Police surgeon Charles Marquis is seeing actress Dani Gireaux (Lelia Goldoni), star of Darvas' show, and is also helping in the investigation of a series of murders, the victims being drained of blood. All of the evidence seems to suggest some connection with Darvas and his latest production.

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for the African tribal dance routine featuring an almost naked woman that seems to have been included solely in an effort to prevent the viewer from dozing off before the end.

"Theatre of Death" is set in Paris, though all the accents are British and I have no idea why they just didn't say the story was set in London. Regardless, much of the action takes place in a weird avant garde theater where all sorts of frightful stories are reenacted.

The director of this company, Philippe Darvas (Christopher Lee) is an odd guy. He demands realism...and is also quite the sadist in how he treats people. However, towards one of the young women in the company, he's like a Svengali...hypnotizing her into great performances.

At the same time, several bodies have turned up around the city...and all were killed in the same way. It's as if someone is trying to imitate vampires...and the bodies have all been found drained of blood and with knife wounds to the base of the neck! Could this man or his actors be behind all this violence?

Overall, this is a very good and creepy story. My only complaint, and it's a small one, is that the ending was drug out too long...though I did like the way the killer finally met their fate. Worth seeing.

In Paris a series of grisly murders are taking place, in which the victims are stabbed with a knife that leaves a triangular wound and then are drained of their blood. Inspector Micheaud (IVOR DEAN) and pathologist Charles Marquis (JULIAN GLOVER) suspect that they are dealing with a killer with vampiristic tendencies. Marquis has a girlfriend called Dani Gireaux (LELIA GOLDONI) who is an actress at the "Theatre De Mort" - the "Theatre Of Death" where the principal themes of the plays are murder and mayhem. The company is run by the eccentric and obsessive Philippe Darvas (CHRISTOPHER LEE) who becomes the chief suspect because when Marquis gives him a lift home and tells him that a knife that resembles the murder weapon was found among his props, he seemed eager to get out of the car and continue on foot. Secondly, he seems to have hypnotic control over one of his fellow actresses, Nicole Chapelle (JENNY TILL). Things look worse for Darvas after he disappears late one night leaving his hat and blood soaked cloak in a park, but Nicole's trance doesn't appear to be letting up. Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise and the police must either find Darvas' killer or the true culprit...

THEATRE OF DEATH begins slowly and tamely (in every murder sequence the camera moves in for a close up of the victim's terrified face then cuts away to the next scene). However, it cannot be denied that this is a unique film in its own right as it features one of Christopher Lee's best performances and it deals with an ingenious modern day vampire story, which is far more realistic than the mythical vampires that Hammer dealt with. The film pulls every hokey horror trick in the book such as eyes moving in portraits and the French characters speak with impeccable English accents very much as the Transylvanians did in the Hammer films. However, what makes the film unique is that it packs an ingenious twist at the climax and as a result the film has given us these hackneyed horror clichés before throwing them to the winds and when the identity of the killer is finally revealed it comes as quite a surprise as every one is expecting it to be Christopher Lee's character as this is a part that everyone associated with him at the time. Its not him but I won't spoil it any more for those who have not seen it! Add to that, all the performances are excellent and there is the stylish camera-work of Gilbert Taylor who would later go on to shoot the first STAR WARS (1977) for George Lucas.

Christopher Lee and Julian Glover head the cast in a story about a pushy and overbearing theatre director obsessed with the macabre. Mwahahaha, etc. The eye candy is provided by Jenny Till and Lelia Goldoni (who lately died, God rest her), but the sexiest moment is provided by whoever that dancing lady is pretending to be a tribal African about to sacrifice a victim. Not to worry, it's all part of the guignol, my dears. Lee is the sinister director, Glover is his antagonist of sorts, a surgeon with a damaged hand, looking out for the lady he is romantically pursuing (Goldoni). Our doc also has police connections, so he's able to follow the case of a serial, vampiric murderer at large in Paris. Could the murders and the theatre's productions be connected somehow?

Good performances all round, but it's never particularly scary and the fact that they're French characters (mostly) being played by Brits as if this version of Paris was somewhere in London, well, it doesn't lend itself to versimilitude. In all honesty the plot is pure tosh, though I'll admit I saw a plot synopsis before viewing that did rather give the game away. I won't spoil it for you.

Best line in the movie: "If you find the outside world too tough there's always the asylum, and if that doesn't work, the river." How's that for cold?

Very much in the Hammer studios vein, with sumptuous sets, and glorious, gory Technicolor, this is a competent chiller. A mix of detective story and vampiric horror, it has a neat twist, and a mundane cast, with Christopher Lee hamming it up as usual. Certainly one to watch on a late night, but no classic.