Some trivia concerning "Comedy of Terrors"
(1) This movie stands as one of a handful of films to feature such a fanciful gathering of horror greats, namely Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone (with Joe E. Brown an inspired bonus).
(2) The actions of the main characters may have been inspired (in part) by a series of real-life murders. In 1827, Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare killed a number of people by smothering them, then sold their corpses to medical colleges for dissection. The technique became known as "burking", meaning to suffocate, or compress the chest of the victim until dead.
(3) At one point in the film, Mr. Trumble (Vincent Price) is startled by an eerie portrait of his father-in-law (Boris Karloff), which he sees in a flash of lightening. The portrait is a cinematic nod to Karloff's appearance in the horror trilogy, "Black Sabbath".
(5) Price, Karloff and Lorre also appeared in "The Raven", an off-the-wall spoof of the Edgar Allen Poe poem by the same name. The film also features a young actor destined to become one of the most memorable performers of our time: Jack Nicholson. (Nicholson also co-starred with Karloff in "The Terror").
(6) Karloff was originally slated to portray the Shakespeare-spouting Mr. Black but his illness (arthritis) prevented him from taking on the vigorous role.
(7) You can catch glimpses of Vincent Price' stunt double during the dueling scene with Peter Lorre.
(7) Favorite Line: "He not only collects curious objects Madame, he also fathered one."
Discussions, additions or corrections to any items posted here are welcome. Many thanks to Hulu for resurrecting this comedy classic.