The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Director:

Robert Fuest

Writers:

James Whiton (writer) &
William Goldstein (writer)

Release Date:

18 May 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Music | Mystery

Tagline:

Revenge Is The Best Medicine.

Plot:

A doctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar, Dr. Anton Phibes, seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for his wife's death.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Frog | Mute | Organ | Biblical Plagues

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Dr. Anton Phibes
Joseph Cotten	...	Dr. Vesalius
Virginia North	...	Vulnavia
Terry-Thomas	...	Dr. Longstreet
Sean Bury	...	Lem Vesalius
Susan Travers	...	Nurse Allen
David Hutcheson	...	Dr. Hedgepath
Edward Burnham	...	Dr. Dunwoody
Alex Scott	...	Dr. Hargreaves
Peter Gilmore	...	Dr. Kitaj
Maurice Kaufmann	...	Dr. Whitcombe
Peter Jeffrey	...	Inspector Trout
Derek Godfrey	...	Crow
Norman Jones	...	Sgt. Schenley
John Cater	...	Waverley

Also Known As:

Dr. Phibes (USA) (promotional title)
The Curse of Dr. Phibes

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some horror violence/gore.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Finland:K-18 | Norway:16 (1972) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-release) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Elstree Film and TV Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

A young Joanna Lumley appeared as a laboratory assistant but her footage ended up on the cutting-room floor.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The bats seen in the first murder are fruit bats. Fruit bats are frugivorous or nectarivorous, i.e., they eat fruits or lick nectar from flowers, they would never attack and kill a person or eat flesh.

Quotes:

Rabbi: There is no doubt that the classical tradition is the curse of boils, bats, frogs, the curse of blood, the curse of rats, hail, of beasts, the locust, of course, the death of the first-born, and then, finally, of darkness.
Inspector Trout: Darkness, rabbi?
Rabbi: Yes. The final curse upon the land. To end forever the sleep of man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: The Conqueror Worm (#1.8)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Charmaine

Wicked and ingenious

I've recently "discovered" THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, after avoiding it for so many years because of THEATRE OF BLOOD, which I absolutely hated and since the stories for both films resemble each other and that the star of both films is Vincent Price, I had no desire to see THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES. I finally bought a video of the film on eBay (for a buck) and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES is totally wicked and ingenious. It's the complete opposite of THEATRE OF BLOOD, which was nearly unwatchable. I love everything about DR PHIBES. There's almost nothing wrong with it. Everything is excellent: acting, script, set design, music, etc, are ALL top notch (for its low budget, of course). I can't tell you how much fun I had watching DR PHIBES go about killing his victims in morbid but ingenious ways, along with the help of his beautiful and funny assistant, Vulnavia, with everything culminating in a truly suspenseful climax and an ending that left me giggling and smiling. The whole concept is brilliant. If Stanley Kubrick had directed a horror/black comedy, this is probably how it would look like. The sardonic use of music (it's almost a musical). The wicked screenplay, aptly handled and which never crosses the line into all-out-comedy or all-out-horror. The memorable cast of characters (inspector Trout being my favorite). The timing and the tone of the film are near perfect. Only the occasional "mod" sensibilities seen here and there were incongruous with a story which set around the 1920s.

I've watched THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES four times since I received the video. The first viewing experience was, I admit, an experience filled with apprehension because as the film went along I thought it sorta looked too much like THEATRE OF BLOOD (but not as grubby, more colorful. I now realize TOB is a total rip-off) and it seemed slow and repetitive and wondered if it was going anywhere but slowly and surely, I gradually caught on with the film's wickedly fun atmosphere and by the time the film ended, I was totally knocked-out. PHIBES keeps getting better and better with each subsequent viewing.

This film has been riped off repeatedly these days with other horror films like SAW or even a non-horror films such as V FOR VENDETTA. It's truly mind-boggling how often other filmmakers have taken ideas from PHIBES. Also, I suspect Tim Burton was highly influenced by this flashy black comedy. It, at times, feels a lot like a Tim Burton film, but with an actual strong ending. All in all, I have to give THE ABOMINABLE DR PHIBES a 10.