The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

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

Director:

Robert Fuest

Writers:

James Whiton, William Goldstein

Stars:

Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Virginia North

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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. Tom Schenley
John Cater	...	Superintendent Waverley

Storyline

Doctors are being murdered in bizarre manners - bats, bees, a killer frog mask, etc. - which represent the nine Biblical plagues of Egypt. The crimes are orchestrated by an organ-playing, demented madman (from his home base, replete with a clockwork orchestra and help from a beautiful, mute assistant). Detectives are stumped until they find that all the slain doctors once assisted a Dr. Vesalius on an unsuccessful operation involving the wife of organist Dr. Phibes, killed in a car crash upon learning of his wife's death. He couldn't be the culprit, could he?

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | cult film | art deco | tragic villain | anti hero | 

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Taglines:

Nine Gruesome Curses!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some horror violence/gore

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [United States] Official Twitter

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Hebrew

Release Date:

18 May 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dr. Phibes

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$3,000,000, 31 December 1971

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Former "The Who" drummer, Keith Moon, allegedly saw this movie just before he died in 1978.

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Goofs

During the operation scene, Vulnavia is seen cutting a hole in the painted backdrop through the face of a seated man. Inspector Trout and Tom are subsequently seen putting their heads through two slashes in the backdrop, one of which is located above this hole. But after Vulnavia's death, as Trout orders his police constables to search the house, the holes for their heads have disappeared.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Butler - Ross: Good morning, sir.

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Crazy Credits

Phibes is heard laughing after the song and the credits end.

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Alternate Versions

The Spanish language version features an almost completely different music soundtrack. The French version also features some subtle differences.

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Connections

Featured in Dr. Phibes and the Gentlemen (2013)

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Soundtracks

Darktown Strutters' Ball
(as "Dark Town Strutters Ball")
Written by Shelton Brooks
Sung by Paul Frees
Courtesy of The Big Three Music Co.
(played during the costume party murder scene)

User Reviews

One of the greatest of the Great

This is one of Vincent Price's performance, and perhaps even his best (although Theatre of Blood is very close). Where to start...? The clever writing (which was lost in the sequel) revolving around Phibes' method of execution, based on the Biblical plagues of Moses. The grim-faced unstoppability of Phibes. Joseph Cotton in one of his best post-60's roles, here perfectly in character as a god-like doctor (particularly in the final operation sequence).

There's also the Art Deco set design which many have oohed and ahhed over in here and elsewhere.

The British cops are a bit too humorous, and there's not really a lot of background here. But the movie is a good example of the "Tales of the Crypt" macabre revenge line, with Phibes' scarred visage standing in for the Ghoul or the Crypt Keeper. Most of the doctors we see (particularly Terry-Thomas) are just the kind of elite arrogant snobs that so often got their one-uppance in such anthologies.

In any case, I would definitely recommend this movie. It's not really a "horror" movie, but more of a "grotesque serial killer" type flick in the lines of stuff like Se7ven.