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:

Dr. Phibes has great vibes!

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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

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

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

Originally advertised in the U.S. with the tag line, "Love Means Never Having to Say You're Ugly," a parody of a famous line from "Love Story," out the previous year; however, that was replaced after the first week, as opening box office was disappointing and it turned out audiences had no idea what sort of film this was supposed to be. A new advertising campaign made it clear it was a horror film, and afterwards it became a box-office hit.

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Goofs

Using neither club nor injection needle, Phibes seems to render the chauffeur unconscious (for hours) with a Vulcan nerve pinch from Star Trek.

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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 Vestron video release and the version shown on cable up until the mid-'90's also featured substituted music soundtracks.

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Connections

Referenced in Theater of Blood (1973)

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Soundtracks

Over the Rainbow
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Courtesy of The Big Three Music Co.
(Instrumental over the end titles)

User Reviews

A masterpiece

Calling this 'Horror' does not make it justice. I wouldn't call it 'movie', either, but 'film'. It's pure art. The sets and art direction are incredible, the whole movie shows the 'aura' of 1920's Art Deco, giving it that 'classy' touch. The script is also very original, and there's even room in it for lots of laughs, without sacrificing style or rhythm. Vincent Price is PERFECT as Phibes, as the other reviewer just said. He IS Phibes, and succeeds where others would probably fail miserably, fitting in perfectly in the 'tone' of the movie. Great direction by Robert Fuest, also. He managed to mix the perfect amount of horror, drama, romance and comedy in a single movie.