Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

The vengeful doctor rises again, seeking the Scrolls of Life in an attempt to resurrect his deceased wife.

Director:

Robert Fuest

Writers:

Robert Fuest, Robert Blees

Stars:

Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Valli Kemp

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Vincent Price	...	Dr. Anton Phibes
Robert Quarry	...	Darrus Biederbeck
Valli Kemp	...	Vulnavia
Hugh Griffith	...	Harry Ambrose
John Thaw	...	Shavers
Keith Buckley	...	Stewart
Lewis Fiander	...	Baker
Gerald Sim	...	Hackett
Milton Reid	...	Manservant - Cheng
Peter Jeffrey	...	Inspecter Trout
John Cater	...	Superintendent Waverley
Peter Cushing	...	Captain
Beryl Reid	...	Miss Ambrose
Terry-Thomas	...	Lombardo
Fiona Lewis	...	Diana Trowbridge

Storyline

The moon rises at a predestined angle and awakens the sleeping Dr. Phibes three years later. To his dismay, he finds his house has been demolished and his papyrus scrolls stolen, the scrolls he needs to find the Pharoah's Tomb in Egypt, where the River of Life flows. After identifying the source of the papyrus theft, he packs and leaves for Egypt with his assistant Vulnavia, still intent upon awakening his dead wife Victoria. The parties responsible for the theft of Phibes' scrolls suffer an attrition problem as Inspector Trout chases him across the world.

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Plot Keywords:

egypt | tomb | telephone rigged to kill | mad scientist | sarcophagus | 

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Taglines:

Run! Hide! Scream!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dr. Phibes Rises Again

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

MGM-EMI

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Thaw has no dialogue during his brief appearance in the film.

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Goofs

As Phibes waits to take the barge down the river, a large circular window frames his head in closeups. In long shots, there is no window anywhere in the wall behind him.

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Quotes

Biederbeck: If ever a man deserved to die it's you.

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Crazy Credits

This time, Phibes laughs just before the last chord of the music after the credits.

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Alternate Versions

The French language version features different music during the opening recap sequence.

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Connections

Referenced in Masters of Horror: John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns (2005)

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Soundtracks

Over the Rainbow
(uncredited)
Music by Harold Arlen
Performed by Vincent Price
(played over the end titles)

User Reviews

more goofy, campy fun!

This movie is so similar to the original that I sometimes have trouble remembering which crazy diabolical way of murdering his enemies occurred in which movie. Dr. Phibes returns (even though we DISTINCTLY saw him kill himself in the last movie!) and this time he is a little less focused on revenge and devotes most of his energy to resurrecting his long dead wife. However, have no fear, this does NOT mean he won't be killing many people in the process of restoring her! Yep, once again he comes up with many wacky and twisted ways to kill. So, in essence, if you loved the first movie you'll be happy but if you hated it, it doesn't get any better! I liked both and admit they are a guilty pleasure---they are SO cheesy and silly but I really liked the movies a lot!

UPDATE: I just saw this movie again tonight just after seeing the first Phibes film. I sure had a different reaction this time. While Phibes' murders were once again quite interesting, the film had two major ways that made it very inferior to the original. In the first film, whether right or wrong, Phibes felt he had a legitimate reason to kill. Here in "Dr. Phibes Rises Again" he clearly kills completely innocent people and is much more of a jerk. Also, the plot is not nearly as coherent as the first film and seems like it could have used some re-writing. Still worth seeing but clearly not up to the standards of the first.