The Abominable Dr. Phibes
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{{otheruses4|the film|the band|Dr Phibes & the House of Wax Equations}}
{{Infobox Film
| name = The Abominable Dr. Phibes
| image = Abominablephibes1.jpg
| caption = Theatrical Poster
| director = [[Robert Fuest]]
| producer = '''Executive Producer:'''<br>[[Samuel Z. Arkoff]]<br>[[James H. Nicholson]]<br>'''Producer:'''<br>Ronald S. Dunas<br>[[Louis M. Heyward]]
| writer = James Whiton<br>William Goldstein<br>'''Uncredited:'''<br>[[Robert Fuest]]
| starring = [[Vincent Price]]<br>[[Joseph Cotten]]<br>[[Terry-Thomas]]<br>Virginia North
| music = Basil Kirchin
| cinematography = Norman Warwick
| editing = Tristam Cones
| distributor = '''United States:'''<br>[[American International Pictures]]<br>'''United Kingdom:'''<br>Anglo-EMI Film Distributors Ltd./[[MGM-EMI]]/American International England
| released = {{flagicon|USA}} [[May 18]], [[1971]]
| runtime = 94 minutes
| country = [[UK]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| budget =
| amg_id = 1:608
| imdb_id = 0066740
|}}
'''''The Abominable Dr. Phibes''''' is a [[1971 in film|1971]] [[horror film]] starring [[Vincent Price]]. Its [[art deco]] sets, [[black comedy|dark humor]] and "over the top" performance by Vincent Price has made the film and its sequel ''[[Dr. Phibes Rises Again]]'' "[[camp (style)|camp]]" classics.
==Plot==
Anton Phibes, famous [[organist]] with doctorates in Music and Theology was thought to have been killed in a car crash while rushing to the side of his ill wife, Victoria. He was in fact horribly disfigured in the accident but survived only to discover his wife had died on the operating table. Phibes, convinced that his beloved wife was a victim of incompetent [[Physician|doctors]], spends several years planning a [[vendetta]] against those who operated on his wife.
Inspector Trout suspects Phibes but finds little support from [[Scotland Yard]] as Phibes is believed dead. Trout is also hindered by the incompetence of his police force. Eventually Dr. Vesalius, head of the team of doctors that operated on Phibes's wife, begins to believe inspector Trout is right and aids him in the hunt for Phibes.
Using various highly imaginative methods, Dr. Phibes kills seven doctors and a nurse with the help of his beautiful and silent female assistant Vulnavia (played by actress Virginia North). He has reserved the final punishment for Dr. Vesalius. He kidnaps the doctor's son and places him on a table on which a container full of acid is waiting to destroy the boy's face. A small key implanted near the boy's heart will free him, but Vesalius must perform the surgery within six minutes to get the key before the acid falls. The operation succeeds and the acid instead strikes Vulnavia.
Convinced he has accomplished his vendetta, Phibes retreats to a stone [[sarcophagus]] beside the [[embalming|embalmed]] body of his wife. As he drains out his own blood and replaces it with embalming fluid the coffin's inlaid stone lid slides into place, concealing them both in darkness. Trout and the police arrive and discover that Phibes has mysteriously disappeared. Trout and Vesalius recall that the "final curse" was darkness and they speculate that they will encounter Phibes again.
===The Ten Plagues of Egypt===
Dr. Phibes takes his inspiration for the murders from the [[Old Testament]], the [[Ten plagues of Egypt]]:
#'''Boils:''' Prof. Thornton is stung to death by bees (not shown, only referred to during the film)
#'''Bats:''' Dr. Dunwoody is mauled to death by bats
#'''Frogs:''' Dr. Hargreaves's throat is crushed by a mechanical mask of a frog
#'''Blood:''' Dr. Longstreet has all the blood drained out of his body
#'''Hail:''' Dr. Hedgepath is frozen to death by a machine spewing ice
#'''Rats:''' Dr. Kitaj crashes his plane when attacked by rats
#'''Beasts:''' Dr. Whitcombe is impaled by a brass unicorn head
#'''Locusts:''' Nurse Allen is eaten by locusts
#'''Death of the first born:''' Phibes kidnaps and attempts to kill Dr. Vesalius's son Lem
#'''Darkness:''' At the ambiguous ending of the film, Phibes drains the blood from his own body while injecting embalming fluid, apparently joining his wife in death.
==Production Notes==
* [[Robert Fuest]] rewrote most of the original screenplay. One of the few scenes to remain as scripted was one in which Trout consults a rabbi and first learns of the curses. Some original plot lines and sequences that were altered or eliminated:
** Phibes was to be much more violent and unlikeable in the script, abusing Vulnavia, smashing furniture, etc. It was decided to make the character more sympathetic.
** The victim of the plague of rats was to be attacked on a boat rather than in a plane. It was changed as most people's reaction was, "Why couldn't he just jump off the boat?"
** Vulnavia was going to be revealed as another one of Phibes' clockwork devices (he has a clockwork band called "Dr. Phibes' Clockwork Wizards.")
** Phibes was originally to kill Vulnavia and then escape his house (which was to catch fire) in a hot air balloon with Victoria's body.
* In order for [[Joseph Cotten]] to know his cues, Phibes' dialogue was read aloud by a crew-member.
* Price commented that Cotten was uncomfortable doing these scenes, so he intentionally pulled a lot of faces to crack him up.
* Vincent Price went through hours of make up, which often had to be reapplied as he kept laughing.
* The name "Vesalius" is a reference to [[Andreas Vesalius]], a Flemish scientist who cut up corpses to learn about the workings of the body.
* The film was followed by the sequel ''[[Dr. Phibes Rises Again]]'' in [[1972]]. Several other possible sequels were planned including ''Dr. Phibes in the Holy Land'', ''The Brides of Phibes'' and ''The Seven Fates of Dr. Phibes'', but none of these were made.
==Cast==
* [[Vincent Price]] as Dr. Anton Phibes
* [[Joseph Cotten]] as Dr. Vesalius
* [[Peter Jeffrey]] as Inspector Trout
* Virginia North as Vulnavia
* [[Terry-Thomas]] as Dr. Longstreet
* Sean Bury as Lem Vesalius
* Susan Travers as Nurse Allen
* David Hutcheson as Dr. Hedgepath
* Edward Burnham as Dr. Dunwoody
* [[Alex Scott (actor)|Alex Scott]] as Dr. Hargreaves
* [[Peter Gilmore]] as Dr. Kitaj
* [[Maurice Kaufmann]] as Dr. Whitcombe
* Derek Godfrey as Crow
* [[Norman Jones (actor)|Norman Jones]] as Sgt. Schenley
* [[John Cater]] as Waverley
* [[Hugh Griffith]] as Rabbi
==Critical reception==
Critic Christopher Null wrote of the film, "One of the '70s juiciest entries into the horror genre, The Abominable Dr. Phibes is Vincent Price at his campy best, a former doctor and concert organist (go figure that one out yourself) who is exacting revenge on the nine doctors he blames for botching his wife's surgery, which ended with her death. Through a series of tortuous means that would make a Bond villain green with envy, the hideous Phibes is matched by Joseph Cotten as the doc at the end of the road. A crazy script and an awesome score make this a true classic."<ref>[http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/84dbbfa4d710144986256c290016f76e/51600685a63efbef88256c91000a2b11?OpenDocument Null, Christopher]. ''FilmCritic.com,'' film review, 2002. Last accessed: [[January 8]], [[2008]].</ref>
==The Music of Dr. Phibes==
* The film opens with ''War March of the Priests'' ([[Felix Mendelssohn|Mendelssohn]]) flamboyantly played by Dr. Phibes on a grand organ.
* The succession of murders is accompanied by period music including ''Charmaine'', ''Darktown Strutters Ball'' (sung by [[Paul Frees]]), ''[[You Stepped out of a Dream]]'', ''[[Close Your Eyes (1933 song)|Close Your Eyes]]'' and ''Elmer's Tune''.
* The film also features a version of the [[Frank Sinatra]] hit ''One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)'' (sung by [[Scott Peters]])
* The poster Dr. Vesalius finds for a past concert of Dr. Phibes lists all pieces of music related to religion, a reflection of Dr. Phibes obsession with music and religion.
* ''[[Over the Rainbow]]'' appropriately closes the film over the end credits.
==Notable Lines==
One minor character says, "I don't think, I know." His comic relief responds, "Yes, I don't think you know either, sir."
==Taglines==
The producers used the following taglines to market the film:
* Original: (In a pun on the tagline for the movie ''[[Love Story (1970 film)|Love Story]])'' - ''Love Means Never Having to Say You're Ugly.''
* Current (DVD): ''Revenge Is The Best Medicine.''
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See Also==
* [[Dr. Phibes Rises Again]]
==External links==
* {{imdb title|id=0066740|title=The Abominable Dr. Phibes}}.
* [http://www.hollywoodgothique.com/abominabledrphibes1971.html ''The Abominable Dr. Phibes''] at Hollywood Gothique.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abominable Dr. Phibes, The}}
[[Category:1970s horror films]]
[[Category:1971 films]]
[[Category:American International Pictures films]]
[[Category:B movies]]
[[Category:British films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Robert Fuest]]
[[el:Ο Σατανικός Δόκτωρ Φάιμπς]]
[[fr:L'Abominable Docteur Phibes]]
[[it:L'abominevole dottor Phibes]]