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The Abominable Dr. Phibes

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Vincent Price as Dr. Phibes plagues his victims to death
Review: Not since Dante came up with appropriate eternal punishments for those sent to the Inferno has there been such a macabre genius for taking vengeance as "The Abominable Dr. Phibes." The title character, played to the hilt and beyond by Vincent Price, seeks revenge upon the nine doctors he feels are responsible for the death of his beloved wife, Victoria. As inspiration, Anton Phibes uses the Plagues of Egypt, knocking off victims (including Terry-Thomas) with frogs, locusts and the like with the help of his silent assistant Vulnavia (Virginia North), while playing his grand pipe organ. Poor Inspector Trout (Peter Jeffrey) tries to get one step ahead of the Good Doctor, but he cannot even keep up as the murders progress. Phibes saves the best for last: Dr. Vesalius (Joseph Cotten), the man who botched the operation, at least in Phibes twisted view. By this point Phibes is up to the Death of the First Born and Dr. Vesalius has to operate on his son to the boy from suffering the same fate as Phibes.

"The Abominable Dr. Phibes" is like "Richard III" and "Silence of the Lambs" in that you find yourself rooting for the villain. This might be camp but it is done with such style and flair, not to mention a macabre (if not sick) humor. I love the fact that Vincent Price does all of his lines as a sort of disembodied voice. His lips never move, a result of having his character's mouth currently being in the side of his neck (what did you expect in a film that is so tongue in cheek?). This 1971 film, directed by Robert Fuest, was scripted by James Whiton and William Goldstein, a pair of decidedly sick human beings. Followed the next year by "Dr. Phibes Rises Again," Price did another camp revenge film, "Theater of Blood" in 1973. But be warned: most women do not consider these films appropriate for dates.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of Price's best baddies!!
Review: I remember "discovering" this movie as a teenager; I came across it one night on Channel 7 in NYC, at around 3 in the morning.

It was love at first sight.

Vincent Price plays Dr. Anton Phibes, an organ-playing Super-Genius, who seeks revenge on the 9 people he holds responsible for the death of his Wife: The 8 Doctors and the Nurse who failed to save her after an accident. Phibes and his lovely assistant, Vulnavia, operate out of a secret lair, complete with a ballroom and clockwork orchestra of Phibes' own creation, and as the film begins, their plan is already well underway: they will kill the "responsible" parties using the 10 Biblical plagues of The Pharoes- Boils, Bats, Blood, Frogs, Beasts, The Death of the First-Born, Locusts, Rats, Hail, and Darkness.....Let the fun begin....

What is so great about this movie is that, in my opinion, there ARE no other movies like this one. It's a surreal period-piece (The film takes place in the 1920's), that deals with grusome murders, has a wicked sense of humor, and a villain straight out of a comic-book (Comic readers will find Phibes to be a cross between Doctor Doom and The Joker). The sets and locations are great, and Vincent Price is superb, as usual. You can tell he had a great time playing the good Doctor. The ending is weirdly satisfying, and again, is one-of-a-kind. The cast is superb, and Joseph Cotten is a great foil for Price. Their scene in the operating theater is phenomenal.

The DVD is short on extras, just a Theatrical trailer, which is a hoot. And anyone who has had to suffer through awful-looking Television airings will love the crisp look of the film in Widescreen.

Anyone who is a fan of either Horror movies or Vincent Price MUST add this film to their collection. As the Policeman says early in the film, "There are a lot of strange people practicing medicine these days!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: love means never having to say you're ugly
Review: i love this movie,the whole killing in the name of love thing is kind of romantic and vincent price's monologues are cool. sometimes the murders aren't as great as you would expect like death by rats, but the locusts and frogs are fun and ridiculous. i'm keepin this short cause im 17 and don't like to write a lot,but this is a great movie if you're a sucker for old horror movies like i am and you want something that moves a little faster than most 1970s cinema.Listen to the cure

and if you're ever in virginia check out sequoia.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Malpractice Insurance...
Review: Vincent Price is devilishly cool as Dr. Phibes, a brilliant man driven to insanity by the death of his wife, Victoria. You see, she died on the operating table under the collective knife of a nine person surgical team. Her grieving, enraged husband soon "died" in a fiery auto accident. Now, years later, the very same doctors and nurse are turning up dead in odd yet ingenius ways. Who could be responsible for this? Who else?! With the aid of his beautiful, mute, and mysterious assistant, Vulnavia, Phibes has set out to exact his vengeance through biblical means. Using the ten plagues of ancient Egypt, he knocks off his victims with bats, rats, locusts, a strangulating frog mask, and other gleefully ghoulish methods. Scotland Yard is on the case, with a befuddled inspector Trout doing the leg-work and getting the grief whenever a new body pops up. The head doctor, and main target of Phibes' twisted medicine is played by none other than Joseph Cotten (Gaslight). TADP is a macabre masterpiece of horrific humor and spooky surprises. One of Price's best characters. Highly recommended...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Art Deco Gothic With Tongue In Cheek
Review: By the time American International Pictures made it to the 1970's they were past grade c biker and beach films and were starting to turn out some true classics. "The Abominable Doctor Phibes" and its follow up "Doctor Phibes Rises Again" are classics of tongue in cheek horror.
In brief Phibes seeks revenge on those he feels responsible for his wife's death. Revenge here is served up not only cold but most bizarre as Phibes devises methods of doing folks in that would bring a smile to Rube Goldberg's face.
Set in the 1920's the look of the film is a sort of Gothic Art Deco. Vincent Price is deliriously over the top but that is what
is exactly what is called for. Basil Kirchin's score (recently released on CD) is aptly off the wall combining various styles from 1920's jazz to clasical.If this exercise in the bizzare seems to be seamlessly directed by Robert Fuest there might be a good reason. He had ample training directing some of the later and more off the wall episodes of "The Avengers" . Phibes was one
of a kind. Although both were very successful both critically and commercially Price wisely ceased after the second so as not to dilute them with numerous sequels. So if you want a bit of wicked fun make an appointment with the Doctor.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No one seeks revenge like "The Abominable Dr. Phibes!"
Review: Not since Dante came up with appropriate eternal punishments for those sent to the Inferno has there been such a macabre genius for taking vengeance as "The Abominable Dr. Phibes." The title character, played to the hilt and beyond by Vincent Price, seeks revenge upon the nine doctors he feels are responsible for the death of his beloved wife, Victoria. As inspiration, Anton Phibes uses the Plagues of Egypt, knocking off victims (including Terry-Thomas) with frogs, locusts and the like with the help of his silent assistant Vulnavia (Virginia North), while playing his grand pipe organ. Poor Inspector Trout (Peter Jeffrey) tries to get one step ahead of the Good Doctor, but he cannot even keep up as the murders progress. Phibes saves the best for last: Dr. Vesalius (Joseph Cotten), the man who botched the operation, at least in Phibes twisted view. By this point Phibes is up to the Death of the First Born and Dr. Vesalius has to operate on his son to the boy from suffering the same fate as Phibes.

"The Abominable Dr. Phibes" is like "Richard III" and "Silence of the Lambs" in that you find yourself rooting for the villain. This might be camp but it is done with such style and flair, not to mention a macabre (if not sick) humor. I love the fact that Vincent Price does all of his lines as a sort of disembodied voice. His lips never move, a result of having his character's mouth currently being in the side of his neck (what did you expect in a film that is so tongue in cheek?). This 1971 film, directed by Robert Fuest, was scripted by James Whiton and William Goldstein, a pair of decidedly sick human beings. Followed the next year by "Dr. Phibes Rises Again," Price did another camp revenge film, "Theater of Blood" in 1973. But be warned: most women do not consider these films appropriate for dates. --This text refers to the DVD edition.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Art Deco Gothic With Tongue In Cheek
Review: By the time American International Pictures made it to the 1970's they were past grade c biker and beach films and were starting to turn out some true classics. "The Abominable Doctor Phibes" and its follow up "Doctor Phibes Rises Again" are classics of tongue in cheek horror.
In brief Phibes seeks revenge on those he feels responsible for his wife's death. Revenge here is served up not only cold but most bizarre as Phibes devises methods of doing folks in that would bring a smile to Rube Goldberg's face.
Set in the 1920's the look of the film is a sort of Gothic Art Deco. Vincent Price is deliriously over the top but that is what
is exactly what is called for. Basil Kirchin's score (recently released on CD) is aptly off the wall combining various styles from 1920's jazz to clasical.If this exercise in the bizzare seems to be seamlessly directed by Robert Fuest there might be a good reason. He had ample training directing some of the later and more off the wall episodes of "The Avengers" . Phibes was one
of a kind. Although both were very successful both critically and commercially Price wisely ceased after the second so as not to dilute them with numerous sequels. So if you want a bit of wicked fun make an appointment with the Doctor.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: What's to like?
Review: Let's see. It's not scary. It's not funny. And for a film that is so short . . . it's boring!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nine shall die! Nine eternities in doom!
Review: In London, 1925, Detective Inspector Trout and his assistant, Tom Schenley, are beset by the horrible deaths of eminent doctors and physicians. Dr. Dunwoody is found with his face torn up by bats, and it turns out that a Dr. Thornton had been killed a week earlier by bees in his library.

After the killing of Dr. Longstreet, played with great aplomb by Terry-Thomas, the killer makes a mistake, which Trout capitalizes on. He discovers a pattern to the killings thanks to a rabbi (Hugh Griffith-who played Audrey Hepburn's father in How To Steal A Million). They are based on the gatakh, the curse visited on the Pharaohs, which in order are: boils, bats, frogs, blood, rats, beats, locusts, death of the first-born, and darkness.

Trout also gets help from Dr. Vesalius (Joseph Cotten), an eminent surgeon who knew the victims, and from him, discovers that they worked on a Regina Phibes, who died during surgery. The only person who would want revenge is her husband, Dr. Anton Phibes, but he had been killed in a car crash in Switzerland. But then how...

What makes this interesting to watch is the stylishly kitsch interludes that take place after each killing, usually a musical number involving Vulnavia. And the drawn images of Phibes's profile and rear of head on the windows of his car give this a kind of surreal look.

The most horrible killing is that of Dr. Longstreet, followed by that of Nurse Allen. The most sudden is that of Dr. Whitcomb. After the discovery of the gatakh connection, the audience is left wondering how and if the killings would be carried out.

Vincent Price plays Phibes as a man thirsting for revenge, a master strategist, yet in his soliloquys to his dead wife, one finds someone for whom life has become unbearable. He wants to avenge her death and afterwards... This would be a warmup for his other revenge movie, Theatre Of Blood. Check out the way he drinks his wine!

Peter Jeffrey (Trout) was a well-known British TV-actor, with appearances in Dr. Who and Yes Minister. He also played the headmaster in Lindsay Anderson's if...

Virginia North (Vulnavia) proves that one can have a vital screen presence without saying a word. As the goldsmith says, she is tall, attractive, young, and fashionable, wearing all kinds of cool outfits throughout, but mostly a black furry Russian hat, beige blouse, and black pantaloons and boots. And love that white violin she plays!

Norman Jones (Tom Schenley) appeared in two Doctor Who stories: The Silurians (Major Baker) and The Masque of Mandragora (Hieronymous).

Other notes: the sergeant who finds Dr. Hedgepath is played by James Grout, best known for playing Inspector Morse's superior, Superintendent Strange. The goldsmith is played by Aubrey Woods, best known as Bill in Willy Wonka. Finally, the frog mask worn by Dr. Hargreaves, or a cousin of it, would later make an appearance in Dr. Who-The Twin Dilemma, as one of Mestor's decorations.

An enjoyable, effective, and stylish revenge movie with a great cast.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ah, Vincent, we miss you
Review: Vincent Price was one of those rare actors who never took himself that seriously...unlike some of those around today. As a result, he was able to move from being a romantic lead in light comedies to horror films to the '60s program "Batman." Few can claim such a career. Dr. Phibes is a perfect example of Price not taking himself that seriously. I mean, here is a guy who drinks from the side of his neck. And who plays one of those organs you see in every cliched horror film. This is a movie that is half humor/half horror, and completely worth seeing.


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