Still image from the 1971 film The Abominable Dr. Phibes.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Directed by Robert Fuest

A madman uses the plagues of ancient Egypt to avenge his wife's death.

1971 1h 34m Horror/Science-Fiction TV-14

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CAST
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Robert Fuest, Director
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Robert Fuest
Director

1

Vincent Price, Dr. [Anton] Phibes
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Vincent Price
Dr. [Anton] Phibes

2

Joseph Cotten, Dr. Vesalius
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Joseph Cotten
Dr. Vesalius

3

Virginia North, Vulnavia
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Virginia North
Vulnavia

4

Terry-thomas, Dr. Longstreet
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Terry-thomas
Dr. Longstreet

FULL SYNOPSIS

In 1920s England, Dr. Anton Phibes, caped and shrouded in long black robes, vigorously plays his organ, then waltzes in his elaborate movie-palace-like mansion with his beautiful, mute assistant, Vulnavia, while an orchestra of mechanical puppets serenades them. Phibes, a mechanical genius as well as an accomplished organist, then loads a cage swathed in black cloth into his limousine and drives off with Vulnavia. In another part of town, as Dr. Dunwoody slumbers in his bed, Phibes lowers the cage through a skylight into the room and releases a flock of vampire bats. After Dunwoody's shredded body is discovered the following morning, Inspector Trout is called to investigate and recalls that another surgeon was stung to death by bees the previous week. Meanwhile, back in his sanctuary below the main floor of his house, Phibes, still cloaked, drapes an amulet over a wax bust of Dunwoody, which he then sets on fire. Afterward, Phibes cements a prosthetic nose and ears to his face and dons a wig. At a lavish costume party that night, Phibes hands one of the guests, Dr. Hargreaves, a frog mask and fastens it with a latch. As Hargreaves ascends the staircase, the latch begins to contract, strangling him to death in front of the startled guests. Although Trout perceives a pattern of torture in the deaths, his superior scoffs at his assumption. The following night, as Dr. Longstreet watches a lurid film of a snake dancer at his house, Vulnavia enters the room, sheathed in a ...


VIDEOS
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Dr. Longstreet
Movie Clip
Opening, Organ
Movie Clip
Jolly Fine Party
Movie Clip
Dr. Dunwoody
Movie Clip

ARTICLES
"A brass unicorn has been catapulted across a London street and impaled an eminent surgeon...words fail me, gentlemen." - A detective describing a particularly puzzling murder witnessed in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). Vincent Price stars in what is quite possibly, the ultimate "Vincent Price" movie, one that practically cemented the actor's public and professional identity as the actual personification of all things horror. In The Abominable Dr. Phibes, he plays Dr. Anton Phibes, a mysterious figure who is systematically hunting down and disposing of a team of doctors that he feels were responsible for the untimely death of his beloved wife (played by British cult favorite Caroline Munro, albeit seen only in photographs). Joseph Cotten fights for his life in his role of Dr. Vesalius, the chief surgeon of the botched procedure and British comedian Terry-Thomas pops up in a brief and amusing cameo as one of the doomed doctors. The gimmick here is that Phibes dispatches his victims in a spectacular variety of gruesome and bizarre ways, all of which are based on ten biblical curses involving various deaths brought on by bats, rats, locusts and some other nasty surprises! Directed in a bright, colorful and campy visual style by former art director (and frequent director of several episodes of the similarly peculiar TV series The Avengers) Robert Fuest, Dr. Phibes is a fast-paced, super-stylish black comedy that boasts some extremely memorable,...

NOTES

The working titles of the film were Dr. Phibes and The Curse of Dr. Phibes. Although an August 1970 Variety news referred to the film as The Curse of Dr. Pibes, a title that is also cited in some modern sources, "Pibes" was most likely a typographical error. The opening and closing onscreen cast credits differ slightly in order. Throughout the film, "Vulnavia" plays the violin as Phibes murders his victims. Onscreen song titles are prefaced by the following written acknowledgment: "The Producers wish to thank The Big Three Music Co. for permission to use the following songs."
       Although a September 1970 Variety news item noted that Albert Fennell was to produce the film with Ron Dunas, the extent of Fennell's contribution, if any, has not been determined. An October 1970 Hollywood Reporter news item stated that Peter Cushing was originally to co-star with Vincent Price. The 1972 film Dr. Phibes Rises Again, directed by Robert Fuerst and starring Price and Peter Jeffrey, was a sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes (see below).

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