The Abominable Dr Phibes **** (1971, Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Hugh Griffith, Terry-Thomas) – Classic Movie Review 1,937

Vincent Price gleefully seizes his opportunity in his ideal role as crazed, vengeful Dr Anton Phibes, in the blood-lusty 1971 black comedy horror movie The Abominable Dr Phibes.

Director Robert Fuest’s blood-lusty 1971 black comedy horror movie The Abominable Dr Phibes stars Vincent Price, who gleefully seizes his opportunity in this ideal part as Dr Anton Phibes, a crazed, organ-playing mutilated medical genius who devises a series of Pharaoh death curses for the nine surgeons whom he considers responsible for the death of his beloved wife Victoria Regina Phibes (Caroline Munro) in an operation.

Dr Phibes is a bit of a Renaissance man. Not only is he a doctor and organist but also he is a scientist and a biblical scholar. Unfortunately, he is also a bit of a vengeance man. The curses turn into a reality and the surgeons are being murdered in a bizarre manner: bats, bees, killer frog mask and so on, representing the nine biblical plagues.

Inspector Trout (Peter Jeffrey) investigates the case with the help of Sergeant Tom Schenley (Norman Jones) and finds that all of the victims assisted Dr Vesalius (Joseph Cotten) on the operation on the wife of Dr Phibes, who was killed in a car crash after learning of his wife’s death.

Price’s hysterical, self-parodying performance leads the way in a brilliant tongue-in-cheek horror yarn with a high share of black humour and gore confidently directed by Fuest on stylish art deco sets. Hugh Griffith (as the Rabbi) and Terry-Thomas (as Dr Longstreet) also star.

Gothic, fun and extremely camp, it is all the better because these are notoriously difficult to bring off. James Whiton and William Goldstein deserve a lot of the credit as the inspired writers. And a lot of kudos goes too to production designer Bernard Reeves for his stylish art deco sets.

Virginia North (as Vulnavia), Aubrey Woods, Susan Travers, Alex Scott, Peter. Gilmore, Maurice Kaufmann, Derek Godfrey, John Cater (as Superintendent Waverley), Sean Bury, David Hutcheson, Edward Burnham, Norman Jones, Alan Zipson, Dallas Adams, James Grout, Alister Williamson (from The Oblong Box), Thomas Heathcote, Ian Marter, Julian Grant, Aubrey Woods, John Laurie, Barbara Keogh, Charles Farrell, John Franklyn, Peter Gilmore, Alex Scott and Walter Horsbrugh are also in the cast.

Joanna Lumley had her scenes deleted as the laboratory assistant.

Caroline Munro has no lines as Vincent Price’s dead wife in The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971) and Dr Phibes Rises Again (1972).

John Laurie plays Darrow and also played his iconic TV role of Private Frazer in the movie of Dad’s Army in 1971.

It was a hit, too, and there is a welcome sequel, Dr Phibes Rises Again (1972), starring Price again. Griffith and Terry-Thomas return in different roles, and Jeffrey and Cater are back as Inspector Trout and Superintendent Waverley.

A remake was in production in 2014 and scheduled for release in 2015, but by 2023 it is still in development.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1,937

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John Laurie plays Darrow.