The Abominable Dr. Phibes
| The Abominable Dr. Phibes | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Robert Fuest |
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| Music by | Basil Kirchin |
| Cinematography | Norman Warwick |
| Edited by | Tristam Cones |
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| Distributed by | Anglo-EMI Film Distributors |
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 British horror film directed by Robert Fuest, written by William Goldstein and James Whiton, and starring Vincent Price and Joseph Cotten. Its art deco sets, dark humour and performance by Price have made the film and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again cult classics. The film also features Terry-Thomas and Hugh Griffith with an uncredited cameo appearance by future Bond girl Caroline Munro.
The film follows the title character, Phibes, who blames the medical team that attended to his wife for her death four years prior and sets out to exact vengeance on each one using the plagues of Egypt. Phibes is inspired in his murderous spree by the Ten Plagues of Egypt from the Old Testament.
Dr. Anton Phibes was an expert in theology and music who was supposedly killed in a car crash in 1921, shortly after the death of his beloved wife, Victoria, during an operation. However, he survived the crash, horribly scarred by the accident and left unable to speak, forcing him to remake his face with prosthetics and use his knowledge of acoustics to regain his voice. Resurfacing in 1925, Phibes believes that his wife died a victim of incompetent doctors, and begins elaborate plans to kill them.
Phibes begins his quest for vengeance with the help of his beautiful and silent female assistant Vulnavia, using the ten plagues of Egypt as a basis, wearing an amulet with Hebrew letters corresponding with the appropriate plagues as he commits the murders. After three doctors are killed, Inspector Trout, a detective from Scotland Yard, learns that they had all worked together under the direction of Dr. Vesalius, who reveals that all of the deceased had been on his team in Victoria's case, as well as four other doctors and a nurse. When another murder is reported, Trout suspects Phibes is alive, and he and Vesalius go to the Phibes mausoleum at Highgate Cemetery. They find ashes in a box in Phibes' coffin, which Trout believes are the remains of Phibes' chauffeur; Victoria's coffin is empty.
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