THE
ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971)Director: Robert Fuest
MGM
THE
ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971)In THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, Dr. Anton Phibes (Vincent Price), a rich, eccentric organ-playing genius who had once entertained audiences from the world's vaudeville stages, begins a bizarre vendetta against the members of a surgical team who attempted to save his young wife, Victoria (Caroline Munro), who died on the operating table. Apparently, Phibes is a scholar of the Bible, so he ingeniously plots to obliterate all nine doctors by recreating the ten curses which afflicted Pharoah in the Old Testament (the final curse being darkness).
Taking place during the early 1930s, Phibes has set up his headquarters in a grim mansion, furnished with an early cinema lobby decor of chrome, mirrors and marble, complete with a extravagant theater organ (which also works as a sort of elevator) and a dance hall ballroom. He amuses himself with a mechanical orchestra named "The Clockwork Wizards," and has a lovely, raven-haired but mute and trance-like disciple, Vulnavia (Virginia North). She chaperons his evil deeds with violin solos and in his more light-hearted moments, serves as his drinking and dancing partner. He keeps his beloved wife (Munro, who appears in both films through photos and in perennial slumber) in suspended animation, and his ultimate destiny--after avenging her--is to revive her.
One by one, doctors are being murdered in grotesque manners with the aid of bats, fatal frog masks, hail storms, locusts, etc., all representing the Biblical plagues. The case is carried out by Inspector Trout (Peter Jeffrey). Awkward yet determined, Trout can't seem to get a grip on the situation until he interviews Dr. Visalius (Joseph Cotten), a colleague of the murder victims. Visalius concludes that the operation on Victoria Phibes links all the doctors so far killed, so the police try their best to protect the rest of them. Even though Phibes is believed to be long dead, Visalius and Trout hold the theory that he's alive and well and responsible for all the doom.
Vincent Price once again proves that he's one of the genre's true masters with the Phibes character. One of the actor's finest assets is his distinct voice, and here, it's barely utilized. Due to his near-fatal car wreck, Phibes can only speak through an electronic box mechanism that the scheming genius created himself. Price's inflection is fragmented and distorted, and only heard periodically, so the actor has to portray the character via his menacing eyes and exaggerated body language. Phibes has been horribly disfigured (the revealing of his skull kisser during the climax remains one of horror cinema's most memorable images), so he has to desperately reconstruct his appearance with false hair, nose, ears etc., conjuring up a mortician's nightmare; an artificial, ghoulish mess that reeks of death and decay.
Phibes is not only a murderous, crazed monster, but he's also a brilliant, flamboyant super villain, with the wealth and know-how to devise morbid deaths, employing the most outrageous props in the process. Director Robert Fuest (whose previous assignment at AIP was a lavish color remake of WUTHERING HEIGHTS starring future James Bond Timothy Dalton), applies the dark humor that he toyed with on "The Avengers" TV series, and blends it with the unique backdrop of a surreal "Art Deco" 1930s England, never before visited in a color horror film of this ilk. Nearly every set piece--from Phibes' extravagant dwelling, to the hospital walls--is splashed with this decorative style, and it's a bona fide visual delight of gothic elegance.
The music is a delightful mix of different styles from that era: melodic waltzes, moody violins, and of course grand organ tunes, all setting the proper mood of the madness. There was a soundtrack record out at one time, but this consisted mainly of Paul Frees crooning period standards, impersonating different Hollywood stars (the soundtrack was recently expanded with extra music and dialog for a bootleg CD).
Since THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES made a lot of money for AIP, DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN followed immediately the next year. The film uses the same formula, but is heavier on black humor and gore. Vincent Price once again does the morbid character great justice, now moving the setting to an exotic foreign land and still maintaining the same level of Art Deco design, making the film an outlandish and enjoyable continuation.
The film commences with narrator Gary Owens (not Paul Frees as many believe) telling us that after three years, Dr. Phibes has risen out of his death-like sleep to continue his vow to restore life to his wife Victoria, still in a state of suspended animation. And so emerges Vulnavia to assist him, this time played by the beautiful Valli Kemp (Virginia North's Vulnavia was drenched with acid and rushed to a hospital). Phibes plots to revive Victoria through a secret elixir hidden in an underground chamber deep below a mountain in the Egyptian desert. At the same time, a determined rival scientific genius, Biederbeck (Robert Quarry), mounts an expedition in search of the same wonder drug.
The sequel was written by director Fuest and Robert Blees, and this time they're not restricted to the plagues of the Old Testament as inspiration for effective murders. Raising the camp value up a few notches, Biederbeck's manservant (Milton Reid) has a spike protrude from a telephone (a clever nod to the deadly binoculars of HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM?), piercing him ear-to-ear. Here Phibes proceeds to eliminate members of Biederbeck's expedition while competing for the elixir. One member is stung to death by scorpions, another (WHO WOULD KILL A CHILD?'s Lewis Fiander) is crushed by a "sausage machine," another ("Inspector Morse" TV star John Thaw) is devoured by an eagle and a fourth member (DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE's Gerald Sim) has his flesh extracted by a sand-blasting contraption. Biederbeck's assistant, Ambrose (appropriately played by alcoholic actor Hugh Griffith--he appeared as a rabbi in the first film), is sealed inside a gigantic gin bottle and thrown overboard from the luxury liner en route to Egypt.
Returning from the first film and giving the sequel some nice, dry comic touches are Peter Jeffrey as Trout and his superior, Superintendent Waverly (John Cater, whose character is now given way more screen time), who together follow Phibes to Egypt. Also back is Terry-Thomas who was a doctor drained of blood in the first film; this time he turns in an even more amusing, non-fatal cameo. Comic actress Beryl Reid does a charming bit, and Peter Cushing (who was obviously added to the cast for marquee value) appears all too briefly as a ship's captain. Lovely starlet Fiona Lewis plays Biederbeck's love interest, ultimately the reason why he goes through the lengths that he does.
Fresh from his highly memorable role as the bloodsucker in COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE and its sequel, Robert Quarry is superb in the role of Biederbeck. If Price tends to get too hammy for some, Quarry is the exact opposite, playing a no-nonsense, humorless individual, bent on finding the elixir of life. For once, Phibes has an adversary who can actually outwit him at times, as the police are always totally useless, and Quarry pulls this off with complete confidence. AIP obviously had big things planned for the actor, but he never really had the chance again, as they kept throwing him in inferior roles.
As for the transfers of the two PHIBES movies, MGM has done a marvelous job. Both are widescreen Anamorphic, in their original 1.85:1 aspect ratios. The colors are vivid, and the picture is smooth with very little grain present. The Dolby Digital mono sound is excellent on both, and there are optional French and Spanish language tracks, as well as optional French and Spanish subtitles.
The great news is that DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN has now been fully restored! Although the first film was always uncut in its previous incarnations (both PHIBES movies were out three times on video and twice on laser), the sequel suffered from music censorship. Now, a scene where Phibes and Vulnavia waltz to the sounds of "You Stepped Out of A Dream" aboard a ship, has been reinserted (ALL previous home video versions were missing this). Also, Vincent Price's rendition of "Over the Rainbow" can now be heard over the end credits, even though the DVD sleeve's "Fun Facts" claim that "Price recorded the song 'Over the Rainbow' which was supposed to run under the credits, but was cut from the final version." Another misprint (in very small print) is where it states "MUSIC EDITED FOR HOME VIDEO." Luckily this is not true, and the film has finally been presented in its correct form.
Another small difference in DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN is the scene in which Biederbeck is leaving his home and he utters something to his manservant in foreign tongue (apparently, Milton Reid's character doesn't speak English). MGM's DVD adds a subtitle: "We will return at twelve." This modest translation was never seen in any other version of the film, and it's nice to finally see what the character was really saying.
The only complaint is a lack of extras. We only get the usual theatrical trailers. Director Robert Fuest is doing commentaries for several of his other films at another studio, so it would've been a real treat to hear his commentaries for his two best-known efforts. But it's great to have definitive DVDs of these two horror classics, and MGM has done a magnificent job with them nonetheless. (George R. Reis)