Flickering Opinions: Abominable Dr. Phibes

Film Details:

Directed by Robert Fuest (one of the directors on "The Avengers" TV series)

Written by
James Whiton (who wrote for "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.")
William Goldstein (The Amazing Dobermans)

Starring
Vincent Price (Theater of Blood, The Raven, The Fly)
Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte)
Virginia North (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
Peter Jeffrey (Becket, "Jewel in the Crown")

Review: by Melissa (e-mail your faithful reviewer)

I can't quite figure out how they got Joseph Cotten to do this movie. I mean, how do you get one of the great Silver Age A-list actors into your 1970's B-film?

"I really admired your work in some of the best films ever made. How would you feel about starring in a movie about a guy who murders people with locusts and distilled brussel sprouts?"

"Sign me up!"

No, I just can't see it. Yet still, Joseph Cotten followed in the great tradition of Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, and Ann Southern by aging gracefully into the horror genre when he was past his prime. (Indeed, the magnificent Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte stars Cotten, Davis, and De Havilland -- a veritable smorgasbord of talent.) We can be tremendously grateful to him for doing so, too. The Abominable Dr. Phibes is one of those rare B-grade films that ascends far above its usual lot because of the tremendous gravity that both Cotten and Vincent Price bring to the film.

And, really, how cool is it to have Price and Cotten together in the same movie? Pretty damn cool.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a tremendously pleasing treat. It's over-the-top and campy, yet it maintains a fabulous balance between humor and seriousness that causes the viewer to both respect and laugh with the film. At times, the film is creepy and dramatic; at others, it's downright silly. Yet no matter which way the film is swinging, it all seems to fit together. It's kind of like finding that really fabulous piece of cheesecake in a truck stop. Even though it might not equal what you can get at a fancy New York restaurant, it's still amazing for what you would normally expect from a truck stop. It's good stuff.

Basically, the story is about this guy who is pissed that a team of nine doctors couldn't save his beloved wife, so he kills them one by one by the theme of the the ten plagues of Egypt. This guy, is, of course, Vincent Price. One of the potential victims is, of course, Joseph Cotten. Price tracks his murderous progress on a huge Lazy Susan of Revenge, using a blowtorch to melt wax faces off replicas his victims' faces. Elaborate death traps ensue.

It might not be a truly original or great story, but it's handled with such panache and over-the-top zeal that it's almost impossible not to love the film. The cinematography is often wickedly cool, the performances are zesty, and the production design makes the Ice Follies look subtle. Seriously. Dr. Phibes has a pipe organ made from backlit, cherry-red Leucite and a seemingly endless supply of opera capes and gold lamé robes. His beautiful female assistant has a wardrobe that would look slightly gaudy in an Austin Powers movie.

The icing on the cake, though, is Vincent Price's performance. Dr. Phibes, wounded in a car accident, is unable to move his face, so he talks through a Victrola that he has wired up to his throat. Basically, this means that Price's performance consists entirely of him moving his Adam's apple in engaging ways. Plus, you get to see him drink a martini through a hole in his shoulder. He pulls it off in a way that only he could.

And he does all this while setting up these ridiculous death traps that the movie often acknowledges are silly. Watch for the "plague of beasts" murder. You won't think of left-hand threaded screws the same way again.

Go track down this movie if you've never seen it. It's tremendous fun, and thanks to the MGM Midnight Movies series, it's fairly easy to find.

Now, go eat your brussel sprouts.