Dr. Phibes Rises Again is a 1972 British comedy horror film, produced by Louis M. Heyward, directed by Robert Fuest, and starring Vincent Price and Robert Quarry.[1] The film is a sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). After seeking vengeance on the doctors whom he blamed for his wife's death in the first film, Phibes returns to seek eternal life in Egypt, while he pursues a centuries-old man who holds the ancient secrets that Phibes needs.
Three years after the events of the previous film, Dr Anton Phibes emerges from suspended animation when the Moon enters into an alignment with the planets, the first such occasion after 2,000 years. Phibes prepares to take Victoria's body to the River of Life in Egypt, which promises eternal life for him and Victoria. However, his ancient papyrus map to the river has been taken by Darius Biederbeck, a man who has lived for centuries through the regular use of a special elixir. After translating the papyrus, Biederbeck seeks the River of Life for himself and his lover Diana.
Phibes and his silent assistant Vulnavia enter Biederbeck's house, kill his manservant, and reclaim the papyrus; they leave for Southampton to take a ship to Egypt. Biederbeck travels on the same ship with Diana and his assistant Ambrose. When Ambrose discovers Victoria's body stored in the hold, Phibes kills him. His body is stuffed in a giant bottle and thrown overboard. Inspector Trout discovers the corpse when the bottle washes ashore near Southampton. He and Superintendent Waverley question shipping agent Lombardo; upon hearing the descriptions of Vulnavia, an organ, and a clockwork band all being loaded aboard, they realize that Dr Phibes is responsible.
Trout and Waverley pursue Phibes to Egypt, catching up to Biederbeck's archaeological party near the mountain housing the hidden temple. Phibes, having set up residence inside the temple, hides Victoria's body in a secret compartment of an empty sarcophagus. He also finds the silver key that opens the gates to the River of Life. Phibes begins killing Biederbeck's men one by one. Biederbeck's team breaks into the temple and takes the sarcophagus and the key. Biederbeck finds the key and takes it. Phibes uses a giant screw press to crush the man guarding the sarcophagus and a giant fan to simulate a wind-storm, muffling his screams. The sarcophagus is retrieved.
Biederbeck is unmoved by the murders and insists on continuing. He sends Diana and Professor Hackett, the last remaining team member, back to England. Hackett is lured from his truck by Phibes' clockwork men impersonating British troops. When he returns to the truck, Diana is gone and he is sand-blasted to death. His truck crashes into Biederbeck's tent.
Realizing Phibes must have taken Diana, Biederbeck confronts him in the temple. Phibes demands the key in exchange for Diana's life, claiming that when the gate is opened the water will drain out of Diana's trap and flow through the gate. Unable to free her from Phibes' water trap, Biederbeck surrenders the key. Phibes unlocks the gate to the River of Life, boats Victoria's coffin through it, and summons Vulnavia to join them on the other side. Biederbeck returns to the gate as it closes, pleading through the bars for Phibes to take him along. Phibes ignores him. Diana attempts to comfort Biederbeck, but he rapidly ages and dies.
Producer Heyward brought in Robert Blees to co-write the film.[2] He felt Blees' sense of humor would serve a Phibes script well.[3] According to Heyward, Blees and co-writer Robert Fuest, who also directed the film, had frequent disagreements about the script, forcing Heyward to mediate.[4] Heyward said of the two writers' conflicts: "They were two men with great senses of integrity, but one protecting director's viewpoint and the other protecting writer's viewpoint."[5]
American International Pictures (AIP) was grooming Robert Quarry as Vincent Price's replacement.[6] It was rumoured that the two actors did not get on well,[7] but Heyward said he did not notice any rift between them on the set.[6] Quarry subsequently said that the studio had told him privately that he would replace Price when Price's contract ran out. According to Quarry, AIP had become disenchanted with Price, whose salary continued to rise despite his films' disappointing box office performance. In addition, Price was not particularly interested in working with the studio. AIP's plans were revealed to Price at a publicity event in England, when a publicist asked him how he felt about being replaced by Quarry. Quarry went on to say that while there was tension between him and Price on the set, it did not affect the production of the film. On the contrary, Quarry characterized the experience as "extremely pleasant. Our sense of humor was the one bond that made working with him a pleasure."[8]
Director Robert Fuest, production designer Brian Eatwell (creator of the film's noted art deco settings), and composer John Gale all remained from The Abominable Dr. Phibes team.[7] Price, Peter Jeffrey, and John Cater reprised their roles from The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Hugh Griffith and Terry-Thomas also appeared in both films, but played different characters. Caroline Munro appeared in both films as Victoria, Phibes' late wife, but in both films her role was limited to lying silently in a glass coffin.[7] It was originally planned for Phibes to have a new assistant in the sequel, but the studio insisted that Vulnavia be retained, despite the fact that the character dies in the first Phibes film, and despite the unavailability of original Vulnavia actress Virginia North, who was pregnant at the time.[7] Valli Kemp was cast as a replacement.
Although the film's budget was slightly higher than that of The Abominable Dr. Phibes, several elements of the original script had to be cut for budgetary reasons; for example, the pyramid was originally planned to have several levels of traps and be overrun with boiling oil at the end.[7] The desert scenes were shot in Ibiza, Spain.[6]
Release
The film's U.S. release was slightly edited, cutting a few seconds each from some of the murder scenes in order to remove the most gruesome parts and allow the film to be released with a PG rating.[7]
AIP solicited scripts for a third Phibes film, but Heyward said the studio never found one suitable.[6] Proposed titles included "Phibes Resurrectus", "The Brides of Dr. Phibes", and "The Seven Fates of Dr. Phibes".[7]
Reception
Variety wrote that Vincent Price "delivers one of his priceless theatric performances" and that producer Louis M. Heyward had "lined up a first-rate crew of technical assistants".[9]
Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one star, criticizing the "cheapness of the production" and the "unmotivated, mostly unimaginative" violence.[10]
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Those who enjoyed the campy horror of last year's Dr. Phibes are in for a keen disappointment" and called the script "astonishingly slapdash".[11]
Philip Strick of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "It's refreshing to find a sequel that's better than its prototype. The return of the abominable Phibes, his pallor flushed with the success of his initial screen appearance, is accompanied both by a larger budget and, more to the point, by a greater display of confidence at all levels of the production".[12]
At the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 59% of 22 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.9/10.[13] In Horror Movies of the 1970s, writer John Kenneth Muir described the film as "no better or worse than its predecessor".[14]
In The Penguin Encyclopaedia of Horror and the SupernaturalKim Newman wrote: "Dr Phibes Rises Again lacks the gleeful insanity of the first film, but is far more achieved".[15]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Vincent Price returns as the ingenious doctor, now in Egypt searching for the elixir of life, but continuing to outwit enemies with macabre murders, each grislier and funnier than the last. While it's not as splendid as The Abominable Dr Phibes, this sequel is mounted with lavish care by Robert Fuest, director of several classic episodes of The Avengers, and still scores high in the squirm and chuckle departments, thanks to Price's perfect timing and grandiose camp relish."[16]
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. was an American actor, art historian, art collector, and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures and one for television.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 British comedy horror film directed by Robert Fuest, written by James Whiton and William Goldstein, 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 Hugh Griffith and Terry-Thomas, with an uncredited Caroline Munro appearing as Phibes's wife.
Theatre of Blood is a 1973 British horror comedy film directed by Douglas Hickox and starring Vincent Price and Diana Rigg.
Peter Jeffrey was an English character actor. Starting his performing career on stage, he later portrayed many roles in television and film.
Caroline Jane Munro is an English actress, model and singer known for her many appearances in horror, science fiction and action films of the 1970s and 1980s. She gained prominence within Hammer and horror circles, starring in Dracula AD 1972 and Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (1974), garnering a cult following for the numerous films that she starred in. She also acted in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), and in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). In 2019, she was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.
Robert Fuest was an English film director, screenwriter, and production designer who worked mostly in the horror, fantasy and suspense genres.
Phibes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Count Yorga, Vampire is a 1970 American vampire horror film written and directed by Bob Kelljan and starring Robert Quarry, Roger Perry and Michael Murphy. It was followed by a sequel, The Return of Count Yorga.
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine is a 1965 Pathécolor comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and distributed by American International Pictures. Starring Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart and Jack Mullaney, and featuring Fred Clark, the film is a parody of the then-popular spy trend, made using actors from AIP's beach party and Edgar Allan Poe films. The film was retitled Dr G. and the Bikini Machine in England due to a threatened lawsuit from Eon, holder of the rights to the James Bond series.
Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs is a 1966 Eurospy comedy film, made in Technicolor and directed by Mario Bava. Serving as a sequel to two unrelated films, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine and Two Mafiosi Against Goldginger, the film stars Vincent Price, Fabian, Francesco Mulé, Laura Antonelli, and the Italian comic duo Franco and Ciccio.
Louis M. "Deke" Heyward was an American producer and film and television screenwriter.
Madhouse is a 1974 horror film directed by Jim Clark for Amicus Productions in association with American International Pictures. The film, which is a British-American co-production, stars Vincent Price, Natasha Pyne, Peter Cushing, Robert Quarry, Adrienne Corri, and Linda Hayden. The film was based on the 1969 novel Devilday by Angus Hall. The film's alternate title is The Revenge of Dr. Death.
Robert Walter Quarry was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles.
Alister Williamson was an Australian-born character actor, who appeared in many British films and television series of the 1960s and 1970s. A big, craggy-faced man, he would usually be found playing gruff police inspectors or henchmen in adventure series and police dramas of the period. He was also notable as a supporting player in a number of classic British horror films.
Wuthering Heights is a 1970 British drama film directed by Robert Fuest and starring Anna Calder-Marshall and Timothy Dalton. It is based on the classic 1847 Emily Brontë novel of the same name. Like the 1939 version, it depicts only the first sixteen chapters, concluding with Catherine Earnshaw Linton's death, and omits the trials of her daughter, Hindley's son, and Heathcliff's son.
Scream and Scream Again is a 1970 British horror film starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alfred Marks, Michael Gothard, and Peter Cushing. It is based on the novel The Disorientated Man (1967) attributed to 'Peter Saxon', a house pseudonym used by various authors in the 1960s and 1970s.
Virginia North, Lady White was an Anglo-American actress who appeared in small roles in five films and one TV programme between 1967 and 1971.
Valli Kemp is an Australian former model, actress fashion designer, painter, teacher and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for her involvement in several high-profile beauty contests in the early 1970s, and for her role in the cult 1972 horror film Dr. Phibes Rises Again, in which she appeared opposite Vincent Price as the murderous doctor's silent assistant and accomplice, Vulnavia.
Robert Blees was an American writer and producer of films and television. He died on January 31, 2015.
↑ Humpreys, Justin (2018). The Dr. Phibes Companion: The Morbidly Romantic History of the Classic Vincent Price Horror Film Series. BearManor Media. p.139. ISBN9781629332949.
↑ Humpreys, Justin (2018). The Dr. Phibes Companion: The Morbidly Romantic History of the Classic Vincent Price Horror Film Series. BearManor Media. p.139. ISBN9781629332949.
↑ Humpreys, Justin (2018). The Dr. Phibes Companion: The Morbidly Romantic History of the Classic Vincent Price Horror Film Series. BearManor Media. p.139. ISBN9781629332949.
↑ Humpreys, Justin (2018). The Dr. Phibes Companion: The Morbidly Romantic History of the Classic Vincent Price Horror Film Series. BearManor Media. p.139. ISBN9781629332949.
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