Both directed by Robert Feust, who was Art Director and later Director for the BBC series “The Avengers”. They are buttery toffees of camp British horror. The movies pounce straight over-the-top with art deco, vague ’30s settings and revenge with elan (bathing a victim in sprout puree to get locusts to eat her). The movies reinforced Price’s marketability in playing heroic men driven to darkness. Any seriousness remaining are driven away by character actors Terry-Thomas, Hugh Griffiths, and John Laurie. Note: the ’70s sucked one and all into its La Brea tarpit. Writer William Goldstein’s only other credit was screenwriter for “The Amazing Dobermans”, while Feust went on direct camp horror “The Devil’s Rain” (Shatner on screen with Ernest Borgnine), a silent comedy series plus an all-woman detective show for BBC-TV, and episodes of ABC-TV’s “The After School Special.”
A third film was planned with Phibes taking on Hitler, so a guy on IMDB claims.
How would Phibes have taken down the High Command? Goering? Himmler?
The trailer for “The Abominable Dr. Phibes” via YouTube.
The ENTIRE MOVIE of “Dr. Phibes Rises Again”. A bit chattier than the first movie, but it’s still amazing what Price can convey merely with gestures and his eyes.
Really liked Phibes Rises Again. Nice, goofy horror humor.
I saw both The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Phibes Rises Again when I very young. Both scared me to death. At the time I thought that they were the scariest movies ever made. Now when I watch them they are not as scary as they were in my youth, but still fun to watch.