In The Abominable Dr.Phibes (1971) and its sequel, Dr.Phibes Rises Again (1972), horror great Vincent Price starred asvaudevillian organist and super-genius Dr. Anton Phibes, architect ofincredibly ingenious murders. Set in 1920s London and Egypt, their outstanding ArtDeco production design, absurd humor, and soaring romance made them hits,beloved by generations of horror fans.
TheAbominable Dr. Phibes' admirersinclude directors Tim Burton, Frank Darabont, and Ken Russell. Comedian KumailNanjiani built a scene around it in his TheBig Sick (2017). Quentin Tarantino recently programmed it five times inless than two months at Hollywood's New Beverly Cinema. Andrew Muschietti,director of It (2017), has said that The Abominable Dr. Phibes ranks amongthe scariest films of his childhood. Stephen King quipped on Facebook that thephrase "doctor recommended" on commercials makes him think of Dr. Phibes. The Telegraph ranked it among the fiftybest horror films of all time and The Museum of Modern Art screened it inFebruary, 2018.
Now, PhibesologistJustin Humphreys expands his extensive previous writings on the series to tellthe full story of these unique cinematic masterpieces. The Dr. Phibes Companion includes:
- An expanded version of "The Kind of Fiend WhoWins," the definitive history of TheAbominable Dr. Phibes.
- A new essay on the making of Dr. Phibes Rises Again.
- A new foreword by Dr. Phibes' creator, WilliamGoldstein.
- Interviews with many of the series' creators,including director Robert Fuest, screenwriters William Goldstein and JamesWhiton, art director Brian Eatwell, sound designer Peter Lennard, includingpreviously unpublished conversations with organist Nicholas Kynaston ("WarMarch of the Priests"), composer John Gale, screenwriter Lem Dobbs, and others.
- NeverBefore-Seen production artwork by directorRobert Fuest from Fuest's personal shooting script.
- Previously unpublished behindthe-scenesphotographs.
- Photographs of The Abominable Dr. Phibes'world premiere from screenwriter James Whiton's files.
- Dozens of illustrations from the Phibes films.
- A thorough history of the "unphilmed" Phibessequels.
- And much, much more.
Read on, relax, and enjoy. The organ plays till midnight. ..
