Rifftrax Forum Untitled Film Club Movie Page Number One!!!

[THE QUEEN!!!]

By the way....Snakes and Bellydancers?  HOT!!

I know! Hilarious--very early pornographic films, I guess. Or Terry THomas is easy to excite!

[mrbasehart]

I would've liked to have seen Terry Thomas in the movie more.  Have him be the second lead to Cotten - it would've made that side of the story more entertaining, and then you could've bumped him off later in the movie.

[THE QUEEN!!!]

I would've liked to have seen Terry Thomas in the movie more.  Have him be the second lead to Cotten - it would've made that side of the story more entertaining, and then you could've bumped him off later in the movie.

I thought he would be in the movie longer. I love Terry Thomas. Sad to see him die so fast.

[Dr. Whopoopeepee]

While I think Price is good value in the movie, he's better utilized in the other movies of the period, like Theatre of Blood. 

I watched Theatre of Blood fairly recently, because I heard Vincent Price call that his best performance.  It was definately a role perfect for him.  Actually, it's more or less the same plot as Dr Phibes: weirco villain getting revenge on a group of people in interesting, similarly themed ways.   

[THE QUEEN!!!]

I forgot to say how the ending was very much like House of Wax

[Dr. Whopoopeepee]

Oh yeah,

[Sharktopus]

Yeah i guess.  I still find it funny that he used brass unicorn,why one earth would you think that was even in the Bible?!

It was meant to be the curse of 'beasts.'

Still an odd choice though.

Now I get it!

I had forgotten Egypt was full of Unicorns at the time

Remember, the guy was supposed to be a loon.  Plus maybe there was a logistical issue.  He was able to acquire bats. rats, and locusts, but his supplier was fresh out of frogs, so he had to improvise with the frog mask. 

Plus there is this, which may have had something to do with it also:

"God brought them out of Egypt; he hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn." Numbers 23:22

That's odd.  I just checked two Bibles and they both say "wild ox".  That's odd.

The family bible I own (King James Version published in 1965) has it as I quoted.

But I can understand why it was changed from unicorn to wild ox (another bible I own has it as a wild bull), you wouldn't want unicorns running around in the Old Testament.  It might make it sound like a bit of a fairy tale.

Wait. Seriously? It really says unicorn? 

I couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be a comedy.  It seemed like there were a bunch of jokes flying by that I just wasn't able to grasp.  A lot of the performances seemed like they were comedians that were doing their schtick, but since I wasn't familiar with them, I didn't get it.

After the frog, I thought to myself, "I wonder if he's doing the plagues.  No....bat's wouldn't make any sense".  I think most of us agree that the plague thing just didn't work quite right.  Also, I think in most cases, bats and rats just aren't lethal.

Sounds like you've got the Mormon version. There's some weird shit in there. Unicorns are just the beginning.

Nope. Even unicorns are too weird for us Mormons.

No offense intended, by the way. Mormons tend to be the nicest people I've ever met. Weird belief system, though. 

[Kete]

No offense intended, by the way. Mormons tend to be the nicest people I've ever met. Weird belief system, though. 

None taken. 

[MontyServo]

Yeah i guess.  I still find it funny that he used brass unicorn,why one earth would you think that was even in the Bible?!

It was meant to be the curse of 'beasts.'

Still an odd choice though.

Now I get it!

I had forgotten Egypt was full of Unicorns at the time

Remember, the guy was supposed to be a loon.  Plus maybe there was a logistical issue.  He was able to acquire bats. rats, and locusts, but his supplier was fresh out of frogs, so he had to improvise with the frog mask. 

Plus there is this, which may have had something to do with it also:

"God brought them out of Egypt; he hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn." Numbers 23:22

That's odd.  I just checked two Bibles and they both say "wild ox".  That's odd.

The family bible I own (King James Version published in 1965) has it as I quoted.

But I can understand why it was changed from unicorn to wild ox (another bible I own has it as a wild bull), you wouldn't want unicorns running around in the Old Testament.  It might make it sound like a bit of a fairy tale.

Wait. Seriously? It really says unicorn? 

Supposedly, the unicorn referred to here wasn't related to the unicorn that we all are familiar with.  It was more of a translation issue from when they originally did that version of the Bible.  It had something to do with an animal more like cattle that had one horn.  Not a pretty white horse with one horn.

[Sharktopus]

Yeah i guess.  I still find it funny that he used brass unicorn,why one earth would you think that was even in the Bible?!

It was meant to be the curse of 'beasts.'

Still an odd choice though.

Now I get it!

I had forgotten Egypt was full of Unicorns at the time

Remember, the guy was supposed to be a loon.  Plus maybe there was a logistical issue.  He was able to acquire bats. rats, and locusts, but his supplier was fresh out of frogs, so he had to improvise with the frog mask. 

Plus there is this, which may have had something to do with it also:

"God brought them out of Egypt; he hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn." Numbers 23:22

That's odd.  I just checked two Bibles and they both say "wild ox".  That's odd.

The family bible I own (King James Version published in 1965) has it as I quoted.

But I can understand why it was changed from unicorn to wild ox (another bible I own has it as a wild bull), you wouldn't want unicorns running around in the Old Testament.  It might make it sound like a bit of a fairy tale.

Wait. Seriously? It really says unicorn? 

Supposedly, the unicorn referred to here wasn't related to the unicorn that we all are familiar with.  It was more of a translation issue from when they originally did that version of the Bible.  It had something to do with an animal more like cattle that had one horn.  Not a pretty white horse with one horn.

But the Holy Bible can't be mistranslated! It's the word of God Himself!  Sorry, I just can't keep a straight face saying stuff like that. Anyhoo, back to to Dr Phibes...

An animal called the Re'em is mentioned in several places in the Hebrew Bible, often as a metaphor representing strength. "The allusions to the re'em as a wild, un-tamable animal of great strength and agility, with mighty horn or horns (Job 39:9-12, Ps 22:21, 29:6, Num 23:22, 24:8, Deut 33:17 comp. Ps 92:11), best fit the aurochs (Bos primigenius). This view is supported by the Assyrian rimu, which is often used as a metaphor of strength, and is depicted as a powerful, fierce, wild mountain bull with large horns." This animal was often depicted in ancient Mesopotamian  art in profile, with only one horn visible.

Thank you, all-knowing Wikipedia.

[MontyServo]

Thank you, all-knowing Wikipedia.

When I said "Supposedly", that is what I meant.

[Sharktopus]

Thank you, all-knowing Wikipedia.

When I said "Supposedly", that is what I meant.

I was just providing further information. I was curious, looked it up, and thought I'd share it with the group:

The translators of the Authorized King James Version of the Bible (1611) followed the Greek Septuagint (monokeros) and the Latin Vulgate (unicornis) and employed unicorn to translate re'em, providing a recognizable animal that was proverbial for its un-tamable nature. The American Standard Version translates this term "wild ox" in each case.

Fascinating. I prefer the scary ass unicorn in that one Dresden book.

[Sharktopus]

A little late to the party, but here are my notes:

It's hard for me to imagine a time when a mad scientist playing ominous music on a pipe organ wasn't the cliche it is today. I'm pretty sure it was in 1971.

I didn't know Marjorie the Trash Heap played the organ.

Wow, hippy-dippy fonts even infiltrated horror movies in the early '70s.

Eee. The band's almost as creepy as Chuck E Cheese.

Weirderst version of Swan Lake ever.

Is it too early to ask what the hell is going on?

Uh-oh. Things look bad for sleeping Bunsen Honeydew there. Peter Boyle Is Bunsen Honeydew!

See, this is exactly why I don't want a skylight in my bedroom.

That bat's pretty cute as bats go.

A movie full of automata must make it a lot easier for the casting director.

Lah-bor-ah-tree. Wish I could get away with saying it like that.

Did the wig shop only have Prince Valiants in stock?

Presenting Vincent Price as the Mad Mod on the Mighty Wurlitzer!

Okay, I'm detecting the pattern – bats, boils, toads.

Cold broth? Ah, English cuisine.

I've no doubt this is exactly how Terry-Thomas chose to spend his free time.

I'm sitting on the lavatory? Oh! Lab report.

Holy crap, Joseph Cotten looks old. Is it because it's in color?

That's a groovy pad Cotten has.

What a lousy detective. Morgan Freeman in Seven would've figured this out by now.

Make Dr Cotten an inspector. He's doing all your work for you.

Do aged English surgeons not have the instinct to defend their lives?

Creepy cemetery caretaker. OOooOOooOOooh.

Is it just me, or is the Scotland Yard inspector a bit slow?

What year is this film meant to take place? Surely it hasn't been 50 years since Phibes' accident in 1921. The vintage cars look to be pre WW II.

Did Phibes train the rats? Rabid, maybe? Seems rather atypical behavior for rats.

And we're now well into full-on black comedy territory! Do brazen unicorn heads usually make cartoon bow and arrow sounds?

"It appears to've been fired by cataupult, sir." "How brilliant." 

Brussels sprouts? Rarely did Vincent Price get to put his culinary skills to much use in films...

Okay, 4 years ago, thank you. So 1925. The movie just doesn't feel like the '20s besides the cars.

Uh-uh. I call NO WAY on the drilling through the floor.

Those are some big ass locusts. Beter call Peter Graves.

Um, you HAVE a son, Doc. Hey look, Inspector Trout thought of something!

He knew that gilded lead telephone would come in handy some day.

Phibes has Kool Aid for blood? OH YEAH!

Somewhere Over The Rainbow?

The Girl – Vulnavia. Who was she? Why was she working with him? I kinda thought she might be clockwork or something, but the acid made her scream.

My thoughts - Not enough Vincent Price, and the film's waffling between light mystery, dark comedy, and nail-biting suspense doesn't quite work. Entertaining, certainly memorable, but also a bit too weird for its own good. I think Poe would've loved it.

I give The Abominable Dr Phibes 6 out 10 plagues.

[Edward J Grug III]

I give The Abominable Dr Phibes 6 out 10 plagues.

That brings the average score to 6.64

[Doctor Who?]

I would've liked to have seen Terry Thomas in the movie more.  Have him be the second lead to Cotten - it would've made that side of the story more entertaining, and then you could've bumped him off later in the movie.

To see him in some great scenes check out the classic film It's a Mad mad mad mad World.