The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Factual error: In keeping with the theme of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, Doctor Phibes has one of his victims eaten alive by locusts. Not likely. Locusts are strictly herbivorous, and like all herbivores locusts won't touch anything that moves. They would not be attracted by the slimy goo poured over their 'victim', because they zero in on plant pheromones and nothing else.

Plot hole: The police Inspector recounts the murders, comparing them to the ten Biblical plagues of Egypt, and he states that in keeping with this theme Dr. Kitaj was killed by rats. First, Dr Kitaj dies in a plane crash. Okay, he was attacked by rats in flight but nobody would know that - his plane crashes in a huge, violent fireball and nobody would find any rat remains after that. Second, there was no plague of rats in ancient Egypt! (Go ahead, look it up). Even if the police had made the connection between the mysterious deaths and the ancient plagues they would not make the connection here.

Revealing mistake: When the bats invade Dr. Dunwoody's bedroom, you can see the strings on one of them.

Revealing mistake: Phibes' "real" face is a mask. Not only can you see the edges of it around his eyes, but his mouth and teeth look fairly unnatural and like a "solid" piece.

TedStixon

Sgt. Schenley: Well I have discovered they all have one thing in common.
Inspector Trout: If you say they've all died mysteriously I'll bloody kill you.

More quotes from The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Trivia: The film's original tagline was "Love means never having to say you're ugly!" in a play on the famous line "Love means never having to say you're sorry..." from the film "Love Story."

TedStixon

More trivia for The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Question: One of the doctors Phibes blames for his wife's death during an operation is Dr. Hargreaves, whose head is crushed inside a frog mask during a costume ball. But earlier, while introducing himself to Phibes, Dr. Hargreaves says he is a psychiatrist ("headshrinker"). Why would a psychiatrist be present during an operation to save someone's life?

Answer: A psychiatrist is still an M.D., and still went to medical school. Perhaps this one had some knowledge of the case, or was simply on hand to provide assistance.

wizard_of_gore

Answer: To treat anticipated shock.

More questions & answers from The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.