The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Good morning, sir.

It's a damn strange business, Tom.

A man literally shredded to death

right in the heart of London.

That's the last one.

Bats appearing out of nowhere...

I don't know, it just doesn't make sense.

Nasty-Iooking little blighters, aren't they?

Seen them in Mandalay.

Suck your throat dry, they would.

Well, that's where they belong,

in the tropics, not here.

All right, take them off to the laboratory.

And have them checked for rabies.

- Now, Morgan...

- Yes, sir?

- Where the hell are you?

- Up here.

I want you to question the butler again.

There may be something he overlooked.

Very good, sir.

Remember when you were

in Scotland last week?

There was another surgeon who died.

A Dr Thornton.

- What about him?

- It's how he died. This reminded me of it.

He was stung... to death by bees

in his library.

Bees in his library?

That's right. The place

must've been swarming with 'em.

I've got the file on my desk.

You should've seen his face. The whole

flesh was a mass of... well, boils.

- Boils?

- All over. Stings, I suppose.

I wonder if there is a connection.

Well, I'll go through the file.

God knows what we've got.

Two doctors, both dead...

Oh, don't take him out like that:

At least cover his face up.

What's left of it.

Good God.

Nobody told me this was a masked affair.

For me?

How very elegant.

But, my dear fellow...

it's beautiful.

I say, jolly fine party, what?

Don't believe we've met.

My name's Hargreaves. Dr Hargreaves.

I'm a psychiatrist, actually.

Head shrinker.

I say, would you mind?

Some fancy catch.

Much obliged.

Now, point me towards the ladies.

Thank you.

I say, is that you, Freda?

This mask is jolly tight.

Absolutely not.

We're short-staffed as it is,

and you want more men to charge off

on one of your half-baked theories?

- Medical men die every day.

- I'm aware of that, sir.

They're flesh and blood, like you and I.

I'm aware of that too. I've seen

rather a lot of their flesh and blood lately.

And another thing -

suppose the press get hold of this?

Don't talk to me about the press, Trout.

Keep your ideas to yourself on that one.

Mention this to the press and they'd

whip up a panic story overnight.

There'd be an uproar.

- It was not my intention.

- It's certainly not mine.

I want no statements.

Can you imagine what they'd make

of bats, bees and... and what?

- Frogs.

- Exactly.

Why don't you go

and reread Aesop's Fables?

Perhaps you'll come up

with a more pertinent theory. That's all.

Three men have died,

all in the medical profession.

- Does that not suggest...

- No, it damn well doesn't.

Some very strange people

practise medicine these days.

- Dr Longstreet?

- Agh...

- Mrs Frawley.

- I'm off.

- You're what?

- Off.

Oh, yes. Yes.

Sure you don't mind me

having the evening off?

No, no. I shall rather enjoy it.

I mean, have a good time.

- I've got you some cold brawn.

- Oh, that sounds delicious.

I won't be back late.

I'll be back before midnight.

You don't have to hurry -

you won't turn into a pumpkin.

I don't know, though.

Mrs Frawley:

Dr Longstreet, we are naughty, aren't we?

Haven't touched our supper, have we?

- And what is this?

- This? Well, it's...

Oh, I see what you mean. It's a new thing

on the market. It keeps out draughts.

Dra...

I'm... I'm Dr Longstreet, you know.

Who's this?

- How did it go, Harry?

- It didn't.

It came to a grinding halt.

All he's worried about is the press.

They've been on, of course.

I've killed it, don't worry.

I'm sitting on the lab reports.

I don't care what the old man says, Tom.

There is a definite pattern here.

- Is there anything in there?

- It's correspondence, family...

- What does it tell us?

- They have one thing in common.

If you say they all died mysteriously,

I'll kill you.

- Vesalius.

- What?

Dr Vesalius.

- Funny name. Who the hell's he?

- They all worked for him.

And, judging by this,

were fairly close associates.

Good. What else?

Nothing.

Nothing?

After 24 hours diligent research,

that is all you have discovered?

Well, do we have an address for this man?

An address...

Damn it all, Tom, where does he live?

- He's through here, sir.

- Thank you very much.

Father? Father,

there's someone to see you.

Inspector Trout.

- From Scotland Yard.

- Detective inspector.

Good evening, sir.

I'm sorry to intrude like this,

but it is a very urgent matter.

I thought you might be

of some assistance to us, sir.

How?

Three men...

Three men in your profession

have all died in the past week

in most unusual circumstances.

Inspector, men in my profession

die every day.

- You have your foot on my pliers.

- I'm sorry.

Do the names Hargreaves, Thornton

and Dunwoody mean anything to you, sir?

- It's hard to believe.

- I'm sure of that, sir.

But can you think of anything at all that

would relate to the killing of these men?

- Nothing. Nothing.

Only last week I was talking to Thornton.

Hello?

Yes, he is.

It's for you.

Thank you.

Hello. Trout.

I see. Where's that?

Yes, all right. Ten minutes.

Did you know Dr Longstreet?

You heard a what?

Well, a violin or a cello or something.

At half past two in the morning, woman? :

In the street? :

Yes. I told you. Don't keep on at me.

I'm sorry.

Like I said, I heard it.

Then there was this car door banging.

I couldn't get off to sleep,

so I came down to find some aspirins.

The door was open a bit

and as I looked through, there he was.

- And then I rang for you lot.

- And that's all?

Well, that's enough for one night.

I mean, look at him.

All white and everything.

There's nothing, except this.

And, uh, that.

Ah, now...

Do you recognise this, madam?

Uh-uh. Fingerprints.

No. It's not mine.

And it's certainly not his.

That's all for now. We'll come back

in the morning and take a full statement.

- Thank you, Mrs?

- Frawley.

He was a nice man.

Good to me, in his own sort of way.

Yeah... You were his...

housekeeper?

Whoever did it must've been a real pro.

He's as dry as a bone.

That is his bone. Poor devil - I bet

he was conscious when it happened.

- Do you think it's the same...

- I don't think any more, Tom.

This is the object in question, sir.

- Dear me, you've broken it.

- What, sir?

It's incredible the amount

of vandalism these days.

I make something like this,

a thing of beauty...

- You did make it?

- Of course.

- I wished to establish that, sir.

- That's my mark on the back.

Can you tell me a little bit about it, sir?

Yes, certainly.

It's one of a very unusual set.

- A set? There's more than one?

- Of course. It's a set.

- How many in the set, sir?

- Ten.

- Ten? :

- Ten.

Were they all the same?

Of course not. Would you want

ten amulets looking exactly the same?

Each had a different symbol.

I see. Well, who ordered the set?

- It was a lady.

- A woman, eh?

No. A lady.

I remember the occasion well. She came

in, gave me a set of working drawings,

she paid half the cost

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