Dr. Phibes or Dr. Goldfoot? in Horror Film Stars Forum

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Dr. Phibes or Dr. Goldfoot?

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VladOrlok	Dr. Phibes or Dr. Goldfoot?	Lead	[-]
Mar 6 11 3:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hello again I am quite busy preparing a Vincent Price 100 year birthday mini festival here in Copenhagen, and i don't know where else to go with my questions...there are nicely many experts here! My basical question is, if the first "Abominable Dr. Phibes" movie is too well-known? I am asked to find the master pieces, and at the same time not to show any movies which many people allready know. Finally 2 out of my 7 choices should be non-horror movies, in order to show other sides of him. "The Baron of Arizona" is an obvious choice here, and many people would probably suggest "Champagne for Caesar", since the film noir "Laura" is too famous. But i think this "Champagne for Caesar" actually isn't that funny! Instead i choose to show the funny side of Vincent Price by showing a Red Skelton episode in a series of shorts in my number 8 and final choice. Further more i would LOVE to show a real funny Vincent Price in the very campy, but quite funny and underrated "Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine"! I wonder how many will hate me for this? So...as the other non-horror movie i choose the film noir "The Web", which is quite good! The problem now is, that with my choosing of 1. "The Baron of Arizona" 2. "The Web" 3. a biographical movie...i choose "The Sinister Image" 4. "The House of Usher" 5. "The Fly" or "Return of the Fly"...i don't know yet 6. "The House of Wax" 7. "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" 8. "Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine" i got one too many! In our series of shorts we are showing "Red Skelton: The Original DaVinci", "The Muppet Show", an episode from Batman and "Vincent". In another smaller cinema we are showing "The Tingler", "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" and "F Troop: V is for Vampire". I feel that we shouldn't show "House on Haunted Hill" because it's too famous. I feel a bit sorry for "Theater of Blood", but i can't have them all... Which one should go? "Dr. Goldfoot" or "Dr. Phibes" because it's too famous? Am i right that no one of the others could be replaced? Maybe both movies should go and be replaced by a third. Which one? Why does "Dr. Goldfoot" have such a bad reputation? For kitsch/camp lovers it's a real treat... We are planning to invite a movie star, and maybe this will solve the problem. If we book Caroline Munro, "Dr. Phibes" should of course be chosen. If we book Sir Christopher Lee, both movies go, and are replaced by..."Scream and Scream again"! The other choices are "The House of the Long Shadows" and "The Oblong Box", but i like the first mentioned one better. Agree? If we however book Barbara Steele, we have my mentioned problem. Should i then choose "Dr. Phibes" or "Dr. Goldfoot". Which doctor? Jan
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Rick		#1	[-]
Mar 6 11 10:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In the first place, I don't really know if what's famous in Copenhagen is the same as what's famous stateside. If I were programming a fest under your conditions, I'd start with these possibilities for non-horror: LAURA DRAGONWYCK BARON OF ARIZONA CHAMPAGNE FOR CAESAR HIS KIND OF WOMAN for horror: HOUSE OF WAX HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL HOUSE OF USHER MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH TOMB OF LIGIEA WITCHFINDER GENERAL ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES THEATER OF BLOOD and I'd pick from those. I think, if you don't like CHAMPAGNE FOR CAESAR, and if LAURA is too famous, I'd go with DRAGONWYCK and HIS KIND OF WOMAN (a big, broad, funny, campy, wonderful performance.) For horror, personally, I think HOUSE OF WAX, THEATRE OF BLOOD, and at least one of those Poe films are absolute musts. The others--you pick 'em. Good luck, and let us know how it works out.
rvoyttbots		#2	[-]
Mar 8 11 1:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, Barbara Steele was in PIT AND THE PENDULUM.
VladOrlok		#3	[-]
Mar 8 11 3:40 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yes, i know that Barbara Steele was in "The Pit and the Pendulum"...that's why we want to invite her! As long as we can't be sure which guest we are hiring IF we get the money, i choose to show "The House of Usher", since it's the best one! But if fate wants it that we have Barbara Steele here in Copenhagen, then i will of course show "The Pit and the Pendulum" instead of "House of Usher". Jan
professor liebstrum		#4	[-]
Mar 9 11 5:40 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	His Kind of Woman is one of my favourite VP Films Russ
Helrunar		#5	[-]
Mar 10 11 12:03 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm pretty sure VP himself would have preferred Theatre of Blood over either Phibes or Goldfoot. Just my opinion. I was privileged to see him perform in a one-man show about Oscar Wilde, "Diversions and Delights" (or had it already been re-titled "Fancies and Flirtations")--he was so incredbily good in it, and we were privileged to see how humane, cultured, poetic and poignant an actor he really could be in his role as "Sebastian Melmoth." My dream is that someday, somewhere, somebody will bring out a videotape of VP's performance in Diversions and Delights. It is so sad that posterity is deprived of such greatness (forgive the maudlin streak of these words). This is a really trivial point, but I'd call Dr Goldfoot kitsch, as opposed to camp. It is a fine distinction. I won't weary anyone by pontificating about it, but to my way of thinking, "camp" requires a level of sophistication and poise that Dr. Goldfoot flatly fails to achieve. The title song recording by the Supremes DOES deserve to be more widely heard and qualifies as camp, in my not-so-humble opinion. I also feel that Dragonwyck would be a perfect film to include in the Festival. Have never seen The Baron of Arizona--it obviously needs to be on my list! My final thought is that Barbara Steele is such a superb raconteuse and wonderful presence--if you have money to invite any celebrity, I would think she would be a great choice! She might have gotten to know VP better during the years when they both lived in LA, too. Best of luck to you in your work! H.
Rick		#6	[-]
Mar 10 11 12:22 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Sadly, I think I remember hearing (maybe from VP's own lips) that "Diversions and Delights" had never been recorded-- a real loss, especially for those of us who never got to see it live. And, yes, I didn't say it in my first post because I thought it almost too obvious to mention, but to include GOLDFOOT in this program when there are so many worthy candidates available seems like a travesty to me.
Frank The Giant Bunny		#7	[-]
Mar 25 11 7:21 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If your looking for non famous Id say go with The Last Man on Earth
Ted Newsom		#8	[-]
Mar 31 11 1:31 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	STORY OF MANKIND. Can't beat it. Price at his most elegant, sly, funny and (in one particular scene) self-spoofing. Sure, it stinks, but not as bad as DR. GOLDFOOT.
ryanbrennan		#9	[-]
Apr 5 11 1:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Having run a film festival for five years I'd say that you need to think of entertainment value over obscurity. If you find an obscurity that is entertaining, fine. But most people attending are going to want to see a "good" Vincent Price over a rarely seen or unknown Price film. If you can only run seven films I'd run six that fans are familiar with and reserve one slot for an "iffy" programming choice. Rick's list is a good one.
VladOrlok		#10	[-]
Apr 26 11 10:19 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	First abouth our guest: By now i don't believe in it anymore... I have applied for money in about 35 Funds, but i am only sure of having about half of the money for paying the fee and travelling expenses, so we probably won't have any guest at all. Time will soon run out... But IF the miraculous letter will arrive, then it looks as if we will have Caroline Munro, since her agent was the only one who replied my request. It is also an advantage that she lives in London, because the travelling expenses will be quite small for Copenhagen. Of course she only appeared on a picture and by lying next to ViP in the first "Dr. Phibes" movie, but how much did she appear in the second one? I can't really remember... Didn't she have a lot of screening time during the last ten minutes or so? Maybe i should watch it again. About Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine I don't believe i will ever understand why Dr. Goldfoot has such a bad reputation? Because it stinks someone will probably answer. But...why is it that bad? Personally i LOVE kitsch, which probably is a must in order to understand this movie. I also loved a lot how they made fun of all the kliches in other gothic horror movies. I swear that i laughed and laughed and laughed...together with 2-3 other persons when i saw it the first time. We agreed that ViP's acting couldn't count as superb here, but that the movie as such was quite fun! Later i discussed it with some other fan like me, who works in our Film Institute, and he didn't exactly say that Dr. Goldfoot in any way was near being a masterpiece, but he admitted that it still was quite ok, and a lot better than the other "Dr. Goldfoot" movie (the AWFUL "Girl Bombs"). So why the Bikini Machine has such a bad reputation is really beyond me... Our final choice of movies: Originally i voted for these movies in no particular order. I just had to pick 7, consisting of mainly horror movies, and then 2 non-horror titles. I was also told that they shouldn't bee too famous. My final pick looked like this: 1. The House of Wax 2. Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine 3. The House of Usher 4. His Kind of Woman 5. The Return of the Fly 6. The Baron of Arizona 7. The Sinister Image (i found this to be the best biographical movie from a choice of three titles) and the shorts: 1. Vincent 2. The Muppet Show 3. Red Skelton Show: The Original DaVinci 4. Batman: How to Hatch a Dinosaur I deliberately didn't recommend "The Tingler" because it will be shown in another small independent cinema here, and it would be stupid to show the same movie in two cinemas! In that cinema i HAD to find some shorts, because we will ONLY use one evening here, friday, May 27 of course!! So with one feature movie already chosen, where i HAD to pick two shorts, which shouldn't being any of the above, i picked 1. F Troop: V is for Vampire 2. Here Comes Peter Cottontail, because i thought it could be very nice to how ViP's first vampire appearance (out of two), and... how often have any of you ever seen a movie about the Easter Bunny? I guess that some of you would want to pick the Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Voyage to the Bottom of Sea episodes instead. But, sorry... I find these better! How many of you have seen all of them? The Film Institute ended up with these movies: 1. Edward Scissorhands 2. His Kind of Woman 3. The House of Wax 4. The Raven 5. The Masque of the Red Death 6. The Whales of August 7. The Tower of London (1939) 8. Laura and in a special one-off event at May 16 they will show 1. Theater of Blood 2. Scream and Scream Again I must say that i am speeechless... and VERY DISSAPOINTED!!! Why the HELL do they suddenly choose to show all the famous ones (ESPECIALLY Edward Scissorhands)? They told me a couple of days ago that they actually would have loved to show all of my picks, but that they couldn't find them in the right movie shape (is this called 8mm, 16mm or what?) in time for a reaonable money. Instead they chose to show from their own collection + from the Film Institute in Norway's collection. It was by the way also me who asked Norway to join. I have spent MONTHS on watching hundreds of movies through with ViP and consulting with people like you (it was actually people from this board who convinced me to choose "His Kind of Woman" instead of "The Web"! How many of you have by the way seen "The Web"? But that's another discussion), so another time i will probably refuse to pick anything! At least the guy from the small independent cinema turned out to be my friend. He is by the way American, and as i have heard it, an international expert on very strange movies, of which he has written several books. Does the name Jack Stevenson ring a bell to someone? He accepted to show my DVD copy of F Troop an "Here Comes Peter Cottontail", and he was especially intrigued by the last title, because of the very rare Easter Bunny subject. A couple of days ago i asked him if it was possible also to show "Vincent" because of how short it is, and because i consider it as maybe the largest masterpiece...of the more obscure ViP titles that is, and he agreed to show it! I don't know what they will show in Oslo in Norway. I have no influence there... Finally something about the DVD i am mixing: Because i am fully convinced that i own the largest Vincent Price collection on DVD in the world, with maybe 220 titles, and because i am in touch with Victoria Price through mail at the moment because of this project, i found it naturally to begin working on a mega ViP DVD with 1 min. highlights from ALL of my ViP movies, and then offer her a copy. To my surprise she not only accepted, but she also offered to use it on her tour this year and feature it on her homepage, with full credit to my name!! This might be the largest honour in the world someone could offer me, so i have begun the monstrous project of creating this DVD, although my health really SUCKS (i might suffer from "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" in a mild version), and i have to eat a lot of caffeine...thereby risking seriously to damage my health further. But i don't know if you can imagine my problems in finding the right 60 seconds, pausing at the right split-second, and then another problem: Maybe 80% of my movies are in ntsc and the rest in pal. They of course all have to be in ntsc, so i have to try to download the rest in ntsc if i can find them, or if necessary convert them through a special not very good programme, which i recently bought. So far i have 72 min. ready, and i am done with 1958. Maybe it's time to ship the first version to Victoria Price now. I simply GOTTA be one of the world's largest Vincent Price fans!! Anyone of you who can beat the above? Greetings from Jan Christensen in Copenhagen, Denmark PS: If some of you should happen to have something very rare with Vincent Price, which you want to have on this DVD, i can easilly fit it in on my harddisk and then the disc, so here is your chance to give our dear ViP a birthday present. Of course i am willing to pay/trade!
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VladOrlok		#11	[-]
Apr 30 11 9:26 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yipeee!!!!! I just heard that the DFI (Danish Film Institute) where i am planning to celebrate ViP's 100th birthday is donating at least 10.000 kr. (around $1400) and with a little luck another 8.000 kr. If i am correct in this assumption, it means that i can book Caroline Munro now, because her agent was the only one who agreed to do it in June. If this really works out right, then the question about Dr. Goldfoot vs. Dr. Phibes is of course automatically solved in favour of Dr. Phibes. Only problem is if they can find it in 8mm or 16 mm or whatever it is called . I don't know much about what cinemas use... Of course i should wait and tell this until i am completely sure. But...i am just so HAPPY about the news of 10.000 kr. today, so that i just HAD to tell it! Jan
Grant		#12	[-]
Apr 30 11 2:26 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm glad to see this thread simply because it means someone believes in the concept of "too famous." Overexposure is about my biggest pet peeve in the world, all the way from the things I hate to the things I'm crazy about.
Rick		#13	[-]
Apr 30 11 6:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Congratulations, Jan, and best of luck. I like to think that the DFI came up with the money to avoid screening GOLDFOOT. But maybe that's snippy of me.
VladOrlok		#14	[-]
May 2 11 12:42 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	What is it that you guys have against Dr. Goldfoot? I can only repeat myself from above: About Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine I don't believe i will ever understand why Dr. Goldfoot has such a bad reputation? Because it stinks someone will probably answer. But...why is it that bad? Personally i LOVE kitsch, which probably is a must in order to understand this movie. I also loved a lot how they made fun of all the kliches in other gothic horror movies. I swear that i laughed and laughed and laughed...together with 2-3 other persons when i saw it the first time. We agreed that ViP's acting couldn't count as superb here, but that the movie as such was quite fun! Later i discussed it with some other fan like me, who works in our Film Institute, and he didn't exactly say that Dr. Goldfoot in any way was near being a masterpiece, but he admitted that it still was quite ok, and a lot better than the other "Dr. Goldfoot" movie (the AWFUL "Girl Bombs"). So why the Bikini Machine has such a bad reputation is really beyond me... Maybe there is a lot of kitsch haters here? Finally i contacted Caroline Munro's agent last night through email. Right now it looks a lot like we will get her, but a few things can still go wrong, so it's still too early to congratulate me... Jan
Rick		#15	[-]
May 2 11 12:55 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	What do we have against Dr. Goldfoot? Well, I can only speak for myself. If you were showing lots and lots of Price's movies, then sure, throw in DR. GOLDFOOT. But you're showing a mere handful. He made more than a handful of really good movies and it seems an injustice to settle for kitsch when there's still quality available. With CHAMPAGNE FOR CAESAR or HIS KIND OF WOMAN or THEATRE OF BLOOD or PHIBES, Vinnie and the movies get their laughs the old-fashioned way. With GOLDFOOT you're inviting people to laugh AT him. Isn't this kitschy? Isn't he campy? I don't call that much of a tribute. Look, it's not an awful movie and it truly is worlds better than GIRL BOMBS. But there's so much better stuff. That said, I can't say I'm crazy about some of the other choices, either. Still, good luck.
VladOrlok		#16	[-]
May 6 11 6:12 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I find Rick's view on the first Dr. Goldfoot quite good with a reasonable explaining why i should not choose to show this one. For me the problem is that i want to show a movie where Vincent Price is funny, and i actually find this one to be the best example! Another funny movie is in my eyes "Red Skelton Show: The Original DaVinci", but the problem here is, that it is Red Skelton who is funny, and not ViP... I am quite sure that a lot of people would suggest to show "Champagne for Caesar", if i want to show ViP as funny. Yes, maybe you are right here... The problem is just, that i really don't understand it. Except for his very suddenly "sitting still" for a minute, i can't see how this movie is funny. But it is probably me who doesn't understand it. On the other hand i LOVE KITSCH, so in Dr. Goldfoot in am really laughing all the way through the movie! But then again... Sometimes you just have to listen to others, because as we all know, it isn't possible to understand everything. So even though Dr. Goldfoot might be funny for kitsch lovers, i should probably listen to all the people ho advice me to show "Champagne for Caesar" instead if i really want to show something funny, and then simply trust that it really IS funny according to a lot of people. On the other hand i also expect people not to offend the first Dr. Goldfoot movie anymore, and just admit that they simply doesn't understand it, by hearing that more people than me actually find it funny! OK? So please don't call this a stinker anymore, except if you clearly say that this is your personal opinion. But if you choose to do so, could you please also tell how you feel about kitsch, and give a few examples if you really love this genre? Another subject came along when i had to pick a film noir. Again i am sorry to say that i don't understand this genre very much, so i completely failed to see why "Laura" and "His Kind of Woman" are so exciting? Instead i fell in love with the plot in "The Web". I thought that the story here was quite intriguing, and that ViP really mastered to play this very clever cold-hearted killer here almost to perfection. This is why i love "The Web" so much, but could anyone please tell why they like or dislike the three movies i mention here? Maybe i should open a new thread here, because how many will read about these film noir titles here, and how many will do so in a new thread? Jan
CapnDunsel		#17	[-]
May 6 11 8:49 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Vinny's pretty good in the noir shocker "Shock!"(1946), and "Mad Magician"(1954). I'd put "Theatre of Blood" above the Phibes flicks. He's not in monster make-up, and gets to use his mouth.
VladOrlok		#18	[-]
May 6 11 9:53 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Theatre of Blood is one of those movies which i don't understand... But i have never liked Shakespeare, which i guess is the reason. So i don't say that "Theatre of Blood" is bad, i just say that I personally don't like it, because i don't understand it. And i guess that here is a movie i should pick, because i should trust other opinions! But i would say that i personally don't like it is fully acceptable, because each person has his or her own taste! I really can't see the connection between "Shock", "The Mad Magician" and film noir. To me these two movies are HORROR! Jan
Rick		#19	[-]
May 6 11 2:19 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	SHOCK is one of those movies that folks always try to pass off as horror (well, there is that title), but it's really not. And I wouldn't call it noir either. THE MAD MAGICIAN is a horror film in my book, yes. THE WEB is pretty good as I recall (it's been a while), but LAURA is a classic. But, Jan is right, if ya don't get it, ya just don't get it. And, even though it's one of those you don't understand/appreciate, I always put in another strong vote for THEATRE OF BLOOD which is, to my eyes, Vinnie's finest hour and a smart, funny, literate movie. Of course it's also true that I love Shakespeare. So there ya go.
CapnDunsel		#20	[-]
May 6 11 5:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I thought the OP was looking for good Vincent Price movies, not necessarily horror, noir, etc. These two werent mentioned, and are worthy of inclusion in any Vincent Price list. I dont want to debate it, but SHOCK! easily qualifies as noir. It's also released in the Fox Noir Dvd series. You dont need to have read Shakespeare in the original German, Klingonese, etc. to get THEATRE OF BLOOD. I certainly dont know The Bard, but I get the gist of the references, etc. It's mostly actors and critics, not the material. The material is just the icing on the cake (or something like that). I had my doubts about watching Dr. Goldfoot flick, but it sounds worth watching. That's what attracted to me to the thread. Last Edited By: CapnDunsel May 6 11 5:16 PM. Edited 2 times.
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Dr. Phibes or Dr. Goldfoot?

Dr. Phibes or Dr. Goldfoot?