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telephoned and asked me if I needed a masseuse while filming - I happily said 'no.' He said, "Good. Pick up the script Abby from AIP. You'll leave for
Louisville in two or three days. The script reminded me of The Three Faces of Eve which starred Paul Newman's wife. I thought Abby was a wonderful vehicle to show off my acting. I didn't give the Yoruba religion that much thought. I started memorizing Abby's lines. I was also very comfortable with Eshu. Voodoo doesn't bother me. It's part of being African."
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312:, Elizabeth A. Kingsley wrote "from a theological point of view, the final section of Abby is quite fascinating. Toward the end of the film, having spent some time taking the demon's measure, Garret decides that it is not in fact Eshu, but a rather pathetic Eshu wannabe... who presumably was imprisoned by Eshu."
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a year before. She mentioned accidents, people falling ill and tornadoes. Pat Kelly, who managed the film, stated, "Nothing happened that would be considered unusual. Carol - and maybe a couple of others - were so hoping things would go strange, that they may have convinced themselves of a great evil
626:
As the clean, original copy of the film remains unreleased, it is unknown if the injunction awarded to Warner is still active. In 2013, a 16mm print of the movie was screened at The CineFamily. It is also suggested that Warner not only instigated a lawsuit against the film, but also confiscated all
452:
In one scene, Speed's title character was required to sing a song during church services. Speed agreed, and the song was one that she herself wrote and composed, titled "Is Your Soul A Witness?". No official recordings of this song were known to exist, aside from the film's soundtrack reels. . The
465:
huddled in the lobby of their hotel, wrapped in blankets for protection. "Juanita and I immediately left the set when the daytime sky turned pitch black," she said. "We ended up rolled in some blankets on the lobby floor. Ramada had built this nice hotel, but no basement or tornado shelter. Just
448:
wasn't chosen to play Abby at first. She recalls: "Abby was a low-budget production. They originally had another woman to play the role, but she was very demanding. She wanted a personal masseuse on the set. They couldn't afford it. So when David
Baumgorten (Agency of the Performing Artist)
284:
The spirit released by Dr. Williams crosses the
Atlantic to Louisville, Kentucky to the new home of Dr. Williams' son, Emmett Williams (Terry Carter) and Abby Williams (Carol Speed). After Abby becomes possessed, her behavior becomes exponentially bizarre and dangerous.
605:, released by CineFear. That edition went out of stock on the day of its release in Amazon. It appears to have been transferred from a visually flawed 16 mm print of the film, which is possibly the only format in which celluloid prints of
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Why and how the spirit travels the globe is not explained, and the dialogue doesn't specify whether the spirit inside Abby is Eshu. The plot's final resolution leaves the point unclear. In
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281:. When Dr. Williams discovers the mechanism to open the box and unlatches it, a tremendous wind blasts out, knocking Dr. Williams and his men against the cave walls and floor.
551:, has created an irresistible period trashterpiece, one that places the action in a black family and replaces Catholic references with an African fertility deity, freed by
31:
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While on an archaeological dig in a cave in
Nigeria, Dr. Williams finds a small puzzle box, carved with the symbols of Eshu: the whirlwind, the cock's comb, and the erect
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Dr. Garrett
Williams (William Marshall) explains to his students, "Eshu is the most powerful of all earthly deities. Eshu is a trickster, creator of whirlwinds... chaos."
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The film was a financial success, considering its modest budget at the time. It grossed $ 4 million in a month, but was pulled from theaters after the film's distributor,
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mostly because he had been promised certain script revisions that never materialized. Marshall did add certain elements to the film regarding the
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on three different occasions, all within a year's time of each other. It was first released
October 2006 as a
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named the movie one of the "Top Ten Films in Limbo" stating "Horror wunderkind
William Girdler, director of
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and filed a lawsuit against AIP. Girdler himself told the
Louisville Courier Journal: "Sure, we made
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of chaos and whirlwinds. He is also a trickster and the guardian of roads, particularly crossroads.
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was eventually pulled from theaters, but not before it was able to take in almost $ 4 million.
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What It Is... What It Was!; The Black Film
Explosion of the '70s in Words and Pictures
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over us - the tornadoes were the closest - but they hit 10 states, so it was not just
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achieved a more infamous reputation because it was accused of copyright violation by
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was out of circulation for many years, partially due to the lawsuit instigated by
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production of the film was met with an unusual threat when
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was then released June 2007. Its third DVD release appeared as part of a
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is more silly than shocking even if it seems to take itself seriously."
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about a woman who is possessed by a Yoruba sex spirit. The film stars
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set in September 2007, packaged with the German Exorcist film
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The film's use of the Yoruba religion distinguishes it from
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American Exorcist: Critical Essays on William Peter Blatty
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American film distribution : the changing marketplace
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was vocal about his unhappiness with the production of
740:"J. Patrick Kelly III interview at williamgirdler.com"
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are some of Girdler's more notable productions, while
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Scott Ashlin (2003). "Abby Possess My Soul (1974)".
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Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
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review published December 26, 1974, mentioned that "
997:"The United States of Horror | the Cinefamily"
835:"Interview with Carol Speed at williamgirdler.com"
814:"Interview with Carol Speed at williamgirdler.com"
578:that had somebody up there (or down) awful mad!"
189:$ 100,000 (inflated figure reported as $ 472,529)
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297:. In the story, Abby is apparently possessed by
685:The American International Pictures Video Guide
597:is still in question. The film was released on
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457:that tore through the area around the set of
569:being cursed, similar to what happened with
246:, which saw the film as being derivative of
1512:Films involved in plagiarism controversies
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881:"New York Times review, December 26, 1974"
461:Speed recalled spending time with co-star
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724:Elizabeth A. Kingsley (March 23, 2008).
761:"Career overview at williamgirdler.com"
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260:." The film is also inspired by 1968's
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1492:American International Pictures films
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728:. And You Call Yourself a Scientist!.
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946:"Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Abby"
565:Carol Speed talked about the set of
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767:from the original on April 28, 2007
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662:. UMI Research Press. p. 300.
416:, who felt it was a direct copy of
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1532:Films shot in Louisville, Kentucky
1502:American supernatural horror films
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561:Urban legends and on-set incidents
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1547:Films set in Louisville, Kentucky
1522:Films scored by Robert O. Ragland
1507:Films directed by William Girdler
1291:Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
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698:"William Girdler: Kentucky Films"
388:, a filmmaker who specialized in
366:William P. Bradford as Dr. Rogers
351:Charles Kissinger as Dr. Hennings
310:And You Call Yourself A Scientist
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627:of the copies produced in 1975.
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392:pictures that were often in the
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363:Nancy Lee Owens as Mrs. Wiggins
354:Elliott Moffitt as Russell Lang
256:to come in on the shirttail of
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131:American International Pictures
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656:Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987).
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637:List of American films of 1974
620:Magdalena, vom Teufel besessen
1:
1552:English-language horror films
1527:African-American horror films
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466:glass windows...everywhere."
384:was directed and produced by
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1537:1970s English-language films
7:
1415:The Exorcist: Italian Style
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330:as Reverend Emmett Williams
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426:won their court case, and
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1267:Exorcist II: The Heretic
336:as Detective Cass Potter
219:as the title character,
213:supernatural horror film
1423:The Ninth Configuration
1346:Father Lankester Merrin
932:"William Girdler: Abby"
906:"Top 10 Films in Limbo"
858:. Miramax Books. 1998.
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269:
1401:Exorcism of Roland Doe
615:Demonic Double Feature
557:’s William Marshall."
436:was filmed in 1974 in
455:a series of tornadoes
396:genre. Films such as
227:. It was directed by
1542:1970s American films
1517:Films about exorcism
1497:Blaxploitation films
1341:Father Damien Karras
1217:William Peter Blatty
687:, McFarland 2009 p 9
1111:Three on a Meathook
1003:on February 1, 2014
712:1000 Misspent Hours
603:Collector's Edition
240:copyright violation
221:William H. Marshall
208:is a 1974 American
1159:Day of the Animals
1089:Films directed by
912:on August 28, 2018
885:The New York Times
582:Scarcity of prints
548:Day of the Animals
525:The New York Times
503:. You can help by
1487:1974 horror films
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1177:
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971:"DVD Talk review"
879:Dargis, Manohla.
669:978-0-8357-1776-2
609:are still found.
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484:Critical reaction
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289:Production notes
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68:G. Cornell Layne
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499:This section
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197:$ 2.6 million
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1376:The Exorcist
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1259:The Exorcist
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1212:The Exorcist
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1001:the original
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955:December 11,
953:. Retrieved
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591:Warner Bros.
586:
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571:The Exorcist
570:
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512:October 2017
509:
505:adding to it
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424:Warner Bros.
419:The Exorcist
417:
414:Warner Bros.
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390:exploitation
381:
380:
372:as The Demon
328:Terry Carter
309:
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295:The Exorcist
294:
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276:
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261:
258:The Exorcist
257:
253:
249:The Exorcist
247:
244:Warner Bros.
233:
225:Terry Carter
204:
203:
202:
161:Running time
138:Release date
111:Corky Ehlers
85:Terry Carter
18:
1431:Repossessed
1167:The Manitou
1135:Sheba, Baby
1007:January 29,
819:October 14,
446:Carol Speed
405:The Manitou
358:Nathan Cook
340:Carol Speed
217:Carol Speed
107:Henry Asman
77:Carol Speed
59:Produced by
41:Directed by
1482:1974 films
1476:Categories
1329:Characters
1310:Television
643:References
537:Retrocrush
438:Louisville
377:Production
194:Box office
165:89 minutes
149:1974-12-25
66:Mike Henry
51:Written by
1439:Possessed
1321:(2016–17)
981:April 20,
890:April 20,
840:April 20,
798:April 20,
771:April 20,
745:April 20,
535:In 2006,
103:Edited by
16:1974 film
1460:Category
1368:Exorcist
1299:Believer
1043:AllMovie
765:Archived
631:See also
442:Kentucky
370:Bob Holt
178:Language
117:Music by
73:Starring
1394:Related
1151:Grizzly
916:May 27,
554:Blacula
542:Grizzly
399:Grizzly
279:phallus
181:English
170:Country
147: (
1442:(2000)
1434:(1990)
1426:(1980)
1418:(1975)
1410:(1974)
1379:(play)
1351:Pazuzu
1302:(2023)
1294:(2005)
1286:(2004)
1278:(1990)
1270:(1977)
1262:(1973)
1243:(1983)
1240:Legion
1235:(1971)
1224:Novels
1170:(1978)
1162:(1977)
1154:(1976)
1146:(1976)
1138:(1975)
1130:(1974)
1122:(1973)
1114:(1972)
1106:(1972)
862:
787:"IMDb"
666:
394:horror
303:orisha
186:Budget
1370:steps
1360:Other
1251:Films
474:Abby,
459:Abby.
1407:Abby
1127:Abby
1049:Abby
1038:Abby
1032:IMDb
1027:Abby
1009:2014
983:2007
957:2022
918:2018
892:2007
860:ISBN
842:2007
821:2022
800:2007
792:IMDb
773:2007
747:2007
664:ISBN
607:Abby
595:Abby
587:Abby
576:Abby
567:Abby
545:and
530:Abby
434:Abby
428:Abby
410:Abby
402:and
382:Abby
316:Cast
299:Eshu
270:Plot
254:Abby
223:and
205:Abby
24:Abby
1215:by
1052:at
1041:at
1030:at
599:DVD
507:.
242:by
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