Many people have the name Abby. In my opinion in a couple years it will be on the top 5 girl names.

Abby
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	William Girdler
Produced by	William Girdler Mike Henry Gordon Cornell Layne
Written by	William Girdler, Gordon Cornell Layne
Starring	William Marshall Terry Carter Austin Stoker Carol Speed
Music by	Robert O. Ragland
Cinematography	William Asman
Editing by	Henry Asman Corky Ehlers
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Release date(s)	December 25, 1974
Running time	89 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$100,000 (inflated figure reported as $400,000)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Abby was a 1974 movie starring William H. Marshall (best known for his work in the 1970s movies Blacula, and Scream, Blacula, Scream) and directed by William Girdler. Image File history File links Abby_poster. ... William Girdler was an Amerian filmmaker, who in a span of seven years (1972-1978) made nine feature films in such genres as horror and action, before dying at the early age of 30. ... William Girdler was an Amerian filmmaker, who in a span of seven years (1972-1978) made nine feature films in such genres as horror and action, before dying at the early age of 30. ... William Girdler was an Amerian filmmaker, who in a span of seven years (1972-1978) made nine feature films in such genres as horror and action, before dying at the early age of 30. ... William Marshall is a named shared by several people: William Marshal, father and son, 12th-to-13th-century British noblemen William Marshall (illustrator) the 17th-century illustrator William Calder Marshall, the 19th-century Scottish sculptor William Raine Marshall, the 19th-century American politician William Marshall (commander) the 20th-century military... Terry Carter is an African-American actor who is perhaps best rembered for his roles as Sergeant Joe Broadhurst on McCloud and Colonel Tigh on Battlestar Galactica. ... Austin Stoker (b. ... Robert O. Ragland (born in Chicago, July 3, 1931) is an American motion picture composer. ... Bub Asman is an Academy Award-winning film editor and sound effects editor. ... The early AIP logo. ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining in the year. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... See also: 1973 in film 1974 1975 in film 1970s in film years in film film // Events February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in USA May 1 - George Lucas creates the first draft of what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... William Horace Marshall (19 August 1924 – 11 June 2003), was best known for his career as an African American actor, but was also a director and opera singer. ... Blacula is the name of a fictional character that appeared in two blaxploitation horror films produced for American International Pictures in 1972 and 1973, respectively. ... Scream Blacula Scream is a 1973 horror film, made under the working titles Blacula Is Beautiful and Blacula Lives Again![1]. It is the sequel to Blacula. ... William Girdler was an Amerian filmmaker, who in a span of seven years (1972-1978) made nine feature films in such genres as horror and action, before dying at the early age of 30. ...

Plot Synopsis

Bishop Garnett Williams (William H. Marshall) is a respected authority on African religions. His son, Emmett (Terry Carter) is a minister with a kind, adoring wife named Abby (Carol Speed). While Garnett is on an archeological dig in Africa, he comes across a religious icon that represents the sexual deity Eshu. When he opens the box, he releases a demon from captivity, and it manifests itself back in the United States by taking possession of Abby. William Horace Marshall (19 August 1924 – 11 June 2003), was best known for his career as an African American actor, but was also a director and opera singer. ... Terry Carter is an African-American actor who is perhaps best rembered for his roles as Sergeant Joe Broadhurst on McCloud and Colonel Tigh on Battlestar Galactica. ... Eshu represented in concrete with his features made with cowrie shells. ...

Abby's personality quickly changes. She becomes unstable and lapses into demonic outbursts of increasingly supernatural proportions, until finally she is confined to a hospital. She forcibly escapes, setting out to follow the sexual urges brought on by Eshu. Garnett returns to the United States to confront the demon before it destroys Abby completely.

Production

Abby was written and produced by William Girdler, a filmmaker who specialized in exploitation pictures that were often in the horror genre. Films such as Grizzly and The Manitou are some of Girdler's more notable productions, while Abby achieved a more infamous reputation due to the fact that it was accused of copyright violation by Warner Bros., who felt it was a direct copy of The Exorcist. Warner Bros. won their court case, and Abby was eventually pulled from theaters, but not before it was able to take in almost $4 million.^{[1] [2]} William Girdler was an Amerian filmmaker, who in a span of seven years (1972-1978) made nine feature films in such genres as horror and action, before dying at the early age of 30. ... Grindhouse redirects here. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... American horror-movie from 1978 with Tony Curtis and Susan Strasberg Karen enters a hospital in San Fransisco suffering from a growing tumor on her neck. ... Warner Bros. ... The Exorcist is an Academy Award-winning 1973 film, based on the novel by William Peter Blatty first published in 1971. ... Warner Bros. ...

Abby was filmed in 1974 in Louisville, Kentucky^[3]. Carol Speed landed the part of Abby after the original actress demanded a masseuse, for which the film's low budget had no provisions. Speed's agent recommended her to Girdler, and she flew to Louisville, meeting her director for the first time on the set. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... “Louisville” redirects here. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ...

In one scene, Speed's character was required to sing a song in church, and the song was one that Speed herself composed, "Is Your Soul A Witness?".

The production of the film was met with an unusual threat when Louisville experienced a series of tornadoes that tore through the area around the set of Abby. Speed recalled spending time with co-star Juanita Moore 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. We ended up rolled in some blankets on the lobby floor. Ramada had built this nice hotel, but no basement or tornado shelter. Just glass windows...everywhere." ^[4] Juanita Moore (born October 19, 1922 in Los Angeles, California) is an African-American actress. ...

William Marshall was vocal about his unhappiness with the production of Abby, mostly because he'd been promised certain script revisions that never materialized. Marshall did add certain elements to the film regarding the Yoruba religion. ^[5] William Horace Marshall (19 August 1924 – 11 June 2003), was best known for his career as an African American actor, but was also a director and opera singer. ... The Yoruba (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language (ede Yorùbá). The Yoruba constitute approximately 21 percent of Nigerias total population,[1] and around 30 million individuals throughout the region of...

Critical reaction

The tone and content of Abby seems to have left it difficult to take seriously. The New York Times review published December 26, 1974, mentioned that "Abby is more silly than shocking even if it seems to take itself seriously." ^[6] The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Scarcity of prints

Abby was out of circulation for many years, partially due to the lawsuit instigated by Warner Bros., and also because of the uncertain propriety of distribution rights. The ownership of the original film elements of Abby is still in question. As of October 2006, the film is only available on home video in one version, a DVD released by CineFear. It appears to have been transferred from a visually flawed 16mm print of the film, which is possibly the only format in which celluloid prints of Abby are still found.^[7] This is the only commercially available presentation of Abby to date. Warner Bros. ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... DVD (commonly known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ...

Notes

October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

External links

• EOFFTV - detailed synopsis, trivia, press reaction, quotes and more.
• Abby at the Internet Movie Database
• The New York Times review (free registration required)
• African-American horror movies