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''Abby'' is a 1974 American blaxploitation horror film about a woman who is possessed by an African sex spirit. The film stars Carol Speed as the title character, William H. Marshall (best known for portraying the lead role in ''Blacula'') and Terry Carter. It was directed by William Girdler, who co-wrote the film's story with screenwriter Gordon Cornell Layne. The film was a financial success, grossing 4 million in a month, but was pulled from theaters after the film's distributor, American International Pictures, was accused of copyright violation by Warner Bros., which saw the film as being derivative of ''The Exorcist'' and filed a lawsuit against AIP.〔Gary A. Smith, ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland 2009 p 9〕 Girdler himself told the Louisville Courier Journal: "Sure, we made ''Abby'' to come in on the shirttail of ''The Exorcist''." The film is also inspired by 1968's ''Rosemary's Baby''.〔http://www.williamgirdler.com/kentucky.html〕 The film was considered dead until 2004, when a 16mm low quality copy of ''Abby'' was released in DVD. Despite mixed reviews initially, the film has a cult following and is considered by many a classic blaxpoitation film. ==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 because 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=J. Patrick Kelly III interview at williamgirdler.com )〕 ''Abby'' was filmed in 1974 in Louisville, Kentucky. 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. 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."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Interview with Carol Speed at williamgirdler.com )〕 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Abby (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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