The Fly (1958)

No need to recap the plot. As I recall, this sci-fi epic played at our uptown theater, where prestige pictures normally played. Usually, we teenagers had to go to a drive-in to catch these 50's monster movies. But this one was produced by big-budget TCF and in Technicolor, unlike the usual Roger Corman low-budget b&w's. Plus, it got promoted more heavily than the usual under-the-radar sci-fi. I suspect big-budget MGM's success with Forbidden Planet (1956) had something to do with TCF's decision to join the swim.

On the whole, it's a good entry from that period, more carefully thought out than most, with a name cast, well almost. Patricia Owens (the wife) may not be a household name, but she does do a heckuva job in putting the material over. She's the pivotal character, and it's her range of reactions that almost make the premise believable. Plus, it's a very cleverly structured screenplay, hooking us right away and then explaining the mystery through flashback. On the downside is the rather bland Hedison. Seeing him now, after so many years, he doesn't seem the driven-genius type, his casting likely a gesture to commercialism.

A lot of folks find the climax amusing. And while the special effects are not very good, the idea itself is pretty effective as tragic outcome. On the whole, the movie may not reach the sustained intensity of the similar Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). Nonetheless, I still think my teenage fifty-cents was well spent.

(In passing-- I'm still wondering how our scientist gets a fly's head, but not its brain. After all, he does continue to reason. Oh well, no one watches these epics for their logic, then or now.)

Fmovies: As a child in the theater I screamed and had bad dreams.... Then as a teenager I watched the "Fly" on TV and still Jumped back in fear at the sight of that horrible face! A few years later my friends and I watched it on TV again, but this time I turned down the sound at the scary scenes ( theorizing that the music was the cause of the fear) but even at low volume the haunting cries of "Help me...Help me" gave me the chills. A MUST SEE DF.

"The Fly" is one of the better giant insect movies of the 50s. It starts out with the discovery by a night watchman of the grisly killing of scientist Andre Delambre (Al Hedison aka David Hedison) apparently at the hands of his wife Helene (Patricia Owens). She calls Andre's brother Francois (Vincent Price) to tell him of the tragedy. Francois in turn, calls in Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall) and together they question Helene to try to find out what happened.

In a flashback, we learn that Andre had been experimenting with transporting matter at light speed from one point to another. When he reached the stage of using a human in the tests, he had used himself. Unfortunately, when he transported himself, unbeknownst to him a common fly had been in the disintegrator with him. When they re-integrated things were not quite as they had been before. Of course no one really believes Helene's story until Francois and the Inspector are shown the unfortunate fly by Andre and Helene's son Philippe (Charles Herbert).

Director Kurt Neumann builds up the suspense by first letting us guess what has happened in the laboratory and then delaying the unmasking of Andre as long as possible. That scene reminded me of the unmasking of the Phantom in Lon Chaney's "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925). The wide screen is used to great effect in that scene when Helene first sees what has happened to her husband, and we then see multiple images of her, much in the way that we believe a fly would see it, screaming in terror.

The fly makeup was, I thought, quite convincing and who can ever forget the final scene when a spider is closing in on the title character (Help me, please...Help me..).

The Fly fmovies. The Fly tells the story of an eager scientist named Andre Delambre. He is happily married and has a son. He has the perfect suburban life. That all changes when he invents a device that can transport inanimate objects, but it has trouble transporting live matter. When he tries it on himself, a fly gets into the chamber with him, and their particles mix up giving Andre the head and arm of a fly, and giving the fly Andre's head and arm.

The Fly isn't an overly terrifying film, but the plot is really interesting. The film starts off as a murder mystery, and slowly evolves into a mix of sci fi and horror as we see the transformed Andre Delambre's mind slowly seep away while being replaced with the fly's. The make-up is really good for a 1950's movie, and it's almost believable that the scientist's head was replaced with a giant fly head.

The characters in the film are all portrayed by great actors of the time, such as David "Al" Hedison as Andre/The Fly and horror master Vincent Price as Andre's brother Francois. The Fly offers up good acting and a great plot and should be recognized for its artistic effect on movies. If you're looking for a classic to watch, pick this up.

7/10

A slick, clever, engaging and unique (if a bit slow-paced at first) sci-fi story. Although the special effects leave something to be desired, especially if you've seen the incredible (and incredibly nauseating) images of the 1986 remake, the film's restrained approach to horror can be very pleasurable if you get used to it, and the script is stronger and more character-driven than the one of Cronenberg's version. A surprisingly good film. (***)

in terms of creepiness, this flick takes a back seat to no horror film. the goldblum et al remake is a gory over-the-top, special-effects show-off in comparison. instead this one grabs your psychological neck, shakes it about and forces you to answer serious questions regarding the scientific exploits of man. while doing so it hermetically seals you in a world of misguided, pitiless hubris. if that sounds like a bit too much, just give it your time and try to go to sleep without thinking, "why the hell would anyone proceed so far" and without thinking of ways to save the poor, doomed scientist. it is a tale of inevitability and loss that brings into stark contrast the foolish doings of man against a backdrop of an inhumane and unforgiving nature. view at your own risk... do not view at your own horror- enjoyment's peril!