Movie Review: The Fly (1958) directed by Kurt Neumann
Helene Delambre (Patricia Owens) has killed her husband Andre (David Hedison), crushing his head and arm in a hydraulic press at the electronics plant he co-owns with his brother Francois (Vincent Price). This comes as a great shock to everyone who knows the couple, as they seemed so happy together. Admittedly, no one had seen much of Andre in the last few months, but no one believes they quarreled. And they have a lovely son, Phillipe.
Helene collapses from nervous shock, and her doctor prescribes bed rest, so the police inspector has a police nurse look after her. Helene seems obsessed with capturing, not killing, any flies in the house. Does this have anything to do with the fly “with a white head” Phillipe reports seeing?
This film was adapted by James Clavell (of Shogun fame) from a short story by George Langelaan which originally appeared in the Playboy magazine. It’s fairly faithful to the story, maintaining the “mystery” framework but shifting the action from Paris to Montreal to keep the French names but have everyone speak in English.
Eventually, there’s a long flashback to the part that’s famous, as Andre invents a teleportation device, tests it on himself, and makes a horrible blunder. This leads to both his death at the beginning of the movie, and another death at the end, in the most famous scene of the movie.
This was actually my first time seeing the full movie in color, as opposed to the TV cut on late-night black and white. Treating the transformation as a mystery allows the film to use the monster makeup sparingly, a good thing considering the limitations of 1958 special effects. The reveal is effective, and would definitely have been shocking to audiences of the time.
Vincent Price is understated in a role that started his transition from playing urbane, worldly supporting characters to being a horror movie star. Patricia Owens is the one who has to do most of the heavy emoting as Helene, especially after Andre becomes mute. The kid who plays Phillipe does the best he can with the material, and sets up the sequel hook well.
There’s a bit of period sexism–Andre is able to devote himself to weeks in the lab inventing because he has a wife and housekeeper keeping everything else running smoothly. And he’s clearly filled Phillipe’s head with some dubious ideas about women.
Recommended for horror fans who like a slow burn. If you want to just get to the part where the main character gets fused with fly DNA, the David Cronenberg remake may be more your speed.
