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The Fly (1958 film)
Encyclopedia
The Fly is a 1958 American science-fiction
horror film
, directed by Kurt Neumann. The screenplay was written by James Clavell
(his first), from the short story "The Fly" by George Langelaan
. It was followed by two sequels, Return of the Fly
and Curse of the Fly
.
It was remade in 1986 as a film of the same name
.
) is found dead with his head and arm crushed in a hydraulic press
. Although his wife Helene (Patricia Owens
) confesses to the crime, she refuses to provide a motive and exhibits a number of strange behaviors. In particular, she is obsessed with flies, including a supposedly white-headed fly. Andre's brother, Francois (Vincent Price
), lies and says he caught the white-headed fly and, thinking he knows the truth, Helene explains the circumstances surrounding Andre's death.
In flashback, Andre, Helene and their son Phillipe (Charles Herbert
) are a happy family.
Andre has been working on a matter transporter
device called the disintegrator-integrator. He initially tests it only on small inanimate objects, but eventually proceeds to living creatures, including a housecat (which fails to reintegrate) and a guinea pig
. After he is satisfied that these tests are succeeding, he builds a man-sized pair of chambers. One day, Helene, worried since Andre has not come up from the basement lab for a couple of days, goes down to find Andre with a black cloth over his head and a strange deformity on his hand. Communicating with typed notes only, Andre tells Helene that he tried to transport himself, but a fly got caught in the chamber, which resulted in a mixing of their atoms. Now he has the head and arm of a fly, and the fly has his miniature head and arm, though he keeps his mind.
Andre needs Helene to capture the fly so he can reverse the process. Although she expends great effort in her search, she cannot find it and Andre's will begins to fade as the fly's instincts take over his brain. Time is running out, and while Andre can still think like a human, he smashes the equipment, burns his notes, and leads Helene to the factory. When they arrive, he sets the hydraulic press and motions for Helene to push the button. She activates the press twice - once to crush his head and once to crush his left arm.
The police, hearing this confession, deem Helene insane and guilty of murder. As they are about to haul her away, Andre's son Philippe tells Francois he's seen the fly trapped in a web in the back garden. Francois convinces the inspector (Herbert Marshall
) to come and see for himself. The two men see the fly, trapped in the web, with both Andre's head and arm, looking somewhat aged and terrified. It screams "Help me! Help me!" as a large brown spider advances on the creature. Just as the fly is about to be devoured by the spider, the inspector smashes them both with a rock. Thinking nobody would believe the truth, he and Francois decide to lie about the facts of the case so that Helene isn't convicted of murder. In the end, Helene, Francois and Phillipe resume their daily lives.
, and has been nominated for a Hugo Award
for Best Dramatic Presentation. The Fly has also received four out of five stars on Allmovie.
American Film Institute
Lists
in 1959 and Curse of the Fly
in 1965. There was also a remake of the same name
in 1986 directed by David Cronenberg
, which itself had a sequel, 1989's The Fly II
.
. One typical citation occurs in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
television series, when the character Baxter Stockman
is transformed into a human/fly hybrid after a fly gets caught in a disintegrator unit with him--a reference more to "The Fly" remake. The film is also referenced in the "Fly vs. Fly" segment of The Simpsons
episode Treehouse of Horror VIII
: Bart and a fly enter a transporting machine, with Bart hoping that he will become a super mutant. He comes away with the body (and the size) of a fly, while the fly ends up with his own head and Bart's body. The movie was also parodied in the Disney film The Emperor's New Groove
where Kuzco goes into the jungle and sees a regular fly crying out, "Help me, help me," before it is devoured by a scary looking black spider that says, "Too late," after consuming the whole fly. It was also the principal inspiration for MANT!, the movie-within-a-movie in Joe Dante
's 1993 comedy Matinee
. Andre DeLambre also appeared as the boss of Episode 2 of Monster Bash, and was known as Igor. In Beetlejuice
, the titular character offers a Zagnut
candy bar to a fly as bait and then pulls it underground to eat it. We hear the fly (or perhaps Betelgeuse mockingly) screaming "Help me! Help me! Help meeee!" Betelgeuse discards the candy bar and quickly engulfs the fly. In the PC version of Team Fortress 2 there is a Halloween costume that gives the teleporter-building engineer the head, wings, and feet of a fly. All three items can be bought together in a bundle called the "Brundle Bundle", an obvious reference to the remake.
A credit to the film's attempt at maintaining a realistically scientific atmosphere, in a scene when Vincent Price's character is asking his sister in-law what scientific breakthrough his brother has been working on he actually suggests, "...flatscreen?", probably one of the earliest mentionings of such technology in cinema.
In music, the song Human Fly written by The Cramps
is a clear reference to the movie, as "The Return of the Fly" from The Misfits.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, directed by Kurt Neumann. The screenplay was written by James Clavell
James Clavell
James Clavell, born Charles Edmund DuMaresq Clavell was an Australian-born, British novelist, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war...
(his first), from the short story "The Fly" by George Langelaan
George Langelaan
George Langelaan was a British writer and journalist born in Paris, France. He is best known for his 1957 short story "The Fly", which was the basis for the 1958 and 1986 sci-fi film horror classics and a 2008 opera composed by Howard Shore.-Career:During World War II, Langelaan worked as a spy...
. It was followed by two sequels, Return of the Fly
Return of the Fly
Return of the Fly is the first sequel to the 1958 horror film The Fly. It was released in 1959, and directed by Edward Bernds. Unlike the preceding film, Return of the Fly was shot in black and white. The film was followed by another sequel in 1965, Curse of the Fly.-Plot:Phillipe Delambre is...
and Curse of the Fly
Curse of the Fly
Curse of the Fly is the second and final sequel to the 1958 version of The Fly. It was released in 1965, and unlike the other films in the series was produced in England. Directed by Don Sharp. Screenplay by Harry Spalding. Starring Brian Donlevy, George Baker, Carole Gray, Burt Kwouk, Yvette...
.
It was remade in 1986 as a film of the same name
The Fly (1986 film)
The Fly is a 1986 science fiction horror film co-written and directed by David Cronenberg. Produced by 20th Century Fox, and Brooksfilms, the film stars Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and John Getz. It is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, but retains only the basic premise of a scientist...
.
Plot
Scientist Andre Delambre (David HedisonDavid Hedison
Albert David Hedison, Jr. is an Armenian-American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work. In 1959, when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espionage television series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name...
) is found dead with his head and arm crushed in a hydraulic press
Hydraulic press
A hydraulic is a machine using a hydraulic cylinder to generate a compressive force. It uses the hydraulic equivalenta mechanical lever, and was also known as a Bramah press after the inventor, Joseph Bramah, of England. He invented and was issued a patent on this press in 1795...
. Although his wife Helene (Patricia Owens
Patricia Owens (actress)
Patricia Molly Owens was a Canadian-born American actress, working in Hollywood...
) confesses to the crime, she refuses to provide a motive and exhibits a number of strange behaviors. In particular, she is obsessed with flies, including a supposedly white-headed fly. Andre's brother, Francois (Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
), lies and says he caught the white-headed fly and, thinking he knows the truth, Helene explains the circumstances surrounding Andre's death.
In flashback, Andre, Helene and their son Phillipe (Charles Herbert
Charles Herbert
Charles Herbert is a former American child actor of the 1950s and 1960s. Before reaching his teens, Herbert was renowned by a generation of moviegoers for an on-screen broody, mature style and wit that enabled him to go one-on-one with some of the biggest names in the industry, and his appearances...
) are a happy family.
Andre has been working on a matter transporter
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
device called the disintegrator-integrator. He initially tests it only on small inanimate objects, but eventually proceeds to living creatures, including a housecat (which fails to reintegrate) and a guinea pig
Guinea pig
The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
. After he is satisfied that these tests are succeeding, he builds a man-sized pair of chambers. One day, Helene, worried since Andre has not come up from the basement lab for a couple of days, goes down to find Andre with a black cloth over his head and a strange deformity on his hand. Communicating with typed notes only, Andre tells Helene that he tried to transport himself, but a fly got caught in the chamber, which resulted in a mixing of their atoms. Now he has the head and arm of a fly, and the fly has his miniature head and arm, though he keeps his mind.
Andre needs Helene to capture the fly so he can reverse the process. Although she expends great effort in her search, she cannot find it and Andre's will begins to fade as the fly's instincts take over his brain. Time is running out, and while Andre can still think like a human, he smashes the equipment, burns his notes, and leads Helene to the factory. When they arrive, he sets the hydraulic press and motions for Helene to push the button. She activates the press twice - once to crush his head and once to crush his left arm.
The police, hearing this confession, deem Helene insane and guilty of murder. As they are about to haul her away, Andre's son Philippe tells Francois he's seen the fly trapped in a web in the back garden. Francois convinces the inspector (Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
) to come and see for himself. The two men see the fly, trapped in the web, with both Andre's head and arm, looking somewhat aged and terrified. It screams "Help me! Help me!" as a large brown spider advances on the creature. Just as the fly is about to be devoured by the spider, the inspector smashes them both with a rock. Thinking nobody would believe the truth, he and Francois decide to lie about the facts of the case so that Helene isn't convicted of murder. In the end, Helene, Francois and Phillipe resume their daily lives.
Cast
- David HedisonDavid HedisonAlbert David Hedison, Jr. is an Armenian-American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work. In 1959, when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espionage television series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name...
as Andre Delambre - Patricia OwensPatricia Owens (actress)Patricia Molly Owens was a Canadian-born American actress, working in Hollywood...
as Helene Delambre - Vincent PriceVincent PriceVincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
as Francois Delambre - Herbert MarshallHerbert MarshallHerbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
as Inspector Charas - Kathleen FreemanKathleen FreemanKathleen Freeman was an American film, television, and stage actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.-Early life:Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois...
as Emma - Betty Lou GersonBetty Lou GersonBetty Lou Gerson was an American actress, predominantly in radio, but also in film and television, and as a voice actress.-Early life:...
as Nurse Andersone - Charles HerbertCharles HerbertCharles Herbert is a former American child actor of the 1950s and 1960s. Before reaching his teens, Herbert was renowned by a generation of moviegoers for an on-screen broody, mature style and wit that enabled him to go one-on-one with some of the biggest names in the industry, and his appearances...
as Philippe Delambre
Reception
The film has been very well-received by critics. It has received a fresh 93% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, and has been nominated for a Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Dramatic Presentation. The Fly has also received four out of five stars on Allmovie.
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Lists
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
- "Help me! Help me!" - Nominated
Sequels and Remake
The film had two sequels, Return of the FlyReturn of the Fly
Return of the Fly is the first sequel to the 1958 horror film The Fly. It was released in 1959, and directed by Edward Bernds. Unlike the preceding film, Return of the Fly was shot in black and white. The film was followed by another sequel in 1965, Curse of the Fly.-Plot:Phillipe Delambre is...
in 1959 and Curse of the Fly
Curse of the Fly
Curse of the Fly is the second and final sequel to the 1958 version of The Fly. It was released in 1965, and unlike the other films in the series was produced in England. Directed by Don Sharp. Screenplay by Harry Spalding. Starring Brian Donlevy, George Baker, Carole Gray, Burt Kwouk, Yvette...
in 1965. There was also a remake of the same name
The Fly (1986 film)
The Fly is a 1986 science fiction horror film co-written and directed by David Cronenberg. Produced by 20th Century Fox, and Brooksfilms, the film stars Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and John Getz. It is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, but retains only the basic premise of a scientist...
in 1986 directed by David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
, which itself had a sequel, 1989's The Fly II
The Fly II
The Fly II is a 1989 American science fiction horror film starring Eric Stoltz and Daphne Zuniga. It was directed by Chris Walas as a sequel to the 1986 Academy Award-winning movie The Fly. Stoltz's character in this sequel is the adult son of Seth Brundle, the scientist-turned-'Brundlefly', played...
.
In popular culture
The Fly has become an influential science fiction/horror film. It has been referenced in popular culturePopular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. One typical citation occurs in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
television series, when the character Baxter Stockman
Baxter Stockman
Dr. Baxter Stockman is a fictional scientist who has appeared in several versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shows, videogames, and comics. In each version, he is depicted as the creator of the Mousers, machines meant to seek out and destroy sewer rats...
is transformed into a human/fly hybrid after a fly gets caught in a disintegrator unit with him--a reference more to "The Fly" remake. The film is also referenced in the "Fly vs. Fly" segment of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode Treehouse of Horror VIII
Treehouse of Horror VIII
"Treehouse of Horror VIII" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons ninth season and first aired on the Fox network on October 26, 1997. In the eighth annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode, Homer Simpson is the last man left alive when a neutron bomb destroys Springfield until a gang of mutants come...
: Bart and a fly enter a transporting machine, with Bart hoping that he will become a super mutant. He comes away with the body (and the size) of a fly, while the fly ends up with his own head and Bart's body. The movie was also parodied in the Disney film The Emperor's New Groove
The Emperor's New Groove
The Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures through Buena Vista Distribution on December 15, 2000. It is the 40th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics...
where Kuzco goes into the jungle and sees a regular fly crying out, "Help me, help me," before it is devoured by a scary looking black spider that says, "Too late," after consuming the whole fly. It was also the principal inspiration for MANT!, the movie-within-a-movie in Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
's 1993 comedy Matinee
Matinee (film)
Matinee is a 1993 period comedy film directed by Joe Dante. It is an ensemble piece about the home front in the Cuban Missile Crisis combined with a tribute to independent filmmaker William Castle. The film stars John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, and Kellie Martin...
. Andre DeLambre also appeared as the boss of Episode 2 of Monster Bash, and was known as Igor. In Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
, the titular character offers a Zagnut
Zagnut
Zagnut is a candy bar produced and sold in the United States. It was launched in 1930 by the D. L. Clark Company, which sold it to Leaf later on and acquired by The Hershey Company in 1996. Its main ingredients are peanut butter and toasted coconut, and it weighs 1.75 ounces .Unlike many other...
candy bar to a fly as bait and then pulls it underground to eat it. We hear the fly (or perhaps Betelgeuse mockingly) screaming "Help me! Help me! Help meeee!" Betelgeuse discards the candy bar and quickly engulfs the fly. In the PC version of Team Fortress 2 there is a Halloween costume that gives the teleporter-building engineer the head, wings, and feet of a fly. All three items can be bought together in a bundle called the "Brundle Bundle", an obvious reference to the remake.
A credit to the film's attempt at maintaining a realistically scientific atmosphere, in a scene when Vincent Price's character is asking his sister in-law what scientific breakthrough his brother has been working on he actually suggests, "...flatscreen?", probably one of the earliest mentionings of such technology in cinema.
In music, the song Human Fly written by The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
is a clear reference to the movie, as "The Return of the Fly" from The Misfits.