The Fly (1958)
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A scientist's experiment with a molecular transporter goes horribly wrong when a house fly enters the chamber, merging their atoms.
The story
In Montreal, scientist André Delambre is found dead with his head and arm crushed in a hydraulic press. His wife Hélène confesses to the crime but refuses to provide a motive, beginning to act strangely and showing an obsession with flies. Flashbacks reveal that André was developing a matter-transporter device called the disintegrator-integrator. During his experiments, a fly entered the chamber with him, resulting in the mixing of their atoms. Now, André possesses the head and left arm of a fly while retaining his human mind, while the fly has a miniature version of his human features. André desperately needs Hélène to capture the fly to reverse the process.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Montreal, scientist André Delambre is found dead with his head and arm crushed in a hydraulic press. His wife Hélène confesses to the crime but refuses to provide a motive, and begins acting strangely, becoming obsessed with flies. Flashbacks show André, Hélène, and their son Philippe as a happy family. André was testing a matter-transporter device, the disintegrator-integrator, on small objects and pets before building man-sized chambers. One day, André attempted to transport himself, but a fly entered the chamber, merging their atoms. André now has the head and left arm of a fly but retains his human mind, while the fly has a miniature version of his human head and arm. André needs Hélène to capture the fly to reverse the process. After an exhaustive search, Hélène finds the fly, but it escapes through a window crack. As the fly's instincts begin to take over André's brain, he leads Hélène to a factory. He sets the hydraulic press, puts his head and arm under, and motions for Hélène to push the button. Hélène pushes the button, crushing his arm, then replaces it and activates the machine again. Later, Hélène's son Philippe sees the fly trapped in a web in the garden. The fly screams 'Help me! Help me!' as a spider approaches. A police inspector and François, André's brother, see the creature and the inspector crushes both with a rock. They decide to declare André's death a suicide to protect Hélène from conviction.
- First release year
- 1958
- Runtime (minutes)
- 94
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kurt Neumann
- Writers
- James Clavell · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- David Hedison · André Delambre; Patricia Owens · Hélène; Vincent Price; Herbert Marshall
- Genres
- science fiction; horror
- Themes
- man's tampering with the unknown; science gone wrong; loss of humanity
- Tone and mood
- macabre; suspenseful; sickening
- Premise and plot tags
- science fiction; horror; monster movie; mad scientist; teleportation; shapeshifting
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1957 short story by George Langelaan
- Franchise connections
- The Fly film series
- Reception
- The film was a commercial success and a major hit for Fox, though it received mixed reviews upon release for its revolting nature. Modern reviews are more uniformly positive, praising its atmosphere and script.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · scale: percentage · review count: 43
- Awards and nominations
- Hugo Award · Best SF or Fantasy Movie · 1959 · nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was released as an 'official' Fox film rather than under the Regal Films banner.; The fly's costume was described by David Hedison as being like 'trying to play the piano with boxing gloves on'.; The film was released as a double feature with Space Master X-7 (1958).
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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