A scientist has a horrific accident when he tries to use his newly invented teleportation device.
You voted for it, you got it! This is one I’ve really been looking forward to!
Believe it or not “The Fly” originally appeared in the June 1957 issue of Playboy magazine, the story being wrote by George Langelaan. It was originally a short story that was later adapted for the big screen by novelist James Clavell.
The film has a great cast but the true star is Vincent Price who steals every scene he’s in, hey he wasn’t a Horror icon for nothing and by 1957 was a star in his own right. The rest of the cast do a fantastic job and make some great character come to life.
The film’s effects are, well they’re comical but hey this was the 50’s but for the time you have to give them the team the credit they’re due. They may be old but they still look great on screen and fits the tone and in truth are a great reminder of a lost art.
This became the biggest box office hit for director Kurt Neumann who did an amazing job, unfortunately he never knew it. He died a month after the premiere, only a week before it went into general release. Such a shame really as it truly was the gem of his career.
“The Fly” is a great example of how it sci-fi and Horror films can be a perfect blend when done properly.
Miscellaneous facts about the film:
In the scene where the fly with Andre Delambre’s head and arm is caught in the spider’s web, a small animatronic figure with a moving head and arm was used in the spiderweb as a reference for actors Vincent Price and Herbert Marshall. Price later remembered that filming the scene required multiple takes, because each time he and Marshall looked at the animatronic figure, with its human head and insect body, they would burst out laughing.
Patricia Owens has a real fear of insects. Director Kurt Neumann used this by not allowing her to see the makeup until the “unmasking’ scene.
That is actually David Hedison, not a stuntman, inside the Fly makeup.
This was such a success at the box office that it became one of Fox’s biggest hits of 1958.
Part of the laboratory set was Emerac, the computer from Fox’s production Desk Set (1957).
Michael Rennie was offered the title role but declined it because his head would be covered thru most of the picture.
The lab set cost only $28,000 and included some surplus Army equipment.
James Clavell’s first script was faithful to George Langelaan’s original story, but Fox executives demanded a happier ending.
Andre wears the same clothes in nearly every scene during the film. (With the exception of the night he goes to the ballet.)
Uncredited producer Robert L. Lippert was able to make additional money from the success of this film. His own company, Regal Films, produced Space Master X-7 (1958) which 20th Century Fox used as the co-feature for this film.
The teleportation that causes Andre and the fly to switch atoms is never seen.
A hydraulic press used to kill Andre in the beginning of the film is the same method used in The Terminator (1984) by Sarah Connor to crush the terminator. In both cases it was the head and one arm that were crushed, the press activated by the female lead.
The common adult house fly lives from two weeks to a month in the wild, or longer in benign laboratory conditions.
If you enjoy the Horror stuff I do for SomeWhatNerdy then make sure you click on the links below:
Raz’s Midnight Macabre Facebook page (HERE)
Raz’s Midnight Macabre Blog page (HERE)
