Retrospective: The Fly (1958)

[Shane Burridge]

The Fly (1958) 94m

"I shall never forget that scream as long as I live," says the 
police inspector at the surprise ending of this distinctive 50s 
horror film. Prophetic words: the finale terrorized me as a kid, 
visiting me many times in wandering night-time thoughts for years. 
It was deflating, a short time afterwards, to learn that co-stars 
Vincent Price and Herbert Marshall hadn't been able to keep a 
straight face during the filming of THE FLY's climactic scene. 
They may have thought differently if they'd known then that it 
was to secure a place in horror/SF popular culture, spawn 
sequels and remakes, and even become an episode of THE SIMPSONS. 

THE FLY's underlying theme is nothing special - a family man and 
scientist (David Hedison) dabbles with things he shouldn't and 
creates a monster - but what separates it from other horror 
flicks up until that time was its solid budget (allowing for 
widescreen color photography, decent monster makeup, and believable 
sets), and its balance of horror, sci-fi, and drama. The elegant 
domestic setting and unobtrusive work by B-director Kurt Neumann 
no doubt provided an easy entry point for audiences of the 50s 
who normally didn't frequent horror films. Without resorting to 
spooky camera angles, shadows, and blatant musical stings, THE 
FLY reveals its story in a leisurely manner, usually in open, 
sunny rooms. Only when things get to the workshop in the basement 
are we taken out of the daylight. THE FLY hardly needed 
Cinemascope with these interior sets but perhaps the film-makers 
were saving the "big screen" effect for the iconic, if 
biologically incorrect, moment when Hedison sees the reaction of 
his wife through his new eyes. Now often imitated, this scene 
must have been an impressive shocker in 1958, particularly as it 
jumps out of a film which has to that point been free of tension 
or scares. Also unusual for the genre is that the protagonist's 
wife gets most of the screen time - the first time we see her she 
is fleeing a crime scene where she has just crushed a man's head 
to pulp. It's an intriguing hook into the rest of the story, 
compelling us not only to discover the motive, but also to chart 
the events which are capable of leading a pleasant and charming 
woman into such a gruesome act (note also the symmetry in the 
film's two death scenes, which both open and close the story). 
On the other hand, Hedison, who plays what should be the main role 
(he is, after all, the title character!) spends half the film mute 
and with a bag over his head. A lot of the film doesn't make sense 
- the fly/man size ratio; the lingering voice of the cat even 
though it has disappeared; Hedison's arm acting of its own volition
 - and makes a barometer for what some people perceive as funny and 
what others think is creepy. I sway to the latter, because unlike 
many other horror films I saw as a kid, THE FLY frightened me 
precisely because it was illogical. 

David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of the film sensibly avoided all the 
classic moments that made the original unique or memorable and 
headed into a completely different direction with the same basic 
premise, although it did retain the love and devotion of the leading 
couple and against all odds managed to give a horrifying and graphic 
film a strong romantic grounding. I doubt Price and Marshall would 
have been laughing that one off so easily if they'd been around for 
the final scene.

sburridge at hotmail.com
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