The Deadly Bees

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Freddie Francis; Produced by Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, for Amicus Productions. Released by Paramount Pictures. Screenplay by Robert Bloch and Anthony Marriott, from Gerald Heard's novel; Photography by John Wilcox; Edited by Oswald Hafenrichter; Music by Wilfred Josephs. Starring: Suzannah Leigh, Guy Doleman, Katherine Finn, Frank Finlay, Michael Ripper, John Harvey, Katy Wild and Tim Barrett.

Bees several times their normal size, and with potent stingersterrorize the folks and whip up some suspense and excitement in this British B movie.

"Psycho" author Bloch co-writes and the renowned director / cinematographer Francis directs this entry into killer bee cinema that predates the 1978 flicks "The Swarm" and "The Bees" by almost a dozen years. It may work for viewers if they approach it as a camp film but the truth is, it's too silly to be all that successful. The bee attack scenes really aren't bad (the actors certainly sell the hell out of the material), but they'd be better if the (not so) special effects weren't so hilariously unconvincing. The story, based on a novel by Gerald Heard, deals with a pop singer named Vicki Robbins (Suzanna Leigh), who suffers a mental breakdown and is sent to the idyllic, rustic community of Seagull Island for much needed R & R. Unfortunately, things there are going to get ugly as rival bee keepers engage in cutthroat competition. Bees are being sent to do some serious damage to various unlucky human victims. All in all, this viewer would consider this a lesser effort for Amicus Studios. The company always fared best with their omnibus features; their single story features were never quite as strong. Still, this is all fairly watchable regardless; sincere performances really help a lot. The pretty Leigh is engaging as a resourceful lead, but the show really belongs to Frank Finlay and Guy Doleman as the warring farmers, H.W. Manfred and Ralph Hargrove respectively. A fine supporting cast includes Catherine Finn as Hargroves' neglected wife, Hammer and Amicus regular Michael Ripper in a solid turn as part time barman and part time lawman David Hawkins, James Cossins as an investigating coroner, and the appealing Katy Wild as the helpful Doris Hawkins. There's also the chance to see a musical performance by rock group The Birds (not to be confused with American group The Byrds), featuring a young Ron Wood. The movie further benefits from a good score composed by Wilfred Josephs and a reasonably rousing and fiery finish. While it isn't particularly good, it isn't all that bad, delivering some fun moments and coming in at a short enough 84 minute running time. Five out of 10.

A London pop star suffering exhaustion is sent to convalesce in the country-side where she encounters a toxic mix of deranged ambition and a hybridized strain of killer bees that threatens not only her fragile sanity, but also her life. Leigh is a relative lightweight amongst her accomplished co-stars, with Doleman as the no-nonsense farmer and Finlay as his eccentric neighbour jostling for position as the dominant bee keeper. It's a rather unusual premise on which to base a complex whodunit, but provides a surprisingly strong basis for the mystery to unfold. Doleman's strained relationship with his apparently invalided wife, and the curiosities of relationships in an isolated rural community serve as an intervening backdrop to the troubled Leigh and her increasing concern at the strange events she witnesses.

Veteran Hammer-horror director Francis has crafted an eerie little mystery, lacking none of the essential ingredients of a conventional mystery, with the notable exception of an impartial investigator. Most of the detective work is done by the protagonists, drip feeding the naive Leigh with twisted facts to conjure alibis and implicate the culprit. Francis does a fine job of concealing the mystery, carefully playing the doubt card, and tempering clues with red herrings and faux staging.

Opening to the groovy fusion of art-house pop culture, Leigh's character is framed as a victim of excesses in a progressive London scene (there's an implied drug addiction, but it's vague) and from there, the film juxtaposes to the opposite extreme - an ultra conservative, socially incestuous rural setting, a deep isolation both geographically and socially for the central character. It's an engaging tussle between old-fashioned values and an emerging modern liberalism.

Slated by critics, the film almost cheats itself with its bold title, because it's not ostensibly a movie of this genre. The bees are present as a vehicle only, and certainly they have comparably little to offer by way of shock value. But the intrigue that the many layers build, is compelling. Try it from a different angle and you may like what you find.

This really isn't that bad a movie. I quite enjoyed it, but then I generally do with this kind of film. Suzanna Leigh may not be much of a singer, or an actress come to think of it, but she is beautiful and rescues this film from being a COMPLETE waste of ninety minutes.

There are some genuinely horrific moments, particularly the unpleasant death of the farmer's wife. But who is the deadly bee keeper? You'll probably figure it out within the first ten minutes, but try and play along at home anyway.

Killer bees don't always make for the best 'monsters' in the horror genre, but this British thriller is an exception.

Pop singer vacations on an island with a local bee keeper, while a mysterious swarm of bees has caused the death of a woman.

The Deadly Bees isn't as dull a film as some make it out to be. It has some nice high-powered shock sequences even though the bee FX aren't always convincing. The makeup FX aren't bad, namely the great work on an ill-fated Catherine Finn. The story is a decent mystery, based upon H.W. Herd's novel A Taste for Honey. The direction of Freddie Francis is pretty good, the sets are well constructed and the art direction is excellent. There's also a great dramatic music score to boot.

The cast is quite good. Suzanna Leigh is a decent heroine, but it's really leading actors Guy Doleman and Frank Finlay that turn in the best performances as some feuding, menacing bee keepers.

All around not bad. Certainly the best killer bee movie around and an underrated work.

*** out of ****