L'esperimento del dottor K.

A slick, clever, engaging and unique (if a bit slow-paced at first) sci-fi story. Although the special effects leave something to be desired, especially if you've seen the incredible (and incredibly nauseating) images of the 1986 remake, the film's restrained approach to horror can be very pleasurable if you get used to it, and the script is stronger and more character-driven than the one of Cronenberg's version. A surprisingly good film. (***)

The Fly (1958)

You might be convinced to see a movie just because it has Vincent Price and Herbert Marshall in it--they come from different backgrounds, but both are serious actors with nuance and clearly chiseled personalities. And they definitely raise the movie up.

But it's the story that is the star here. A Ray Bradbury kind of science fiction, where a futuristic idea enters middle America, and where something goes terribly, bizarrely wrong. If you think about it it's disturbing, but the movie doesn't pause to let you think. One of its strengths is that it never flags. And the main character, the handsome father and scientist (who creates the invention of the century in his basement), is brilliant. He's suave, alternately relaxed and obsessed, reasonable and believable even when talking about the unbelievable.

The flaws are so obvious they you can skim over them--the fly effects at the end, their stupidity at catching and losing the fly, the notion of insanity, the television kind of family interactions--but it does make the movie more of an entertainment than some fine art classic. But hey, that's what it's supposed to be, and really enjoyable. Even in parts brilliant. Watch it!

"The Fly" is one of the better giant insect movies of the 50s. It starts out with the discovery by a night watchman of the grisly killing of scientist Andre Delambre (Al Hedison aka David Hedison) apparently at the hands of his wife Helene (Patricia Owens). She calls Andre's brother Francois (Vincent Price) to tell him of the tragedy. Francois in turn, calls in Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall) and together they question Helene to try to find out what happened.

In a flashback, we learn that Andre had been experimenting with transporting matter at light speed from one point to another. When he reached the stage of using a human in the tests, he had used himself. Unfortunately, when he transported himself, unbeknownst to him a common fly had been in the disintegrator with him. When they re-integrated things were not quite as they had been before. Of course no one really believes Helene's story until Francois and the Inspector are shown the unfortunate fly by Andre and Helene's son Philippe (Charles Herbert).

Director Kurt Neumann builds up the suspense by first letting us guess what has happened in the laboratory and then delaying the unmasking of Andre as long as possible. That scene reminded me of the unmasking of the Phantom in Lon Chaney's "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925). The wide screen is used to great effect in that scene when Helene first sees what has happened to her husband, and we then see multiple images of her, much in the way that we believe a fly would see it, screaming in terror.

The fly makeup was, I thought, quite convincing and who can ever forget the final scene when a spider is closing in on the title character (Help me, please...Help me..).

In a Montreal machine shop, scientist Andre Delambre (Al Hedison) is found crush to death with his wife Helene (Patricia Owens) at the controls. She calls to confess to his brother Francois (Vincent Price). With the head crushed, Francois identifies the body with a long scar on his leg. Helene's confession seems suspicious and Andre's basement lab is trashed. Helene seems obsessed with flies and Francois pretends to have captured a white-headed fly. Helene recounts the story to him and Inspector Charas. Andre had succeeded in making a teleportation device.

This is much better than a simple 50's B-movie. The story is actually quite compelling. The acting is relatively good. Vincent Price is playing it straight. The production looks good. The directions are a little stiff which is the style of the day. It is still the story that is so great and the reveal is absolutely iconic.

The "help me, help meeeee" scene revolted and scared me so much as a young child that it was years before I could see this movie again. Even now I cringe when I witness that nightmarish scene. As good as Cronenberg's movie is (and it is very good), there is nothing that surpasses the delirious horror of the man-fly in the spider's grasp.

Elsewhere, the movie is rather subdued. In some spots, almost too much so. Although the first revelation of The Fly's appearance is another classic spot...the multiple reflections was a great touch. Like all great monsters, the Fly has a very sympathetic edge to it. We are revolted by the horror of this monster but we feel overwhelming pity for him as well.

Vincent Price does a workman-like job in a rather blasé part. Usually he adds a special touch to a film, but really, any number of actors could have played his part here.

The scientific basis of this movie is pure rubbish, as there is no way that insect and human parts could biologically interact with each other. The result of such a mixture would be instantly dead in real life.

But that doesn't matter here. A nightmare has its own logic. And "The Fly" is a nightmare.