“The ‘Disintegrator Integrator’ will completely change life as we know it.”
In Montreal, Quebec, Canada a night watchman is making his rounds at an industrial plant. He comes upon a bloody sight. A man, crushed in a hydraulic press. A woman standing at the press runs away. Later the phone rings at the home of Francois Delambre (Vincent Price). On the phone is Helene Delambre (Patricia Owens). She tells her brother-in-law that she killed her husband Andre (David Hedison). Francois then receives a call from the night watchman at the family plant. Francois calls his friend Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall). Andre’s body is retrieved and identified by a scar on his leg. Francois and Charas go to see Helene at her home. She readily confesses to killing her husband but refuses to give a reason. She has, however, become increasing obsessed with flies. There are concerns about her mental health.
Francois is having dinner with his nephew (Helene and Andre’s son) Philippe (Charles Herbert) when he begins asking questions about flies. Especially the fly with the white head that mommy was looking for. Francois goes to see Helene. He tells her that he has found the fly with the white head. She seems relieved. Francois insists that she tell him what she is holding back. He calls Charas. When he arrives she tells her story.
Andre is an inventor. He is working on an invention he calls a disintegrator-integrator. It is a matter transporter device. He is trying to move objects from one place to another. He starts with small inanimate objects. He has a few set backs. He reworks his devise. He tries it on the family cat with disastrous results. He again reworks the devise. He tries it on a guinea pig, this time with success. He builds a man size chamber and tries it on himself. He then hides himself away in his lab. When Helene hasn’t seen him after a few days she becomes worried. Andre slides type written notes under the door. He tells her he went through the transporter but there was an accident. A fly went through with him and now his atoms are mixed with the fly atoms. Now his head and left arm are of a fly. He must find the original fly so he can reverse the process. Otherwise Andre will lose control of his mind.
“The Fly” was released in 1958 and was directed by Kurt Neumann. The movie is based on a story by George Langelaan. Neumann discovered the story in Playboy magazine. The movie stays mostly true to the story except for moving the location from France to Canada and changing the very ending for the character Helene Delambre. The film was only done in Color, although many firmly believe they saw it in black and white. I saw it in black and white but that was all our TV could manage. The two sequels “Return of the Fly” 1959 and “Curse of the Fly” 1965 were in black and white.
“The Fly” has something that a lot of horror movies didn’t have. Good acting and good build up. David Hedison’s performance as part fly is fabulous. All you see is his body language. He expresses all his fears and frustrations just by how he movies. He portrays the conflict between being human and transforming into a mindless fly without words. Without even showing his face. Patricia Owen’s raw fear and frustration are fully evident in how she allows herself a moment to breakdown while searching for the white headed fly. The emotion coming from her chest and her heart. This everyday couple goes from normal life to horrendous nightmare one step at a time. Each step bringing you closer to the edge of your seat. And the ending is still haunting. To this day.