The Fly (1958)

Film and Plot Synopsis

“The Fly” is a classic science fiction horror film from 1958 directed by Kurt Neumann, based on the short story of the same name by George Langelaan. The film follows the story of a brilliant scientist, André Delambre, whose experiments with teleportation lead to a terrifying and tragic outcome.

‘The Fly’ Movie Summary

The film begins in Montreal, Canada with François Delambre (David Hedison), a renowned scientist, being found killed with his head and hand smashed between a machine press. André’s wife, Helene Delambre (Patricia Owens), is seen near the murder and becomes the prime suspect. André’s brother, Francois Delambre (Vincent Price), recruits Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall), a close friend of the Delambre family, to investigate the death. Charas is bewildered by the circumstances and seeks to unravel the mystery surrounding André’s death. Helene tells the Inspector and her brother-in-law the shocking tale of André’s experiments with teleportation.

Helene recounts how André became obsessed with discovering the secrets of instantaneous transportation. He constructed a teleportation device in his secluded laboratory and conducts experiments on small objects, successfully transporting them from one chamber to another. Despite his initial success, André is determined to evaluate the teleportation device on living creatures. André attempts an experiment on the family’s cat who never materializes in the chamber, although André still hears the cat cry. Following the setback, André continues to experiment with other animals which go off without a hitch.

During one fateful experiment, André decides to teleport himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly sneaks into the chamber with him. As the experiment progresses, the atoms of André and the fly merge together at the molecular level, resulting in a grotesque fusion of man and insect. André emerges from the chamber with the head and left arm of the fly, while the fly possesses André’s head and arm.

Terrified by his transformation, André is unable to reverse the process. He hides his disfigured appearance by wearing a cloth over his head and retreats to his laboratory. Helene becomes suspicious of his behavior and investigates further, discovering the truth about the teleportation experiment. Horrified by what her husband has become, Helene becomes determined to help André find a cure. Helene begins searching for the fly with the assistance of her son Philippe (Charles Herbert), hoping that André can reverse the transformation. She becomes obsessed about finding the fly. She eventually finds the fly, but it escapes her and slips outside through a crack in the window.

No, Helene and Andre believed in the sacredness of life. They wouldn’t harm anything… not even a fly. Francois Delambre (Vincent Price)

As André’s condition worsens, he becomes increasingly unstable and irrational. As each day passes, André finds his humanity slipping away as the fly’s instincts begin to take over. While André can still think like a human, he smashes the equipment, burns his notes, and leads Helene to the factory. André seeks to end his suffering and needs Helene to help him. When they arrive, he sets the hydraulic press, puts his head and arm under, and motions for Helene to push the button. André’s arm falls free as the press descends, and trying not to look, she raises the press, replaces the arm, and activates the machine a second time.

After Helene completes her account of the events, Inspector Charas concludes that Helene is insane and guilty of the murder of her husband. As the inspector brings in the authorities to arrest Helene, Philippe tells Francois he has seen the fly trapped in a web in the garden. Francois convinces Inspector Charas to see for himself. The two men find the fly, with Andre’s head and arm, trapped in a spider web with a large brown spider approaching it. The men hear the cries of the spider begging for help. Just as the spider is about to devour the fly, Charas crushes both the spider and the fly with a rock. Now convinced of the truth, but knowing that no one else will believe them, the two men decide to declare André’s death a suicide so that Helene can go free.

Sometime later, Helene and Phillippe are playing croquet when Francois arrives to take his nephew to the zoo. Philippe inquiries about his father’s death and Francois tells his nephew that his father was conducting a noble, but dangerous, search for the truth, and that one moment of carelessness cost him his life.