Curse of the Fly (1965)

Motorist Martin Delambre attempts to keep evidence of his family's bizarre experiments in teleportation hidden from his wife, who is hiding secrets of her own.

Director:

Don Sharp

Writer:

Harry Spalding

Stars:

Brian Donlevy, George Baker, Carole Gray

Cast

Cast overview:
Brian Donlevy	...	Henri Delambre
George Baker	...	Martin Delambre
Carole Gray	...	Patricia Stanley
Yvette Rees	...	Wan
Burt Kwouk	...	Tai
Michael Graham	...	Albert Delambre
Jeremy Wilkin	...	Inspector Ronet (as Jeremy Wilkins)
Charles Carson	...	Inspector Charas
Mary Manson	...	Judith Delambre
Rachel Kempson	...	Madame Fournier
Warren Stanhope	...	Hotel Manager
Mia Anderson	...	Nurse
Arnold Bell	...	Hotel Porter

Storyline

Remember that scientist that was trying to perfect a matter transportation machine but got fused with a fly when one of the little critters got into the transporter with him? Well, this story is about three of his descendants (a son, Henri Delambre, played by Brian Donlevy and two grandsons). Seems the son wants to continue and perfect the machine while his two sons want to get out of the scientist business and live "normal" lives. The oldest son, Martin, decides to take a wife (who just happens to have escaped from a mental hospital after her parents died). Martin's father is not happy with this intrusion but finally gives in because he understands him son's needs. They all try to be a happy family until humans used in botched experiments are discovered by the new bride and the police nearly discover the lab while looking for Martin's wife. Everyone tries to get out of there via the transporter but things just don't go according to plan .

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | scientist | teleportation | newlywed couple | rapid aging | 

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Taglines:

Piece by Piece...Atom by Atom...Humans Invisibly Teleported Through Time and Space!!!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was rarely seen for many years, as it was the only entry in the trilogy to never to receive a videotape or laserdisc release. It did not receive its home video premiere until 2007, when it was released on DVD in a box set with the original series of films.

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Goofs

During the conversation about the FLY legacy, a photo is shown of the FLY from the movie Return of the Fly. It is said that the Fly in the photo is Andre Delamere (David Hedison). In fact, the photo is of Philipp Delamere (Brett Halsey), the son of Andre from Return of the Fly. There were no photographs taken of the Fly in any of the previous two Fly movies. So the photo should not exist in this movie.

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Quotes

Albert Delambre: You're not God, you're not even human. You murdered those men and you made me a murderer too.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the closing credits: "Is this the end?"

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Alternate Versions

The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to reduce a shot of 2 previously teleported victims inside a glass cabinet in Albert Delambre's laboratory. The 2006 DVD is uncut.

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Connections

Follows The Fly (1958)

User Reviews

Eh.

This is easily the weakest of the original The Fly series. It is the third and final installment and bares little resemblance to its predecessors. In fact, to accommodate its story line, the makers of the film actually change the plot details of the first two films. In The Fly, Andre Delambre, the original scientist to mix fly and human DNA, had a son named Phillipe. Phillipe would then become the main character of the first sequel, Return of the Fly. In the Curse of the Fly, there is no mention of Phillipe and suddenly Andre has a son named Henri. Where he came from, I haven't the slightest. This, as you can plainly see, could confuse viewers who are familiar with the first two films. Imagine Luke Skywalker not appearing in Return of the Jedi and out of nowhere, Darth Vader has a son named Roy. Same thing. It leaves one perplexed throughout a good chunk of the film.

Despite this obviously flaw, the story itself isn't that bad, I suppose. Henri and his sons are continuing with Andre's experiment to transport human beings from one place to the other. His one son, Martin, has married and his wife has discovered the botched experiments that had turned his ex-wife and former lab assistances into monsters. At first he tries to convince her she is dreaming all of this (Oh yeah, the film begins with her escaping from a mental hospital), but soon enough he can't disguise the fact that he and his father are mad scientists.

The one saving grace of this film is the pathetic attempt to pass off a Caucasian woman as a Chinese servant. She looks more like Katherine Hepurn then Amy Tan, but this embarrassing bit of casting at least brings some camp value to the picture. Again, this picture pails in comparison to The Fly (1958) and Return of the Fly (1959), which are both stellar pieces of early science fiction cinema.

And oh yeah, in Curse of the Fly, there is no fly at all to speak of throughout the entire film. Lame. So very lame.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Curse of the Fly

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lippert Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1