It’s the Fly movie without any flies! This second sequel to the original version of The Fly (1958) follows an interesting tangent on teleportation and is better than its rarity would suggest.
Tagline: “What Made Them Half-Human Creatures From The 4th Dimension?”
WTF Factor: *** [One extra for having the balls to omit the fly]
Notable Dialogue:
- Henri: “He really thinks we’re monsters, you know.”
- Martin: “I wish to God I could be as certain as you that he’s wrong.”
Synopsis:
The movie is off to a striking start as a window shatters and glass flies at the camera [as if this were in 3D]. A beautiful woman in her underwear climbs out and runs into the woods [This is not sexy in full coverage underwear]. She continues running throughout the credits. She reaches a gate and leaves the premises of the Fournier Mental Hospital.
Martin Delambre (George Baker) is driving by and sees her. He stops, tosses her a sweater, and offers to take her to Montreal. Patricia (Carole Gray) tells him she ran away and has no family. They steal a dress from a clothesline and when they get to Montreal, Martin books her a hotel room and gives her money to buy clothes.
Martin puts in a call to his home in Quebec and we are introduced to his servants Tai (Burt Kwouk) and Wan (Yvette Rees) [heh, Tai-Wan]. Tai goes to a laboratory full of equipment and radios another lab in London. Albert Delambre (Michael Graham), Martin’s brother, and their father, Henri (Brian Donlevy), are there, and Tai relays the message that the “equipment” will be ready in a week. Albert wants to pack it in:
Albert: “I won’t have anything more to do with the experiment.”
Henri: “Three generations of Delambres have devoted their lives to this work. You can’t leave us now.”
Albert: “I’m entitled to a life of my own.”
Henri: “I’m simply asking you to wait.”
Albert: “Another three generations?”
Dad’s not about to give up.
Henri: “…The teleporter will replace every known means of transportation.”
Albert: “I know all about the dream, Father. It’s all I’ve ever heard. But it doesn’t work. What about the failures, Judith, Samuels, and Dill?”
Henri: “No great advance was ever made without sacrifice.”
Henri points out that he himself successfully transported from Quebec to London last week. Albert doesn’t think it was quite so successful. Something is wrong with Henri’s back.
Martin and Patricia go on a date and Martin admits that he’s a research scientist, not a medical doctor. They have a montage of dates over the next week.
Patricia: “I envy you, Martin. You love your work, don’t you?”
Martin: “Most of the time.”
Martin invites Pat to come home with him and then proposes. She points out that they don’t know each other well, but Martin doesn’t care. It’s smoochie time.
Meanwhile, at a Montreal police station, Madame Fournier reports that a patient, Patricia Stanley, escaped from her facility nine days ago. She tells Inspector Ronet (Jeremy Wilkins) that Pat suffered a nervous breakdown but is not insane. She was a concert pianist who fell apart right before her concert debut a year ago, after the death of her mother. She was making an excellent recovery until her escape.
Martin suddenly doubles over after their picnic, clearly in terrible pain. Pat drives them back to the hotel, and Martin secretly hauls out a syringe and drug; he’s definitely not okay. He gets better, though.
Martin and Pat get married and drive to the mansion up north. Tai looks stricken when Martin introduces his bride and tells Martin that his father needs him to call.
Ronet traces Pat to the hotel and notes the Delambre address, as Martin carries his bride over the threshold of the bedroom.
Patricia has a creepy encounter with Wan as Martin radios his father. The authorities found out that Henri does not have a passport, so he needs to teleport home as soon as the new equipment is installed. He ignores Martin’s objection that they need to test the new configuration first. Martin and Tai set up the equipment, which seems to be working. Pat wakes up from the loud noises and Henri hears her voice over the radio. He is not pleased.
Albert loads dad into the chamber and Martin and Tai reintegrate him in Quebec, apparently successfully. Henri admits that he suffered radiation burns on his previous trip. Martin confesses that he got married and Henri tells him to send Patricia away. Martin insists that no one will come looking for her.
Cut to Inspector Ronet, who is coming to look for her. He has called in Inspector Charas, who handled the “fly” case involving Martin’s grandfather.
The next morning, after smoochies, Patricia meets Henri, who is quite charming to her. Pat sees the piano and freezes for a moment, then proceeds to play, to Henri’s chagrin. Wan is also horrified. She goes to an outbuilding with a series of locked doors and tells an unseen, agitated “Judith” to be quiet. She yells into another door in response to noise, and then returns to Judith to affectionately hold her hand.
Martin goes to the gate to meet Ronet and Mme. Fournier. They ask about Patricia and report that she was in a mental hospital. Martin is not pleased. He brings them to the house, and Pat runs away when she see Mme. Fournier. Martin shows the Inspector the marriage certificate.
Mme. Fournier (to Henri): “I think you should know that your daughter-in-law was being treated for a mental ailment.”
Henri (dryly): “She appears to have made a remarkable recovery since leaving your hands.”
Pat sees Roney and Fournier leaving and runs past the outbuilding. She hears noises and sees a disfigured face in one of the cells.
She screams and runs into Wan, who isn’t pleased. Martin tells Patricia that she has seen the animals they use for their research [???]. Pat, who disapproves of animal research, apparently buys it. Over lunch, Henri warns her to stay away from the “animal” cages.
Martin has another attack and Henri administers the drug. Martin says he was careless and “created an imbalance” in Montreal. Henri points out that they can’t keep their research secret much longer and they will have to proceed. He believes that Albert told the authorities about his father’s missing passport. Albert has a girlfriend and is ready to chuck the project.
Ronet calls on an invalid Charas (Charles Carson), who tells him that Martin Delambre has been married for years, so he can’t be married to Patricia. Charas says that the first wife’s name is Judith [uh oh] and she’s an accomplished pianist. There is no record of a divorce or death.
Henri and Martin travel to Montreal to close out their financial affairs. That night at the house, a woman plays the piano haltingly. Patricia hears and goes to investigate. We see that it’s Judith playing. She turns toward Pat as Wan appears and Pat faints. Wan takes Judith back to the outbuilding.
Patricia awakens to Martin telling her she had a bad dream. Pat isn’t buying it. Wan denies her story and Pat is furious.
Patricia: “You’re all against me. You won’t believe anything I say.”
Henri: “Patricia, no one is against you. We just know that you’re wrong.”
Pat begins to doubt what she saw and she wonders if she is imagining things, because she is sure she was awake. Martin insists it was a dream.
Henri orders Wan to never let Judith out again. Wan is clearly not pleased about the order or Patricia’s presence. Martin is worried that Pat is doubting her own sanity and asks Henri if it would be better to just tell her the truth. Henri is horrified. He says they have to get rid of all evidence of their experiments before the Inspector returns, and they must send Samuels and Dill to London.
Martin: “What’ll happen in London?”
Henri: “Albert will dispose of them.”
Martin: “He won’t do it.”
Henri: “Then I’ll have to give him no alternative.”
Henri blows off the “failures” as “no longer human.” He says Martin will have to decide what to do about Judith. They go to the outbuilding to drug the “experiments” and bring them to the lab. Meanwhile, Charas tells Ronet the story of Martin’s grandfather and the fly.
Charas: “That was the beginning of the curse of the Delambres, the curse of the fly, you may say.”
Charas points out that flies have a short lifespan, and Henri and Martin are both subject to premature and rapid aging. [How he knows this, is vague.] Apparently Albert is normal but the other two require a special serum to survive.
Back in the lab, one of the “experiments” gets loose and wrestles Martin. Dad comes back and beats the experiment to death.
Albert is not answering the radio, but Henri and Martin go ahead and load both Samuels and Dill into the chamber and teleport them together. Meanwhile, Wan sneaks into Patricia’s bedroom while she sleeps, drugged, and puts a large photo of Judith on the nightstand.
Albert finally answers and Henri tells him to reintegrate immediately. He tells Albert to dispose of what comes through.
Martin: “You put them both through. How will they reintegrate?”
Henri: “I don’t know, Martin. A mass of cells, probably. But, easier to kill than an animal, even for Albert.”
Martin: “Will I become like you?”
Henri: “We’re scientists, we have to do things we hate, that even sicken us.”
Albert does as he’s told and reintegrates. He’s really not pleased with what turns up in the chamber.
Martin wakes Patricia to say that he and Henri are going to Montreal. She asks him about the photo, which she dropped. It’s no longer there and Martin insists it was just a dream. He again drugs Patricia, who wonders if she’s going mad. Martin breaks down and tells her that Judith was real at the piano; one of their experiments went wrong. He confesses that those are people, not animals. Patricia recoils as Martin describes the altruistic uses of the teleporter, then falls asleep during his bullshit excuses.
Ronet questions Henri and Martin about Judith. They say that she left Martin, who got a Mexican divorce. Ronet then questions them about Samuels and Dill, who used to be their lab assistants. Ronet isn’t really buying it and tells them he will come to the house tomorrow to see the paperwork.
It’s a dark and stormy night. Pat wakes and finds a shard of glass from the picture frame. Wan goes to Judith.
Wan: “She’s in the bedroom, Judith. She’s in YOUR bedroom.”
Judith attacks Wan and locks her in the cell. She then goes after Patricia, who escapes through the lab. Tai grapples with Judith and hits her with a comically large wrench. He releases Wan, who is not happy that Judith is dead. However, she doesn’t want anyone to know about it and convinces Tai they can hide the body with the teleporter.
Patricia tries to escape through the front gate but she is confronted by Henri and passes out from shock. Apparently Martin and Henri buy the story about Judith escaping, and Henri suggests that Tai and Wan leave. Martin decides that they need to leave Patricia behind but Henri objects, since she knows what is going on. Henri wants to teleport her to London. Martin objects that it’s too dangerous, so Henri offers to go first.
The plan hits a snag when Albert refuses to cooperate.
Albert: “Father, you’re not God. You’re not even human. You murdered those men and you made me a murderer too.”
Henri: “Every great scientific advance is made at the cost of human lives. Success justifies small defeats.”
Martin gives Albert five minutes to cooperate and then he’s sending their father through. He does just that, despite Albert’s pleading. Unfortunately the lab at Albert’s end looks like this:
Albert staggers away, sobbing.
Tai and Wan hightail it out of there just as Inspector Ronet arrives. Martin loads Patricia into the teleportation chamber but she awakens and panics. Martin is having one of his spells, but he lets her out. He is looking rather gnarly as he grabs her and heads to the car. He collapses into the front seat of the car, saying, “Help me, help me.” [heh] He doesn’t look so good.
Ronet calls for backup and then a hysterical Patricia comes in to call for help. He takes her back outside to check on Martin, who is now just a skeleton. Roll closing credits and then: “Is this the end?”
Thoughts: First there was The Fly (1958), where a scientist gets mixed up with a fly in a teleporter and comes to a terrible end. Then there was Return of the Fly (1959), a hastily concocted sequel where the original scientist’s son gets mixed up with a fly in a teleporter but gets restored in the end. Finally, there was Curse of the Fly (1965) which has scientists and teleporters but no fly. I was highly offended by this omission as a child; what a ripoff! However, as an adult viewer, I was surprised at how much I appreciated this movie. I can see why I didn’t like it back when; it’s moody, leisurely paced, emphasizes a romantic relationship, and uses its “monsters” sparingly. All of these features turn out to be plusses.
Curse of the Fly was directed by Don Sharp (Kiss of the Vampire (1963)) from a script by Harry Spalding (The Day Mars Invaded the Earth (1962)). This is the team that created Witchcraft (1964). The same attention to a gothic-like atmosphere and moody black and white photography are present in both movies. The effects are simple but adequate. Lots of time is spent getting to know the characters and exploring Patricia and Martin’s romance. There’s more than a faint whiff of Jane Eyre about the setup.
The main performances are excellent. Martin is the center of the movie and George Baker manages to create sympathy for a character who could have been a lot more unpleasant. Brian Donlevy is his usual gruff self, which suits his character (although Spalding would have preferred Claude Rains). Carole Gray does a good job as the bewildered bride and makes the most out of what could have been a colorless role. The less said about Yvonne Rees as an Asian character, the better.
All in all, this movie is a lot better than its historical reputation. It isn’t scary but then it doesn’t try to be. I recommend it for a quiet viewing.
Quick bits:
- This movie never got a videotape release, and for a while was only available in a DVD box set of the original three Fly movies.
- The backstory of the Delambres is a bit confused. Is Henri the brother of Philippe, featured in Return of the Fly, or is he actually Philippe with a name change? Martin apparently inherited some fly traits, which supports the latter explanation.
- Vincent Price did not appear because he was under contract with American International in the mid-1960s.
Suggested double feature: For another teleportation scenario, pair this one with The Philadelphia Experiment (1984).
Tagline for Coming Attraction: “Mammoth skyscrapers of stone thundering across the Earth!”
