As I/we wrote about two other films we saw, being the 'originals', later remade - 'The Last Man On Earth' and 'Scarface' - this film is perhaps among 'younger' generations more known from the 1986 remake, directed by David Cronenberg (a favourite among directors in the 'horror' or 'bizarre'-genre) with Jeff Goldblum in the leading role.
As with 'The Last Man On Earth' we get to meet Vincent Price in this film too.
André Delambre (David Hedison) is a scientist who is found dead with his arm and head crushed in a hydraulic press. His wife, Helene (Patricia Owens), confess being the perpetrator of the crime but she refuses to say why she has committed it.
However, after a while, the police and others find that she is obsessed with flies and particularly with a white-headed one. André has a brother - François (Vincent Price) - who lies to her, saying that he has caught the fly with the white head. This as Helene seemed afraid that they were going to kill it, as her domiciliary care intended to do.
Well, most of you know the rest of the story: André has been working on a matter transporter, called a disintegrator-integrator with which he can 'move' objects from one to the other in space and time. Most of his experiments have gone well, even though he tried with their cat, who didn't reappear. One day he tries the same with himself but unfortunately a small fly happens to share the 'capsule' with him and this leads to that he 'inherits' some of the genetic codes of the fly, little by little transforming him into the insect. First it's not obvious as he hides himself but one day his wife sees him without the cloth he has been hiding his head with.
On the same time he wants her to catch the fly with the white head, being a part of himself, so that he can reverse the process.
Gradually André is loosing his mind but before this happens he destroys the equipment and it all leads to his death in the hydraulic press, the button pressed by Helene.
Helene is convicted of murder as they all think she is mad when she tells her story, all but François and André's and Helene's son Philippe (Charles Herbert).
Before they take Helene away, Philippe calls for François and the Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall) as he has seen a fly trapped in a web in the garden and when they approach they can hear the fly scream: "Help me! Help me!"
The inspector smashes them both, Helene is liberated through lack of evidence and they can all get back to normal - or can they?
Again we have the scientist prepared to take risks that can cause immeasurable dangers for themselves but - more important - for others and for the nature as such.
In this case one also see that the scientist is prepared to go ahead with his experiments without them being fully tested. Is this an exaggerated description, not corresponding to 'reality'?
No, I don't think so. Science is - as most things in society - intervowen with economy. If you are able to create something new and innovative, you will also be able to earn money on your invention and often a lot of money.
Surrounding the scientist there are financiers, prepared to invest great amounts of money, making them - and the scientist - blind for possible problems and negative impacts.
I think this film displays this very well as do many other films and books about science. This not least important as It seems as if most people still look upon science as being or representing the 'truth' about our life on Earth.
Naively enough a lot of people also seem to regard scientists as being more or less idealists, only striving to improve the human life without any other hidden agendas and this is of course not true.
Concerning the film as such, I think that the remake in 1986 - Cronenberg's version - is as good as this one and perhaps even more thrilling, as far as I (Gunnar) remember correctly. It's quite a while since I saw that version.
The director of this film, Kurt Neumann had though some experience of directing films of horror and suspense but Cronenberg is perhaps weirder in his conception of film making?
André Delambre (David Hedison) is a scientist who is found dead with his arm and head crushed in a hydraulic press. His wife, Helene (Patricia Owens), confess being the perpetrator of the crime but she refuses to say why she has committed it.
However, after a while, the police and others find that she is obsessed with flies and particularly with a white-headed one. André has a brother - François (Vincent Price) - who lies to her, saying that he has caught the fly with the white head. This as Helene seemed afraid that they were going to kill it, as her domiciliary care intended to do.
Well, most of you know the rest of the story: André has been working on a matter transporter, called a disintegrator-integrator with which he can 'move' objects from one to the other in space and time. Most of his experiments have gone well, even though he tried with their cat, who didn't reappear. One day he tries the same with himself but unfortunately a small fly happens to share the 'capsule' with him and this leads to that he 'inherits' some of the genetic codes of the fly, little by little transforming him into the insect. First it's not obvious as he hides himself but one day his wife sees him without the cloth he has been hiding his head with.
On the same time he wants her to catch the fly with the white head, being a part of himself, so that he can reverse the process.
Gradually André is loosing his mind but before this happens he destroys the equipment and it all leads to his death in the hydraulic press, the button pressed by Helene.
Helene is convicted of murder as they all think she is mad when she tells her story, all but François and André's and Helene's son Philippe (Charles Herbert).
Before they take Helene away, Philippe calls for François and the Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall) as he has seen a fly trapped in a web in the garden and when they approach they can hear the fly scream: "Help me! Help me!"
The inspector smashes them both, Helene is liberated through lack of evidence and they can all get back to normal - or can they?
Again we have the scientist prepared to take risks that can cause immeasurable dangers for themselves but - more important - for others and for the nature as such.
In this case one also see that the scientist is prepared to go ahead with his experiments without them being fully tested. Is this an exaggerated description, not corresponding to 'reality'?
No, I don't think so. Science is - as most things in society - intervowen with economy. If you are able to create something new and innovative, you will also be able to earn money on your invention and often a lot of money.
Surrounding the scientist there are financiers, prepared to invest great amounts of money, making them - and the scientist - blind for possible problems and negative impacts.
I think this film displays this very well as do many other films and books about science. This not least important as It seems as if most people still look upon science as being or representing the 'truth' about our life on Earth.
Naively enough a lot of people also seem to regard scientists as being more or less idealists, only striving to improve the human life without any other hidden agendas and this is of course not true.
Concerning the film as such, I think that the remake in 1986 - Cronenberg's version - is as good as this one and perhaps even more thrilling, as far as I (Gunnar) remember correctly. It's quite a while since I saw that version.
The director of this film, Kurt Neumann had though some experience of directing films of horror and suspense but Cronenberg is perhaps weirder in his conception of film making?
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