Curse of the Fly
Third Fly film, produced in UK, rarely seen until 2007.
Curse of the Fly is a 1965 British horror science-fiction film directed by Don Sharp, with a cast including Brian Donlevy, Carole Gray, and George Baker. Harry Spalding wrote the screenplay, and the movie serves as the third entry in The Fly film series, coming after Return of the Fly (1959). It stands apart from the other films in the franchise because it was produced in the United Kingdom.
For many years, Curse of the Fly was difficult to see in some regions, but it did receive a VHS release in the UK in the 1980s. Apart from a shortened Super 8mm version released for home movie use in the mid-1970s, it did not get a widespread home video release until 2007, when it appeared as part of a boxed set with the original series of films.
**Plot**
One night, Martin Delambre is driving toward Montreal when he spots a young woman named Patricia Stanley running in her underwear. They quickly fall in love and marry. Both, however, keep secrets: Patricia has just escaped from a mental asylum, while Martin and his father Henri are conducting radical teleportation experiments that have already led to horrific outcomes. Martin is a normal human with no genetic condition.
In a sprawling mansion in rural Quebec, Martin and Henri have succeeded in teleporting people between there and London, but earlier failures have left horribly disfigured and insane victims locked in the stables. Among them are Samuels and Dill, two former assistants, but not Martin’s first wife Judith. Martin’s brother Albert runs the London receiving station but wants to end the project and break free from the obsession that has consumed their grandfather, father, and brother. A Chinese couple, Wan and Tai, work for the Delambres both in the house and the lab.
The police and the headmistress of the asylum trace Patricia to the Delambre estate, learning she has married Martin. They soon discover he had a previous wife he never divorced. Inspector Charas, who once investigated Andre Delambre and is now an elderly man in the hospital, tells Inspector Ronet about the Delambre family and their experiments.
As the police close in, a mix of callousness and madness takes hold of the Delambres. They decide to abandon their work and destroy evidence of their failures.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Don Sharp
- Producer
- Robert L. Lippert / Jack Parsons
- Writer
- Harry Spalding
- Based On
- "The Fly" / 1957 story in Playboy · George Langelaan
- Starring
- Brian Donlevy / Carole Gray / George Baker
- Music
- Bert Shefter
- Cinematography
- Basil Emmott
- Editing
- Robert Winter
- Studio
- Lippert Films
- Distributor
- 20th Century Fox
- Released
- 7 May 1965 · UK · 1966 · 1 · 31 · U.S.
- Runtime
- 86 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film follows Martin Delambre, who marries Patricia Stanley, a woman who has escaped from a mental asylum. Martin and his father Henri are conducting teleportation experiments that have produced horribly disfigured victims, but Martin's first wife Judith is not among them—the disfigured are other failed experiments. Martin himself is a normal human with no recessive fly genes or rapid aging condition. The Delambres keep their failed experiments locked in the stables of their Quebec mansion. As the police close in, the family decides to eliminate evidence of their work, leading to violent confrontations and a tragic conclusion.
Reader's Guide
Curse of the Fly is notable as the only entry in the original Fly trilogy produced in the United Kingdom, made by Robert L. Lippert to take advantage of the Eady Levy. The film was rarely seen for decades, receiving no videotape, laserdisc, or online release until a 2007 boxed set. Its continuity with the earlier films is disputed: the backstory alters events from The Fly and Return of the Fly, and the character Henri Delambre may be intended as a renamed version of Philippe Delambre from the earlier films. The film was a box office disappointment, and critical reception was mixed, with praise for its opening sequence but criticism of its script and acting.
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