Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Fly (1958)'

Written by Scott Edwards

With all of the discoveries that take place on the scientific front, it is hard to imagine that there could be anything the human race cannot do. There are still many things that cannot be done yet, at least the we know of, but rest assured that these things are still on the radar and when the time is right, they will be at our fingertips. But there are some things that are being researched that may not benefit us at all, and when they are completely figured out, will we want to have them be a part of our everyday life? Even though someone might think it is a good idea for themselves, it may not be the best thing for mankind and when it becomes reality, they may tear the world apart, rather than making it a better place.

Francois Delambre is getting ready to call it a night when he gets a phone call from his sister in law Helene. While she is in tears about what has just happened to her husband, she admits to killing him but will not tell Francois the whole story over the phone. Calling the police and running down to factory, Francois identifies the headless body of his brother Andre. Knowing that there has to be much more to the story that Helene is not telling him, Francois tries to befriend her to tell him more, but Helene is not willing to let it all out. Acting out and trying to convince everyone that she is crazy, Helene decides it is time to tell the truth about what has happened over the past couple of months and what has led to her husband’s death.

Andre has been working tirelessly on his new project and has been neglecting his family time, but he thinks that he has finally caught a break in his research. Wanting to show Helene what he has been doing, he drags her down to his lab and reveals the teleportation device that he has finally completed. Helene does not believe that it will work, but when Andre gives her a demonstration with an ashtray that moves from one side of the lab to the other, she is convinced. But the demonstration does not completely go according to plan as the lettering on the bottom of the ashtray is turned around. Andre is not happy with the results since he thought it was ready for further testing, so he digs back through his notes to make sure everything is perfect for his next experiment. 

Putting his cat into the device, Andre is sure that it will work, but the cat is never to be seen again. One more test is needed and with a guinea pig, it works flawlessly, and Helene should be privy to the break through. Seeing it work on a small animal, Helene is blown away, but Andre is far from finished with his work. Locking himself away in the lab once again, he makes changes to the teleportation device, so it can work with a human. After the first run through it works fine, but on the second attempt a fly finds its way into the device and their atoms intertwine causing Andre to become half man and half fly. Helene does not know of what has happened to her husband, but when reading the notes that are being passed under the lab door, she knows something is amiss and wants to see her husband again. Although he will not allow her to see his face, Helene is bound and determined to make sure he knows how much she loves him and will do anything to bring him back. Andre directs her to find the fly that was in the device with him before he loses too much of his own humanity and becomes a monster that no fly swatter can squash.

A fine look at how science can lead to tragedy. Even with one of the greatest breakthroughs known to man at his fingertips, Andre does not pay attention for one short second and it changes his life forever. I enjoyed watching his transformation from man to fly and even without seeing his face, you can tell that he is having more troubles than his wife is willing to see. As Francois is being the good brother, he takes care of Andre and Helene’s son while Helene is being treated like a crazy person. Her story about what happened may sound outlandish to Francois, along with the Inspector that has been assigned to the case, but she knows that it is true and will not veer from it until everyone believes her. Even seeing it unfold in front of my very eyes, I am still blown away with the ending and I will never look at a fly the same way again. Happy Viewing. 

---