THE FLY (1958)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous* 
MYTHICITY: *good*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *cosmological, psychological*

On subsequent viewings of THE FLY, its most impressive aspects is not the monster itself, or the cool mystery-setup of the opening, or the horrifying conclusion (which was original to the movie). It's the curious fact that the movie's version of scientist Andre Delambre (David Hedison) isn't much in the mold of archetypal mad scientist. 

Indeed, the script James Clavell produced from the George Langelaan short story seems determined to show the idyllic nature of the lives of Andre, his wife Helene (Patricia Owens), and their little son Philippe (Charles Herbert). Indeed, there's a scene in the movie that shows Andre as the ultimate altruist, also not present in the short story:

The disintegrator-integrator will change life as we know it. Think what it means. Anything, even humans, will go through one of these devices. No need for cars or railways or airplanes, even spaceships. We'll set up matter-receiving stations throughout the world, and later the universe. There'll never be famine. Surpluses can be sent instantaneously at almost no cost, anywhere. Humanity need never want or fear again. I'm a very fortunate man, Hélène.

With these words, Andre shows that his sin is not that of the ordinary over-reacher, who wants to prove to others how right his theories are. Instead, he's motivated by gratitude for his own good fortune, and wants to give his discovery to mankind in a display of ego-less generosity. But even though there's no selfish intent, he's upsetting the balance of the universe with his altruism, and so he pays the price of any other over-reacher.

Langelaan, of course, deserves full credit for THE FLY's excellent setup, which begins in media res, with Helene seems to have gone insane, stamping out her husband's life with a mechanical press. The added detail that she doesn't just squash his head but also one of his hands seems all but made for Freudian analysis. The film, being longer, throws in a number of time-killing incidents, like one in which Andre tests his matter-transport device on the family house cat (which at very least shows that Andre is a bit cavalier with the lower life-forms). Because of this incident, Andre's fate when he tests the machine on himself-- during which a fly gets into the test-chamber with the scientist-- might be seen as nature's revenge.

Another movie-addition is that while Andre's brother Francois is just another talking-head in the story, it's strongly implied that he nurtures a passion for his brother's wife. After the death of "Andre the Fly" at the climax, there's a slight suggestion that Francois may take over Andre's duties of husband and father to, respectively, Helene and Philippe. However, this prospect is cancelled out by the sequel.

Though Hedison's monsterized character is the star of the story, technically Owens carries most of the film as the put-upon Helene, conveying far more dimension than one finds in the female leads for monster-movies.