Andre (David Hedison), the scientist, communicates with his wife Helene (Patricia Owens) via his typewriter. Head covered in a black cloth, he keeps the horror to himself.
The housefly's bestial nature now grafted within Andre is gradually crawling its way into his mind and taking over.
The fly appendage tries to stop Andre's hand from typing precisely because his human soul finds expression in his vital connection with his wife by way of his typewritten messages. Andre is not yet a monster for as long as he can type; the typewriter becomes a visual trope of what remains of him that is still human.
I'm not so sure what typewriter this is exactly, my online research did not yield results. My best guess is that it's a Remington (Model 16 to be exact, thanks for the i.d. Richard P. typecasters, perhaps you can help i.d.?).
Despite Helene's brave reassurances, she is hit
with a paroxysm of emotion when she discovers that
Andre who once looked like he wouldn't harm a fly
...had become one big housefly of a husband.
Helene had inadvertently proven to herself
that looks do count!
Stylistically speaking, this is my favorite sequence- the reaction shot of Helene as seen through the multi-focal optic of Andre's housefly eyes. Brilliant.
I know it's not for all tastes but for those of you who can enjoy a vintage monster scifi, you'll get a kick out of "The Fly." And let me just say that this original 1958 version is way creepier than the in-your-face, sfx-loaded 80s remake, which is quite bereft of atmosphere and suspense. By the way, the screenwriter for "The Fly" was novelist James Clavell who later wrote "Shogun" (1986).
"The Fly" (dir. Kirk Neumann) is the third title in my Typewriter Film List following The Year of Living Dangerously and The End of the Affair.
*Screen caps from "The Fly" ©1958 Twentieth Century Fox
*Typecast via Underwood Deluxe Quiet Tab
18 comments:
Great post!
The typecast photo is great, I think the best I've seen so far. Your stapler looks like a grasshopper. :)
I was 10 years old when this movie first came out, and my parents wouldn't let me see it, because they said it would give me nightmares. I saw it later, and it was still scary! Fascinating post, especially the part about James Clavell's part in The Fly. Years ago, I was quite a fan of his novels set in Asia...King Rat, Tai-Pan, Shogun, Noble House, Whirlwind and Gai-Jin. I never knew he had written the screenplay for a science fiction film!
Great post, interesting subject and artistic layout as always. Now I'm going to have to rent that film!
Happy to read your comments, much appreciated as always.
@maschinengeschrieben, it's the result of my own scientific teleporting experiment using a stapler and a cricket. ( :
@Dana, I also didn't know until much later that Clavell was part of the creative team behind The Fly.
@Cameron, you totally have to rent it!
Have you read the short story that the movie is based upon? I tell ya what, when I saw the movie as a kid in the 80's, it just seemed sill. When I read the story as an adult last year? Scared the crap outta me.
Very interesting use of the typewriter in this film. I think you're right, it's a Remington, a model 16.
shoot you beat me to the Remington 16, but why is he typing in all caps on tractor-feed paper?
Very cool post, I really enjoyed it.
@Mike S., nope I haven't read it, I'll have to look for it. Is it by Clavell?
@Richard P, appreciate the i.d., I'll tweak the post to include "Model 16."
@Peter, it's set in his laboratory, the tractor feed paper is used for scientific data. He's having difficulty keeping his hand steady, I suppose the all-caps makes it easier than caps/l.c.
Thanks for the comments, guys.
George Langelaan. Check it out!
http://anayeliexhibit.blogspot.com/
Muaaacck!
Helene's going to need one enormous fly swatter! I've never seen this but I like your typewriter-as-link-to-humanity analysis. I'm glad you found out which typewriter was used!
Excellent post, Ton, in what is becoming a very interesting series. I haven't seen this film since about 1985. And, methinks you'd better get around to "The Lost Weekend" and "Sunset Boulevard" before too long.
Thanks all for the new comments.
@Lauren, Netflix-worthy for sure.
@Teeritz, we shall see... ( :
This is such a well-written post! :) Amazing how you were able to dissect the movie that way. So how did the movie end?? I love your wooden stapler by the way.
this was awesome and super fun. nice pics too, the multiplex scream is just killer
Thanks a lot for the new comments.
@GIFM, I like the cricket stapler a lot, so unusual. Found it on Etsy, there's a label that says "San Francisco."
ahh they showed this in my journey to moving image lectures at uni. so simple yet so effective !
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