Curse of the Fly – promoted as The Curse of the Fly – is the second and final sequel to the 1958 version of The Fly. It was released in 1965, and unlike the other films in the series was produced in England.
The film was directed by Don Sharp (The Kiss of the Vampire; Witchcraft; Psychomania) and the screenplay was written by Harry Spalding. The movie stars Brian Donlevy (Quatermass), George Baker, Carole Gray, Yvette Rees, Rachel Kempson, Burt Kwouk, Jeremy Wilkins, Charles Carsan and Mary Manson.
This film was rarely seen for many years, as it was the only entry in the entire Fly film franchise that did not receive a videotape or laserdisc release. It did not receive its home video premiere until 2007 when it was released in a DVD boxed set with the original series of films.
Plot:
Martin Delambre (Baker) is driving to Montreal one night when he sees a young girl by the name of Patricia Stanley (Gray) running along in just her white underwear. They fall in love and are soon married.
However, the pair both hold secrets: she has recently escaped from a mental asylum; he and his father Henri (Donlevy) are engaged in radical experiments in teleportation, and they have already had horrific consequences. Martin also suffers recessive fly genes which cause him to age rapidly and he needs a serum to keep him young.
In a rambling mansion in rural Quebec, they have successfully teleported people between there and London. However, there had been many failures producing horribly disfigured and mad people who are locked up in the stables. Martin’s first wife is one of them.
The police and keeper of the asylum trace Stanley to the Delambre place where they find out she has married Martin but it comes out that he had a previous wife whom he did not divorce. Inspector Charas, who had investigated Andre Delambre and is now an old man in the hospital, tells the policeman about the Delambre family and their experiments…
Reviews:
“In any event, no one involved in its creation seems to have given much thought to the idea that this movie most likely takes place some 70 years after The Fly. But taken on its own terms, with only minimal reference to its two predecessors, The Curse of the Fly is a thoughtful, well-crafted film that deserves far better than has been its lot in life.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
“There’s still a few other things to like about Curse, such as its lush black and white Cinemascope photography and its quaint, shadowy sets […] it falls under the category of being a pretty decent standalone film that just happens to be a bad entry in its series…” Oh, the Horror!
“There’s very little action (even of the human on human variety), and since it’s only tangentially related to the first films (the only returning character is the cop from the first movie, played by a new actor) it’s sort of like starting over, which means they can’t speed things along like a normal sequel could […] The romantic scenes probably take more screen-time than anything involving failed teleporter victims.” Horror Movie a Day
Cast and characters:
Brian Donlevy … Henri Delambre
George Baker … Martin Delambre
Carole Gray … Patricia Stanley
Yvette Rees … Wan
Burt Kwouk … Tai
Michael Graham … Albert Delambre
Jeremy Wilkin … Inspector Ronet (as Jeremy Wilkins)
Charles Carson … Inspector Charas
Mary Manson … Judith Delambre
Rachel Kempson … Madame Fournier
Warren Stanhope … Hotel Manager
Mia Anderson … Nurse
Arnold Bell … Hotel Porter
Stan Simmons … Heavyset Creature (uncredited)
Filming locations:
Black Park, Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England
Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England
Technical details:
86 minutes
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 2.35: 1
Audio: Mono (Westrex Recording System)
