Return of the Fly

Return of the Fly
Promotional film poster
Directed by	Edward Bernds
Produced by	Bernard Glasser
Written by	George Langelaan Edward Bernds
Starring	Vincent Price Brett Halsey
Music by	Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter
Cinematography	Brydon Baker
Edited by	Richard Meyer
Distributed by	20th Century-Fox
Release dates	1959
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$225,000 (estimated)

Return of the Fly is the first sequel to the 1958 horror film The Fly. It was released in 1959, and directed by Edward Bernds. Unlike the preceding film, Return of the Fly was shot in black and white. The film was followed by another sequel in 1965, Curse of the Fly.

It was intended that Herbert Marshall reprise his role as the police inspector, but due to illness he was replaced by John Sutton.^[1]

Vincent Price was the only returning cast member from the previous film.

Plot

Phillipe Delambre (Brett Halsey) is determined to vindicate his father by successfully completing the experiment he had worked on. His uncle Francois (Vincent Price) refuses to help. Phillipe hires Alan Hines from Delambre Frere and uses his own finances, but the funds run out before the equipment is complete. When Phillipe threatens to sell his half of Delambre Frere, Francois relents and funds the completion. After some adjustments, they use the transporter to "store" and later re-materialize test animals.

Alan Hines turns out to be Ronald Holmes, an industrial spy. Holmes tries to sell the secrets to a shadowy cohort named Max. Before Holmes can get away with the papers, a British agent confronts him. Holmes knocks him out and uses the transporter to "store" the body. When rematerialized, the agent has the paws of a guinea pig that had been disintegrated earlier, and the guinea pig has human hands. Holmes kills the rodent and puts the dead agent in his car, which he sends into the Saint Lawrence River.

Phillipe confronts Holmes about all the oddities, with a fight ensuing and Phillipe being knocked out. Holmes hides Phillipe the same way he did the agent, but in a twist of malice he catches a fly and adds it to the transporter with him. Francois re-materializes Phillipe, but with a fly head, arm and leg while the fly has his head, arm and leg, becoming "PhillipeFly". PhillipeFly runs into the night, tracking down and killing Max. He waits for Holmes to arrive and kills him, too. PhillipeFly returns home, where Inspector Beecham has found and captured the PhillipeFly. Both are placed in the device together and successfully reintegrated.

Cast

• Vincent Price as Francois Delambre
• Brett Halsey as Philippe Delambre
• David Frankham as Ronald Holmes / Alan Hinds
• John Sutton as Inspector Beecham
• Dan Seymour as Max Barthold
• Danielle De Metz as Cecile Bonnard
• Jack Daly as Granville
• Janine Grandel as Mme. Bonnard
• Michael Mark as Gaston
• Richard Flato as Sgt. Dubois
• Barry Bernard as Lt. MacLish
• Pat O'Hara as Inspector Evans
• Ed Wolff as The Fly

Production and release

During a particular dialogue scene, actor David Frankham rather conspicuously handles a cane, which closely resembles the wolf-head walking stick famously utilized in Universal's film, The Wolf Man (1941).

The script of the film was written specifically to use the standing sets from The Fly (1958). The film was finished on March 1959 and released as a double bill with The Alligator People (1959).

Reception

It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and audience, and currently holds a 38% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with viewers criticizing its horrible script while others praising its cheap "B-movie feel".

References

1. p.122 Weaver, Tom Brett Halsey interview in Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers McFarland, 2007

External links

• Return of the Fly at the Internet Movie Database
• Return of the Fly at Rotten Tomatoes
• Return of the Fly at AllMovie