"As God is my witness I saw the thing!"I had forgotten how good this film is. The last time I saw this flick was so long ago it was on a black and white television.What you have here is a solid science fiction film with elements of thriller and horror thrown in to keep you entertained. Right from the start, the story of an experiment in teleportation gone horrifically wrong hooks you and pulls you in with a scene where our scientist has been squashed to less than a pulp by an industrial metal press, and it looks like his wife may be the killer.The beauty of this movie is that it starts out as one thing, a thriller, and transforms gracefully into another, science fiction. This transformation in done beautifully thanks to a great writer, George Langelaan who wrote the story and James Clavell who scripted the screenplay; combined by great direction from Kurt Neumann and the excellent acting of Vincent Price, Patricia Owens, and Herbert Marshall.Patricia Owns as the wife of the scientist, Helene Delambre does a good portrayal of a woman on the verge of madness... Did she kill her husband? What was her reasoning? Why is she so obsessed with flies?Vincent Price is always so good and is no different in his role as the brother to the scientist, Francois Delambre, who has never married due to his love for his brother's wife; though he loves his brother more so keeps his distance. Though all the evidence point to her being the murderer of his brother, Andre, he fights for her innocence as he cannot believe she is guilty of such a heinous crime.Then there's Herbert Marshall who plays Inspector Charas, who sees things in black and white and doesn't deter from the line of the law. Even after Helene tells her story, he cannot believe it and thinks that she is mad.So now you have to watch the movie to see the outcome of this dilemma.If you've already seen the David Cronenberg remake then I would still recommend this as even though the "main" premise is the same the rest of the story is completely different and I believe the original story is stronger. There isn't a lot of horror in the original version, though the scene with the meowing cat, Dandilow, is truly haunting and sent a shiver or two up my spine.You should watch this movie at least once in your lifetime.

A scientist working on a matter transporter decides to try his machine out on himself. Little does he know a fly has flown into the transporter with him. This causes him to turn into a freakish man-fly creature. In order to reverse the change he needs the fly that flew into the transporter. So he turns to his wife for help in finding it.A compelling, suspenseful sci-fi film directed by Kurt Neumann with a script by James Clavell. Despite what many people go into this thinking, Vincent Price does not play the main character in this. He plays the brother of the man who turns himself into a fly-thing, but he's only a supporting character. Price would reprise his role in a sequel to this film. The man-fly scientist this time is played by David Hedison, billed at the time by his first name of Al. Hedison is no Price but he enjoyed a long and steady career from the '50s through the '00s. The female lead is lovely Patricia Owens. This was the biggest role of her career and she makes the most of it. It's through her character's flashbacks that the story of The Fly is told. Really the whole movie rests on her shoulders as Hedison spends a significant amount of time with his head covered or in the fly mask. Venerable Herbert Marshall and child actor Charles Herbert also appear. The special effects are fun, although they may be laughed at today by the 'too cool for school' crowd. Yes it requires a suspension of disbelief but, come on, it's a monster movie not a National Geographic documentary. Have some fun with it. There are some amazing scenes in this, from the opening at the factory to the revelation scene to that memorable ending. It's easily director Neumann's best work. A true classic that everyone who loves '50s science fiction should see at least once. Followed by a couple of watchable sequels and a 1986 remake by David Cronenberg that is considered by many to be something of a classic itself.

In a Montreal machine shop, scientist Andre Delambre (Al Hedison) is found crush to death with his wife Helene (Patricia Owens) at the controls. She calls to confess to his brother Francois (Vincent Price). With the head crushed, Francois identifies the body with a long scar on his leg. Helene's confession seems suspicious and Andre's basement lab is trashed. Helene seems obsessed with flies and Francois pretends to have captured a white-headed fly. Helene recounts the story to him and Inspector Charas. Andre had succeeded in making a teleportation device.This is much better than a simple 50's B-movie. The story is actually quite compelling. The acting is relatively good. Vincent Price is playing it straight. The production looks good. The directions are a little stiff which is the style of the day. It is still the story that is so great and the reveal is absolutely iconic.

A scientist (David Hedison) has a horrific accident when he tries to use his newly invented teleportation device.The creators of this film made an interesting decision: casting Vincent Price in a supporting role rather than the lead. Of course, if he was the lead, he would have his face covered and relatively few lines to speak. So maybe that was the clincher.This film really embraces the 1950s science fiction boom, with the giant computer and invention. Is this a "mad scientist"? Not in the least. Although he is not a particularly logical or well-reasoned scientist. Who tests something on the family cat before using something smaller, like a dead fish? And who tests things on themselves before others? Foolish.