The Fly (1958) Starring Al Hedison, Patricia Owens,
Vincent Price, Herbert Marshall Directed by Kurt Neumann. Screenplay by James
Clavell Based on the short story "The Fly" by George Langelaan in
Playboy (Jun 1957). Produced by Kurt Neumann. Run Time: 94 minutes USA Color
Horror, Science Fiction
One of the more memorable science fiction horror films from
the 1950s has its roots in World War II espionage. Paris-born British writer
George Langelaan was an intelligence agent during the War and agreed to undergo
extensive plastic surgery that would render him unrecognizable. Channeling the motif of transformation,
Langelaan wrote his 1957 short story, the tale of a French scientist
experimenting with matter disintegration and reintegration who winds up atomically
fused with a common housefly - with tragic results for man and insect. After
being published in Playboy magazine in June 1957, the story came to the
attention of executives at 20th Century Fox.
