# Return of the Fly
**Return of the Fly** is a 1959 American black-and-white science fiction horror film, the first sequel to *[The Fly](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-fly-1958-film)* (1958), in which Philippe Delambre, the adult son of the original film's doomed scientist, repeats his father's teleportation experiments and suffers the same fate of being fused with a housefly. It was written and directed by Edward L. Bernds, produced by Bernard Glasser, and stars [Vincent Price](https://www.edgepedia.org/vincent-price), Brett Halsey, and David Frankham.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | United States, 1959; theatrical release July 22, 1959 (limited), copyright registered July 22, 1959[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/return_of_the_fly) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) |
| Director and writer | Edward L. Bernds, who took over both duties from the first film's team[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) |
| Production | Associated Producers, Inc., distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox; budget around $275,000[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) • [4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly) |
| Format | Black and white, CinemaScope, RCA Sound; 78 or 80 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) |
| Returning cast | Only Vincent Price returned from *The Fly* (1958), again playing François Delambre[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly) |
| Critical reception | 33% Tomatometer (5 fresh, 10 rotten of 15 reviews); 25% Popcornmeter from 500+ ratings; IMDb 5.7/10 from about 5,800 users[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/return_of_the_fly) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/) |
| Sequel | Its commercial success led to *Curse of the Fly* (1965), directed by Don Sharp[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film opens in Montreal at the funeral of Hélène Delambre, worn down by memories of the horror that killed her husband André. Her son Philippe asks his uncle François to retell the story of his father's death: André, while transmitting himself through his matter-transmission device, was fused with a fly that entered the chamber, and destroyed himself with Hélène's help.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY)
Despite François's warnings, Philippe refurbishes his father's laboratory and continues the teleportation research, aided by his friend Alan Hinds, who is in fact Ronald Holmes, a wanted criminal intending to sell the transmitter's plans.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/return_of_the_fly) After Alan kills an inspector who has been reintegrated with parts of a rat, he overpowers Philippe, locks him in the chamber, and tosses a fly in with him before disintegrating them both. When François switches on the machine, Philippe reappears with the head of a fly, and a tiny fly bearing Philippe's head calls for help.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY)
In the ending, Inspector Beecham captures the small fly in a jar, Philippe kills Alan and his partner Max Berthold, and Beecham places Philippe and the fly in the chamber together so François can run the process again, restoring Philippe to his former self.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/faq/)
## Production
Following the success of *The Fly* (1958), Twentieth Century-Fox commissioned a sequel and put in more money, around $275,000, but chose to shoot in black and white rather than the color of the first film, while retaining the studio's [CinemaScope](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinemascope) process.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly) The IMDb FAQ notes no official explanation for the change, but says the likeliest one is budgetary, since black-and-white film stock was much cheaper in the 1950s; other cost-cutting included reusing the original film's sets, which were still standing less than a year later.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/faq/)
The first film had been adapted by [James Clavell](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-clavell) from George Langelaan's short story "The Fly," published in *Playboy* in June 1957. For the sequel, both directing and writing were handed to Edward Bernds, a Hollywood veteran who began as a sound technician at the start of the sound era and worked on several [Frank Capra](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-capra) productions.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/faq/) Vincent Price signed on after reading the first draft of the script, though the studio demanded rewrites to reduce production costs.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/) Price later joked that the sequel should have been titled *The Zipper*, a reference to the creature's zipper-like mouth.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly)
## Cast and crew
Vincent Price plays François Delambre, the uncle who helped raise Philippe. Brett Halsey plays Philippe, David Frankham plays Ronald Holmes, alias Alan Hinds, John Sutton plays Inspector Beecham, Dan Seymour plays Max Berthold, and Danielle De Metz plays Cecile Bonnard.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) The creature was played by Ed Wolff, a circus giant previously seen as the robot in *The Phantom Creeps* (1939) and the title character in *The Colossus of New York* (1958). Bernds recalled that Wolff had very low endurance in the heavy costume and head, and the crew had to give him several minutes of rest whenever he was required to run, because they feared he would have a heart attack.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly)
Behind the camera, Brydon Baker was cinematographer, Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter composed the music, Hal Lierly handled makeup, and Lyle R. Wheeler and John B. Mansbridge were art directors.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/fullcredits/)
## Reception and legacy
Contemporary and retrospective reviews have been mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 33% Tomatometer from 15 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 5.00/10, and a 25% Popcornmeter from more than 500 audience ratings averaging 2.9 out of 5.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/return_of_the_fly) IMDb users give it 5.7/10.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/) Critics have noted the film's faster pace and more frequent violence compared with the original, alongside weaker plotting; the Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review gave it two stars but credited it with a plausible reason for Philippe to resume the experiments and a believable means of his transformation.[7](https://moriareviews.com/sciencefiction/return-of-the-fly-1959.htm) Reviewers have also criticized the enlarged fly-head costume as goofier than the original's design.[8](https://thehorrorsyndicate.com/classic-review-return-of-the-fly-1959/)
Despite the middling reviews and toned-down monster mayhem, apart from a vignette involving a guinea pig, the film was a financial success and led to a third film, the British-produced *Curse of the Fly* (1965), directed by Don Sharp. The property then lay dormant until [David Cronenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cronenberg)'s remake *The Fly* (1986), whose sequel *The Fly II* (1989) followed *Return of the Fly*'s lead by inflicting teleportation horrors on the son of the original film's hybrid, though without Vincent Price.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia calls it the least successful of the three original-series films and notes that *The Fly II* is not a remake of it.[9](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/return_of_the_fly)
## References
1. [Return of the Fly (1959), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52999-RETURN-OF-THE-FLY)
2. [Return of the Fly (1959), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/)
3. [Return of the Fly, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/return_of_the_fly)
4. [Return of the Fly, by Nathaniel Thompson, Turner Classic Movies (2017)](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1311647/return-of-the-fly)
5. [Return of the Fly (1959) FAQ, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/faq/)
6. [Return of the Fly full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053219/fullcredits/)
7. [Return of the Fly (1959), Moria: The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review](https://moriareviews.com/sciencefiction/return-of-the-fly-1959.htm)
8. [Classic Review: Return of the Fly (1959), The Horror Syndicate](https://thehorrorsyndicate.com/classic-review-return-of-the-fly-1959/)
9. [Return of the Fly, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/return_of_the_fly)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Horror and slasher series film entries › 1970s and 1980s releases*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license