# The Fly (1958 film)
**The Fly** is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Kurt Neumann, in which scientist Andre Delambre tests a matter transporter on himself, accidentally fuses with a housefly that entered the chamber, and is left with the insect's head and arm. It was produced and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox, written by [James Clavell](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-clavell) from George Langelaan's 1957 short story, and stars Al Hedison (later known as [David Hedison](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-hedison)), Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, and [Herbert Marshall](https://www.edgepedia.org/herbert-marshall).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007600-fly)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Kurt Neumann; screenplay by James Clavell, from George Langelaan's short story "The Fly" (Playboy, June 1957)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051622/faq/) |
| Cast | Al (David) Hedison as Andre Delambre, Patricia Owens as Helene, Vincent Price as Francois Delambre, Herbert Marshall as Inspector Charas[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007600-fly) |
| Studio / release | Twentieth Century-Fox; 94 minutes; released in 1958[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) • [4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-fly-1958) |
| Box office | One of Fox's biggest hits at the time of its August 1958 release, earning $3,000,000 in domestic receipts[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1082447/the-fly-1958) |
| Signature image | A fly with a tiny human head, trapped in a spider's web, screaming "Help me! Help me!"[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-fly-1958) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-fly-1958/critic-reviews/) |
| Critical scores | 95% Tomatometer from 43 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 62 on Metacritic[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007600-fly) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-fly-1958/critic-reviews/) |
| Franchise | Sequels Return of the Fly (1959) and Curse of the Fly (1965); David Cronenberg's remake (1986) and The Fly II (1989)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film opens as a murder mystery. Helene Delambre is found at night beside the industrial press that crushed the head and arm of her husband Andre, the scientist brother of Francois Delambre ([Vincent Price](https://www.edgepedia.org/vincent-price)). Held for murder, she refuses to explain herself, and she reacts with terror whenever a fly enters the room. Her young son Philippe mentions that a fly with a curious white head and leg has been seen. When Francois pretends to have captured the insect, Helene tells her story in flashback.[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-fly-1958)
Andre had been working on a matter transmitter that disintegrates matter and reintegrates it elsewhere. When he tested it on himself, a housefly slipped into the disintegration chamber; their atoms were reassembled mixed, giving Andre the fly's head and arm while the insect received his. Unable to reverse the procedure and concluding that the transmitter would be a bogy rather than a blessing to mankind, Andre smashed the apparatus, burned his notes, and signaled Helene to crush his fly-like head and arm in the press. Francois and Inspector Charas disbelieve the story until they find a tiny fly with Andre's head and arm caught in a spider's web in the garden, screaming "Help me! Help me!" as the spider approaches.[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-fly-1958)
## Production
The picture was originally to be produced by Robert Lippert for Regal Pictures, a Fox subsidiary. Twentieth Century-Fox replaced Lippert with Kurt Neumann because the studio feared Lippert's conflict with the [Screen Actors Guild](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild) over refusing to pay actors' residuals might hinder production. After the success of Regal's She Devil and [Kronos](https://www.edgepedia.org/kronos-film), both produced and directed by Neumann and photographed by Karl Struss, Fox decided to make a horror picture using Regal's budget techniques.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) According to Fox publicity materials, Andre's laboratory equipment consisted of army and air force surplus.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY)
**The fly-head effect** was built by fitting a rubber sheath over Hedison's head. A mobile proboscis was attached to a wooden plug that Hedison held in his mouth and wriggled. The first fly eyes were beaded domes, later discarded in favor of iridescent domes.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) Hedison himself suggested progressive makeup showing a combined human-fly state, but the film instead depicts a fully formed fly head.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051622/trivia/?item=tr1466409)
The screenplay changed the source story's ending. Fox executives told Clavell to ensure a happier conclusion because Langelaan's original story involved a suicide.[8](https://www.framerated.co.uk/the-fly-1958/) In September 1958, writer Arch Oboler sued the studio, Langelaan, and Playboy magazine on the grounds that the film was plagiarized from his short story "Across the Gaby," broadcast as a radio play in 1937; the AFI catalog records the outcome of the suit as not determined.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY)
## Reception and legacy
The film was critically well received. Variety commented that "a strong factor of the picture is its unusual believability," noting that it is told as a mystery suspense story with a compelling interest apart from its macabre effects.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-fly-1958/critic-reviews/) The New York Times' Howard Thompson called it one of the better, more restrained entries of the "shock" school, building tension by simple suggestion.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-fly-1958/critic-reviews/) The Telegraph highlighted "the absurd yet horrific image of a fly with a tiny human head, screaming 'Help meeee!'"[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-fly-1958/critic-reviews/) Critical opinion within the horror and science fiction community has long been divided: critic Ivan Butler called it "the most ludicrous, and certainly one of the most revolting science-horror films ever perpetrated," while Carlos Clarens judged that it "collapses under the weight of many... questions" but praised the multi-image fly's-eye-view reveal devised by cinematographer Karl Struss.[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1082447/the-fly-1958)
**Commercially**, The Fly was one of Fox's biggest hits at the time of its August 1958 release, earning $3,000,000 in domestic receipts, and it helped establish Vincent Price's identification as a horror star.[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1082447/the-fly-1958) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) The AllMovie Guide assessment by Hal Erickson calls it one of the definitive big-budget horror films of its decade, subtler than the 1986 remake.[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-fly-1958)
The film spawned two low-budget sequels, [Return of the Fly](https://www.edgepedia.org/return-of-the-fly) (1959) and Curse of the Fly (1965).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) • [9](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/fly_the) [David Cronenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cronenberg)'s 1986 remake for Fox, starring [Jeff Goldblum](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-goldblum) and Geena Davis, made the transformation gradual rather than sudden, a plot point suggested during production of the original by Hedison; it was followed by The Fly II (1989), directed by Chris Walas.[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1082447/the-fly-1958) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY) An opera based on Cronenberg's remake, by composer Howard Shore with a libretto by David Henry Hwang, opened in Paris and Los Angeles in 2008.[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1082447/the-fly-1958)
The "Help me!" scene, added to the 1958 movie and emitted by the human-headed fly trapped in a spider's web, has, in the words of one scholarly account, etched itself into popular mythology.[10](https://www.thing.net/~rdom/ucsd/posthuman/10.1clarke.pdf)
## References
1. [The Fly (1958), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52548-THE-FLY)
2. [The Fly (1958), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007600-fly)
3. [The Fly (1958) FAQ, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051622/faq/)
4. [The Fly (1958), American Film Institute / AllMovie synopsis by Hal Erickson](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-fly-1958)
5. [The Fly (1958) by Richard Harland Smith, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1082447/the-fly-1958)
6. [The Fly (1958) Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-fly-1958/critic-reviews/)
7. [The Fly (1958) Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051622/trivia/?item=tr1466409)
8. [The Fly (1958), Frame Rated](https://www.framerated.co.uk/the-fly-1958/)
9. [Fly, The, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (SFE)](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/fly_the)
10. [Clarke, posthuman studies paper quoting the "Help me!" scene](https://www.thing.net/~rdom/ucsd/posthuman/10.1clarke.pdf)
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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 › Horror films (individual works) › Science fiction horror films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 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