The original version of The Fly fused two popular horror ideas: the giant mutated insect and animal human hybrids. The 1950s had a full slate of radiated spiders, ants and grasshoppers, but The Fly focuses inward onto a single tragic character. If you’re familiar with the 1986 remake this version is quite different is story and tone. The big stars (Vincent Price, Herbert Marshall) play side characters and the focus is mostly on the wife of the scientist (Patricia Owens) having to take command of her husband’s situation. The scientist is played by an actor named David Hedison who spends most of the time wearing a fly’s head under a hood. The film’s lasting reputation comes from the shocking revel of the fly’s head and the moment when they discover the fate of his human head stuck on a fly’s body. That scene may be the most upsetting moment in 50s cinema.
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