If you love film, you likely have been to a repertory screening at some point in your life. The chance to watch an older movie, on the big screen, with a crowd as in love with the opportunity to watch a movie in theatres, maybe for the first time, or maybe to recapture that sense of wonder of when you first saw it. The idea of repertory showings of movies still exists, but it’s also become corporatized through Fathom Events and their annual TCM series. That’s not inherently a bad thing (it’s how I finally watched “Vertigo” and “Jaws” on the big screen), but it also takes away some of the pleasure of going to an art house theatre like Atlanta’s The Plaza, which constantly has older films on tap, as well as special showings; my experiences with “The Crow” and “The Shining” there are unmatched.
This year, I’m going to lean a lot into my favorite genre of all-time, science fiction, for this year’s entries in this series. Films I haven’t seen. Films that are overdue for review. And I’m even going to try to watch some classic TV series I haven’t before. Our bookend filmmaker had to be a fitting one, and though he’s most known for horror, John Carpenter has done plenty in this genre, starting with our first film for 2026, his 1988 satire, “They Live”.
Next up, I decided to revisit a sci-fi horror classic from the ’50s, 1958’s “The Fly”.
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
“The Fly” (1958)- A
I wonder how many people remember that David Cronenberg’s “The Fly” is actually a reimagining of a 1958 sci-fi/horror creature feature. I don’t know why my mother showed me Kurt Neumann’s “The Fly” as a kid, but rewatching it for the first time in ages, there is a lot that I forgot. I forgot that Vincent Price is not the scientist whose DNA is mixed with that of a fly while doing teleportation experiments. The scientist is Andre Delambre (David Hedison), and Price is his wealthy brother, François Delambre. The film is also told in flashback, after Andre’s body has been flattened by a press in one of François’s factories.
The screenplay by James Clavell, adapted from George Langelaan’s story, treads familiar territory for the time. First, we see a call made from Andre’s widow, Helene (Patricia Owens), to François saying that she is the one responsible for Andre’s death. Then, a foreman at the factor corroborates the death before Andre calls a police chief. Helene sticks with her story, and François and the chief believe her to be insane; meanwhile, young son Philippe (Charles Herbert) is out catching flies, and tries to show his uncle an unusual one, with a white head. If only he hadn’t let it go after the fact.
The bulk of the movie is the flashback, as we see Andre bring Helene in on his experiments in transporting items, first attempting inanimate objects, then later creatures, first the family cat, then a Guinea Pig. But, when François is supposed to see the invention over lunch one day, suddenly, he is stuck in the lab, unable to be disturbed. It makes sense that we do not see the transition Andre goes through; having one hand in his pocket, and his face covered, is enough to put us on edge until we see the leg that has replaced his hand. At first, Andre hopes that- with the fly caught- he can be put back to normal, but gradually, hope fades away, and the inevitable happens.
Everything Neumann has built up in this film is leading us to the final sequence. On the other side of the flashback, Helene’s consequences seem certain, and François sits on a bench in the garden. We hear someone saying “Help me!” on the soundtrack, but it doesn’t quite click until Philippe comes in, and says what we all felt during the previous scene- the fly Andre mutated with is on a spider web, about to be devoured. It’s the image that has always stayed with me about the film, and it is a fitting coda to a haunting tale of ambition, and the hubris that brings it down to the only conclusion that could make sense. Even with the ’50s creature feature settings, it’s easy to see why Cronenberg felt like a remake would work. But that’s a review for another time.
Previous “Repertory Revue” Films
“They Live” (1988)
“Starship Troopers” (1997)
“Welcome II the Terrordome” (1995)
“Battledream Chronicle” (2015)
“Born in Flames” (1983)
“Testament” (1983)
“Things to Come” (1936)
“When Worlds Collide” (1951)
“Metropolis” (2001)
“Soylent Green” (1973)
“Fire in the Sky” (1993)
“Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979)
“The Fly” (1958)
See Brian’s list of 2009 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2010 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2011 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2012 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2013 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2014 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2015 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2016 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2017 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2018 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2019 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2020 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2021 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2022 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2023 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2024 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2025 “Repertory Revues” here.
