Just watched The Fly on DVR. It's a real classic, and I love it that it centers on a strong and intelligent female lead (and a beautiful one too). Even when she does have moments of "hysteria" and screaming, Patricia Owens still comes off as strong and dignified. Vincent Price is terrific too, as usual. And the relationship between the Delambres is so charming that what ultimately happens between them is genuinely wrenching.
But what I love the most is Price's final speech. Most B-movies would demonize Andre's efforts to "play God" and suggest that he was rightfully punished for his hubris. But this movie extols him as an explorer who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of knowledge and who deserves to be admired and emulated. And it could've portrayed Andre as a cold intellectual who was already removed from humanity, like so many film geniuses, but instead it makes him warm and loving and entirely human at the same time as being prone to tunnel focus on his intellectual pursuits, and Helene never resents or shames him for his devotion to his work. Despite hitting some of the predictable fear-of-progress beats of the genre, it still comes down as remarkably science-positive.
By the way, just yesterday I saw another 1958 film online at io9 (which is posting legally-free old genre movies every Sunday), I Married a Monster from Outer Space, which despite its lurid title is another pretty smart and thoughtful monster movie driven by a strong, smart, and independent female lead -- one who actually had more success than Helene at convincing others of her wild claims. I guess 1958 was a pretty good year for women in sci-fi film. (Then again, that year also gave us Attack of the 50-Foot Woman and Queen of Outer Space, which I'd hardly call bold steps forward for feminism.)
But what I love the most is Price's final speech. Most B-movies would demonize Andre's efforts to "play God" and suggest that he was rightfully punished for his hubris. But this movie extols him as an explorer who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of knowledge and who deserves to be admired and emulated. And it could've portrayed Andre as a cold intellectual who was already removed from humanity, like so many film geniuses, but instead it makes him warm and loving and entirely human at the same time as being prone to tunnel focus on his intellectual pursuits, and Helene never resents or shames him for his devotion to his work. Despite hitting some of the predictable fear-of-progress beats of the genre, it still comes down as remarkably science-positive.
By the way, just yesterday I saw another 1958 film online at io9 (which is posting legally-free old genre movies every Sunday), I Married a Monster from Outer Space, which despite its lurid title is another pretty smart and thoughtful monster movie driven by a strong, smart, and independent female lead -- one who actually had more success than Helene at convincing others of her wild claims. I guess 1958 was a pretty good year for women in sci-fi film. (Then again, that year also gave us Attack of the 50-Foot Woman and Queen of Outer Space, which I'd hardly call bold steps forward for feminism.)
