The Fly (1958 film)

The Fly
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKurt Neumann
Screenplay byJames Clavell
Based on"The Fly"
by George Langelaan
Produced byKurt Neumann
Starring
CinematographyKarl Struss
Edited byMerrill G. White
Music byPaul Sawtell
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • July 16, 1958 (1958-07-16) (US)[1]
Running time
94 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budgetbetween $325,000[3] and $495,000[4]
Box office$3 million[5] or $1.7 million[6]

The Fly is a 1958 American science fiction horror film and the first installment in The Fly film series. The film was produced and directed by Kurt Neumann and stars David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, and Herbert Marshall. The screenplay by James Clavell is based on the 1957 short story of the same name by George Langelaan.

The film tells the story of a scientist who is transformed into a grotesque human–fly hybrid after a common house fly enters unseen into a molecular transporter with which he is experimenting, resulting in his atoms being combined with those of the insect. The film was released in CinemaScope by 20th Century Fox, with color by Deluxe. It was followed by two black-and-white sequels, Return of the Fly (1959) and Curse of the Fly (1965). A remake directed by David Cronenberg was released in 1986.

It was released in 1958 as a double feature with Space Master X-7.

  1. ^ "Final Plans Set For Fox 'Fly' Premieres". Motion Picture Daily: 2. June 19, 1958.
  2. ^ "THE FLY (X)". British Board of Film Classification. July 7, 1958. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TCM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p251
  5. ^ "TMe: Box Office Tops from 1950–1959". Teako170.com. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  6. ^ "Top Grossers of 1958". Variety. January 7, 1959. p. 48. Please note figures are for US and Canada only and are domestic rentals accruing to distributors as opposed to theatre gross