Jeff Goldblum in The Fly (1986)

The Fly lobby card set image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Director David Cronenberg and Twentieth Century-Fox brought The Fly to movie theaters in 1986. Jeff Goldblum stars as the budding insect, with Geena Davis as his horrified girlfriend. Be afraid. Be very afraid!

George Langelaan’s The Fly

The Fly is based on the short story of the same name by British author George Langelaan (1908-1969), which first appeared in the June 1957 issue of Playboy. One year later, Langelaan’s horrifying tale was made into a motion picture by Twentieth Century-Fox, with Al (David) Hedison, Patricia Owens and Vincent Price in the feature roles.

The Fly (1958) touted the blaring tagline: “She had to kill the thing her husband had become – But could she?” Two sequels were produced: Return of the Fly (1959) and Curse of the Fly (1965).  

David Cronenberg Directs The Fly (1986)

David Cronenberg and Charles Edward Pogue penned The Fly remake for Mel Brooks’ Brooksfilms, with Cronenberg (The Brood, Scanners, The Dead Zone) also directing. Howard Shore created the original music score and Mark Irwin served as cinematographer.

Jeff Goldblum heads the small cast as Seth Brundle. Other players are Geena Davis (Veronica Quaife), John Getz (Stathis Borans), Joy Boushel (Tawny), Leslie Carlson (Dr. Brent Cheevers), George Chuvalo (Marky), Michael Copeman (2nd Man at Bar), David Cronenberg (Gynecologist), Carol Lazare (Nurse) and Shawn Hewitt (Clerk).

The Fly Filmed in Canada

Budgeted at $15 million, The Fly was filmed in Toronto and Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada.

One of the most challenging aspects of filming was the transformation of Jeff Goldblum from human being to house fly. Chris Walas and his makeup team labored for five hours each day, turning Goldblum into Brundlefly. A concoction of honey, eggs and milk was cooked up by the special effects team to simulate the creature’s corrosive, enzyme-laced vomit drops.

Doron Kernerman and Romuald Vervin doubled for Jeff Goldblum in the gymnastics scene where Brundlefly displays his prowess on the bars.  

The Fly and Brundlefly

The Fly opens at the Bartok Science Industries Party, where scientist Seth Brundle meets journalist Veronica Quaife. Brundle later takes the young writer back to his converted warehouse laboratory, where he demonstrates his latest invention, an experimental matter transmitter.

Back at the office, Veronica plays her audio recording of Brundle’s experiment to Stathis Borans, editor of Particle magazine. Borans tells Vernonica that the experiment is a hoax, with Seth later showing up in order to prevent any publication of his latest work.

Seth and Veronica get together again, where Seth uses a baboon to demonstrate his teleportation device. The experiment goes awry, with the dying, mangled baboon clawing at the telepod’s window, causing Seth to later comment that “something’s getting lost in the translation.”

Seth finally works out the bugs and successfully teleports another baboon. He then uses himself as a guinea pig, failing to notice that a common house fly has inadvertently slipped into the pod with him. The transmitter is activated, and Seth is successfully transported from Pod #1 to Pod #2 some 15 feet away.

But Seth soon realizes that something has gone horribly wrong, as he gradually takes on the characteristics of a house fly. When quizzed, the computer spits out the shocking news: “Fusion of Brundle and fly at molecular genetic level.”

As Seth continues to mutate, desperately looking for a cure, Veronica and Stathis Borans become intimately involved in his struggle. The climax comes at Seth’s laboratory, where The Scientist Formerly Known as Seth Brundle confronts both Veronica and a shotgun-wielding Borans.

The Fly Release, Reviews

The Fly was released on August 15, 1986.

“In David Cronenberg’s new version, Jeff Goldblum is a graphic fly for the fact-crazed ’80s, transformed into a creature so repulsive he makes the monster in Aliens look like Grandma in a Norman Rockwell painting,” reported Caryn James of The New York Times (8/15/86).

“David Cronenberg’s remake of the 1958 horror classic The Fly is not for the squeamish. Casting Jeff Goldblum was a good choice as he brings a quirky, common touch to the spacey scientist role. Cronenberg gives him a nice girlfriend (Geena Davis), too,” observed Variety.

The Fly Box Office, Oscar Nomination, Notes, DVD

• The Fly grossed $40.456 million at the American box office, good for the #23 position on the list of the top moneymaking films of 1986.
• One Oscar nomination: Best Makeup (Chris Walas, Stephan Dupuis, won).
• Most awesome scene: Brundlefly arm wrestles a burly guy named Marky at a bar, snapping the man’s wrist bone and winning a $100 bet and Marky’s girlfriend Tawny for the night.
• Best line: “Be afraid. Be very afraid,” Geena Davis tells Joy Boushel after Brundlefly tries to usher the young woman into a telepod.
• Particle magazine mock cover story: “Teleportation: A reality? Seth Brundle, youthful father of a new age.”
• Copies of the original Charles Edward Pogue/Walon Green screenplay are still around. The scientist’s name in this version is Geoffrey Powell, whose wife gives birth to a giant maggot in the final scene. But is it simply an hallucination?
• The sequel: The Fly II (1989) starring Eric Stoltz as Martin Brundle, son of Seth.
• The Fly (1986) was named to Time magazine’s 2005 list of the all-time 100 best films.
• On DVD: The Fly Two-Disc Collector’s Edition (20th Century-Fox, 2005).

“My teeth have begun to fall out. The medicine cabinet’s now the Brundle Museum of Natural History. Do you want to see what else is in it?” Jeff Goldblum asks Geena Davis.

Er, no thanks, but please pass the Raid and fly swatter…