The Fly
After her husband Andre Delambre is crushed to death in a mechanical press, his wife recounts to his brother Francois Delambre and police Inspector Charas the events of the previous few months. They were very much in love and with their little boy, a very happy family. Andre was experimenting with teleportation - transporting objects from one point to another by breaking the object down to the atomic level and then reassembling it in a receiver a distance away. The system had some glitches - it seemed to work with inanimate object but his cat disappeared when he tried teleporting it. He thinks he's solved all of the problems with his invention and decides to try and teleport himself. When a fly enters the teleportation device with him, disaster strikes.
Despite its minimal budget of $700K, The Fly became a financial success, earning $3.0M worldwide—a 329% return. The film's compelling narrative resonated with audiences, proving that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Fly (1958) showcases deliberately positioned story structure, characteristic of Kurt Neumann's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 34 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.9, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Andre Delambre
Helene Delambre
Francois Delambre
Inspector Charas
Main Cast & Characters
Andre Delambre
Played by David Hedison
A brilliant scientist who invents a matter teleportation device but becomes grotesquely fused with a fly during an experiment gone wrong.
Helene Delambre
Played by Patricia Owens
Andre's devoted wife who witnesses his horrific transformation and must make an impossible choice to end his suffering.
Francois Delambre
Played by Vincent Price
Andre's brother and factory owner who investigates the mysterious circumstances surrounding Andre's death.
Inspector Charas
Played by Herbert Marshall
A skeptical police detective investigating what appears to be a murder case involving Helene.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Helene Delambre crushes her husband Andre's head and arm in a hydraulic press at his factory, establishing the film's central mystery and tragic outcome.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 11 minutes when Andre excitedly reveals to Helene his breakthrough: he has successfully "disintegrated" and reintegrated matter - teleporting objects through space. He demonstrates with small objects, marking the discovery that will change everything.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 24 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Andre decides to test the machine on himself, stepping into the disintegration chamber despite the cat's disappearance remaining unexplained. This irreversible choice to cross the threshold of human teleportation seals his fate., moving from reaction to action.
At 47 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Andre realizes his mind is deteriorating - the fly's instincts are taking over his human consciousness. What began as a physical transformation now threatens his very humanity. The stakes shift from "can we fix this?" to "how much time is left?"., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 71 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Andre, now more fly than man, writes his final message to Helene: he can no longer trust himself not to harm her or Philippe. He is losing his human consciousness entirely. He begs her to help him die, to kill him in the hydraulic press before he completely loses his humanity. This is the death of hope., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 75 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Helene makes her terrible choice: she will grant Andre's final wish. Love demands she free him from his nightmare. She agrees to operate the hydraulic press, synthesizing mercy with murder, compassion with horror., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Fly's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping The Fly against these established plot points, we can identify how Kurt Neumann utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Fly within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include After Thomas, South Pacific and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Helene Delambre crushes her husband Andre's head and arm in a hydraulic press at his factory, establishing the film's central mystery and tragic outcome.
Theme
Inspector Charas questions the seeming impossibility of events, stating "There are things that man is not meant to know," foreshadowing the thematic core about the dangers of pushing scientific boundaries too far.
Worldbuilding
Flashback begins: Establishing the Delambre family's idyllic life - Andre as a brilliant, devoted scientist-inventor; Helene as his loving wife; their young son Philippe; and the close relationship with brother Francois. Andre's basement laboratory is revealed as his domain of obsessive work.
Disruption
Andre excitedly reveals to Helene his breakthrough: he has successfully "disintegrated" and reintegrated matter - teleporting objects through space. He demonstrates with small objects, marking the discovery that will change everything.
Resistance
Andre continues perfecting his teleportation device, conducting experiments with increasing complexity. Helene expresses concern about the dangers and Andre's obsessive secrecy, but he dismisses her worries. He successfully teleports the family cat, Dandelo, though it mysteriously disappears.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Andre decides to test the machine on himself, stepping into the disintegration chamber despite the cat's disappearance remaining unexplained. This irreversible choice to cross the threshold of human teleportation seals his fate.
Mirror World
Andre emerges from the experiment transformed - a common housefly was in the chamber with him, and their atoms have merged. He now has a fly's head and arm. Helene becomes his only lifeline, representing the human love and connection he's losing.
Premise
The "promise of the premise" - the horror of Andre's transformation unfolds. Communicating through notes and typed messages, Andre desperately searches for the white-headed fly that has his human head, believing if he can recapture it, he can reverse the process. Helene searches frantically throughout the house and garden.
Midpoint
Andre realizes his mind is deteriorating - the fly's instincts are taking over his human consciousness. What began as a physical transformation now threatens his very humanity. The stakes shift from "can we fix this?" to "how much time is left?"
Opposition
Andre's condition worsens rapidly. His fly instincts grow stronger - he becomes agitated by light, his movements turn erratic, and his written messages become more desperate and less coherent. The search for the fly proves futile. Andre begins destroying his laboratory notes, knowing the experiment must die with him.
Collapse
Andre, now more fly than man, writes his final message to Helene: he can no longer trust himself not to harm her or Philippe. He is losing his human consciousness entirely. He begs her to help him die, to kill him in the hydraulic press before he completely loses his humanity. This is the death of hope.
Crisis
Helene faces the unbearable choice: murder the man she loves to save him from a fate worse than death, or let him continue transforming into a monster. She grieves for the husband and life she's losing, while Andre waits in torment, his humanity fading with each moment.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Helene makes her terrible choice: she will grant Andre's final wish. Love demands she free him from his nightmare. She agrees to operate the hydraulic press, synthesizing mercy with murder, compassion with horror.
Synthesis
Helene carries out Andre's death at the factory (the opening scene revisited). Back in present time, she completes her confession to Francois and Inspector Charas. Philippe reveals he caught a fly with a white head. They rush to the garden where they find the tiny fly-with-Andre's-head trapped in a spider's web, screaming "Help me!" Francois mercifully kills it with a rock.
Transformation
Francois and Charas walk away from the garden, agreeing to report it as an accident to spare Helene. Charas reflects on the horror of what science can unleash, and they acknowledge some boundaries are meant to remain uncrossed - a transformation from skepticism to grim understanding.