The Deadly Bees (1967)

User Rating:

2.7/10   

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writers:

Robert Bloch (screenplay)
H.F. Heard (novel)

Release Date:

April 1967 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Hives of horror! - Excited by the smell of fear, they inflict their fatal stings!

Plot:

Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner grows deadly bees.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Bee | Island | Fire | Dog

Cast

Suzanna Leigh	...	Vicki Robbins
Frank Finlay	...	H.W. Manfred
Guy Doleman	...	Ralph Hargrove
Catherine Finn	...	Mary Hargrove
John Harvey	...	Insp. Thompson
Michael Ripper	...	David Hawkins
Anthony Bailey	...	TV Compere
Tim Barrett	...	Det. Harcourt
James Cossins	...	Seagull Island Coroner
Frank Forsyth	...	Seagull Island Doctor
Greta Farrer	...	Sister
Katy Wild	...	Doris Hawkins
Gina Gianelli	...	Secretary
Michael Gwynn	...	Dr. George Lang
Maurice Good	...	Vicki's Agent

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:12 | Norway:16 | USA:Not Rated | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Amicus Productions

Trivia:

Widely considered the first killer bee film ever made.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Doris is chased through the woods by the bees, it is a grey overcast day, yet the close up shots of the hovering swarm feature a bright blue sky without a cloud in sight

Quotes:

Mary Hargrove: The dog's meat, have you seen it?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bees (1998)

"My Baby took me to a "B" movie about bees last night..."

This one is pretty much a misfire from the get-go. It's like a Hammer film, only without the energy, suspense, or entertainment value.

I'm not one of those people who automatically assume that being covered by MST3000 means that a movie is complete crap (although it is a pretty reliable indicator that the movie will be fairly cheesy or problematic). And in fact, "Deadly Bees" had some potential to be a minor classic. Two major league writing talents were involved in the screenplay (including Robert "Psycho" Bloch!!). The heroine was fairly "hot" (in a Swinging London 60's way). The idea of swarms of bees stinging people to death has a nice visceral impact, And even "B" movie/minor league British actors tend to be more interesting than their American counterparts. Meanwhile the plot involved a mystery of sorts, a domestic situation simmering with tension, anger and resentments, a satiric look at the pop music industry and even a twist or two at the end. And to be fair, I don't think the director had anything more in mind than cranking out a nice, mean-spirited little thriller.

Sadly, the results just don't come together. Some decent performances get smothered in a morass of badly paced, tediously staged scenes. The plot isn't allowed to gain any momentum. The bee attack SFX are poorly done and utterly unconvincing. The drab locations and dull cinematography leech away any sense of interest. But mostly, I think that the director's sensibilities and choices simply didn't play out the way he had hoped in the finished product.

For instance, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that the two opening musical numbers were MEANT to be mediocre and insipid as a way to comment on how dopey and empty the 'swinging' pop music scene really was. And it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Bloch and the director meant for the heroine to come off as shallow and inexpressive as a department store mannequin (she is a pop idol, after all), and gullible and stupid to boot. And I can see where the surprise "villain" was meant to look like Adolph Hitler's brother and to be dumpy and uncharismatic; this might have been meant disturb the viewer by masking the true craziness of the character under such a dull, banal exterior. You have to admit that the film captured the sourness and misery of a marriage gone bad quite well. And the pratfall/reversal at the end, where the villain ends up a victim of his own murder gimmick may have been an intentional bit of slapstick, a bit of ironic comment the inanity of it all, even serial killers.

But it just didn't make for a good movie. Watching a bitter middle aged couple quarrel doesn't make for a pleasant viewing experience unless that is what you came to the movie to see ( "Who's Afraid Of Virgina Woolf" or "Closer", etc), and watching really stupid musical performances featuring utterly disposable plastic pop songs doesn't make for good movie watching either. Even if the drab brown scenery is meant as a comment on British rural living, it makes for tedious viewing as well. Etc. Etc.

Still, for all its faults, the small gap between expectation and execution makes "Deadly Bees" faults somewhat forgivable. For the low key performances alone, I'd watch a misfire like "Deadly Bees" a dozen times before I'd watch horrible, over produced messes like "The Cave" or "House Of The Dead" again. That's a backhanded compliment, of course, but it still is a compliment.

Oddly, because the "Deadly Bees" wasn't all that bad, the MST coverage of it wasn't nearly as entertaining compared to when they cover amazingly bad films like "Manos" and "Robot Monster". For this one, Mike and the Bots had to roll out the "droll" in gross caseloads. Still, it was fun to watch.