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Pretty Good

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Most of the I.M.D.B. reviews of this film appear to be of the 'Mystery Science Theatre 3000' comedy version, rather than the original. With all due respect, I fail to see how anyone can objectively comment on a film when all they have seen is a send-up. It would be like someone who's never viewed 'The Elephant Man' ( 1980 ) looking at a photograph of John Hurt as he is in real life and trying to guess what he looks like as 'John Merrick'!'The Deadly Bees' ( 1967 ) is one of Amicus' lesser offerings. Based on the novel 'Taste Of Honey' by H.F. Heard ( a title they could not have used then as Rita Tushingham would have had something to say about it! ), it was written by Robert Bloch ( author of 'Psycho' ) and Anthony Marriott ( who wrote for 'The Avengers' amongst other things ), and directed by Freddie Francis. Susanna Leigh is 'Vicki Robbins', a pop singer who collapses in the midst of a 'Ready Steady Go' type show ( which curiously lacks a live audience ). Suffering from nervous exhaustion, she is ordered to take time off from her hectic schedule. She goes to Seagull Island, where it seems only five people live ( including Michael Ripper as a pub landlord ). She moves in with the Hargroves ( Guy Doleman and Catherine Finn ). Hubby Ralph is a creepy type who keeps bees, and strangely makes no attempt to have his way with Vicki. She decides to investigate his furtive behaviour ( such as using a syringe to extract blood from a horse ), and suspects he may have perfected a way of controlling swarms of bees so that they can attack people. Another beekeeper, 'Manfred' ( Frank Finlay ) befriends her. Several bee attacks take place, and Vicki herself becomes a victim...Leigh is a lovely lady ( who put me in mind of Wendy Craig ) who appeared in several '60's films, including Tony Curtis' 'Boeing, Boeing' and 'Deadlier Than The Male' ( both 1966 ). She's no great shakes as an actress, and the part does not require her to do more than clean her teeth and look scared. The then-unknown Elkie Brooks dubbed her singing voice. Doleman is best remembered as the dour 'Colonel Ross' from 'The Ipcress File' ( 1965 ) and its sequels, while Finlay later headlined notorious '70's dramas 'Casanova' and 'Bouquet Of Barbed Wire'. Tim Barrett appears briefly as a pompous Whitehall official who has received threats from the mysterious bee master. The mystery at the heart of this story is not terribly difficult to solve. The island is too under populated for that. The bee attacks - though crudely done - are nevertheless effective. Had Amicus ever made a 'Journey To The Unknown'-type anthology series ( as Hammer did ), this would have been perfect for inclusion.Things To Look Out For - a cameo from chart-topping group 'The Byrds'!Another reviewer said this made 'The Swarm' look good. I disagree. Nothing in this film compares to the sheer stupidity of Richard Chamberlain and Jose Ferrer flapping their arms in slow motion as the bees invade a nuclear power station. And here the bees look real ( though a little over-sized in some shots ) unlike the Styrofoam pellets thrown at the camera lens in Irwin Allen's notorious 1976 stinker!

A London pop star suffering exhaustion is sent to convalesce in the country-side where she encounters a toxic mix of deranged ambition and a hybridized strain of killer bees that threatens not only her fragile sanity, but also her life. Leigh is a relative lightweight amongst her accomplished co-stars, with Doleman as the no-nonsense farmer and Finlay as his eccentric neighbour jostling for position as the dominant bee keeper. It's a rather unusual premise on which to base a complex whodunit, but provides a surprisingly strong basis for the mystery to unfold. Doleman's strained relationship with his apparently invalided wife, and the curiosities of relationships in an isolated rural community serve as an intervening backdrop to the troubled Leigh and her increasing concern at the strange events she witnesses.Veteran Hammer-horror director Francis has crafted an eerie little mystery, lacking none of the essential ingredients of a conventional mystery, with the notable exception of an impartial investigator. Most of the detective work is done by the protagonists, drip feeding the naive Leigh with twisted facts to conjure alibis and implicate the culprit. Francis does a fine job of concealing the mystery, carefully playing the doubt card, and tempering clues with red herrings and faux staging.Opening to the groovy fusion of art-house pop culture, Leigh's character is framed as a victim of excesses in a progressive London scene (there's an implied drug addiction, but it's vague) and from there, the film juxtaposes to the opposite extreme - an ultra conservative, socially incestuous rural setting, a deep isolation both geographically and socially for the central character. It's an engaging tussle between old-fashioned values and an emerging modern liberalism.Slated by critics, the film almost cheats itself with its bold title, because it's not ostensibly a movie of this genre. The bees are present as a vehicle only, and certainly they have comparably little to offer by way of shock value. But the intrigue that the many layers build, is compelling. Try it from a different angle and you may like what you find.

When I rented this movie I was expecting it to contain more "horror scenes", but was pleasantly surprised that it was more of a mystery with some mild sequences.The Deadly Bees has a decent plot and the music fits in very well. This is certainly not a film that is seen or heard about very much in the United States. However, the directing, cast, and sets are all upper rank. Suzanna Leigh's performance is quite good along with the other cast members. Some of the bee scenes are a bit awkward, but overall the movie was well done and worth renting.

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.