The Deadly Bees

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with two men from an unnamed ministry commenting on a spate of letters from a beekeeper claiming to have developed a strain of killer bees. They dismiss him as a lunatic, though his letters claim he will start killing people if he is not taken seriously.
Meanwhile, pop singer Vicki Robbins (Suzanna Leigh) collapses from exhaustion on television, and is sent to recuperate in a cottage on Seagull Island. The reason for this is that her doctor knows Ralph Hargrove. The proprietors of the "rest home" are a depressed and disgruntled couple, Ralph and Mary Hargrove (Guy Doleman and Catherine Finn). Ralph is a beekeeper, as is his neighbor, H.W. Manfred (Frank Finlay).
Vicki begins noticing a spate of mysterious happenings. Mary Hargrove's dog and later Mary herself are attacked by the bees and killed, leading Vicki to suspect Hargrove. She and Manfred begin to snoop around. Manfred keeps his bees in an apiary within his home, behind a pair of doors which open to view the bees. He claims to control them via a tape-recording of a high note made by a death's head moth, of which the bees are afraid. He encourages her to search through Hargrove's papers. In doing this, she finds that Hargrove has managed to isolate "the smell of fear" into a liquid form. Manfred tells her this must mean that Hargrove has been baiting the bees with this substance.
Vicki's snooping methods do not go unnoticed; she soon gets attacked by bees in her room at the cottage. She eventually escapes to Manfred's house, where she decides to stay until she can catch the next boat off the island. Manfred begins acting suspiciously, so Vicki decides to do some more of her own detective work. She discovers his secret laboratory, which leads him to admit that he indeed is the one who has been causing this all along. He tells Vicki he has been intending to kill Hargrove all along, but now that she knows the secret, he will have to kill her too.
She thwarts his attempt, leading him to be stung to death and crash through the stair-rail,and her to set the house on fire. She escapes the burning house, and leaves the island the next day just as someone in a bowler hat from the ministry finally arrives to investigate the deaths.

Tags: mystery, murder

Review:
Killer bees don't always make for the best 'monsters' in the horror genre, but this British thriller is an exception.Pop singer vacations on an island with a local bee keeper, while a mysterious swarm of bees has caused the death of a woman.The Deadly Bees isn't as dull a film as some make it out to be.
Suzanna Leigh is a decent heroine, but it's really leading actors Guy Doleman and Frank Finlay that turn in the best performances as some feuding, menacing bee keepers.All around not bad.
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.
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.
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.
Instead of focusing on bee sting makeup and civilization-ending massive explosions, this film focuses on plot and mystery.
Suzanna Leigh may not be much of a singer, or an actress come to think of it, but she is beautiful and rescues this film from being a COMPLETE waste of ninety minutes.There are some genuinely horrific moments, particularly the unpleasant death of the farmer's wife.
Amicus production studios never looked more like a poor man's Hammer than with this silly and totally fright-free creature-feature revolving on behaviorally manipulated bees.
You surely can't expect much from a movie about killer bees ("The Swarm" made that more than clear) but at least I was hoping for something a little better than this, considering the great names that were involved in the production.
"The Deadly Bees" was scripted by Robert Bloch (he wrote "Psycho", for God's sake!) and directed by Freddie Francis (who also did "The Creeping Flesh" and "The Skull").
Some Missteps But Not All Bad. Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.As far as films featured on "Mystery Science Theater" go, this is one of the better ones.
The bee attack scenes really aren't bad (the actors certainly sell the hell out of the material), but they'd be better if the (not so) special effects weren't so hilariously unconvincing.
The story, based on a novel by Gerald Heard, deals with a pop singer named Vicki Robbins (Suzanna Leigh), who suffers a mental breakdown and is sent to the idyllic, rustic community of Seagull Island for much needed R & R.
The pretty Leigh is engaging as a resourceful lead, but the show really belongs to Frank Finlay and Guy Doleman as the warring farmers, H.W. Manfred and Ralph Hargrove respectively.
As if the film's producers went through all the small domestic animals, snakes, rats, rabid dogs, spiders and were left with bees.Amicus productions were always the poor man's Hammer films and although they did one or two half decent horrors, the rest were mainly low budget pap, this been one of the latter.The only saving graces are that Suzanna Leigh is easy on the eyes and how that as the hero, Guy Doleman was a very unsympathetic character, which made an unusual change.
Made by the company Amicus (a half-hearted sixties rival to Hammer) and directed by the usually reliable Freddie Francis, this is a truly terrible film.Suzanna Leigh looks pretty but acts badly as a pop star suffering from exhaustion.
Doleman breeds bees, as does nearby resident Frank Finlay, and things start to go wrong when a mutant breed of killer bee begins to attack and kill people and animals on the island.
I needn't have worried excessively, however , because the film was hardly worth the trouble: I've watched the more famous and star-studded (but similarly maligned) 'killer bees' movie THE SWARM (1978) twice but, while this is somewhat less enjoyable (given the definite camp factor of the later outing) if certainly more tolerable at nearly half its length  THE DEADLY BEES ran for 84 minutes against THE SWARM's excessive 155, at least in its "Extended Version"  it's just as dull and generally misguided!
Anyway, this does feature a reasonable cast  led by a pretty if miscast Suzanna Leigh, Guy Doleman and Frank Finlay, while also including the likes of Michael Ripper (actually one of the Hammer stalwart's bigger roles, if still playing nothing more complex than a bartender-cum-constable!), James Cossins and Michael Gwynne (in one brief scene); having mentioned Hammer earlier and again just now, it's worth noting that Leigh, Cossins and Gwynne also did work for that famed horror studio at some time or other.
For the record, the fashionable but rather queasy pop music background (highlighting Leigh herself) of the opening scenes includes the underwhelming performance by a band called The Birds(!) which numbered among its members future rhythm guitarist with The Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood!
The idea of Leigh's character being sent to recover from a nervous breakdown on a remote island was pretty stupid to begin with  and it's rendered even more comical (which I don't think was the intention) by the fact that the farm in which she lodges is run by a middle-aged couple who can't stand each other!
One would have expected the essentially weak script (beekeeper Doleman, for instance, is depicted as generally boorish so as to obviously arouse audience suspicion  however, the casting of Frank Finlay as his sheepish neighbor, complete with sympathetic Cary Grant-type delivery, won't fool anyone!) would eventually be compensated for by the appearance of the rampaging bees themselves; however, even these emerge to be so poorly animated as to dissipate any hoped-for tension during the relevant scenes  causing an air of dejection to hang over the entire film (apparently, Francis was so unhappy throughout the shooting that he considered retiring from direction altogether: happily for us horror film buffs, he didn't).
During the time you will see the bees kill a dog and a woman (which is a bit gross looking), you will see the bees attack a bunch of people and not kill them, and you will see two scenes where they review what happened in the movie.
Deadly Bees, The (1967) ** (out of 4) Robert Bloch wrote the screenplay to this film, which has a pop singer (Suzanna Leigh) going to get rest at a country home only to arrive as an outbreak of bee attacks start to happen.
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.
The pop star, Vicki, is untalented and uninteresting and should have left the island after the first killing like any normal person with sense.Added bonus trivia: A 19-year-old Ron Wood is the guitarist in the Birds, the band in the beginning of the movie!.
Freddie Francis was one of the less reliable directors working in horror during the 60s and 70s (often for Hammer and Amicus): at his best, he gave us enjoyable Tales From The Crypt and the serviceable Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, but at his worst he was responsible for The Creeping Flesh, Torture Garden, Trog, The Vampire Happening, and this boring pile of drivel, The Deadly Bees.Suzanna Leigh stars as pretty pop singer Vicki Robbins, who, suffering from exhaustion, goes to stay at a farm on Seagull Island to recuperate.
While there, she begins to suspect that the farmer (Guy Doleman) is breeding a strain of deadly bees that will attack anyone who has come in contact with a special serum.
With the help of friendly bee-keeper Manfred (Frank Finlay) she tries to find proof of his wrong-doingsFeaturing leaden direction from Francis, a predictable script that holds few surprises, and some truly dreadful special effects, The Deadly Bees is utterly abysmal from start to finish, offering absolutely nothing in the way of suspense or scares, no matter how urgent or loud the music gets.
A dry script (from the usually reliable Robert Bloch, at that), insanely boring direction from Freddie Francis (this coming from a fan of his usually despised film LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF) and a total lack of action and thrills on all accounts drag this one down from the start and only people with really high tolerance levels or an affection for British cinema from the period will find this watchable.The cast of characters is an unappealing one and none of the actors or actresses come away looking good in their roles.
The music is over the top and works against the film and the only good thing you can say is that the shots are composed well and the cinematography is solid.Suzanna Leigh is quite a respected actress from the period but you wouldn't guess it from this turn, which is undoubtedly her worst performance ever.
This little known performer, who popped up in a number of British horror films of this period, always in small roles, seemed to be an actress more deserving of what she got.
I am a fan of Freddie Francis who directed the masterful GIRLY (one of the best and unique films I have ever seen) as well as actors Suzanna Leigh (LUST FOR A VAMPIRE) and the great character actor Michael Ripper (THE REPTILE) but there was nothing of value in this film.
Both Mr. Hargrove (Guy Doleman) and the eccentric Manfred (Frank Finlay) keep bees but which fellow is to blame for the attacks?
Manfred blames Hargrove and befriends Suzanna, who suspects Hargrove of foul play when his wife is killed by the deadly bees.STORY: $ (This screenplay is very weak.
Some of his line readings are laughable).NUDITY: None (About all anyone seems to remember from this little film is Suzanna Leigh fighting off a swarm of bees in her bra.
THE DEADLY BEESA Freddie Francis shocker Vicki Robbins (one-note Suzanna Leigh) is a pop singer who has worked herself into exhaustion by dancing in front of hot studio lights while wearing thick fur coats.
For relaxation, she is sent on a vacation to the lovely Seagull Island, to stay at the farm of Ralph (wooden Guy Doleman) and Mary Hargrove (chain-smoking Catherine Finn).
I don't know what went through Freddie Francis mind when he made this abomination, but it certainly wasn't "at least this will be fun to watch!" Overall, THE DEADLY BEES is a tedious, slow, contrived mess filled to the brim with boring characters, offensively ugly locations, bad editing, lame SFX, and a dog that looks like it hasn't bathed for months.
So so horror film, but what intrigued me most was the footage at the beginning of the movie of the British Mod band 'The Birds'.
Pop singer Vicki Robins (Suzanna Leigh) has been working far too hard lately & collapses while performing in a TV studio, her agent (Maurice Good) suggests she spend a couple of relaxing weeks with a friend of his on, yep you've guessed it, Seagull Island.
The people of Seagull Island seem to have bees on the brain & they come up in the conversation more often than one would expect, however it's not long before Vicki finds herself embroiled in a scheme involving killer bees that can be controlled to do their owner's evil bidding...Produced by British studio Amicus The Deadly Bees was directed by genre veteran Freddie Francis & I have to say I quite liked it despite it's daftness & somewhat predictable storyline.
The script by Robert Bloch & Anthony Marriott is based on the novel 'A Taste for Honey' by H.F. Heard & the central premise is rather silly & takes itself a little too seriously, why does someone want to develop a swarm of killer bees in the first place?
The plot which tries to keep the villains identity a secret & then surprise everyone at the end, well I can assure you now that you would have to be pretty dumb not to see where The Deadly Bees is going as the script tries it's absolute hardest to convince you one way with unconvincing red-herrings that you just know there's more to it.
Did people really choose to have wallpaper those colours?Technically The deadly Bees is solid throughout with nice photography, location shooting, music & production values although those special effects won't impress anyone these days & some of the 'exterior' shots are obviously studio bound.
Directed by horror vet Freddie Francis and cowritten by Robert "Psycho" Bloch, the picture features a virtually "no name" cast, not to mention its supporting cast of thousands...of killer bees, that is!
In the film, we meet Vicki Robbins, a young and pretty pop singer (appealingly played by Suzanna Leigh) who has just suffered a nervous breakdown and is sent by her doctor to some old friends of his, the Hargroves, on Seagull Island, for a few weeks of R&R.
But poor Vicki's stay with the Hargroves turns out to be anything but restful, as Mr. Hargrove proves to be an apiary owner, an enemy of a rival apiarist (Frank Finlay, the only cast member I was familiar with here) on the island, and before long, killer bees are flying thick and furious.
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 ).
Throughout the mid 60s and early 70s Amicus Productions churned out a series of wonderful little horror anthologies including my favorite, TALES FROM THE CRYPT.But, before launching into the more-profitable horror genre, where low-budgets were more easily forgiven, Amicus produced some full-length features, including THE DEADLY BEES.While watching this movie, you have to realize that this was a time before CGI, before Star Wars special effects and the like.
Making a movie about killer bees isn't easy, as they don't necessarily make for the most horrifying "monsters." However, I think Amicus and Freddie Francis did a commendable job; and, really pulled this one off.The script is based on the novel 'A Taste for Honey' by H.F. Heard; and, was well-adapted to the screen by Robert Bloch (unlike other Amicus feature-length films, which were written by Amicus insider, Milton Subotsky).
Block turned out quite a few exceptional screenplays (e.g., Psycho), including the Amicus production THE SKULL, among many others.The Deadly Bees isn't a dull film, the plot moves along quite well.
The cinematography isn't always pretty; it is quite gritty around the farm, gorgeous around "Seagull Island;" and, quite slick and very "mod" in and around London.I think that it offers some very good shock sequences, despite the fact that the bee effects are not always convincing.
Vicki Robbins (Suzanna Leigh) is a singer in bad need of a rest.
Her doctor contacts his friend, Ralph Hargrove (Guy Doleman), with a farm on a remote island that promises to provide Vicki the relaxation she desperately needs.
So when Mr. Hargrove starts acting suspiciously and people begin dying from deadly bee attacks, it's natural for Vicki to suspect her host.
But is Mr. Hargrove behind the trouble on Seagull Island?Given the names behind The Deadly Bees, it's understandable to hope, if not expect, something better than this.
Even with Amicus Productions, Freddie Francis, and Robert Bloch involved with the movie, there are far too many problems to call The Deadly Bees "good".
And that makes it almost impossible to root for her or care what happens to her when she comes across as so unlikable.Plot  For a movie that throws one red herring after another at the audience, it's too easy to see the outcome of The Deadly Bees from a mile away.
Soon, people are being attacked by Deadly Bees, and when Mrs. Hargrove dies, her husband comes under suspicion.
Exhausted pop singer Vicki Robbins (a solid and appealing performance by fetching blonde Suzanne Leigh) decides to take it easy by spending some time at a farm on a remote island.
"Vicki Robbins" (Suzanna Leigh) is a British pop singer who has a nervous collapse due to her hectic schedule and is sent by her doctor to a remote place called "Seagull Island" for some rest and relaxation.
So when a dog, that Ralph didn't like, is killed by bees Ralph's wife immediately thinks he had something to do with it--and so does Vicki.
Now rather than reveal any more of this film I will just say that it was an adequate "Grade-Bee movie" for the most part which seemed to concentrate more on mystery than horror or suspense.
A British pop singer called Vicky Robins (Suzanna Leigh) is sent to the isolated "Seagull Island" by her doctor to recover from a nervous breakdown.
But before the truth comes out, Vicky nearly becomes a victim of the killer swarm herself.More of a routine whodunit than a horror film, which is noted for its troubled production history (it was shot at Twickenham studios in the middle of winter and the bees had to be imported from Australia).