The Deadly Bees [Blu-ray]

Director: Freddie Francis Freddie Francis

Overview

Noted British horror director Freddie Francis and author Robert Bloch, who wrote Psycho, combined their talents for this tale of terror. Pop singer Vicki Robbins (Suzanna Leigh) collapses from exhaustion and takes a vacation on a small resort island. She soon meets Mr. Hargrove (Guy Doleman), a difficult man with a failing marriage who owns the resort and keeps bees as a hobby. Charming Manfred (Frank Finlay), who also lives on the island, keeps bees as well, and he soon strikes up a friendship with Vicki. However, when first a dog and then Hargrove's wife are killed by bee stings, Vicki discovers that someone on the island is breeding a strain of killer bees, and she has to find out who is responsible and what can be done before they kill again. Keep an eye peeled for a short appearance by the British beat combo The Birds, whose guitarist, Ron Wood, would later become a star playing with The Faces (featuring Rod Stewart) and The Rolling Stones.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/27/2015
UPC:	0887090112000
Original Release:	1966
Rating:	NR
Source:	Olive
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:24:00
Sales rank:	19,116

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Suzanna Leigh	Vicki Robbins
Frank Finlay	Manfred
Guy Doleman	Hargrove
John Harvey	Thompson
Catherine Finn	Mrs. Hargrove
Michael Ripper	Hawkins
Anthony Bailey	Compere
Tim Barrett	Harcourt
James Cossins	Coroner
Frank Forsyth	Doctor
Katy Wild	Doris Hawkins
Greta Farrer	Sister
Gina Gianelli	Secretary
Michael Gwynn	Dr. Lang
Maurice Good	Vicky's Agent
Alister Williamson	Inspector

Technical Credits

Michael Collins	Special Effects
Freddie Francis	Director
Max J. Rosenberg	Producer
Milton Subotsky	Producer

Editorial Reviews

"Killer bee" movies are a rather notorious little sub-genre of the horror flick, and while The Deadly Bees is far from the worst of them, it's by no means a winner. Bees could certainly have benefited from a better screenplay. No one expects this kind of film to have Oscar-calibre writing, but one does expect rather more from celebrated author Robert Bloch than the cardboard characters, tired dialogue, clichéd situations and nonsensical plot machinations that one gets in Bees. Even the twist ending is hardly a twist, and hardly worth the effort. The special effects are also on the wan side, with very poor matte effects and some extremely fake-looking bees. Of the cast, Frank Finlay probably comes off best; his performance is by no means great, but he finds the occasional interesting riff to play. Suzanna Leigh looks quite good, but her performance is actively annoying; to be fair, some of this is due to the poor material. And Guy Doleman is, at best, adequate, and often not even that. Freddie Francis has delivered much better -- and much more imaginative -- direction elsewhere, and his pacing is unforgivably poor. There's some nice cinematography, including some good bee's-eye-view shots, but there's little in Bees worth watching.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler