IMDb RATING
4.2/10
2.3K
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Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.
Percy Edwards
- Tess the Dog
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe special effects for the bee attack sequences were quite simple. Often footage of swarming bees would be superimposed over footage of the actors and fake plastic bees would be glued to the actors. Some shots of swarming "bees" was actually footage of coffee grounds, floating and swirling in water tanks, that was superimposed over landscape footage.
- GoofsWhen 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
H.W. Manfred: [Referring to a liquid he has] I've made this especially for you, Vicki.
- Alternate versionsFor its 1998 appearance on the series Mystery Science Theater 3000 several scenes were cut from the film. Among them a scene of Mr. Manfred at the pub, more plot involving David Hawkins, additional scenes about the investigation of Mary Hargrove's death, and more conversations between Vicki and Mr. Manfred.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Deadly Bees (1998)
- SoundtracksStop the Music
(uncredited)
Written by Milton Subotsky and Clive Westlake
Performed by Suzanna Leigh (dubbed by Elkie Brooks)
Featured review
THE DEADLY BEES (Freddie Francis, 1967) **
Given the fact that Hammer rival Amicus were behind this, not to mention the contribution of scriptwriter Robert Bloch and director Francis, I made sure to acquire it immediately when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately, the edition I ended up with not only featured the wrong aspect ratio (which noticeably lopped off the top of both the credits and, on occasion, the actors themselves!) but the image appeared stretched to boot (though I was able to fix this from my TV remote). 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! Incidenatlly, yet another film on the subject was the made-for-TV THE SAVAGE BEES (1974) but I've yet to subject myself to that!
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)
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)
helpful•57
- Bunuel1976
- Oct 31, 2008
- How long is The Deadly Bees?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 24 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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