Invasion of the Bee Girls
Encyclopedia
Invasion of the Bee Girls is a 1973 science fiction film
. The first film venture for writer Nicholas Meyer
, it was directed by Denis Sanders
and stars William Smith
, Victoria Vetri
and Anitra Ford
.
(played by Anitra Ford
) has created an army of beauties who seduce men to death.
to investigate the death of John Grubowsky, a bacteriologist working at government-sponsored Brandt Research. Quickly making the acquaintance of the laboratory’s head librarian, Julie Zorn, he begins interviewing the firm’s leading scientists, many of whom have reputations as sexual players. His investigation is soon complicated by a growing number of deaths, all men who died of congestive heart failure caused by sexual exhaustion.
Faced with a rapidly escalating body count, the local sheriff
, Captain Peters, holds a town meeting at which the laboratory’s leading sex researcher, Henry Murger, urges the town populace to practice sexual abstinence
– an idea greeted with derision by the locals. Neil and Julie arrange a meeting with Murger afterwards to discuss his theories as to the cause of his deaths, only to see him chased down and run over by a car with an unseen driver. While investigating Murger’s home in search of clues, Neil discovers a secret room concealing sexual paraphernalia and Murger’s gay lover, Joe, who informs Neil that he saw Murger driving off with an unknown woman prior to his death.
Despite a curfew and the establishment of a military quarantine
, the scientists continue playing their sex games. One of them, Herb Kline, is approached by Susan Harris, a beautiful entomologist
working on bees. Though described by the men as an “iceberg,” she flirts with Kline and invites him over for dinner. That night, as they engage in sex, Kline suffers a fatal thrombosis
and Harris reveals black compound eyes suggesting that she is more than she appears.
Meanwhile, convinced there is a similar pattern at work, Neil begins studying the sexual patterns of insects. Seeking information about the mating habits of bees, he interrogates Dr. Harris at her lab; when he departs, she resumes her project – the transformation of Kline’s wife Nora into a Bee Girl through a process of controlled mutation
. With the aid of other previously mutated women, she cocoons Nora and places her in a chamber where she is swarmed by mutated bees; when she emerges, she is bombarded with radiation
and awakens with the same black compound eyes and drive to mate that the other transformed women possess. The next morning, Herb Kline’s body is discovered; when Captain Peters goes to inform Nora, she attempts unsuccessfully to seduce him.
Having worked out much of what has taken place, Neil summons the remaining department chairs and presents his theory. Though the geneticist
, Stan Williams, scorns the idea, the head of the diagnostics department, Aldo Ferrara, is more receptive. At Grubowsky's funeral, Neil and Julie bring a radiation detector, which picks up the gamma radiation coming from the women in attendance who have been subjected to the treatment. Aware that they have been detected, the transformed women move to eliminate the remaining scientists; Williams is killed by his now-mutated wife and Ferrara dies during a visit by Dr. Harris, who then lures Julie to her lab to be transformed.
When Neil discovers Ferrara’s body, he realizes what the women are up to. Racing to the lab, he interrupts the women as they begin the process of turning Julie into one of their number. With Harris threatening to kill Julie unless he leaves, he moves to depart but pulls out a revolver
instead and shoots the machinery. Neil then rescues Julie and bars the door, leaving the mutated women to die amidst a cascade of exploding machinery.
.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
. The first film venture for writer Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer is an American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist, known best for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and for directing the films Time After Time, two of the Star Trek feature film series, and the 1983 television movie The Day After.Meyer graduated from...
, it was directed by Denis Sanders
Denis Sanders
Denis Sanders was an American film director, screenwriter and producer who directed the debut performances of Robert Redford, George Hamilton, Sydney Pollack and Tom Skerritt in the critically acclaimed 1962 film War Hunt...
and stars William Smith
William Smith (actor)
William Smith is an American actor who has appeared in almost 300 feature films and television productions.Smith began his acting career at the age of 8 in 1942...
, Victoria Vetri
Victoria Vetri
-Biography:Vetri was born in San Francisco, California to parents who were immigrants from Italy. She attended Hollywood High School in Hollywood, California between 1959 and 1963 and later studied art at Los Angeles City College. She began acting and modelling in her teens. Vetri is a singer and...
and Anitra Ford
Anitra Ford
Anitra Ford is an American actress.Ford was born in California. She was a model on The Price Is Right from its beginning in 1972 until the last days of 1976. She was replaced by Holly Hallstrom...
.
Synopsis
The premise of the movie is that a mad scientistMad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
(played by Anitra Ford
Anitra Ford
Anitra Ford is an American actress.Ford was born in California. She was a model on The Price Is Right from its beginning in 1972 until the last days of 1976. She was replaced by Holly Hallstrom...
) has created an army of beauties who seduce men to death.
Plot
Neil Agar, a security agent with the State Department, is dispatched to Peckham, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to investigate the death of John Grubowsky, a bacteriologist working at government-sponsored Brandt Research. Quickly making the acquaintance of the laboratory’s head librarian, Julie Zorn, he begins interviewing the firm’s leading scientists, many of whom have reputations as sexual players. His investigation is soon complicated by a growing number of deaths, all men who died of congestive heart failure caused by sexual exhaustion.
Faced with a rapidly escalating body count, the local sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, Captain Peters, holds a town meeting at which the laboratory’s leading sex researcher, Henry Murger, urges the town populace to practice sexual abstinence
Sexual abstinence
Sexual abstinence is the practice of refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity for medical, psychological, legal, social, philosophical or religious reasons.Common reasons for practicing sexual abstinence include:*poor health - medical celibacy...
– an idea greeted with derision by the locals. Neil and Julie arrange a meeting with Murger afterwards to discuss his theories as to the cause of his deaths, only to see him chased down and run over by a car with an unseen driver. While investigating Murger’s home in search of clues, Neil discovers a secret room concealing sexual paraphernalia and Murger’s gay lover, Joe, who informs Neil that he saw Murger driving off with an unknown woman prior to his death.
Despite a curfew and the establishment of a military quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
, the scientists continue playing their sex games. One of them, Herb Kline, is approached by Susan Harris, a beautiful entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
working on bees. Though described by the men as an “iceberg,” she flirts with Kline and invites him over for dinner. That night, as they engage in sex, Kline suffers a fatal thrombosis
Thrombosis
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss...
and Harris reveals black compound eyes suggesting that she is more than she appears.
Meanwhile, convinced there is a similar pattern at work, Neil begins studying the sexual patterns of insects. Seeking information about the mating habits of bees, he interrogates Dr. Harris at her lab; when he departs, she resumes her project – the transformation of Kline’s wife Nora into a Bee Girl through a process of controlled mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
. With the aid of other previously mutated women, she cocoons Nora and places her in a chamber where she is swarmed by mutated bees; when she emerges, she is bombarded with radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
and awakens with the same black compound eyes and drive to mate that the other transformed women possess. The next morning, Herb Kline’s body is discovered; when Captain Peters goes to inform Nora, she attempts unsuccessfully to seduce him.
Having worked out much of what has taken place, Neil summons the remaining department chairs and presents his theory. Though the geneticist
Geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a researcher or lecturer. Some geneticists perform experiments and analyze data to interpret the inheritance of skills. A geneticist is also a Consultant or...
, Stan Williams, scorns the idea, the head of the diagnostics department, Aldo Ferrara, is more receptive. At Grubowsky's funeral, Neil and Julie bring a radiation detector, which picks up the gamma radiation coming from the women in attendance who have been subjected to the treatment. Aware that they have been detected, the transformed women move to eliminate the remaining scientists; Williams is killed by his now-mutated wife and Ferrara dies during a visit by Dr. Harris, who then lures Julie to her lab to be transformed.
When Neil discovers Ferrara’s body, he realizes what the women are up to. Racing to the lab, he interrupts the women as they begin the process of turning Julie into one of their number. With Harris threatening to kill Julie unless he leaves, he moves to depart but pulls out a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
instead and shoots the machinery. Neil then rescues Julie and bars the door, leaving the mutated women to die amidst a cascade of exploding machinery.
Cast
- William SmithWilliam Smith (actor)William Smith is an American actor who has appeared in almost 300 feature films and television productions.Smith began his acting career at the age of 8 in 1942...
..... Neil Agar - Anitra FordAnitra FordAnitra Ford is an American actress.Ford was born in California. She was a model on The Price Is Right from its beginning in 1972 until the last days of 1976. She was replaced by Holly Hallstrom...
..... Dr. Susan Harris - Victoria VetriVictoria Vetri-Biography:Vetri was born in San Francisco, California to parents who were immigrants from Italy. She attended Hollywood High School in Hollywood, California between 1959 and 1963 and later studied art at Los Angeles City College. She began acting and modelling in her teens. Vetri is a singer and...
...... Julie Zorn - Cliff OsmondCliff OsmondCliff Osmond is an American character actor and television screenwriter most famous for his role of "Barney" in Billy Wilder's "Kiss Me, Stupid"...
..... Captain Peters - Wright King ..... Dr. Murger
- Ben Hammer ..... Herb Kline
- Anna Aries ..... Nora Kline
- Andre Philippe ...... Aldo Ferrara
- Sid Kaiser ..... Stan Williams
- Katie SaylorKatie SaylorKatie Saylor was an American actress. She has was most famously in the NBC television show The Fantastic Journey where she starred as Lianna, "daughter of an Atlantean father and an extraterrestrial mother". She had a leading role in the 1977 cult classic film Supervan. She is thought to have died...
..... Gretchen Grubowsky (as Katie A. Saylor) - Beverly Powers ...... Harriet Williams
Sequel
A semi-sequel to the movie, the play Beyond the Invasion of the Bee Girls was produced by House of Dames in 1998 in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.