Killer Bees
"Killer Bees" stars a young Kate Jackson as the newest addition to the van Bohlen's, a wealthy family presided over by Madame Maria van Bohlen (Gloria Swanson) who runs an acclaimed vineyard. But the grande Madame has a secret as to why the vineyard has flourished for decades that involves hordes of nocturnal African bees...
As one can surmise, the plot of "Killer Bees" is pretty thin, probably mostly due to the time it was released (1974), when TV movies were running a scant 74 minutes -- there simply wasn't time enough for much more plot. However, what the film lacks in plot, it more than makes up for in atmosphere and performances. For most shots, the bees were really on set (though one notable exception for an FX sequence near the end of the film looked hokey in the '70s and is downright painful to look at now). Jackson gives a fine performance as the ingenue, as does Edward Albert as her adoring fiancée. But stealing the show as Albert's grandmother is Gloria Swanson. While it's not quite a Norma Desmond part, Swanson played it with the same sort of zeal.
Ironically, Swanson was the director's second choice. Bette Davis was offered the role first, and she genuinely wanted to do the movie but was advised by her doctor not to. Davis was allergic to bees and her doctor feared that a sting would send her into anaphylactic shock or possibly kill her. So director Curtis Harrington lured Swanson out of retirement, citing her as the only other actress who could play the part. Little did anyone know it would be her last, but it was a wonderful final performance.
Harrington noted on numerous occasions that he wanted to see "Killer Bees" released on DVD; the film never had a VHS release and Harrington feared it would become a "lost movie." Didn't happen during his lifetime and I've no reason to think it's gonna happen during mine. Weird since the movie won awards and was rerun so frequently throughout the '70s and '80s.
