Posted by dominie in Films, Interviews on October 20th, 2008
The Fly: Andre Delambre (David Hedison) is a devoted husband, a loving father and a brilliant scientist. When his body is found in his laboratory with his arm and head crushed by a hydraulic press, his wife Helene admits to having killed him. Believing Helene incapable of such a crime, Andre’s brother slowly uncovers the truth - that an experiment with Andre’s new teleportation device went horribly wrong and Andre persuaded Helene to assist him in suicide.
Famous Monsters: I read in the foreword that you always know when October arrives because your phone starts ringing. You have done a lot of work, great work besides The Fly (review), do you think you are remembered more for your role as Andre Delambre or for the large body of work you have contributed to the acting profession?
David: Both actually. Andre Delambre, Lee Crane and Felix Leiter (in two James Bond films - Let and Let Die and License to Kill) are the roles I am best known for - all over the world. I also did a National Tour of Chapter Two (the Neil Simon play) in 1979-80. Those are roles I consider my best known work out of the over 100 roles I’ve assayed in my 60 year career.
Famous Monsters: Does it amaze you at all that The Fly remains so popular and ingrained in the hearts of horror fans given the big budget, special effect extravaganzas we are bombarded with today?
David: Not at all. It tells a story. A good story, tragic and heartfelt, about this fantastic discovery — teleportation — that can change the world, but we as human beings don’t have the discipline or the knowledge to use it wisely. It’s a classic tragedy. I loved playing the part of the doomed scientist.
Famous Monsters: I make sure I watch three movies and one TV show every Halloween…It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, The Fly, Dracula with Bela and John Carpenter’s Halloween. What are your favorite Halloween movies? (more…)
Posted by pete in Interviews, Literature, News, Reviews on October 20th, 2008
The Fly has been a Halloween staple of mine for many years. The infamous “Help Me, Help Me” has long been one of the classic lines of all time.
Now fifty-years after the film was made, Diane Kachmar and David Goudsward have published The Fly At Fifty; The Creation And Legacy Of A Classic Science Fiction Film, with a foreword by the star Al (David) Hedison.
Let me start by saying that this is a meticulously researched and thoroughly in-depth book. The level of detail is grand in scope, while being entertaining at the same time.
They start from The Fly’s beginning; the original short story by George Langelaan published by Playboy in 1957 and take you on a nostalgic journey through the entire process that brought the short story to the final film we love today. There are detailed synopses of the main characters involved with the film from the producer/director Kurt Neumann to make-up artist Ben Nye.
What really stood out for me is the acting credentials of the cast before and after the film. Everyone knows about Vincent Price’s career but the rest of the cast’s credentials are pretty impressive. From TV to movies to theater this cast was an extremely talented bunch.
They did not stop at The Fly though. They also covered 1959’s Return of the Fly, 1965’s Curse of the Fly, the 1986 remake The Fly and The Fly II from 1989.
There is an extensive interview with Mr. David Hedison, a chapter about “The Fly in Popular Culture” and for an added treat, the original short story by Langelaan is also included. This was the icing on the cake as I had never read the short story before.
In closing I would like to say that if you are a fan of The Fly or just movies in general this book is a must buy and is highly recommended. It gives you a wonderful insight into the making of a science fiction classic with detail, clarity and an obvious love of this film.
Now some questions for the authors and Mr. David Hedison. (more…)
Posted by dominie in Films, General, News on September 26th, 2008
Everything you ever want to know about The Fly! Yesterday I received a lovely email from Diane Kachmar whose been working with David Hedison, star in the original 1958 Kurt Neumann Sci-Fi classic The Fly with Vincent Price. Their new book, The Fly at Fifty: The Creation and Legacy of a Classic Science Fiction Film celebrates original tale about a scientist’s (Andre Delambre played by Hedison) horrific accident when teleportation experiment malfunctions. The fifty-year anniversary book is 200 pages of loaded history since The Fly debuted, including over 50 photographs that will feature rare, never-before-seen shots from the private archive of make-up designer Ben Nye.
See below for more details and order your copy of The Fly at Fifty here.
“Help me! Help me!”
Andre Delambre is a devoted husband, a loving father and a brilliant scientist. When his body is found in his laboratory with his arm and head crushed by a hydraulic press, his wife Helene admits to having killed him. Believing Helene incapable of such a crime, Andre’s brother slowly uncovers the truth - that an experiment with Andre’s new teleportation device went horribly wrong and Andre persuaded Helene to assist him in suicide.
When the American Film Institute distributed a ballot with 400 nominated movie quotes to a jury of over 1500 film industry figures, the abovequote came in 123rd. But this film’s influence extends far beyond a simple quote. The movie’s concept, ending and the quote have permeated pop culture from 1958 to The Simpsons to a 2008 opera based on a 1986 film remake by David Cronenberg.
The original movie The Fly was the surprise hit on 1958. Shot in 18 days at a cost of $450,00 dollars, it brought in $6 million, which at time when Fox Studios was in desperate need of a hit. It was the biggest box office film of director Kurt Neumann but he would never know - he died one month after the premiere (a week before the movie was released nationally).
This film made a star of David Hedison and cemented Vincent Price’s place among the horror film immortals. It is more than a tale of science gone wrong and hideous mutants. It is a film classic, the rare perfect blending of story, cast and crew, with the fantastic elements in sync with the universality of Andre’s struggle with what he had hoped to do with this technology and what actually happened to him. That struggle touches everyone who has ever watched this film and why, after 50 years, it remains a classic. (more…)
