Remembering David Hedison in "The Fly"

David Hedison, who passed away in July, is well known to genre fans for his role as Captain Lee Crane on the TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. The show, created by producer Irwin Allen, originally ran from 1964-68, and was very popular in syndication during the 1970s and 80s. In addition to his role on Voyage, Hedison played James Bond’s friend and ally, CIA agent Felix Leiter, in two 007 adventures, Live and Let Die and Licence to Kill; he was the first actor to portray the character more than once. He also starred in the eerie 1973 television film, The Cat Creature, written by Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, and appeared opposite his Live and Let Die co-star Roger Moore in the high seas action adventure film, ffolkes, also known as North Sea Hijack. Hedison guest starred on a plethora of TV series in the 70s and 80s, including Charlie’s Angels, Hart to Hart, Simon and Simon and The A-Team.

Patricia Owens & David Hedison

One of his most fondly remembered roles is as the star of the 1958 sci-fi thriller, The Fly. The actor, then billed as Al Hedison, stars as scientist Andre Delambre. He has a loving wife, Helene, and a young son named Philippe. Andre is working on an invention that can teleport matter from one place to another, much like the transporter device later seen in Star Trek. The problem is the machine has some kinks in it. During test runs, it reverses the logo on a plate, and seemingly sends the family cat to another dimension. Delambre presses on with his research, and eventually tries the device on himself. That turns out to be a very ill-advised decision, as a fly gets into the transport chamber with him, and Delambre and the fly swap body parts. Now Andre has the head and arm of a fly, and vice versa. Andre eventually reveals his condition to Helene, and asks for her help. The race is on to locate the half-human fly so the process can (hopefully) be reversed. 

The film is structured like a mystery and begins in the aftermath of Andre’s death. The story is told in flashback, as Helene tells the fantastic tale of Andre’s scientific mishap. As she relates the events leading up to her husband’s death to police Inspector Charas and Andre’s brother Francois, the men feel certain that she’s gone mad. Then the terrible truth is revealed in the movie’s terrifying conclusion. Hedison is quite good as Andre, and he and Patricia Owens (who plays Helene) have a nice chemistry portraying the couple, who clearly have great affection for one another. The character of Andre is less stuffy than the typical movie scientist, though he’s still quite obsessed with his research. By the way, that's Hedison, not a stand-in, in the fly makeup throughout the film. The moment where Andre's "fly" head is revealed is one of the more iconic moments in 1950s sci-fi,  along with the terrifying finale. Anyone who saw the film in their younger days, either in theaters or on TV, remembers the chilling words “Help Meeeee!” 

The Fly is based on a short story by George Langelaan, which was adapted by James Clavell. Yes, the same James Clavell who later wrote Shogun. He was a busy screenwriter during the late 1950s and early to mid 1960s, working on films such as The Great Escape, The Satan Bug, and To Sir, With Love. The literate script, solid production values, and excellent cast, which also includes Vincent Price as Francois and Herbert Marshall as Charas, help elevate the film's quality. It's also in color, like the similarly A-level productions Forbidden Planet and This Island Earth, a rarity for 1950s sci-fi and horror films. The film was directed by Kurt Neumann, who also helmed Rocketship X-M and a trio of Tarzan films starring Johnny Weismuller. Originally, Michael Rennie (Klaatu in The Day The Earth Stood Still) was offered the the part of Andre, but declined to take on the role.

The movie spawned two sequels, Return of the Fly (without Hedison, but with Vincent Price reprising his role) and Curse of the Fly. The film was remade (or perhaps, it's better to say re-imagined) by director David Cronenberg in 1986. That creepier, more graphic version starred Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. Also titled The Fly, the success of the new version also begat a sequel, The Fly II, featuring Eric Stolz in the title role. But for a whole generation of baby boomer and Gen X kids brought up on Saturday afternoon and late-night showings of the original on TV, David (Al) Hedison will always be The Fly. By the way Hedison and co-star Vincent Price later appeared together on an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea entitled "The Deadly Dolls," featuring Price as a (what else?) villainous puppeteer. The film is available on DVD and Blu-ray. Here's a link to the trailer for The Fly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdv4QA-O1bg.