Fred Wilson
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- Fred Wilson: “You think I'm crazy?”
- Roy Bagley: “You said it, Fred, not me.”
- Fred Wilson: “If we had found oil, we would have Gulf, Shell, Exxon crawling all over here! Not this one, pal. Kong is all me and Petrox. A Fred S. Wilson exclusive!”
- ― Dialogue between Roy Bagley and Fred Wilson in King Kong (1976)
Fred S. Wilson is a main human antagonist in the 1976 King Kong remake. An incredibly greedy executive of the Petrox Corporation, he organized an expedition to Skull Island in search of oil. Not finding useful resources on the discovered land, Wilson captured King Kong and brought him to New York to make money from a lavish show.
Development
During the film's production, there were rumors in the press that Wilson could be played by Peter Falk, George C. Scott, or Robert Mitchum, but the role ultimately went to Charles Grodin.[1]
Personality
Fred Wilson is an extremely greedy and fanatical person. His desire to get rich overpowers his compassion for people, animals, and even his own health. Those who do not share his ideals he suspected of spying or simply ignored. Jack Prescott accused Wilson of neglecting and cruelly treating nature. During the expedition to Skull Island, everyone who accompanied Wilson became convinced of his inhumanity, bordering on madness. The only one who tried to maintain friendly relations with Wilson throughout the journey was Roy Bagley, with whose help Wilson discovered Skull Island. Despite this, Bagley most likely did not sail with him to New York on the same ship. The scene where Wilson orders workers from Surabaya to move equipment to a village of natives contains a hint at the character's racist beliefs.
History
King Kong (1976)
Wilson was in a hurry to get to Skull Island faster than other oil companies, so he sailed on the ship Petrox Explorer from Surabaya, Indonesia, despite bad weather. A day later, the ship encountered a severe storm and Wilson became seasick, but he still demanded that Captain Ross stick to the previous course. When the weather cleared, Wilson and Roy Bagley gathered the crew in the galley and only then told everyone that their destination was an undiscovered island hidden in the foggy area. During the presentation, Wilson got into a heated argument with Jack Prescott, a stowaway whom he mistook for an industrial spy. Wilson ordered Prescott to be locked in a dark cabin, and soon after, the ship's crew brought the shipwrecked actress Dwan on board. By this time, the US Navy had sent information about Prescott, who was actually a paleontologist, and Wilson appointed him the expedition's official photographer. For the rest of the voyage, Wilson tried to be nice to both Prescott and Dwan, although his main concern was still the oil and the profits from its sale.
As the ship stopped in front of the fog bank, Wilson was overcome with the thrill of discovery. Together with Prescott, Dwan and six other people, he sailed on a boat through the fog and landed on the coast of the legendary island. As they climbed a wide canyon, they came across a giant wooden wall. Prescott was sure that someone was looking after the structure and therefore the island was inhabited. Wilson objected, thinking that they had found only ancient ruins, but immediately after his words, tribal music began to play. After walking a little further, the group discovered natives performing some kind of ritual near a giant gate, but Wilson and Bagley's attention was drawn to a puddle of liquid that looked like oil. They were unable to get closer, as the native leader noticed the presence of strangers. The islanders demanded that they give them the blonde Dwan, to which Prescott and Wilson firmly refused, and then they had to shoot in the air to scare off the angry natives.
Back on the Petrox Explorer, Wilson discussed plans for the coming days with Ross, Bagley, and Prescott. He intended to bribe the chief with something and did not really believe that Kong, whose name the natives were shouting, was real. However, Wilson soon became convinced that he was wrong. During the night, the natives kidnapped Dwan, and the rescue team that went after her discovered giant footprints behind the wall, into one of which Wilson accidentally fell. Prescott, the first mate Carnahan, Joe Perko, Boan, Garcia, and Timmons set out to search for Dwan, while Wilson and the rest of the crewmen set up camp on the coast. Even in such a tense moment, Wilson was thinking first and foremost about finding oil and demanded over the radio that Carnahan's group not forget to set seismic equipment along the way. Soon Bagley, who had examined the liquid from that puddle, informed Wilson that this oil was unsuitable for use, and then Wilson set out to catch Kong in order to make money on him at least. They began to prepare a giant trap in front of the gate. Boan later returned to them, telling them that everyone except him and Prescott had died when they encountered Kong in the mountains. That night, when the trap was ready, Prescott and Dwan returned, followed by an enraged Kong. Wilson stared in horror at the giant beast from the wall and ducked as Kong tried to grab him with his hand. After descending, Wilson and the others watched as Kong broke down the gate and then detonated the chloroform tanks at the bottom of the pit. Wilson climbed down from the wall and detonated the chloroform cylinders at the bottom of the pit. Kong broke the gate, fell into the pit and quickly fell asleep.
Since there wasn't enough room on the Petrox Explorer, Wilson's crew loaded Kong onto the tanker Susanne Onstad, which took them to New York. During the voyage, Wilson told Dwan and Prescott of the glory that lay ahead. Prescott, however, was saddened by Kong's fate, and the serious conflict arose between him and Wilson. During the night, Dwan accidentally fell into reservoir to Kong while trying to calm him down, but the ape released her without causing any harm, and the rest of the journey passed without incident. While preparing for the show in New York, Wilson had a final falling out with Prescott, who transferred the money he was paid to an animal welfare fund and refused to appear in front of the cameras. Wilson and Dwan both took part in a lavish show where the caged Kong was introduced to the public for the first time. However, the show turned into a disaster when Kong broke his chains and escaped from his cage. The frightened spectators began to stampede, and Kong crushed some of them. Pushed back by the panicking crowd, Wilson also found himself in the beast's path and was crushed by Kong.
Trivia
- While filming the scene where Wilson dies, Kong's mechanical leg began to malfunction, and Charles Grodin barely managed to move out from under it.[2]
- Partially filling the role of Carl Denham from the 1933 King Kong, Fred Wilson also bears some similarities to the same character from the 2005 remake. Both Wilson and Universal's Carl Denham are ready to put up with human deaths in order to fulfill their plans, both build traps for Kong, and both stage a show with performers in New York.
- Like some other characters, Fred Wilson was given several additional lines in the German dub of the film.
- In the extended cut of the film, Wilson's hat remains in the spot where Kong stepped while attempting to kill the character.
References
This is a list of references for Fred Wilson. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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