alt.fan.james-bond FAQ - Version 6.04
Message-ID: <james-bond/FAQ_1038563702@rtfm.mit.edu> X-Last-Updated: 2002/11/27 From: reed55@core.com (Michael Reed) Newsgroups: alt.fan.james-bond Subject: alt.fan.james-bond FAQ - Version 6.04 Summary: This posting answers Frequently Asked Questions in the alt.fan.james-bond newsgroup. It covers James Bond movie history and publications of the James Bond novels. Date: 29 Nov 2002 09:56:19 GMT Archive-name: james-bond/FAQ Posting-Frequency: 15 Days Last-modified: 2002/11/26 Version: 6.04 URL: http://www.ianfleming.org/afjbfaq.htm Copyright: (c) 2002 P. Michael Reed Maintainer: Michael Reed <reed55@core.com> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ALT.FAN.JAMES-BOND FAQ Version 6.04 Last Updated November 26, 2002 / Created September 18, 1996 Maintained by Michael Reed Based on the work by the original creators Panos Sambrakos, Bryan Krofchok, David C. Morefield, Deane Barker & James Rumley Submissions by others credited where noted * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NOTE – You should use a MONOSPACED typeface setting to read this FAQ, so the lists contained in it will line up properly. UPDATE(S) – The obvious, Brief #2 Section 1 Brief #1 – THE NEWSGROUP AND ITS FOCUS 1 – This Newsgroup 2 – Other Bond Newsgroups 3 – The FAQ 4 – The Character of James Bond Brief #2 – THE FILMS 1 – The latest James Bond film 2 – EON & its trademarks 3 – List of EON’s James Bond films 4 – List of other James Bond films 5 – The actors who have played James Bond 6 – The actors who could have played James Bond 7 – The actors who have played Felix Leiter 8 – Repeat offenders 9 – Over dubbing 10 – Specific films FAQ A – Casino Royale – the television episode B – Casino Royale – the movie C – Dr. No / Live And Let Die D – From Russia With Love E - Goldfinger F – Thunderball / Never Say Never Again G – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service H – Diamonds Are Forever I – For Your Eyes Only J - Octopussy K – Licence To Kill L – Tomorrow Never Dies 11 – List of theme songs & artists 12 – Soundtracks & scores 13 – Bond meets an Oscar 14 – What’s in a name? Brief #3 – THE BOOKS 1 – The latest James Bond novel 2 – Ian Fleming A – List of Ian Fleming novels B – Stories to read in order C – Who wrote The Spy Who Loved Me? D – The Kennedy myth E – SMERSH F – SPECTRE 3 – Post-Fleming periods A – Kingsley Amis’ novel B – List of the John Gardner novels 1 – Stories to read in order C – List of the Raymond Benson novels 1 – Stories to read in order D – Other Glidrose novels featuring Bond E – Reference books 4 – Fan fiction Brief #4 – WHEN BOOK AND FILM INTERSECT 1 – Films and books – links or broken links? 2 – Explain the names “M” & “Q” 3 – What other “00” agents are mentioned? 4 – The Walther and other machinations 5 – Bright Leiter Brief #5 – MORE SOURCES ON JAMES BOND 1 – The websites 2 – The fan clubs Your mission is to send in any corrections, questions or comments directly to the FAQ maintainer at reed55@core.com . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BRIEF #1 – THE NEWSGROUP AND ITS FOCUS If you are checking out the newsgroup, welcome. This is the official FAQ for alt.fan.james-bond. 1 – This Newsgroup Anything regarding James Bond is a valid topic here, including films and books, spoofs, actors, filmmakers and authors, collectibles, music, and on and on. The newsgroup has been the place for finding Bond information since 1992. As a result, you will find many of the denizens here have been acquainted for a while and have knowledge from the effortless to the arcane. Do not be put off by this. Being a non-moderated newsgroup, the only way to fail to ingratiate yourself is to troll or further trolling behavior, ask for everyone’s “favorite” this or that or to fail to check out this FAQ for the simple questions contained herein. The FAQ does not aim to answer anything except FREQUENTLY asked questions. So if it is in here it has been asked before, repeatedly. 2- Other Bond Newsgroups alt.fan.james-bond is NOT a binaries newsgroup and you should not post large binary files. If you want multimedia files look for alt.binaries.james-bond, which is the place to find them. If your news server does not carry it you might suggest to them to start doing so. 3 – The FAQ David Marsh wrote version 1.0 of the FAQ in November 1994. From there, it became the purview of Panos Sambrakos and the others listed at the top of the document starting December 18, 1996. They maintained it until version 5.0 was released October 13, 2000. Starting with version 2.2, the FAQ has carried the status of an “official” Internet FAQ. You are reading an original work based upon the previous incarnations. It is crossposted to the news.answers and alt.answers newsgroups and it is being archived at many places around the net. Look for it at: <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/james-bond/FAQ> <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.fan.james-bond/alt.fan.james- bond_FAQ> You can also get it by email by sending a message to: <mailto:mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu> and writing in the body: ”send usenet/news.answers/james-bond/FAQ” The FAQ also has it's own place on the Web, as part of “MR. KISS KISS BANG BANG!” Visit <http://www.ianfleming.org> and you will also find a web-only supplement full of even more 007 information than is presented here. It can be found at <http://www.ianfleming.org/mkkbb/afjbfaq/what.shtml> 4 – The character of James Bond James Bond is a fictional British secret agent. He holds the “double-o” prefix, which gives him a licence to kill in the course of his duties for MI6. He first appeared in novel form in 1953, created by author Ian Fleming. More information regarding Fleming and the books can be found in Brief #3, Sections #2 and #2A. Fleming based James Bond on an amalgamation of people he knew while in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, along with some of the exploits Fleming wanted to participate in himself. Fleming never got to spend much time in the field and unlike his creation’s affinity for high stakes gambling, Fleming typically played for small change. The name of his handiwork came to pass by simple observation. His wife enjoyed a coffee table book entitled “Field Guide To Birds Of The West Indies”. Fleming wanted a simple, straightforward name for his workmanlike agent. He saw the author of that book was an ornithologist named James Bond and borrowed it. His character has no middle name. He later told the real James Bond that should a particularly foul species of bird be discovered, he would graciously lend his name to it. He chose the “00” designation after a real life occurrence. During his Whitehall tenure he pursued secret documents prefixed with “00”. (Submitted by Rhino <mailto:rhino@blueyonder.co.uk>) BRIEF #2 – THE FILMS While Ian Fleming’s creation began as a pulp fiction hero, there can be no denying that it has been the big screen that has made James Bond among the most recognizable characters in history. The films rank among the most profitable and longest running for any series, and have made far more adventures for fans than any other in the last half-century. 1 – The latest James Bond film “Die Another Day” was released November 22, 2002, the twentieth EON. Playing, as I’ve always wanted to say, in theaters everywhere. For the moment anyway. It bears repeating, you should NEVER expect to see Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or any previous leading man make a return appearance as a villain, family member or assistant to 007. Check 007News <www.ianfleming.org/007news/> for further updates. At this time it appears Pierce Brosnan should return for a fifth (and likely final) turn as Bond. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 2 – EON and its trademarks EON Productions, Ltd., is the maker of James Bond films, dating back to the first silver screen effort in 1962. EON is supposedly an acronym of “everything or nothing”. Producers Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman formed the company in 1961. Saltzman sold out his shares in 1975, and passed on in 1994. Broccoli died in 1996 and Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, daughter and stepson to Cubby, now run EON. While Broccoli was American and Saltzman Canadian EON is considered a European company since it is a subsidiary of Danjaq, S.A., and EON is a British-based outfit. Danjaq is a contraction of DANa Broccoli and JAcQueline Saltzman, wives of the founding producers. As you will read in a bit, EON has not made every Bond film. But they have created the trademarks closely associated with Bond and have complete control over future Bond films. Among the trademarks are the distinctive James Bond theme song, to be documented in Brief #2, Section #11 A “The James Bond Theme Debate”, and the gun-barrel image opening every film. Please note it is not a camera shutter or gun-sight, but a gun-barrel. Maurice Binder, who designed the majority of the title sequences in the movies, also created the opening sequence, initially using a real gun-barrel opened to allow a camera to peer through, with a gun from a Piccadilly shop. The sequence has been filmed a few times. The first one was in the first film, “Dr. No”. However, it is not Sean Connery who turns and fires. Working in a hurry, Binder used Connery’s stunt double Bob Simmons. After that, the actor portraying Bond did his own firing. Here is the list of gun barrel sequences. “Dr. No” – the original, with stuntman Bob Simmons doubling for Connery “Thunderball” – featuring Connery, shot in scope format like the film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” – George Lazenby, dropping to one knee “Live And Let Die” – Roger Moore, for the first time “The Spy Who Loved Me” – Moore again, and again re-shot in scope “The Living Daylights” – Timothy Dalton’s turn “GoldenEye” – Pierce Brosnan’s debut, using a computer generated image by Daniel Kleinman, who took over following Binder’s death For final proof to naysayers, watch the “GoldenEye” credits as the theme song begins. The bullet is shown exiting to gun barrel. 3 – List of EON’s James Bond films Here is the chronological list of EON’s James Bond films. Note that the release year of “Dr. No” shown below is for England; the film debuted in the U.S.A. in 1963. TITLE YEAR STAR TIME ACRONYM ----- ---- ---- ---- ------- Dr. No 1962 Sean Connery 111 DN >From Russia With Love 1963 Sean Connery 118 FRWL Goldfinger 1964 Sean Connery 111 GF Thunderball 1965 Sean Connery 129 TB You Only Live Twice 1967 Sean Connery 116 YOLT On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1969 George Lazenby 140 OHMSS Diamonds Are Forever 1971 Sean Connery 119 DAF Live And Let Die 1973 Roger Moore 121 LALD The Man with the Golden Gun 1974 Roger Moore 125 TMWTGG The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Roger Moore 125 TSWLM Moonraker 1979 Roger Moore 126 MR For Your Eyes Only 1981 Roger Moore 127 FYEO Octopussy 1983 Roger Moore 130 OP A View to a Kill 1985 Roger Moore 131 AVTAK The Living Daylights 1987 Timothy Dalton 130 TLD Licence to Kill 1989 Timothy Dalton 135 LTK GoldenEye 1995 Pierce Brosnan 130 GE Tomorrow Never Dies 1997 Pierce Brosnan 119 TND The World Is Not Enough 1999 Pierce Brosnan 128 TWINE As mentioned earlier, the twentieth EON Bond release is due in late 2002 and will star Pierce Brosnan. Posters in the newsgroup use the acronyms in the above list VERY FREQUENTLY. You should become familiar with them quickly. 4 – List of other James Bond films Some of the films featuring James Bond were made apart from EON. For an answer why, go to Brief #1, Section #10 and select the appropriate film. Here are the films in order of release date. TITLE YEAR STAR TIME ACRONYM ----- ---- ---- ---- ------- Casino Royale 1954 Barry Nelson 60 CRTV Casino Royale 1967 David Niven 130 CR Never Say Never Again 1983 Sean Connery 137 NSNA 5 – The actors who have played James Bond A few talented men have gotten to portray James Bond. We start with the EON five, and then the others as well. Note that Roger Moore is older than Sean Connery. A – Sean Connery, born August 25, 1930. Played Bond from 1962-1967, 1971, 1983. A Scot with minimal credits to his name in 1962, he was handpicked by Broccoli and Saltzman to star in the first Bond motion picture. There is less dialogue for Connery than in future turns, and his name was not marketed particularly heavily in the release of either of the first two films. But Connery proved to be the perfect person to assimilate Fleming’s cold warrior on screen. He was tough yet suave, strong yet smooth, and able to appeal to both ticket buying genders. By the time of his fifth outing, “You Only Live Twice”, the marketing machine said he “IS James Bond”. While true in the public’s mind, Connery tired of the constant pressure of the role and the potential to suffocate any other projects he wanted to be involved in. He left after 1967 and declined to appear in the sixth release. After a lackluster box office performance, EON prodded and finally got their star back for the seventh outing, “Diamonds Are Forever”. Then Connery left once more, stating he would “never again” portray the superspy that he had made a phenomenon. But he did come back for a reprise, in 1983’s “Never Say Never Again”. For the story on that film, see Brief #1, Section #10, E “Thunderball / Never Say Never Again”. Regarding Bond films, Connery has said in interviews that he is proudest of “From Russia With Love”. However, he made a severe and nasty break from the Broccoli clan and any thought of him returning to the EON series in any capacity is a pipe dream. Connery won an Academy Award for his supporting role in 1987’s “The Untouchables”. He is still an A-list box office draw to date and is also staunch in his support of his native Scotland. While he did not look like Ian Fleming’s written character on the surface, he was impressive enough to earn the ultimate praise. Fleming himself had his character assume some of Connery’s roots in “You Only Live Twice”. He told IMBD.com in 2002 that there is no chance of him returning to EON’s series, particularly not as a villain. "Absolutely no way - I could never be an enemy of James Bond." B – George Lazenby, born September 5, 1939. Played Bond in 1969. The only Bond star to make a solitary film appearance, George Lazenby won the role after a worldwide search. He was actually an Australian wrestler, car salesman and model who excelled in physical presence and impressed the producers. But he was not prepared for the glimmer of fame and fortune that came with the part. He was cast in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, one of Fleming’s most detailed and harrowing novels. It required more characterization than the typical Bond fare and Lazenby faced an uphill battle to achieve it. Director Peter Hunt ignored him at one point, though it was an unwitting mistake. During filming of some emotional scenes, Hunt wanted his star to relate to the isolation Bond would be feeling so he left him alone. Lazenby did not take this as direction or method of acting, but rather a lack of respect by the director. He complained publicly and friction grew between the men, which was duly noted by the press. He also had trouble with female lead Diana Rigg. The most famous example of tension between them, however, is actually a myth. Before a kissing scene, Rigg was heard telling Lazenby at lunch that she was having “garlic with [her] pate.” She meant it to be humorous but it was easily taken out-of-context given Lazenby’s tenuous relationship with Hunt and EON. While in later years he did complain about Rigg’s ego, the Bond actor never validated this story. What did him in, in the end, was as much box-office failure as his own immaturity. The fans were being exposed to a new leading actor who had burned bridges with Broccoli and Saltzman before the film was in release. It would have been a hard sell following Connery in the best of circumstances. With EON trying its best to hide his face in the nominal promotion they did for the film, not to mention the script’s deviation from the usual Bond formula, Lazenby was ill fated. Critics and fans at the time were quick to place the blame squarely on the actor and EON was quick to publicly agree with that assessment. They seemed to disregard the film for years afterward. His own career was spotty at best after his big break. Lazenby appeared in “The Kentucky Fried Movie” and spoofed the Bond image in, among other things, the TV movie “Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and the recent CD-ROM game, “Spy Hunt”. In time, many Bond fans would come to regard “On Her Majesty's Secret Service” as a high point in the series. C – Roger Moore, born October 14, 1927. Played Bond from 1973-1985. Already an established personality via television’s “The Saint” and “The Persuaders”, Roger Moore stepped into the role at a time when the series was facing a crisis. Connery had left for a second time, after a successful commercial entry. EON knew that they had to avoid the difficult sequence of events when Lazenby was hired. So for the first time they did not look at unknown actors and hired Moore, who had been approached for the role earlier in his career. Evidence suggests that he was an initial consideration for the first Bond film. It is endlessly speculative to suggest what would have happened had he landed the role. Be that as it may, he instead saw Sean Connery become a household figure and wanted no part of replacing him in 1969. But after 1971 he was willing to give it a go. It is odd that so many things in his debut, 1973’s “Live And Let Die,” stood in stark contrast to the previous entries in the series. It featured a new composer for the first time in ten years and the first rock ‘n’ roll theme song. Combined with focusing on Moore as an attractive leading man, EON seemed to market Bond as a youthful icon. While kids from ten years before had loved Connery, it cannot be said that the films were aimed at that teenaged audience. Yet it was clear that demographic was of utmost importance by the 1970’s. Moore came into his own with his third entry, “The Spy Who Loved Me”. He would start squawking about retirement as early as 1979. He meant it firmly in 1983 but still cam back for a final swan song in 1985. By then no one could hide from three obvious conclusions. One, that Moore had aged so much as to be unbelievable in the role. Two, that his lighthearted approach had made Bond accessible to a large audience but had made him closer to a comic book hero than a serious role. And three, that despite both of the previous points, Moore cast a large shadow that EON would have a tough time trying to fill. D – Timothy Dalton, born March 21, 1946. Played Bond on screen in 1987-1989, and stayed with the role publicly until 1994. Timothy Dalton earned the role of Bond only after Pierce Brosnan was prevented from taking the reins from Moore due to a contract conflict with the NBC television show “Remington Steele”. It was Dalton’s second time approaching the role. He wanted no part of it in 1971, saying in a 1987 interview on “Good Morning America” (and elsewhere) that he turned it down because he was “too young” for it and because of the imposing legacy of Connery. His first outing was “The Living Daylights”. The script, originally written with Moore’s character in mind and tweaked slightly for what would have been Brosnan’s approach, was adjusted noticeably for Dalton. The film was a bit more serious in tone and viewers could not help but compare Dalton’s physicality and attempt to restructure the character in comparison to Moore, 19 years his senior. The next film, “Licence To Kill,” was written for Dalton’s strengths as an actor. He had indeed read the Fleming novels, and wanted to use them as a backdrop for his interpretation of Bond. The film enjoyed huge popularity across the world - except in the USA. The MGM/UA advertising campaign, easily the weakest for a Bond film, was a result of the studio wrestling with huge legal and financial troubles and helped doom the film in the midst of a very competitive box office season. Nonetheless, plans proceeded for Bond 17 with Timothy Dalton still signed on for that film and at least one more. But a series of events cropped up that estranged EON from its studio, the most notable being the selling of television rights of the EON series. When at last these issues were resolved and work resumed on Bond 17 (eventually known as “GoldenEye”), Dalton surprised many by announcing he would NOT return as Bond. The public, he said, had associated him with the role for eight years, and that was long enough for him. He was eager to move on to new challenges. He left the 007 family in the spring of 1994. Cubby Broccoli and his daughter Barbara stated many times that they were disappointed to lose Dalton. The official account endorsed by Dalton, EON, and MGM/UA, is that Dalton left the series of his own accord. Dalton remains a friend of the Broccoli family and spoke kindly of Cubby when he died. There is credible evidence to suggest that by 1994 the powers that be inside MGM/UA made it clear that they would not support a new Bond film starring Dalton but as of yet the smoking gun has yet to uncovered for ballistic testing. E – Pierce Brosnan, born May 16, 1953. Began in 1995, and is the current star of the franchise. In the end, it was a great thing that Pierce Brosnan had to wait to secure the role of the world’s most famous secret agent. By the time he was introduced, Brosnan looked the part and was truly hungry to succeed. By replacing Dalton instead of Moore, he was able to avoid either following Moore’s lighthearted lead or be compared in reaction to it. Dalton pleased hardcore Fleming fans with his darker, more realistic portrayal of Bond. But the fans of Moore’s approach were never as smitten with him. Brosnan has proven to surprise both camps. He has played Bond straight but with verve. And Brosnan has that X factor. He has embodied the same charisma that Connery had once brought into the role. He has made Bond “cool” to the masses once again. He has been able to handle the publicity and the expectations with panache. Best of all, he has won over the majority of critics and fans alike. Brosnan will play Bond a fourth time in 2002. The future beyond that is still yet to be decided. Brosnan has indicated he is interested in doing a fifth, and final, turn as James Bond. As of now, EON is NOT SEEKING A NEW BOND. Any speculation at that time is not only premature, but also wholly false. F – Barry Nelson, born April 16, 1920. Played Bond in 1954. American born Nelson was the first actor to portray James Bond. In was not, however, a theatrical release. Instead in was on episodic television. See Brief #2, Section #10, A “Casino Royale – the television episode” G – David Niven, born March 1, 1910. Played Bond in 1967. A film star from features like “The Guns Of Navarone”, “Bonjour Tristesse” and “The Pink Panther”, David Niven was cast in the Bond spoof “Casino Royale”. For details about it, go to Brief #2, Section #10, B “Casino Royale – the movie”. The Scot actor, who usually answered to English when abroad, died in 1983 of ALS (Lou Gherig’s Disease). 6 – The actors who could have played James Bond Besides the men listed above many others have tried out for the role of 007. Here are some of the notable ones. A – John Gavin – The American Gavin actually signed a contract with EON to be the new James Bond in 1970, after the George Lazenby implosion. However it was no secret that EON coveted Sean Connery. When they lured him back with a promise to produce and star in two films and a hefty one million-plus salary that was mostly used to co-find the Scottish Education Trust, Gavin politely stepped aside. The actor, who can be seen in “Psycho” and “Spartacus”, went on to be a U.S. Ambassador to Mexico during the Reagan administration. B – James Brolin – It is well documented that Brolin, best known now as Barbra Streisand’s other half, screen tested opposite Maud Adams before Moore agreed to return to “Octopussy”. What is lesser know is Brolin’s claim that he was actually, like Gavin, signed to a contract. He told Bond enthusiast Richard Ashton in 1998 that he was hired by Cubby Broccoli and had searched from a home in London at the time. He also commented about his American accent by suggesting that Broccoli did not intend to hide it and hoped audiences would see Brolin’s physical presence and ignore the issue. Eventually Moore returned and Brolin was left aside. (Submitted by Richard Ashton <mailto:ashton@home.com>) C – Julian Glover – Glover auditioned for the role after the franchise needed a replacement for Connery, according to a Starlog Magazine interview in 1981. But he was not surprised when Roger Moore snagged the lead in “Live And Let Die” because “we all knew Roger would get it.” Glover did make a mark with the series, playing villain Ari Kristatos in “For Your Eyes Only”. D – Sam Neill – Screen tested in 1986 after negotiations collapsed with Pierce Brosnan, Neill was a strong contender, even getting a public mention of contention by “The Living Daylights” casting director. The role would end up going to Timothy Dalton. Neill is now best identified for his star turn in “Jurassic Park”. E – Lewis Collins – Having screen tested in the early eighties, Collins was a favorite of the British press. He starred in the television series, “The Professionals”. (Submitted by Mac <mac.s@virgin.net>) F – David Warbeck - According to interviews the late actor gave for “David Warbeck: The Man and His Movies”, he was under contract to EON throughout the late seventies and early eighties, prepared to assume the role of 007 should Roger Moore have packed his bags. (Submitted by Mac <mac.s@virgin.net>) G – Michael Billington – Billington screen tested for the starring role in “Live And Let Die”. While he was passed over then he did portray Sergei Barsov, the Russian agent and lover of “Triple X”, Major Anya Amasova, who was killed by Bond’s ski pole before 007 made his parachute leap in the teaser of “The Spy Who Loved Me”. He is best known for his role on the cult favorite TV show "UFO". H – Patrick McGoohan – McGoohan’s credits include two television spies – “The Prisoner” and “Danger Man” (a.k.a. “Secret Agent Man”). He could have made a mark in the genre earlier but he did not want the lead role in “Dr. No” due to “moral reasons.” Whether or not he would have actually been given the role if desired is in question. He was actually offered the role at least twice, according to some sources, including interviews with the actor himself. One reason given was his choice of not appearing in a work he would not let his daughters watch. (Submitted by Malus <mailto:frank@fshailes.fsnet.co.uk>) I – Stewart Granger – Never a real shot with EON, it is noted here because Granger was one of a few preferences by Ian Fleming himself. Granger’s real name was James Stewart, not to be confused with the American actor famous for “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “The Philadelphia Story”. When Fleming listed “James Stewart” on his list, he meant Granger, who starred in “King Solomon’s Mines” and director Terence Young’s “Woman Hater”. 7 – The actors who have played Felix Leiter Many of the films have featured CIA Agent Felix Leiter, Bond’s American counterpart. While the character remained the same the role was always being recast. It was not supposed to be that way. A – Jack Lord in “Dr. No” – The handsome actor, later to star in “Hawaii Five-O”, created the role of Leiter in the first Bond movie. He was supposed to return in “Goldfinger”. But Lord did not want a similar deal. He asked for a huge salary in line with Connery’s and a percentage of the profits. EON turned down his counteroffer. B – Cec Linder in “Goldfinger” – The aged actor was supposed to play Mr. Simmons, the bamboozled car player. But EON asked actor Austin Willis and Linder to switch roles. Linder got more screen time but was as far from both Lord’s portrayal and Fleming’s vision as possible. This ensured that whoever played Leiter would never again try to make demands for salary and rights. C – Rik Van Nutter in “Thunderball” – By now, EON played “spot-the- Felix” with fans. Van Nutter looked liked Fleming’s description even if the screenplay did not do his character justice. D – Norman Burton in “Diamonds Are Forever” - Burton played Leiter as a curmudgeon, making the agent seem less than excited to work with his old friend once more. E – David Hedison in “Live And Let Die” and “Licence To Kill” – The only actor to play Felix twice, though not consecutively, Hedison went sixteen years between his appearances. While his Leiter and Bond are contemporaries in his first shot, Hedison is given much more screen time in “Licence To Kill” as the main crux of the plot, and an older man than Bond, given Hedison’s age difference with Dalton. F – John Terry in “The Living Daylights” – After Hedison’s role in 1973, Leiter went dormant in EON films until 1986, when Terry showed up. He did not have a large role, but longtime fans felt comfort in once again hearing from Bond’s opposite number. G – Bernie Casey in “Never Say Never Again” – At least this time it was truly hard for viewers to “spot-the-Felix” with Casey cast as Leiter. The black actor and former pro football player portrayed the CIA man as a friend of Bond’s and Casey and Connery expressed it well. 8 – Repeat offenders Too extensive to list every example here, is it easy to spot actors playing different roles in different films. Maud Adams is the most notable (“Octopussy” and “The Man With The Golden Gun”), alongside Charles Gray (“You Only Live Twice” and “Diamonds Are Forever”) and Joe Don Baker (“The Living Daylights,” “GoldenEye” and “Tomorrow Never Dies”). Take a look at Matthew Newton's James Bond Actors page from the Bond Film Informant at <http://www.mjnewton.demon.co.uk/bond/jbactors.htm > for a complete rundown. 9 – Over dubbing Also prevalent in Bond films if you watch carefully is the number of actors whose voices were dubbed by someone else, particularly in the early ones. This is not a complete list below, just a note about some notables. It is singularly odd that one of the most famous Bond movie lines of them all, Goldfinger’s retort to wanting Bond to talk by muttering, “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!” was not the actor’s own voice. Actor Role Film Looped by ----- ---- ---- --------- Ursula Andress Honey Rider Dr. No Monica vander Syl Daniela Bianchi Tatiana Romanova From Russia With Love Barbara Jeffoed Gert Frobe Goldfinger Goldfinger Michael Collins Claudine Auger Domino Derval Thunderball Monica vander Syl Adolpho Celi Emilio Largo Thunderball Robert Rietti Tetsuro Tamba Tiger Tanaka You Only Live Twice Robert Rietti Gabriele Ferzetti Marc-Ange Draco OHMSS David deKeyser John Hollis Blofeld For Your Eyes Only Robert Rietti (The Auger and Ferzetti looped listings submitted by John Doherty <john.e.Doherty@btinternet.com> and the Hollis listing by Mac <mac.s@virgin.net>) Eric Pohlman looped Ernst Stavro Blofeld's voice in “From Russia With Love” though the cat petting hands belonged to Anthony Dawson. While one source claims that Pohlman’s widow confirmed he was also Blofeld’s voice in “Thunderball”, no less than the film’s director, Terence Young, (from “The Bond Files”) said it was Joseph Wiseman providing the voice. (Submitted by David A. McIntee <mailto:david.mcintee@btopenworld.com>) Wiseman played “Dr. No” and that version of Blofeld sounds precisely like him. John Hollis was the wheelchair bound Blofeld in “For Your Eyes Only”. Hollis played Lobot, aide to Lando Calrissian, in “The Empire Strikes Back”. And lastly, George Baker, the actor playing the real Sir Hilary Bray in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, is dubbed whenever Bond imitates him. This example is quite disconcerting and unnecessary and detracts from the viewing experience. 10 – Specific films FAQ Certain questions seem to crop up often regarding things in specific films. This section is a “FAQ in the FAQ” for these oft-repeated queries. PLEASE read them carefully – you will see them appear in the newsgroup and will be able to direct the poster to the FAQ or provide the answer. A – Casino Royale – the television episode This was the first time Bond appeared in the visual media. Not a feature film, this adaptation was a television production, an hour-long episode of the CBS “Climax! Mystery Theatre” anthology series. It aired live on October 21, 1954, the television rights selling for $1,000. Barry Nelson played Bond as an American agent, nicknamed “Card Sense Jimmy Bond”. Peter Lorre plays the villain Le Chiffre and was inadvertently seen walking across the stage after his character is killed. The joys of live TV. B – Casino Royale – the movie Fleming’s first novel, “Casino Royale” was offered for film rights for $6000 and sold in 1956 to Gregory Ratoff. Later the rights were sold to producer Charles K. Feldman for $75,000. In 1964, seeing the amazing success of EON, Feldman approached Cubby Broccoli and Sean Connery about making “Casino Royale” jointly. However, Connery asked for a cool million-dollar salary and there was a dispute over production credits. No agreement came to pass. So Feldman, armed with the legal right to the actual James Bond character and situations of “Casino Royale”, made a spoof of the Bond genre. The 1967 film is a disaster, despite the combined talents of David Niven, Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, Deborah Kerr, William Holden and John Huston. MGM obtained the rights to “Casino Royale” at the turn of the century. C – Dr. No / Live And Let Die Both of these films get fans asking, “Where’s Q?” Q is in “Dr. No”. Desmond Llewelyn just does not play him. Actor Peter Burton played Major Boothroyd, head of Q Branch. Llewelyn took over the role in 1963’s “From Russia With Love”, his character’s actual name mentioned in “The Spy Who Loved Me”. He would act in every Bond film through 1999’s “The World Is Not Enough” except for “Live And Let Die”. No one from Q Branch appears in that film. For more on Q go to Brief #4, Section #2. D – From Russia With Love There are two questions regarding this film. The first is about the introduction of Blofeld’s cat. Never used in the books, the cat took attention as a focal point to the unseen Blofeld. But the CAT’S NAME IS NEVER MENTIONED AT ANY POINT. Not even a hint of it. Which is good, as any name would be a distraction. Mike Meyers’ spoof character Austin Powers proved this point by having the villain, Dr. Evil, name his cat “Mr. Bigglesworth”. The other question is if Ian Fleming actually has a cameo appearance in the movie. Bryan Krofchok submitted the following for issue #3c of the Ian Fleming Foundation's "Shaken, Not Stirred" newsletter in March 1995 (reprinted by permission of the author): “The curious notion of Fleming's cameo is mentioned in Roger Ryan and Martin Sterling's book of Bond trivia, ‘Keeping The British End Up’, under the heading ‘Brief Encounter’. The scene in question pops up when the Orient Express must stop for a truck that has stalled across the tracks (originally, part of Grant's escape route). Watch for an oddly placed gentleman wearing a white top and dark pants, who seems to be holding some sort of walking stick.” “His mode of dress is suspiciously identical to that of Ian Fleming's in the well known photos of his visit to the set of the film during shooting of the Orient Express. I say that the man is oddly placed, because he seems to have no part in the plot, and cannot simply be brushed off as someone merely out for a casual stroll due to the apparent desolation of the surrounding area. I also find it quite odd that although the train is passing fairly close to him, the man has his back to it and is looking the other way.” E – Goldfinger When the bomb is ticking away and Bond is feverously trying to disarm it we are privy to the seconds left. When the bomb is finally defused we see “007” seconds left on it. However, Bond says that “Three more ticks and Mr. Goldfinger would’ve hit the jackpot.” The reason for this inconsistency is that the clock is supposed to end on “003” but in editing some unknown person thought showing “007” would be a neat idea. Connery was unavailable to loop his line and it stayed that way. F – Thunderball / Never Say Never Again This is the most rancorous debate of anything regarding James Bond. The questions are aplenty here. Why is “Never Say Never Again” a retelling of “Thunderball”, and why did a different production team make it? Why do fans often snub it as an “unofficial” film? Who is Kevin McClory and what role did he play in shaping James Bond? And why are there so many continuity errors in “Thunderball”? Let’s begin with Kevin McClory. Kevin McClory is a film producer who first made plans with Ian Fleming to produce the first ever Bond feature film back in 1958. He wrote a script with Fleming and screenwriter Jack Whittingham originally called “Longitude 78 West” in 1959. When the project fell through Fleming used the story as the basis for his 1961 Bond novel “Thunderball”, without crediting either McClory or Whittingham. McClory unsuccessfully attempted then to block Jonathan Cape's publication of “Thunderball”. He brought suit against Fleming in 1963 and the outcome was that all future publications of the novel would state that “it is based on a screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming.” Furthermore McClory acquired all movie rights to the story and its various treatments, referred to as “the film scripts”. His 1965 collaboration with EON, co-producing “Thunderball”, was an appeasement of sorts to prevent a competitor of EON facing off against them during the apex of Bondmania worldwide. In exchange McClory abandoned all claims for another 10 years after the initial release of the film. When in January 1976 the rights reverted back to him he wrote an original script along with Len Deighton and Sean Connery himself, called “Warhead 8”. When legal battle was started again by EON he was finally forced to produce only a direct remake of “Thunderball”. The result was 1983's “Never Say Never Again”. The film was not EON’s, and could not use the trademark gun-barrel opening or theme music, not even the name “Q” who was never in the novel or the original film scripts, making many fans consider it “unofficial”. McClory seemed to be the owner of SPECTRE and Blofeld, introduced in “Thunderball”, and EON has never used them by name since 1971's “Diamonds Are Forever”. The villain in “The Spy Who Loved Me” was originally SPECTRE, changed when it appeared legal trouble might have ensued. The character in the opening credits of “For Your Eyes Only” is Blofeld unnamed. Stay in this Section and go to I “For Your Eyes Only”. McClory attempted to make his own Bond output for years after that. In late 1997 he aligned with Sony to attempt to produce an original film series featuring James Bond. MGM responded with legal action to prevent this. In March 1999, the Sony/McClory camp was soundly thumped in court and Sony gave up any claim to owning James Bond. McClory, publicly claiming “abandonment,” began peddling the rights he had, real or imagined, to any interested party. In the end MGM proved to hold a surprising edge, namely due to an oversight on McClory's behalf. The copyright to “Thunderball” was claimed by MGM when McClory had not renewed it properly and in effect they retain at least the legal position to withstand any charge he may bring. “Thunderball” features more visible continuity errors than usual. From the ever-changing color scuba masks in the end battle to Leiter changing from shorts to pants during a helicopter ride, the film seems sloppy. The problems stemmed from a meltdown in postproduction. Terence Young had directed the first two films, and then sat out the third before returning to direct “Thunderball”. The rigorous schedule took its toll, as well as artistic differences with EON. Young walked out during editing leaving editor Peter Hunt having to make the most of what was already shot without the possibility of reshooting. G – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Two prevalent questions arise often. The first is explaining why Blofeld does not recognize Bond when they meet at Piz Gloria. The previous film, “You Only Live Twice”, had the two antagonists come face- to-face for the first time. This flew in the face of the Fleming novels where the Piz Gloria meeting was the first meeting. EON both scrapped the entire novel and storyline of “You Only Live Twice” and filmed it out of sequence. Director Peter Hunt and writer Richard Maibaum had to deal with this issue. They decided to stay true to Fleming and film the Piz Gloria scene as it had been, simply ignoring the gaffe. In truth they need not have done so, since Bond did not glean anything with Blofeld/de Bleuchamp at that time and could have merely held off their face-to- face meeting until later with a bit of tweaking. But they did not go this route. The other question regards Bond’s marriage. He marries Tracy di Vicenzo in the movie. It is the only time he ever married on screen. There is a wedding scene in “You Only Live Twice”, but it is explained in the film that the ceremony was a hoax. H – Diamonds Are Forever Two of the three common questions regarding this film arise from editing, one from questionable writing. First, when Blofeld calls for Burt Saxby we see Bond mimicking his voice to fool Blofeld. However, after Bond shows up, so does Saxby. How did the real Saxby know where and when to show up? Perhaps someone can find out that answer, as the FAQ has not located a credible one. Another frequent inquiry is how Plenty O’toole ended up at Tiffany Case’s California home. After being thrown in the Tropicana hotel pool in Las Vegas, Plenty sneaks back into the room and goes through Tiffany’s purse, finding her address, as Bond and she keep occupied. This scene was edited out of the movie before it was released making it confusing. This does not explain WHY Plenty would want to get that far involved. Lastly, when Bond's car goes in the alley on the right set of wheels it comes out on the left set. This is a flat out mistake. The filmmakers attempted to correct this error by interspersing a close-up of Bond and Tiffany as the car tilts from one side to the other. However, this should still be impossible considering the width of the alley. I – For Your Eyes Only More frequent questions arise from this film than any other. Here are the facts. First, fans clamor to know if that was actually Blofeld in the opening sequence of “For Your Eyes Only”. Yes it is. The character is never mentioned by name since in 1981 EON was legally barred from using Blofeld. See this Section’s E “Thunderball”/”Never Say Never Again” for details. But on the Special Edition DVD of the film, both producer Michael G. Wilson and director John Glen mention that it is Blofeld in a direct reference to “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. Another question involves the Blofeld plea promising Bond a “delicatessen in stainless steel” in exchange for his life. It seems Cubby Broccoli is responsible for the line being used in the film. Both Michael G. Wilson and John Glen confirm this. It seems completely out of character and not terribly clever. Also recurrent is asking if the “Bond girl” was once a man. The answer is NO! One of the bikini-clad women hanging out at Gonzales' pool is a British actress named Tula, a.k.a. Caroline Cossey, who later grabbed headlines by revealing she had started life as a man. Although the world press played up the Bond angle (“Even 007 can't tell the difference!”), Tula's role in the film was nearly non-existent. But the actual “Bond girl” of the film is Carole Bouquet. J – Octopussy An interesting question concerns Robert Brown appearing as “M” in the film. The original “M” was Bernard Lee, who died after appearing in 1979’s “Moonraker”. EON did not use “M” in “For Your Eyes Only” out of respect for Lee. But then they knew they needed the character to return. What sets fans’ minds off is that Brown had already made an appearance in “The Spy Who Loved Me” as Admiral Hargreaves. It is never stated whether Brown is playing Lee’s character, Sir Miles Messervy, or is playing Hargreaves as a new “M”. But the inference is that he played Messervy. EON had recast actors in different roles very early on and when Dame Judi Dench took over the role, Bond mentions her “predecessor” in a singular fashion. In “The World Is Not Enough” there is a picture of her predecessor, which is a portrait of Lee. It is visible for a split moment after the holographic image of Renard is turned off. The other common question pertains to the Faberge eggs. Namely which one was destroyed on camera? It was the real one. 009 is found with the fake. Bond then switches it at the auction and keeps the real one. Later he shows off the real one during the backgammon game. We also see Q put the transmitter in the real egg. The real egg is then stolen by Magda and given back to Kamal Khan. When Orlov arrives he claims that the “fake” has caused enough trouble and smashes the egg. But it is the real one that is smashed, as the Q Branch transmitter is in it. K – Licence To Kill This is not easy for everyone to discover but it is true that bullets are used as music in the movie. During the tanker chase in the film’s climax, listen closely for a machine gun fired at Bond. The ricocheting bullets do indeed play out the introductory notes of the “James Bond Theme” before the soundtrack kicks in. L – Tomorrow Never Dies There is a large misconception regarding Bond’s failure to read the Chinese keyboard when intending to send a message. The movie “You Only Live Twice” had claimed (departing entirely from Fleming’s character) that Bond had taken a first in Oriental languages at Cambridge. However, that does not mean he is fluent in written Chinese. It is never specified whether it was Chinese in the first place, and whether it was merely the spoken dialect he had mastered as opposed to the written language. 11 – List of theme songs & artists Here is a list of the films’ theme songs, as well as vocal recordings used within the film or end credits or appearing on the soundtrack albums. TITLE PERFORMER FILM(if different) ----- --------- ------------------ James Bond Theme Monty Norman Dr. No Underneath The Mango Tree Diana Coupland Dr. No Jump Up Byron Lee/Dragonaires Dr. No >From Russia With Love (instru) John Barry >From Russia With Love (vocal) Matt Munro Goldfinger Shirley Bassey Thunderball Tom Jones You Only Live Twice Nancy Sinatra On Her Majesty’s Secret Service John Barry All The Time In The World Louis Armstrong OHMSS Do You Know How Christmas Trees Nina OHMSS Are Grown? Diamonds Are Forever Shirley Bassey Live And Let Die Paul McCartney/Wings Fillet Of Soul/Live And Let Die BJ Arnau Live And Let Die The Man With The Golden Gun Lulu Nobody Does It Better Carly Simon The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker Shirley Bassey For Your Eyes Only Sheena Easton Make It Last All Night Rage For Your Eyes Only All Time High Rita Coolidge Octopussy A View To A Kill Duran Duran The Living Daylights a-ha Where Has Everybody Gone? Pretenders The Living Daylights If There Was A Man Pretenders The Living Daylights Licence To Kill Gladys Knight If You Asked Me To Patti Labelle Licence To Kill Dirty Love Tim Feehan Licence To Kill Wedding Party Ivory Licence To Kill GoldenEye Tina Turner The Experience Of Love Eric Serra GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies Sheryl Crow Surrender k.d. lang Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Garbage Only Myself To Blame Scott Walker The World Is Not Enough Casino Royale Herb Alpert The Look Of Love Dusty Springfield Casino Royale Never Say Never Again Lani Hall Chanson D'Amour Sophie Della Never Say Never Again (“Jump Up” and “Fillet Of Soul” performers submitted by Mac <mac.s@virgin.net>) Also of note is the song “Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, which was recorded by both Dionne Warwick and Shirley Bassey. It was to be the title song of EON’s fourth release until the title was changed back to “Thunderball”. Only once has a Bond theme hit #1 on the American Billboard Music Hot 100 chart. It was Duran Duran’s “A View To A Kill”. A - The James Bond Theme debate Every Bond film credits Monty Norman as the composer for the “James Bond Theme”. But most people feel John Barry actually wrote it. What is the truth? This one was still raging some thirty-nine years after the questions began. Monty Norman originally wrote a theme. However the producers were dissatisfied with the piece and John Barry was hired to “arrange” it. The resulting work bore little resemblance to the Norman’s. This reworked theme was featured in “Dr. No” and has appeared in every official Bond film since. Due to contractual obligations, Monty Norman always receives credit whenever the song is used in a Bond film. Norman's original theme can be heard on the “Dr. No” soundtrack, but it is not track number 17, titled “The James Bond Theme” on the label. Norman himself said that the actual recording intended as the theme is “Dr. No's Fantasy”, Track 11. John Barry based some inspiration for what became known as the Bond theme off the plucked guitar sound from one of his own compositions, “Bea's Knees”. (Submitted by Geoff Leonard) In March 2001, Norman won a libel suit against London's Sunday Times. They claimed Barry had penned the theme alone and also made comments about Norman's talent. Due in part to Barry stating he based the guitar riff partly on a Norman composition called “Bad Sign, Good Sign,” they sided with Norman. Note that the court did not state that Norman wrote the theme solely, as he maintains, just that he contributed to it. 12 – Soundtracks & scores Only ten men have scored a James Bond film. Here are the credits for each. Note the only composers with multiple credits are John Barry and David Arnold. COMPOSER FILM --------------- ---- Monty Norman Dr. No John Barry From Russia With Love John Barry Goldfinger John Barry Thunderball John Barry You Only Live Twice John Barry On Her Majesty’s Secret Service John Barry Diamonds Are Forever John Barry The Man With The Golden Gun John Barry Moonraker John Barry Octopussy John Barry A View To A Kill John Barry The Living Daylights George Martin Live And Let Die Marvin Hamlisch The Spy Who Loved Me Bill Conti For Your Eyes Only Michael Kamen Licence To Kill Eric Serra GoldenEye David Arnold Tomorrow Never Dies David Arnold The World Is Not Enough Burt Bacharach Casino Royale Michael Legrand Never Say Never Again 13 – Bond meets an Oscar While the films have been wildly successful with audiences the world over, critics have always been hesitant to warm up to them. Consequently, the Bond films tend to get passed over in favor of more “critically acceptable” selections. All told, Bond films have been nominated ten times in the American Academy Awards, five times in technical categories and five times in musical categories. Only two nominations came up winners: Film Year Category ---- ---- -------- Goldfinger 1964 Best Sound Effects – Norman Wanstall Thunderball 1965 Best Visual Effects – John Stears However, both wins were somewhat tainted by the fact that there was only one other nominee. The other eight nominations were: Film Year Category Lost to ----- ---- -------- ------- Casino Royale 1967 Best Original Song “Talk To The Animals” Diamonds Are Forever 1971 Best Sound “Fiddler on the Roof” Live and Let Die 1973 Best Original Song “The Way We Were” The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Best Art Direction “Star Wars” The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Best Original Score “Star Wars” The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Best Original Song “You Light Up My Life” Moonraker 1979 Best Visual Effects “Alien” For Your Eyes Only 1981 Best Original Song “Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)” In an ironic twist, the “Casino Royale” song nominated, “The Look Of Love”, lost to “Talk To The Animals” from “Doctor Dolittle”, a Leslie Bricusse composition. Bricusse co-wrote another movie theme that year, “You Only Live Twice” with John Barry. However, leave it to the Brits to come through. The British Academy gave The award for Best Color Cinematography to “From Russia With Love.” They also nominated Ken Adam four times for Art Direction for his work in “Goldfinger”, “Thunderball”, “You Only Live Twice” and “The Spy Who Loved Me.” In 1982, Cubby Broccoli was awarded the coveted Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his filmmaking career. Homage was paid to both the Bond films and to the many successful films that Broccoli made prior to Dr. No. The reigning Bond at the time, Roger Moore, presented the award. Likewise, in 1989 Timothy Dalton presented Broccoli with a lifetime achievement award from the British Academy of Film and Theatre Arts. Alien & British corrections submitted by Allen Dace <mailto:a.w.dace@ntlworld.com> 14 – What’s in a name? The Bond films almost always work the film’s title into the script somehow. “Dr. No” is the villain’s name. Bond writes “From Russia With Love” on Tatiana’s picture. “Goldfinger” is the villain’s name. M calls the mission “Operation ‘Thunderball’” Bond mentions he’s on his second life. Blofeld says, “You Only Live Twice.” The “On” in OHMSS is never used though the rest appears a few times. “Diamonds Are Forever” is surprisingly absent in the script. The singer in the Fillet of Soul sings the words “Live And Let Die” in front of Bond. “The Man With The Golden Gun” is used by and about Scaramanga. While Stromberg mentions the word love, “The Spy Who Loved Me” is unused. “Moonraker” is the name of the Space Shuttles built by Drax. Melina purrs, “’For Your Eyes Only’, darling” to Bond. “Octopussy” is the name of the female smuggler. Zorin and May Day combine to say, “What ‘A View To A Kill.’” Bond remarks “whoever she was it must have scared ‘The Living Daylights’ out of her.” M says, “Effective immediately, your ‘Licence To Kill’ is revoked.” “GoldenEye” is the name of the space-based weapons system. “Tomorrow Never Dies” is not spoken in the film. When told he could have had the world Bond replies, “The World Is Not Enough.” “Casino Royale” is the casino. Though Bond says, “Never again,” and Domino replies, “Never?” the title “Never Say Never Again” is not specifically used. Brief #3 – THE BOOKS 1 – The latest James Bond novel Author Raymond Benson’s next Bond novel is to be titled “The Man With The Red Tattoo,” due out Summer 2002. 2 – Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming created James Bond. He was born May 28, 1908, (a date he gave to Ernst Stavro Blofeld as well) in London. Quitting his schooling at the prestigious Eaton, he held a job as a reporter with Reuters. Fleming eventually joined the R.N.V.R. and later worked in Naval Intelligence field, earning the rank of Commander. On his two month sabbatical from a newspaper job in January 1952 Fleming was feeling pressure due to his impending marriage. To relieve some stress he began writing a short novel. Fleming held a meticulous schedule and spent two periods a day writing. Before leaving in March he had completed what would be the first Bond book, “Casino Royale”. It opened Fleming’s eyes to a muse inside him. While not the rogue secret agent, Fleming did have a hand in helping the Ultra Network score a coup over Germany in World War II by decoding the Enigma, a machine similar to the fictitious Spektor decoder Fleming used as a plot piece in “From Russia With Love”. Fleming often dropped names of his friends and acquaintances into characters in his book. (There was a Jamaican boater named Red Grant, a friend named John Fox- Strangways, etc.) It should be noted that as a reporter Fleming wrote on a multitude of subjects. He is also the author of the children’s work “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. Ian Fleming wrote fourteen complete books about Bond, and only stopped when he died on August 12, 1964. He left behind wife, Anne, and son Caspar, who tragically committed suicide in 1975. Anne died in 1981. A – List of Ian Fleming novels This is a complete list of Ian Fleming’s Bond novels. Title fn. Year ----- --- ---- Casino Royale 1953 Live And Let Die 1954 Moonraker 1955 Diamonds Are Forever 1956 >From Russia, With Love 1957 Doctor No 1958 Goldfinger 1959 For Your Eyes Only 1960 Thunderball (A) 1961 The Spy Who Loved Me 1962 On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1963 You Only Live Twice 1964 007 In New York (short story) (B) 1964 The Man With The Golden Gun 1965 Octopussy 1966 (A) Based on a treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham & Ian Fleming (See Brief #2, Section #10, F “Thunderball”/”Never Say Never Again”) (B) This story appears in American Editions of Fleming's book “Thrilling Cities” B – Stories to read in order The books follow a chronological sequence, and later books occasionally refer to other earlier books, but you can read most of them in any order you like. However, it is highly recommended that you at least read “From Russia, With Love” before “Doctor No” and please be aware that “Thunderball”, “On Her Majesty's Secret Service”, “You Only Live Twice”, and “The Man with The Golden Gun” form a ‘quadrilogy’ that should be read in order. It is worth mentioning that Fleming last worked on “The Man With The Golden Gun”. “Octopussy” was released posthumously as well, but “Gun”, which picks up directly from “You Only Live Twice”, is the true swan song of Fleming's character. C – Who wrote The Spy Who Loved Me? Ian Fleming did. The story is the most left-field Bond adventure, with the first two-thirds about the tough life of Vivienne Michel and Bond not appearing until the final chapters. Fleming wrote in the forward that he had “found the manuscript” sitting on his desk at the Goldeneye retreat he owned in Jamaica. It was only a joke. The novel was the worst received of Fleming’s canon and he was so disenchanted with it that he only allowed the title rights sold, specifically preventing the storyline to be used. D – The Kennedy myth One of the things that helped Fleming's books get noticed in the United States was a plug by President John F. Kennedy. But the episode may not be factual. Leading longtime Bond memorabilia collector and fan Alan Stephenson (<mailto:klausink@aol.com>) disputes this claim with the following revelation: ”This is one of those bits of urban legend. While Kennedy is known to have read Fleming, this whole business of him admiring Bond and relishing ‘From Russia With Love’ may owe more to his image-makers than JFK himself.” “Kennedy's press secretary, Pierre Sallinger, was asked for a list of the President's preferred reading. That list was essentially a work of fiction itself: The secretary invented the whole thing, selecting titles that would make Kennedy appear well rounded yet in-touch with the popular culture. If JFK had generated the list himself, it's unknown if ‘From Russia With Love’ would have ultimately appeared.” E – SMERSH SMERSH is a conjunction of two Russian words: “Smiert Spionam” (“Death to Spies”). They were the Soviet Secret Service's murder organization that Bond faces in most of the early novels. SMERSH was a real organization for a time but they had been swept into the KGB by the time Fleming featured them in “From Russia, With Love”. While no Bond film featured them as a main villain (the “Russia” movie used SPECTRE instead) “The Living Daylights” used the idea of a reformed SMERSH as a red herring proliferated by Georgi Koskov. F – SPECTRE Fleming had a real affection for this word. He created a “Spectreville” in “Diamonds Are Forever”, made the decoding machine in “From Russia, With Love” a Spektor, and finally, beginning with “Thunderball”, created the SPecial Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion, SPECTRE. The leader of SPECTRE was Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Fleming’s most famous villainous creation. SPECTRE is normally spelled as one word. The original British Cape edition of Fleming's “Thunderball” made it S.P.E.C.T.R.E. (though the dots were dropped in Fleming's later books), and that spelling continues to crop up in various books about the Bond series. The spelling S.P.E.C.T.R.E. also appeared in the trailer for the film “From Russia With Love”. It seems odd since the “P” does not stand for a word. 3 – Post-Fleming periods A – Kingsley Amis’ novel Well-known British author Kingsley Amis, was offered a chance to continue the series after Fleming’s death. He was originally credited under the pseudonym Robert Markham, as part of a plan to have multiple authors use that alias over time, but the immediate response was lackluster and he produced only one book. It has been opined that he ‘completed’ “The Man With The Golden Gun” following Fleming’s death by some sources. Others claim Glidrose had it finished and merely had him critique it. Hopefully the truth can be verified. Title fn. Year ----- --- ---- Colonel Sun (A) 1968 (A) Original printings listed the pseudonym Robert Markham B – List of the John Gardner novels It was not until 1981 that the Bond series was revived once again. Anne Fleming, following Amis’ novel, had wanted the books to cease. Upon her death the publishing company, Glidrose, hired British author John Gardner who published a new novel almost every year until the spring of 1996. He retired after equaling Fleming’s total of fourteen original novels, Gardner feeling the novelizations of the movies did not count. Gardner was already an established writer, best known for the series of “Boysie Oakes” novels, such as “The Liquidator”. When assuming the mantle, Gardner’s only direction was that he was not to make any mention of the offspring of Bond alluded to in “You Only Live Twice” and that Bond would be set in present time. Title fn. Year ----- --- ---- Licence Renewed 1981 For Special Services 1982 Icebreaker 1983 Role Of Honour 1984 Nobody Lives Forever 1986 No Deals, Mr. Bond 1987 Scorpius 1988 Win, Lose Or Die 1989 Brokenclaw 1990 Licence To Kill (A) 1990 The Man From Barbarossa 1991 Death Is Forever 1992 Never Send Flowers 1993 SeaFire 1994 GoldenEye (A) 1995 Cold (B) 1996 (A) A novelization of the film (B) U.S.A. copies titled “Cold Fall” 1 – Stories to read in order To fully appreciate Gardner's works, read his last three original books in order, “Never Send Flowers”, “Seafire” and “Cold”, as a story arc links them. He also had his own SPECTRE trilogy with “For Special Services”, “Role Of Honour” and “Nobody Lives Forever”. Gardner had to write the “GoldenEye” novelization prior to writing Sir Miles out of the M position, shown in “Cold”, so reading them in reverse order of release is actually preferable. C – List of the Raymond Benson novels American Raymond Benson assumed the mantle of Ian Fleming with his first James Bond book in 1997 and has released a new novel annually, as well as short stories and novelizations of the Bond films released during his run. He has borrowed Fleming’s tradition of using names of friends and acquaintances into his novels. Some of those names are frequent posters to the newsgroup. Benson authored the fantastic “James Bond Bedside Companion” reference book before being given the helm of Bond author. He is a Texan who currently resides near Chicago. Glidrose told Benson that he could pick and choose what came before him in Gardner’s works in forming continuity. He also agreed upon taking the job to keep Bond in the present day and use the new M, Barbara Mawdsley, as the films were using at the time. Title fn. Year ----- --- ---- Blast From The Past (short story) (A) 1997 Zero Minus Ten 1997 Tomorrow Never Dies (B) 1997 The Facts Of Death 1998 Midsummer Night's Doom (short story) (C) 1999 High Time To Kill 1999 The World Is Not Enough (B) 1999 Live At Five (short story) (D) 1999 Doubleshot 2000 Never Dream Of Dying 2001 The Man With The Red Tattoo 2002 (A) Published in the January 1997 issue of “Playboy” magazine (B) A novelization of the film (C) Published in the January 1999 issue of “Playboy” magazine (D) Published in a November 1999 issue of “TV Guide” magazine 1 – Stories to read in order Benson used a criminal organization called the Union that spread through three of his novels. You should read “High Time To Kill”, “Doubleshot” and “Never Dream Of Dying” in order. D – Other Glidrose novels featuring Bond Glidrose, the publishing company with rights to James Bond material, have allowed a few books that were not strictly a part of the “James Bond novels” canon proper to be issued. Title Author fn. Year ----- ------ --- ---- The Adventures of James Bond Junior-003 1/2 R.D. Mascott (A) 1967 James Bond-The Authorized Biography of 007 John Pearson 1973 James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me Christopher Wood (B) 1977 James Bond And Moonraker Christopher Wood (B) 1979 (A) Released under the pseudonym R.D. Mascott (B) A novelization of the film “The Adventures of James Bond Junior-003 ½” is a children’s book featuring a title character who is the son of Bond’s brother David, (not a creation of Fleming) who intercedes against a heist of gold bullion. It was licensed by Glidrose. The author’s true identity was kept secret for 34 years, but was confirmed by his executors to be British literary author Arthur Calder-Marshall (1908-1992). Pearson's book is a work of fiction portraying the life of a “real” James Bond in correlation to Fleming's adventures. Wood co-wrote the screenplay for “The Spy Who Loved Me” with Richard Maibaum and got full credit for “Moonraker”, and then novelized those scripts. E – Reference books There are also many reference books about James Bond on screen and in print. While many are good, I recommend two in particular. Steven Jay Rubin's “The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia”, updated in 1995, provides a wealth of information of the celluloid Bond up to “GoldenEye”. The current Bond novel author, Raymond Benson, wrote the splendid “The James Bond Bedside Companion” in 1983 (revised in 1987) that gives a wonderful overview of Fleming's canon, as well as everything else Bond to date. It has just been returned to print. Go to PublishingOnline.com for details. 4 – Fan fiction Bond is a copyrighted product and Glidrose, the company who owns Bond's literary rights, does look out to protect their product. Using Bond in a published story (and using the internet as a forum IS publishing it) breaks the copyright law unless Glidrose grants the right to do so. Perhaps no action would be taken, but it could be. And Glidrose is rightly concerned that if a fan would use their property with the capability to produce a professional looking presentation, the line would blur. Others may see the fan fiction, and because of it be less inclined to view their legitimate property. There is merit to the idea that fans do the series no harm in showing their enjoyment of the character and that it should not be misconstrued for the real product. But the fact is it can be. If you feel creative create your own original character. BRIEF #4 – WHEN BOOK AND FILM INTERSECT 1 – Films and books – links or broken links? The newsgroup often notes that Sean Connery’s films did not, for the most part, stray far from Fleming’s novels in term of storyline. While continuity was altered and some stories forgone the general consensus is that until Moore took over the film series was a successful adaptation of Ian Fleming’s character. His titles lasted a bit longer. Every film from “Dr. No” through “The Living Daylights” was a Fleming title. (EON shortened “’From’ A View To A Kill”.) By then they had run out of usable ones. But some of the screenplays, notably “You Only Live Twice”, “Moonraker” and “A View To A Kill”, bore little resemblance to the original Fleming story. EON has never used a Bond novel written by anyone other that Fleming, either by title or plot. There is no reason in their viewpoint to do so. They would have to pay for use of the material and title, and choose instead to hire script makers to create original stories. This is why no Gardner or Benson novel has been made into film, and why they doubtfully ever will be. 2 – Explain the names “M” & “Q” When Mansfield Cumming was head of the real SIS he would sign documents he finished reading with a single letter “C”. His replacement continued using “C” as a *title* though it had no bearing on his name. Fleming could have, one easily surmises, borrowed this fact for his creation. Fleming did name the character Admiral Sir Miles Messervy (though the name did not appear until “Golden Gun”) but in keeping with the real C, it holds that any replacement would continue using M. It cannot be conclusively stated that Fleming didn't just borrow the title from the way he actually addressed his mother or that it is a coincidence that the female M is named Barbara Mawdsley. Q Branch is the Quartermaster Branch, the supplier of weapons and protective devices for the Double-O section. The head of the Branch, from the novel “Doctor No”, is Major Boothroyd, dubbed the “Armourer.” (A real man, Geoffrey Boothroyd, was a weapons expert who convinced Fleming that Bond should use a Walther instead of a Beretta, but the fictional character is never called “Geoffrey”.) The first EON Bond film of the same name also uses the Major's real surname. Peter Burton played him, succeeded afterward by Desmond Llewelyn, who was also called Boothroyd in “The Spy Who Loved Me”. Nicknamed the “Armourer” at first, the James Bond of the movies began using the Branch's first letter as a shorter moniker for Boothroyd. That is Q. Llewelyn died tragically in December 1999. 3 – What other “00” agents are mentioned? In the James Bond films, a number of 00 agents have been depicted over the years: 002 - Bill Fairbanks, assassinated in Beirut by Francisco Scaramanga in 1969 (“The Man With The Golden Gun”); replaced by another agent who is quickly captured during a training mission at Gibraltar (“The Living Daylights”) 003 - Found dead in the Siberian ice (“A View To A Kill”) 004 - Assassinated during a training mission at Gibraltar (“The Living Daylights”) 006 - Alec Trevelyan, listed dead by MI6 at the hands of Soviet Colonel Ourumov during a mission with 007 to blow-up a Soviet nerve gas factory...at least for a while (“GoldenEye”) 008 - Bond's replacement, should he be unable to complete his mission (“Goldfinger” and “The Living Daylights”) 009 - Assassinated in West Berlin by a circus knife-thrower after stealing a Faberge egg (“Octopussy”); a new 009 was named as the man who put the bullet in Renard's head (“The World Is Not Enough”) 0012 - Technically unnamed in the film, the novelization of “The World Is Not Enough” has Bond avenging his death in the opening scene. On screen he is simply referred to as an MI6 agent In addition, the movie “Thunderball” has Moneypenny state the “every Double-O man in Europe” is in the conference room, and Bond arrives as the ninth agent to be briefed. Whether this means that the agents are 001 through 009 or not is never stated, as it COULD be 002 through 0010, for instance. And perhaps we should consider that some Double-0's were not in Europe and missed the meeting. Sharp eyes also could not miss the moment in “The World Is Not Enough” when Moneypenny distributes assignment folders to other agents, one of which is a woman. For the novels according to Ian Fleming, James Bond was originally the senior member of only three agents in the Section. At the time of the “Moonraker” mission, 008 (known only as ‘Bill’) had just escaped from East Berlin, while 0011 had vanished in Singapore just two months before. Although 008 surfaced again in “Goldfinger” (listed as Bond's replacement, should he have failed), 0011 was never heard from again. 009 was briefly mentioned in “Thunderball”. In “On Her Majesty's Secret Service,” Bond was even odds to “get” Mary Goodnight first with an ex- Royal Marine Commando who was 006, making Fleming's total of 00 agents - - including 007 -- five. Kingsley Amis' “Colonel Sun” noted that the head of station G in Athens had served as “005” before “an eye defect had begun to impair his ability with firearms.” (Submitted by Donal Rogers <mailto:rogers@clubi.ie>) In “Zero Minus Ten” Raymond Benson includes a scene with the “Single- O’s” who are working toward a “00” classification. 4 – The Walther and other machinations In the Fleming novels, Bond started out with a .25 Beretta. In “Doctor No” he was ordered to begin carrying a Walther PPK 7.65mm as his standard issue firearm, though he used other guns here and there during the series. Gardner introduced Bond to a variety of weapons, including a Browning 9mm, the Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum (which Bond carried in violation of regulations), and the ASP 9mm. Raymond Benson’s tenure saw Bond reclaim the PPK, and also begin using the Walther P99, concurrent with the films Benson novelized. As the first Bond film was “Dr. No”, we see Bond ordered to give up the Beretta for the PPK without ever seeing the former in action. Bond did handle other equipment from time to time but the PPK has been the film's mainstay, though “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “The World Is Not Enough” featured the P99 in their ad campaigns and in the films as well. Bond has gone through a few cars as well. The novels initially had him using his personal Bentley and in “Goldfinger” Q Branch issued him a souped-up work vehicle, the Aston Martin DB5. The films recreated this scene. Since then Bond has used other Aston Martin’s, Lotus’ and BMW’s. 5 – Bright Leiter The novels and the films never had the chance to follow a continuous pattern. Bond meets Leiter for the first time in the initial showing of each, but in different stories. In the novels, Leiter’s second appearance, in “Live And Let Die”, has him brutally maimed by a shark. He returns on occasion after that. The films used him often, but did not feature the shark attack until “Licence To Kill”, some sixteen films into the series. When the movie came out, Bond author John Gardner decided to try to fit the scene into Fleming’s continuity when writing the novelization, and explained that Felix was fed to a shark again. Perhaps the two mediums should remain split. BRIEF #5 – MORE SOURCES ON JAMES BOND 1 – The websites There are many interesting, exciting and grand websites dedicated to James Bond. Here are some of them that the FAQ feels merit special attention. http://www.ianfleming.org - Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang! The Web Magazine of The Ian Fleming Foundation Since 1996 “Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang!” has been the premiere on-line resource for James Bond information. With its combination of timely news reports, in-depth articles and cutting-edge design, MKKBB has earned a daily readership in the thousands, a host of awards and positive press coverage in media outlets across the world. It is the website that keeps this FAQ online. http://www.Raymondbenson.com - Raymond Benson . com The official website of Bond author Raymond Benson. http://www.jamesbond.com - The Official James Bond Website Look here for some on-the-scene reporting of the new film as it is in production. http://www.hmss.com - Her Majesty's Secret Servant A webzine run by alt-fan-james-bond’s most illustrious contributors. The FAQ maintainer writes for HMSS. http://www.bondian.com/ - Bondian . Com The definitive work on the printed Bond. http://www.klast.net/bond/index.html - James Bond Agent 007, OHMSS Kim Last’s acclaimed site that serves as the largest search engine of James Bond material. http://www.mjnewton.demon.co.uk/bond/index.htm - The Bond Film Informant Matt Newton’s site includes the “James Bond Secret Service FAQ” at http://www.mjnewton.demon.co.uk/bond/jbssfaq.htm and is a fine effort. http://www.artofjamesbond.com - Art of James Bond Red Grant’s beautiful tribute to the classic look of Bond. http://www.commanders.com/ - Commanders Club A unique site dedicated to the Bond lifestyle. http://www.007.com - 007.com The official website by EON Productions. Nice but very demanding on plug-ins and Internet connection speed. http://go.to/raymondbenson – The Raymond Benson Parlour A great source on Benson with a humorous bent. http://www.007archive.com - The 007 Archive Jason M. Allentoff’s large site with links to Spyguise on top of his own material. http://bondsounds.members.easyspace.com – The Definitive James Bond Sounds Page Excellent clips from all the Bond movies. http://www.nuvs.com/jbond/ - Nuv's OO7 Shrine Download megabytes of trailers, rare videos and sound clips. Professionally designed. http://publishingOnline.com – Featuring Raymond Benson’s “The James Bond Bedside Companion” as a “print-on-demand” book and his non-Bond serial novel, “Evil Hours”. 2 – The fan clubs There are several fan clubs devoted to Bond. Before joining any of them, however, you might want to ask around the newsgroup for opinions, since some clubs have better reputations than others. Below are some of biggest fan clubs and organizations. The Ian Fleming Foundation (<www.ianfleming.org>) PO Box 6897 Santa Barbara, CA 93160 Club James Bond 007 (<www.jamesbond007.net>) 42 rue Rouelle 75015 Paris FRANCE ICQ : 25374205 PHONE (GMT+1H) : 00 33 6 12 60 51 88 FAX (GMT+1H) : 00 33 1 45 75 64 75 E-mail - clubjamesbond@online.fr The James Bond 007 Fan Club (<www.thejamesbondfanclub.com>) PO Box 007 Addlestone Weybridge Surrey KT15 1DY ENGLAND E-mail - jbifc@globalnet.co.uk * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hopefully this FAQ has answered your general questions about James Bond. If not please send an E-mail to Michael Reed at reed55@core.com . Any errors or corrections should be sent there as well, and please include the specific Brief and Section. Please remember, a FAQ covers FREQUENTLY asked questions and is not meant to show off arcane or trivial knowledge, however original it may be. Keep this is mind if you have a submission request. Remember, alt.fan.james-bond welcomes you to join in the thrill of James Bond. This is your FAQ and you are entitled to voice your opinion about it. Thank you. - Michael Reed _________________________________________________ M R . K I S S K I S S B A N G B A N G ! The premier James Bond website _________________________________________________ http://www.ianfleming.org
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