Dr No



Starring Sean Connery, Joseph Wiseman, ursula Andress and Jack Lord.

Released in October, of 1962, the film set off the spy craze, in the 60s, launching film and television franchises. This is the first from Eon, the company formed by harry Salztman and Cubby Broccoli. Saltzman had purchased the rights to the novels and Broccoli was keen to adap them; but, Salztman wouldn't sell. So, they went into a joint venture to produce them. Director was Terrence Young, who had directed The red Beret, starring Alan Ladd, for broccoli's Warwick films. Young was an experienced director of hard-hitting action and was a sophisticated gentleman, who did much to influence the style of Bond, fom the clothing to the accessories.

In Jamaica, the local agent has been murdered and Agent 007, james Bond, has been tasked to investigate his death. he learns that Strangways, the victim, had been investigating a private island, Crab Key. Several parties seem interested that Bond not poke into Crab Key. Attempts are made on his life from the moment he arrived in Jamaica, including one by poisonous spider. he eventually infiltrates the island and meets Honey Rider,a naive young woman who colelcts sea shells for sale in Miami. they are discovered by guards and captured and brought before Dr Julius No, a mixed race German-Chinese, who rose through the tongs to become a promimnant agent of SPECTRE, The Special Executive for Counter Espionage, Terror, Revenge and extortion. SPECTRE is being paid to sabotage the US space program, by causing launches to veer off course. bond must run a gauntlet of traps and stop Dr No and rescue Honey.

The film is basically a mystery, with a greater percentage of action. It mostly follows the novel, though diverges, a bit, in the climax. In the film, Dr No has a nuclear reactor to power his jamming devices. He is killed in a fight over the cooling waters of the reactor. in the novel, he is buried under a mound of guano. Connery is a deadly, serious Bond, but shows expert timing in throwing of one liners, after killing people. he has a charisma that mesmerizes and makes Bond work. The style and sophistication is all Terrance Young, as he took Connery to his own tailors to be outfitted and schooled him in the ways of elegant society.

Jack Lord, pre-Hawaii 5-), is Leiter, Bond's sidekick, from the CIA. He is played as Kenedy 60s cool and is one of the more significant Leiters of the series. Andress is sexy, though her Austrian accent is dubbed. Joseph Wiseman, an American Jew, plays the mixed race Dr No, under yellow face, though far less of a caricature than Boris Karloff or Christopher Lee, as Fu Manchu (which is from where Dr No as inspired).

The biggest change from book to film is making DR No an agent of SPECTRE, rather than the Russians. In the early Bond novels, the villains are SMERSH an acronym formed by Smert Shpionam, or Death to Spies. This introduces the concept of the criminal organization of SPECTRE, originally created for an aborted Bond film and then used in the novel Thunderball. SPECTRE will be the template for every evil terror and criminal organization in spy fi properties, from THRUSH, to Big O, to GALAXY, KAOS, and Marvel's HYDRA.

The film establishes the trope of Bond introducing himself as "Bond, James Bond," when he is first seen in the casino, playing cards against Sylvia Trench. We get Bond's favorite drink (vodka martini, shaken, not stirred), the introduction of the Walther PPK pistol, the briefing by M, the flirtation with Moneypenny, and the climactic, explosive third acts. It also establishes Sylvia Trench as a recurring love interest, whose time with Bond is interrupted by missions. This will only carry over into the next film, before being abandoned. The armorer, Maj Boothroyd, is the template for Q, who did not exist in the novels (only Q Branch). Boothroyd is the name of the character in Dr No who issues Bond with his Walther, after using a .25 Beretta, in previous adventures. the real Geoffrey Boothroyd, an armaments expert, wrote a letter to Fleming about Bond's use of the Beretta, criticizing it as "Lady's gun," with no stopping power. he made several suggestions, including the Smith & Wesson centennial Airweight revolver...



which had no hammer, to catch on clothing. It fired a .38 caliber round, as used by police. He suggested carrying it in a berns and Martin triple Draw Holster, which suspends the weapon, upside dwon, in stiff leather. The Walther PPK, a .32 caliber was also suggested (used by plainclothesed police, in Germany). Fleming liked the sound of Walther PPK and chose it, but used th berns and Martin holster, despite it being specifically made for revolvers! A Walther would fall out! he then mistakenly gave Bond the Smith & Wesson for long range work (a .38 is a short range caliber), rather than the .357 magnum or .45 cal that Boothroyd suggested. Fleming thanked Boothroyd by putting him in the book as the MI-6 armorer. The dialogue in the film is mostly taken from the book.

Other than that, gadgetry is kept at a minimum, with regular geiger counters being used, and a swamp buggy, disguised as a dragon (rather badly), with a flame thrower, to scare off tresspassers.

The film was a huge hit and launched the franchise, which continues to today. It has the best mystery of any Bond plot and was one of the best original novels, for my money. Infact, it was a sort of revival. Fleming was discouraged by sales of the series and essentially killed off Bond at the end of from Russia With Love, when he is injected with poison, by Rosa Klebb. However, Pres. Kennedy listed it as one of his ten favorite titles and sales took off, in America. Fleming then wrote DR No, having Bond saved by Felix Leiter and returning from convalescence, to receive his mission, which was seen as a light case.

The film was shot in Jamaica and Pinewood studios and takes great advantage of the Jamaican scenery, which was a favorite of Fleming's novels. Fleming maintained a house on Jamaica, Goldeneye, where he did his writing, smoking and boozing. The Bond novels were noted for their passages, describing exotic locales (along with Bonds clothes and food), with Fleming's journalistic eye for detail. Thefilms, starting with this, do the same, by taking us from airports into the surroundings of the exotic location for Bond's missions.

Connery also establishes Bond as a deadly man and one not afraid to slap a woman around, as we see a couple of females get arms twisted and slapped. And yet, Bond was the hero! he is cold and calculating, yet with a sexual magnetism that comes across as believable. Connery moved like a jungle cat and could just give a look that said he could beat the crap out of 90% of the room, something co-stars have noted when going to bars with him. Connery came from a hard background, in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he had done manual labor,before getting bigger acting roles. He was not a man to challenge and it came through in his Bond.

I'd agree about the tarantula, until you get a reflection off the plexiglas and can see it isn't moving across Connery's body. Then, the illusion is shattered. In the book, it was a venomous centipede and the book makes it way creepier.

ps The AR-7 had a couple of variants for sale and they found their way into the movies. A pistol version appeared in the Matt Helm movie, Murderer's Row, as a pistol that fires after several second delay.



and another version turned up in the revived FBI tv series, in the 80s...



The attache case was an early Bond toy item.....

Goldfinger



Starring Sean Connery, Gert Frobe, Honor Blackman, Harold Sakata, Shirley Eaton, Tania Mallet, and Cec Linder.

Released in September 1964.

Opening teaser has Bond infiltrate a location via scuba insertion. After taking out a guard, he blows up the place, a drug processing plant. He then has a fight in a dressing room. We move to Miami, where he meets Auric Goldfinger, who cheats at cards. Bond fixes him and heads home, after finding Goldfinger's accomplice murdered, with her entire nude body painted gold. He is tasked with e new mission, to investigate gold smuggling by Goldfinger, in an attempt to manipulate gold prices. He finagles a game of golf with Goldfinger and meets his menacing manservant, Oddjob. Goldfinger also cheats at golf; but Bond cheats better. Goldfinger heads off and Bond tails him in Q'as tricked out Aston Martin DB5. He finds someone else tailing Goldfinger, who takes a shot at him. Bond sabotages her car, then picks her up. She turns out to be Tilly Masterson, sister of the murdered woman, Jill. Bond infiltrates Goldfinger's facility in Switzerland, but Jill is killed by Oddjob, with hs metal bowler hat and Bond is captured. He is strapped to a table, with a laser burning its way to his crotch. he bluffs Goldfinger with info about his scheme and Bond is saved. He wakes up on a private jet and meets the pilot, Pussy Galore (!!) He is then brought to Goldfinger's farm, in Kentucky. Bond learns of Goldfinger's plan to rob the US Gold Depository, at Ft Knox. He sends out a signal, to Felix Leiter, which is never received. Bond tries to escape and fails. Goldfinger gases the US Army base, at Ft Knox, then uses the laser to cut through the doors to the gold depository. It turns out he has been paid by the Chinese to set of a nuclear device to irradiate the US gold, which will cause economic chaos and increase the value of Goldfinger's holdings. Bond is cuffed to the device. He gets loose and fights Oddjob, then Felix arrives with the cavalry and deactivate the device. Bond is flying home, when Goldfinger appears to kill him; but, shoots out a window and is sucked out of the plane. Bond and Pussy Galore (the pilot) parachute safely.

This was the film that made Bond a massive international hit and set off a merchandise frenzy. It is generally listed as the top Bond film or the favorite of most fans. It has a grandiose scheme, an interesting villain, and is the first use of a colorful henchman, in Oddjob. It also features the massive Ft Knox set, designed by Ken Adam, whose work has graced the films since Dr No. It is fictional, since they weren't granted access to the real gold vaults. The truth is that Ft Knox housed only a portion of US Gold reserves, as the bulk are held in the Federal reserve Bank, in New York. Adam created a "cathedral of gold."

Gert Frobe was a German actor, who had appeared in Fritz Lang's 1,000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse, as a police detective and would appear in two more, as the villain's chief adversary. In the UK, he would work for Harry Saltzman, in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and appear for Ken Anakin in Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines. He also appeared in another comical role in From the Earth to the Moon, aka Blastoff, aka Those Fantastic Flying Fools (with terry Thomas and Troy Donahue). frobe spoke little English and was dubbed in all of his English films; usually, by the same actor. He gives a tremendously menacing and charming performance, setting the template for the grandiose world conquerors Bond would face.

Harold Sakata was a professional wrestler, who worked in the UK under the name Tosh Togo. He was a Hawaiian Asian and generally played a heel. He gets to throw Connery around a bit, then is given the magnificent metal bowler hat, which he flings at targets. It makes for a great visual. Can't verify who did it first; but, John Steed also had a metal bowler, in the Avengers tv series, though I don't think he had it until the Diana Rigg episodes.

Honor Blackman was fresh off of playing Cathy Gale, on the Avengers and is a better actress than seen in the films, so far. She was already a star an sex symbol, thanks to the Avengers, where she originated the leather outfits and female action scenes. She learned judo from stunt coordinator Ray Austin and gets to practice it in the film, including a scene where she goes for a few throws with Bond. The character, Pussy Galore, was straight from the books; but, was a lesbian (Fleming's homophobic idea of one). The film sort of hints at it, when she says she is immune to Bond's charm and pulls her hand away from Goldfinger's attentions; but, they don't really advertise that fact. In the book, she is won over by Bond and the same happens here, though is seems less ridiculous than in Fleming's story.

The novel features more elaborate defenses for the depository, including metal roads that could be raised to create a defensive wall. The idea was ludicrous, as the hydraulics for such a thing would have been massive. Fleming used his imagination far more than real research, as demonstrated in several of his books. The book and film also have a small part in the creation of the hero for the TV series The Man From UNCLE. The producer/creator consulted with Fleming, who contributed very little; but, did suggest the name Solo, who is a mobster in both book and film. The character was named Napoleon Solo and the tv series became a hit, in the wake of the success of the Bond series.

One of the stars of the film is the Aston martin DB5, modified by Q.



The car has machine guns hidden behind the headlights, spinning blades that extend from the wheel hubs, a metal bulletproof screen for the rear window and an ejector seat (no, we are not joking). Q also gives bond a tracking device, which can be followed on a display screen, hidden in the dashboard. The car is an instant hit and a favorite toy for children. Several cars have turned up, claiming to be the original, used for filming. One sold for a quarter of a million, back when I was in high school, as detailed in the wire services.

For some reason, Goldfinger was not repeated much, in the 70s, when the Bond films were regularly featured on ABC. Both it and Dr No had the least showings of the series.

Desmond Llewelyn gets to play off Connery more, as he briefs him about the car. This began the trope of Q giving a serious briefing of Bond's equipment, while Bond makes jokes and mayhem occurs in Q's lab. Llewellyn had to memorize heavy technical dialogue and work with many props, all of which were quite difficult for the actor; but, he pulled it off beautifully. He once told a story of appearing with the car at some public function, where he was supposed to drive the car off and it would not start. it proved rather embarrassing that Q knew nothing about car engines. Sadly, Desmond Llewelyn was killed in an auto accident, returning from a public appearance, in 1999.

The title song is sung, with tremendous and memorable vigor, by Shirley Bassey. Bassey was of mixed heritage, with a Nigerian father and English mother, and grew up in Wales. She became a top recording star and was tapped to give a brassy sound to the theme song, which she belts out, holding the final note for what seems like forever. It set the standard for the songs to follow and Bassey would record three, total Bond themes, as well as one unused song, for Thunderball.

Thunderball



Starring Sean Connery, Adolfo Celi, Claudine Auger, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, anf the Bell Rocket Belt.

Released in December 1965.

In the opening teaser, Bond attends a funeral, then attacks the widow, at her chalet. She turns out to be a male SPECTRE agent, in disguise (the alleged dead man). Bond kills the man and must escape using a jetpack, which takes him to his Aston Martin, which demonstrates the ability to fire high pressure water jets and oil slicks. Bond ends up convalescing at a health clinic, Shrublands. There, he meets a Count Lippe, who seems sinister. he has a tong sign on his wrist, which Bond has Moneypenny check. He also spots a mystery patient, with Lippe involved. Lippe notices Bond's curiosity and tries to kill him by sabotaging a stretching machine. Bond returns the favor by trapping Lippe in a steam bath. The mystery patient is actually a SPECTRE agent, who has undergone plastic surgery to become a double for French air force pilot Francois Derval. Derval is killed, with cyanide gas and replaced, so that SPECTRE can hijack a Vulcan bomber and fly it to the Caribbean, landing near the Bahamas. He is murdered by SPECTRE, at the orders of Emile Largo, the Number 2 of SPECTRE (who is seen early on, in a boardroom sequence). Bond is recalled and given a brief, along with the rest of the ))s. He spots the photo of the dead pilot's sister, taken in Nassau, and requests to be sent there. He makes contact with the woman and ingratiates himself into her and Largo's company. Largo is suspicious of him and tries to have him killed. Bond goes snooping around his yacht, the Disco Volante, which has an odd hull design. He survives an assassination attempt by SPECTRE agent Fiona Volpe and infiltrates Largo's estate, ending up in a shark tank. he escapes and locates the submerged bomber and Derval's dogtags. He meets Domino, tells her what happened to her brother and gets her help to alert him when the missiles are loaded onto the yacht. She alerts Bond and he and a group of US Navy divers make a parachute jump into the ocean and scuba attack on SPECTRE's men. Largo tries toe scape in the Disco Volante, which ejects an outer catamaran shell to reveal that the main section is a hydrofoil. Bond has gotten onboard and battles Largo, before he is killed by Domino. They escape the craft before it is destroyed and a plane drops a life raft. Bond and Domino get in and Bond inflates a balloon, with a cable attached. A plane comes along and uses the Fulton recovery System to airlift them away.

This one has a very complicated history. In the late 1950s, Fleming and Ivar Bryce were looking at a Bond film. and they formed a partnership with a writer/director, named Kevin McClory. Together, they created a story outline for a bond film, which included the criminal organization of SPECTRE, Largo, Bloefeld and the hijacking of the nuclear missiles. The film, to be title James Bond of the Secret Service, Longitude 78 West, or SPECTRE. The project fell apart and Fleming turned the outline into the novel Thunderball. McClory sued Fleming and Fleming's health was poor (he suffered a heart attack) and he offered a settlement deal. McClory retained all film rights to Thunderball, while Fleming retained literary rights. Eon secured the rights to film the project and McClory is listed as a producer on the project.

We see more of the inner workings of SPECTRE, as we get the famous boardroom scene, where the unseen head executes a traitor and Largo briefs the rest about the operation to steal the nukes. That scene was copied and spoofed by multiple films and tv shows. The grand set up was, again, from Ken Adam. Largo wears an eyepatch through the film, giving him a piratical look and he has a menacing presence. Celi was a Brazilian actor, of italian family. He would later spoof his own role in the Eurospy film Operation Kid brother (aka Operation Double 00 and OK Connery), with Sean Connery's brother, Neil (who was a bricklayer, not an actor), along with other Bond actors, including Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Anthony Dawson.

The scenes in Shrublands are great favorites, though how a machine like the backstretcher could have such a dangerous setting is a bit hard to swallow. There is a nice bit of mystery as Bond uncovers the double. The Vulcan bomber hijack is quite engaging and ingenious and makes for some thrilling scenes. The design of the bomber, with it's great delta wing, makes it seem even more exotic, which fits the film. The aircaft remained in service through the Falklands War.



One of the real stars of the film is the real Bell Rocket Belt...



This was an actual working jetpack, developed by the Bell corporation, for potential military use. However, its short flight duration led to its rejection. Footage of it was also used on tv, for such shows as Gilligan's Island. Here, the pilot flew it from the chateau to the outside road, while Connery is inserted with a rear-screen projection. The device was featured in posters and lobby cards and was one of the noted gadgets of the series and was copied for films like Black Samurai and in the Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD comic, as well as Master of Kung Fu (in the Fu manchu epic, which I am just beginning).

Ken Adam would also design the Disco Volante hybrid yacht. The main component was a hydrofoil, which was mated with a catamaran outer shell. The entire ship was sailable and then the outer portion was ejected and the hydrofoils activated, for the high speed escape.



This one has Q travel to equip Bond in Nassau, with an even longer scene. he gives Bond a geiger counter watch and camera (which Domino uses, to detect the missiles on the yacht), a scuba propulsion unit, allowing the swimmer to move at high speeds, and a miniature rebreather, which Bond uses to escape the Disco Volante and the shark tank.

Extensive underwater filming was done with Ivor Tors' studio, in Florida. Tors produced tv shows for television, including Sea Hunt, Flipper and Gentle Ben, all of which featured extensive underwater filming. Scenes were choreographed by Ricou Browning, who had worked on the Creature From the Black Lagoon. The underwater sequences were innovative and really give a spectacular feel to this one, especially the sequences where the Vulcan lands and is secured. The climactic battle is a bit chaotic; but, you can follow the basic storyline through it, as Bond goes after Largo.

Shirley Bassey recorded a song, "Mr Kiss-Kiss Bang-Bang," but it was rejected and the title song was done by Tom Jones.

Goldfinger was the film where they really started to go broad; but this is the one where it really turned into a cinematic comic book, with world threatening villains, sci-fi gadgets and outrageous action scenes. As such, it was a major inspiration for comics and other projects that jumped on the bandwagon. Suddenly, super-weapon extortion became all the rage. This also gave further scope to SPECTRE, making them almost a third world power; a conglomerate of crime and terror. They become the template for every baddie out there.

For the Record ... Goldfinger is my personal favorite and a top 007 film done by Connery. Harold Sakata was menacing as Oddjob and the best sidekick in all Connery's films. Thunderball is a classic and the Mustang Scene is amazing ... here's the clip below.

Ursula Andress has never done much for me; I found Miss Taro far sexier. I also saw Dr No much later, after seeing more of the other films, on ABC. It was a long time before they broadcast Dr No, for whatever reason (probably of the violence). For some reason, they didn't show Goldfinger as often as From Russia with Love or Thunderball.