Bond, James Bond

Dr No and GoldenEye

1962

Albert R. (Cubby) Brocolli wanted to film one of Ian Fleming's novels. So did Harry Salzman. They formed EON (Everything or Nothing) Productions, with the intention of filming Thunderball. Unfortunately, they couldn't at the time. So Cubby and Harry settled for Dr. No instead, a tale of an evil freelance baddie, working for the USSR, who plans to disrupt the US missile programme with the help of modern technology, local folklore and a giant squid. His plans are foiled, and he is killed by a British secret agent with an eye for the ladies, and a fist for the villians. The spy's name?

Bond, James Bond

Dr. No was the first James Bond cinema film, and it stuck pretty closely to the plot of the book. Filmed in Jamaica and at Pinewood Studios, it was pure escapist fare, and scored a hit with cinema audiences all over the world. Shot for $1.1million, it starred a young arrogant Scot as James Bond - Sean Connery, whose largest film role belore that was probably that of Tom in Hell Drivers. Not Ian Fleming's first choice - he would have preferred David Niven - Connery made the role his own, and is now most film-goers favourite. Ursula Andress was the first Bond Girl, Joseph Wiseman played Dr. No, the nuclear scientist with a love of art, fine food and destruction. (All Bond Villians share the same tastes.) Dr. No also had the first appearance of M (Bernard Lee) and Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell).

In Dr. No, Bond's armourer was called Major Boothroyd and was played by Peter Burton. It was not until Goldfinger that 'Q' (Desmond Llewelyn) started dispensing gadgets to Bond. Q would return in all but one of the Bond films.

1995

With the court battle that had kept James Bond from any new adventures over, a new film was planned. Timothy Dalton, Bond in Licence To Kill, did not want to play Bond again, so the search was on. Pierce Brosnan was the favourite. Originally approached in 1986, but unable to accept because of his show "Remington Steele", he had always wanted the role. This was his chance.

Times had changed since Bond last strode across the screen. The Cold War had ended. Attitudes had changed. And, most threatening of all, audiences had survived without Bond. There were plenty of popular action films, with popular action heroes already. Had the 1990's done what Blofeld, Scaramanga, Jaws and others had failed to do -

kill Bond?

GoldenEye needed to be just right - balancing the old Bond charm with modern reality. Bond hasn't changed much, but the world he inhabits has. M (Judi Dench) is now a woman, and their tense, charged scenes together recall those in earlier Bond films. Q was still there, and so was a new Moneypenny, more assertive and outgoing (q.v. The Living Daylights). The enemies have changed too - in GoldenEye, Bond is still in Russia, but it is the Russian mafia, not the Government, with whom Bond picks his fights. The Bond Girls are still Bond Girls, but they are independent, strong willed and intelligent, closer to Dr No's Honey Ryder than the Bond Bimbos of A View to A Kill. The Bond Baddies still have that same love of fine art and food as Dr. J. No.

So the big question - does it work? Yes. Pierce's interpretation of Bond is excellent, human yet detatched. The international supporting cast - Isabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Cumming etc all give good characterisations without hamming it up. The storyline is believable and bang up to date and the action sequences and stunts (what many films are judged by these days) are amongst the best ever. In short,

Bond is back.

Scott Keir

The Bond Movies

Dr. No - From Russia With Love - Goldfinger - Thunderball - You Only Live Twice - On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Diamonds Are Forever - Live and Let Die - The Man with the Golden Gun - The Spy Who Loved Me - Moonraker - For Your Eyes Only - Octopussy - A View to a Kill - The Living Daylights - Licence to Kill - GoldenEye

Produced for the showing of Dr No and Goldeneye (Sun 27th Oct 1995)
Text by Scott Keir