It all began in 1936. That year, a book was published called Birds of the West Indies. Novelist Ian Fleming, living in Jamaica, was a birder himself, and he was impressed with the volume. He was also impressed with the name of the book's author: James Bond.
Fleming wrote a novel called Casino Royale in 1953, and gave the book's hero the name of the author of the birding book. In an interview with Reader's Digest, he explained:
"I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, and 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure — an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department."
Gotta agree with him there. Imagine hearing over and over again throughout 20+ films "Carruthers. Peregrine Carruthers."
The Bond novels were a hit. I was particularly and personally impressed that my own mother was a fan. She really wasn't so much into the subsequent film series, but she read many a Fleming Bond novel.
The film series was born when Fleming signed an agreement with Britain-based EON Productions for the film rights to all Bond novels (except Casino Royale, though that novel's rights were also gained later). In 1962, the first film came out: Dr. No.
The star of the film was a Scottish actor by the name of Sean Connery. He had distinguished himself with roles in Darby O'Gill and the Little People and The Longest Day. His handling of the Bond character could either make or break the franchise plans that EON had in mind.
They needn't have worried. Connery chose to become Ian Fleming himself, a sophisticated, educated, womanizing, hard-drinking-and-smoking ex-naval commander.
His portrayal was just the ticket. Dr. No grossed over $59,000,000. That was a nice return on a one million dollar investment. James Bond, the cinematic series, was successfully launched. This was big. How long could the racehorse run? Ten years? TWENTY?
Forty-four years later, I am still reeling from the audio and visual onslaught that nearly overwhelmed my senses that was Quantum of Solace. The movie was, in a one-word review, excellent. Did they REALLY trash an Aston-Martin worth a quarter of a million dollars?
The Bond franchise has proven to be the most successful and longest running in Hollywood history. All of the films, even the ones that you might never want to see again, were fabulously profitable. Ian Fleming wrote twelve novels and three short stories, all of which have been covered as films. He dropped dead as a hard-drinking, smoking womanizer should, suddenly of a heart attack, at age 56 in 1964. The lack of literary backup for the film scripts hasn't hurt things one bit.
To Boomers, 007 will always be Sean Connery. Roger Moore had to endure much criticism from diehard Bond fans when it became obvious that he wouldn't be a one-film wonder like George Lazenby. That seems trite now, when we are used to new a new actor every few years. But Connery's appeal as THE Bond was demonstrated with 1983's Never Say Never Again, which portrayed 007 as a balding, out-of-shape fellow who is reluctantly dragged out of retirement and back into action. The movie, of course, made a mint.
So every time a new Bond film is produced and carefully edited to maintain that PG-13 rating (something that I appreciate) and proceeds to make triple-figure-millions, remember, Boomers, that it all started when we were kids.
Comments (3)
Before Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, before David Niven, there was Nelson, Barry Nelson, as an American James Bond. This was a live one-hour episode of the TV series Climax, that aired on October 21, 1954, in black and white. Peter Lorre (Casablanca, Maltese Falcon) played the villain Le Chiffre.
Anyway, thanks for bringing this up, just a few months after what would have been Ian Fleming's 100th birthday.
Trivia: Fleming was a cousin of actor Christopher Lee (Man With The Golden Gun).
Posted by David S Paleg | November 24, 2008 9:02 AM
Posted on November 24, 2008 09:02
Really interesting article! I grew up on the Bond movies and never thought I'd see a better one than Sean Connery, but... Daniel Craig has become my favorite.
Posted by Queen of the Road | November 24, 2008 6:24 PM
Posted on November 24, 2008 18:24
I remember Bond movie ads at the drive-in. What stood out to me were the fancy vehicles and gadgets Bond used. But it seemed a little over the top to me as a kid, at about the time that I was becoming critical of Batman (TV version) being unrealistic, maybe 8 or 9.
I caught on to Bond late, starting with Roger Moore with Live and Let Die and TV showings of earlier ones after that. As a teen, it was the lightly dressed females that got my attention as well as Bond remaining cool under pressure. Its funny that they managed a PG or later PG-13 for their movies since women and sex were always prominently features in the movies. And there is always the violence as well.
Actually, I prefer kids exposed to sex as opposed to exposed to violence to deaden their senses to it. But then again, our fairy tales were at least violent, in a just sort of way.
But good always triumphing over evil is a common theme. Hey, wait, maybe Batman was no more unrealistic than the rest of what comes out of TVs and movies. Sorry Batman, I was wrong about you.
But seriously, I don't think Bond was any serious harm. Lets leave that to parents, schools, and employers, right? James Bond is alright by me.
Posted by Scott I | May 1, 2009 12:39 PM
Posted on May 1, 2009 12:39