The James Bond Movies...
This month would have seen the release of Bond 25, "No Time To Die". As movie goers have to wait a little longer for the release (now scheduled for November), we thought we would take a closer look at the franchise and pull together one of our handy Infographics showing all of the Bond movies to date…
The Books
Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR first appeared in Ian Fleming’s 1953 novel “Casino Royale”. Portrayed as a suave, chain smoking, epicurean special agent with a license to kill. Bond was based on a number of Commandos and Agents that Fleming had known during his own time with Naval Special Intelligence.
James Bond, as envisaged by his creator, Ian Fleming
007’s name was apparently taken from a local ornithologist who Fleming believed to have ”the dullest name I ever heard” (The New Yorker, 21 April 1962).
And where was the first novel written? At Fleming’s Jamaican estate, known as ‘Goldeneye’!
Despite describing his first novel as a “dreadful oafish opus”, Fleming would write a further eleven Bond novels and two short-story collections.
Bond In Film – The Eon movies
Film production company Eon Productions (apparently Eon is an acronym of ‘everything or nothing’!) was formed in 1961 by American Albert Romolo ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Canadian Harry Saltzman specifically as a film production company for the James Bond novels.
The duo had originally courted Cary Grant to play Bond, but as he would only commit to a single film deal, chose thirty-two year old Scotsman Sean Connery as the personification of 007. His first outing, in ‘Dr. No’, was released in 1961 and despite its modest budget, was a box office hit – even President Kennedy requested a private screening at the White House.
James Bond creator Ian Fleming with Sean Connery as James Bond on the set of Dr No
By the time of 1967’s “You Only Live Twice”, Connery was tiring of Bond and Eon had to find a new Bond for 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Service”. Australian George Lazenby was apparently chosen following his role in a Fry’s Chocolate Cream advert. Offered a contract for seven films, he was apparently convinced by his agent that Bond wouldn’t last, he would leave the role after just one film.
Connery would return for 1971’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, using the sizeable fee he received to set up the Scottish International Education Trust, an organisation that continues today to give financial assistance to Scots who show exceptional promise.
For 1973’s ‘Live and Let Die’, a new Bond was required. Roger Moore had already demonstrated his suave and sophisticated qualities in TV serials ‘The Persuaders’ and ‘The Saint’. To this he added a subtle comedic quality that would stay with the Bond movies until 1985’s “A View to a Kill’.
Roger Moore as James Bond in Goldfinger
As work began on 1987’s ‘The Living Daylights’, fifty-nine-year-old Roger Moore decided to hang up his Walther PPK and the search began for a new Bond. Pierce Brosnan was offered the role but was unable to escape from a contract requiring him to continue as ‘Remington Steele’. As a result, Welshman Timothy Dalton slipped on his tuxedo and picked up the pistol.
Dalton would appear in two films, but would not commit to another four or five. Eon turned back to Pierce Brosnan and in 1995’s ‘Goldeneye’ a new fast-paced Bond was born.
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Goldeneye
Brosnan would see out his four-film contract and see Bond in to the new millennium.
In October 2005, Eon unveiled Daniel Craig as their sixth James Bond. 2006’s ‘Casino Royale’ brought us a new brooding, damaged Bond in a series of blockbuster films that move at pace and don’t pull their punches.
2012’s ‘No Time To Die’, will be Craig’s last outing as the man with a license to kill before he too drives off in a beautiful Aston Martin DB5.
Daniel Craig as James Bond in No Time to Die
The search for Bond number seven is probably already underway…
The Outliers
The sharp-eyed will have noticed that ‘No Time To Die’ is billed as Bond #25, but there are twenty-seven films on our Infographic.
‘No Time To Die’ is the 25th Eon Bond film, but, there have been two others…
In 1955, prior to the agreement with Eon’s Saltzman, the film rights to ‘Casino Royale’ had been sold to producer George Ratoff. It’s production was plagued with problems and it would take 12 years for the film to see the light of day. When it did, in 967, it did so as a comedy, with David Niven as Sir James Bond 007, coming out of retirement to investigate the mysterious deaths of International spies.
A big box office success, the film is also responsible for the Bacharach and David classic “The Look of Love”, sung by Dusty Springfield and nominated for the Best Song Oscar at the 1968 Academy Awards.
Following ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, Connery had apparently declared that he would “never again” play Bond. The genesis of 1983’s “Never Say Never Again” was over twenty years prior when Ian Fleming had collaborated with producer Kevin McClory and writer Jack Whittingham on a script for a new Bond film. When the film failed to materialise, Fleming turned the story in to the novel “Thunderball”, failing to credit either McClory of Whittingham.
The subsequent legal agreements saw McClory produce the Eon film Thunderball (1965), but left the door open for a non-Eon film, as long as it was over a decade later. Wind forward eighteen years and Connery stepped once more in to the tuxedo, the same year as Moore appeared in Eon’s “Octopussy”.
The James Bond Movie Posters
The Bond films have always been produced with a careful attention to detail, from the iconic theme songs to the phenomenal movie posters.
Here are just a few of our favourites…
 |
 |
|
|
|
The Infographic
Here’s our timeline of the 27 Bond films in movie poster form. The initials alongside each give the actor who portrayed 007.
You can click (or tap on a phone / tablet) the image for a larger version.
We are massive fans of the Bond movies and always keep a great collection of 007 movie posters. Why not take a trip down memory lane and see which James Bond posters we currently have in stock?
We are off to stroke a cat and sharpen a bowler hat.
Adam and the Art of the Movies team
