James Bond
- Thread starter steveno
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I understand that James Bond was loosely patterned after ( the author) Ian Flemming's escapades in WW-2.
Evidently Casino Royale actually happened but Flemming lost His Shirt instead of winning.
I wish I could remember the name of the Book as it was a pretty good read.
Evidently Casino Royale actually happened but Flemming lost His Shirt instead of winning.
I wish I could remember the name of the Book as it was a pretty good read.
I grew up watching Bond films. Liked both Connery and Moore. It's not the same anymore. I did like Skyfall, though. It was dark and different enough to be interesting, and it had enough references to older story lines to be a real Bond film.
Texas Star
US Veteran
You just GAVE the name of the book: Casino Royale, the first Bond book, about 1953. The movie retained that name.
All of the Bond books were good reads, as long as Fleming was writing them. I haven't really liked any by the later authors.
I think Peter O'Donnell was wise to kill off Modesty Blaise when he retired. No one but him could have written her right, and the movies stank. A TV show even tried to make Modesty and Willie Garvin into Americans, in CA. Sheesh... But the novels and the comic strip were excellent. Bound volumes of the comics are available. Only one US newspaper ran the comic, and even it had to do some censorship, as prudish American family values were an issue. The comics ran in 57 countries. If you liked the book Bond, Search for Modesty Blaise. I think you'd like her.
Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm books were good, too, but ruined as movies. Dean Martin was not a good choice as Helm, and he made a spoof of the books.
It is irrelevant that Roger Moore made a good comic Bond. James Bond was not written to be a comic character!
BTW, I read Moore's autobiography and thought less of him after I did.
Be aware that Casino Royale was also made into a spoof movie starring David Niven. Groan...
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Herknav
Member
I have not seen it, but there is supposedly a 1954 made-for-TV version of "Casino Royale" starring Barry Nelson as CIA Agent Jimmy Bond. I'd watch it just to see Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre.
Read all the Bond books, and the character Fleming describes is NOT Connery. I know that's blasphemy, but the guy I saw was the least successful in the franchise. George Lazenby fit the profile better than any of the others. MHO, you understand.
It is a fact that Ian Fleming was less than thrilled at first (an understatement) about Sean Connery playing his somewhat autobiographical creation, James Bond. His first preference was Cary Grant!
But it is also a fact that Ian Fleming warmed up to Sean Connery in the role fairly quickly with his work in the first movie, Dr. No.One sometimes forgets that Ian Fleming was still alive and writing his James Bond novels during and after the release of Dr. No (the movie) in late-1962... including his last 3 full-length novels and 4 short stories.
How much, if at all, did the first 1 or 2 movies (and actor Sean Connery's James Bond) affect his final works?
I'll leave that for others more expert than me to decide. I haven't re-read the books in ages. 
the ringo kid
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George Lazenby was the most under-rated Bond of all. It's a damn shame (and crazy stupid) that he bowed out after just one movie... but it did bring Sean Connery back for one last movie: "Diamonds Are Forever"!
Connery's last was "Never Say Never Again." Ive always liked him in it.
Correct, as I noted above.
Age had really crept up on Sean Connery in a not-so-flattering way by the time this "non-Eon" Bond movie was made. Connery went on to better, more age-appropriate roles later... but I had a really hard time with him as an aging Bond in this "remake of Thunderball" movie. The lack of the usual Eon Production touches made it even worse for me. While not as disappointing as the two Timothy Dalton movies, it certainly isn't one of my favorites. 
Why was Connery my favorite.....
James Bond has to look good under every circumstance, whether in a tuxedo or a bar fight. Roger Moore was a little more on the 'dapper' side. And the voice, and the accent....Connery hands down.
James Bond has to look good under every circumstance, whether in a tuxedo or a bar fight. Roger Moore was a little more on the 'dapper' side. And the voice, and the accent....Connery hands down.
What does everybody think.....
....of Casino Royale? It's SORT of a James Bond movie turned into comedy. British humor either makes me laugh my butt off or goes over my head. I thought it was decidedly a strange movie.
I do like David Niven though.
....of Casino Royale? It's SORT of a James Bond movie turned into comedy. British humor either makes me laugh my butt off or goes over my head. I thought it was decidedly a strange movie.
I do like David Niven though.
LeftHand-Fu
Member
Well, IMHO...
The 1967 Casino Royale was a mishmash of a comedy only loosely based on the novel. There were certainly some funny bits in there, yes. It would have been impossible to fail entirely with Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Woody Allen, and Orson Welles in the cast. But there were also at least five directors involved at one point or another, and even as a comedy it really is a mess. Not something to be taken seriously at all, just enjoyed for what it is, and I have done exactly that more than once. Kinda confused me as a kid though.
The 2006 Casino Royale with Daniel Craig takes itself way too seriously, but the nasty brutish bits in there are in many ways more true to Ian Flemming's original than all the other films every were.
I read somewhere there was also a 1954 television version, adapted by Flemming, with Bond as an American agent. I was not around for that one.
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