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The Word Is 'Bond'
Rev up your Aston-Martin. Super spy 007 has returned for more big-screen action, this time in Die Another Day.
The three films in which Irish actor Pierce Brosnan has appeared as James Bond, Britain's not-so-secret weapon, have grossed over $1 billion. Since the first Bond film appeared 40 years ago with Sean Connery in the role of 007, this series has become a gold mine for its producers. The tagline for the first Bond film in the new millennium is "He's Never Been Cooler."
Bond fans can pick up The Essential Bond: The Authorized Guide to the World of 007. It's written by Bond experts Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall. Moreover, they had the blessing of the Albert R. Broccoli family and old partner Michael G. Wilson.
More than anyone besides the stars who have played Bond -- Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan (the unlamented George Lazenby played Bond once) -- it was the late Albert R. Broccoli who was responsible for the success of this phenomenal series. Since Broccoli's death in 1996, his daughter Barbara has continued to team with Michael G. Wilson to produce new Bond movies.
It's a tight-knit circle. The Bond family includes the actors, the technicians, the script writers, the directors, the stuntmen and stuntwomen, and the composers. In The Essential Bond, they all get their due. Every Bond film of the 20th century is given a chapter explaining the story. Biographies of Bond villains and Bond allies are given along with information about the actors who play them.
And what's a Bond movie without gadgets and vehicles? The book describes and explains them all. As Pfeiffer and Worrall observe: "Goldfinger represented a turning point for the James Bond films both artistically and in terms of the series' impact on popular culture. This was the first one to emphasize the hi-tech elements that would become a staple of the series."
Under Guy Hamilton's directorship, the Bond films have a more tongue-in-cheek approach. It's 007 who can make witticisms in the face of certain death at the hands of the megalomaniacal villain of the moment.
Of course every chapter of the book has a section on the "Bond Women." I discovered from the book that model Margaret Nolan is the golden girl seen in the main title sequence and on the movie poster, but it's actress Jill Eaton who is done-in so brutally by Oddjob at the behest of the villainous Goldfinger.
It's also quite nifty reading about 007's car -- the Aston Martin DB5 -- which includes revolving license plates valid in England, France and Switzerland; a weapons control panel concealed within the center arm rest; and an ejector seat for the removal of unwanted passengers.
Pfeiffer and Worrall include delightful tidbits with each discussion of a Bond film. As I learned just now, it all began in 1962 with Doctor No when Sean Connery was recommended for the starring role after Albert "Cubby" Broccoli's wife Dana saw the Scottish actor in the Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People! And what's more, Bond author and creator Ian Fleming wrote his 007 adventures on a gold-plated typewriter (a Royal) that Christie's auctioned off in 1995 for 50,000 pounds.
And finally, the author asked his friend Noel Coward to play the handless villain Doctor No, to which the esteemed playwright replied, "No! No! No!"
In Depth
 Listen to a Nov. 23, 2002, Weekend Edition Saturday review of Die Another Day.
Listen to a Nov. 22, 2002, review by David Edelstein of Die Another Day on Fresh Air.
Listen to a Nov. 22, 2002, Fresh Air interview with composer John Barry. Barry is best known for his 11 James Bond scores.
Other Resources
The CIA's Spy-Fi Archives Web site
The Spy Guise Web site
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