Bond James Bond

Lots of people have been held rooted to their seats by the action packed movies which were all about a spy named James Bond. . The unforgettable character of James Bond 007 was created by writer Ian Fleming. Ian Fleming was an English author, journalist, and naval intelligence officer. He is best remembered for his James Bond series of novels. His first Bond novel was “Casino Royal” in 1952. This was followed by eleven more Bond novels and a two short-story collections. All of the novels were about James Bond, who was an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service that was known as M16. Bond was also known by his code number 007.

Hollywood made James Bond 007 popular and always in demand. Of all of the many actors who played Bond my very favorite will always be the original Scottish actor Sean Connery. His very first James Bond movie was “Dr. No” which came out in 1963. At this time producers Harold Saltzman and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli were considering two other actors for the role of James Bond and they were James Mason and Cary Grant. Writer Ian Fleming preferred David Niven. However once Sean Connery stepped into James Bond’s shoes he simply became Bond.

“Dr. No” also co-starred Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman and Jack Lord. In this movie Bond who was a British Secret Service agent was sent to Jamaica in order to investigate the murders of a fellow agent and his secretary. As in every Bond film afterwards there is a villain in this case a Chinese scientist Dr. No portrayed by Wiseman, a “Bond” girl Honey Ryder a bikini-wearing shell collector portrayed by Andress and a CIA agent portrayed by Lord.

This very first film set a pattern for all the following Bond movies including a distinctive theme song and lots of action packed scenes. It also introduced the vodka martini “shaken not stirred” which Bond preferred. I remember when I was old enough to drink now and then when a Bond movie came out I would be in a bar with friends and I would hear someone order a martini in the precise and well-known Bond way and it made me smile. Whenever Bond would introduce himself he always said, “Bond, James Bond.”

Sean Connery rose to fame as the famous spy and appeared in six more Bond movies “From Russia with Love” in 1963, “Goldfinger” in 1964, “Thunderball” in 1965, “You Only Live Twice” in 1967, and “Diamonds Are Forever” in 1971.

Afterward there was break of ten years and then “Never Say Never Again” was released in 1983. This last movie starring Sean Connery was actually made as an “unofficial” remake of “Thunderball”. It was a most fitting end to the actor’s portrayal of Bond as he had grown tired of this role. Personally I would have liked to see him in one more Bond film in which he retires and has a son who steps into his father’s shoes.

Sean Connery went on to bigger roles and became an Academy Award winning actor. I wonder why James Bond never received an Academy Award. Bond was resurrected in a string of new films “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969 in which George Lazenby portrayed Bond only once. Perhaps you’re like me, “Who in the world is George Lazenby?” Well he is an Australian actor and former model.

Next up was another of my favorite Bonds Roger Moore who went on to star in seven Bond movies. They were “Moonraker”, “A View to a Kill”, “Live and Let Die”, “The Man With the Golden Gun”, “Octopussy”, “For Your Eyes Only”, and “The Spy Who Loved Me”.

After him Timothy Dalton stepped into Bond’s shoes. He portrayed Bond in “Licence to Kill” and “The Living Daylights”.

He was followed by Pierce Brosnan. He starred in four Bond movies “The World Is Not Enough”, “Die Another Day”, “Tomorrow Never Dies”, and “GoldenEye”.

Finally there was Daniel Craig who starred in four Bond movies “Casino Royale”, “Quantum of Solace”, “Skyfall”, and “Spectre.”