History of Bond

Background

The James Bond novels, penned by Ian Lancaster Fleming, first appeared in 1953, with Casino Royale. Fleming wrote a total of fourteen novels and short stories about his character, until his death in 1964. Fleming was educated at Eton and became a journalist until the war. During WWII Fleming served as the Personal Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, where he gained much of the knowledge he applied to the Bond stories.

Fleming was responsible for devising the plan ‘Operation Ruthless’ where a team of British soldiers would crash a German aircraft in the English Channel, with the intention of killing their German rescuers and stealing their Enigma equipment. The plan was never executed, but demonstrated Fleming’s flair for espionage. Fleming, however, was frustrated at his life behind a desk and was referred to as the 'Chocolate Sailor' as he never left Whitehall.

Fleming stated that he wrote the novels to help him cope with the stress of becoming married at the age of 43, though it is more likely that he was spurred on to publish a novel after his brother, Peter Fleming, published a satirical novel criticising the security services. Most of the novels were conceived from his intelligence experience and travels abroad, with the novels being written at his Jamaican house, Goldeneye, and published annually from 1953 to 1966, two years after he died.

Birth of a Legend

The Bond adventures, written by Fleming, were successful in Britain, but not so much in the larger US market until President Kennedy named From Russia With Love as one of his top-ten bedtime reading books. The novels did not become phenomenally successful until the 1960s after they were adapted to film. Although the Fleming legacy was to become a very lucrative one, Fleming did not, initially, make a great deal of money from the sale of the film rights. He sold the rights to his first novel for a measly $1000 dollars - he would get 100 times more in 1961. Fleming always wanted to have his novels adapted to the screen, to fulfil his urge to become famous, and he was to get his chance shortly after Casino Royale was published. The first appearance of Bond on screen was not in 1962, as played by Sean Connery, but was as a live broadcast of Casino Royale shown as part of CBS's Climax Mystery Theatre season. This series of dramatisations featured Fleming's novel, but was condensed into around fifty minutes.

This first outing for Bond, Jimmy Bond, as he was then, is still available, though is a patched together version. Jimmy Bond is created American in this early version (broadcast on October 21st 1954) and is assisted by Clarence Leiter of the British Secret Service. In the light of the massive hype and expense of the Bond films we are all familiar with, it is fascinating to see such a low budget and strangely acted version of Bond.

From Novel to Screen

The first major appearance of Bond was to come in 1962 when Dr No was released. This, however, was not intended to be the first film of the series. Harry Saltzman owned the options on the remaining Fleming novels, with Casino Royale having already been sold to another producer (Charles Feldman). Time was running out on Saltzman's option and another producer, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli was interested. Broccoli and Saltzman hammered out a partnership deal and Arthur Krim, of United Artists, agreed to back the first film. Broccoli intended for this to be Thunderball, published in the same year, but a legal battle ensued between Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory and Jack Whittington, the latter two claiming that the novel was based on an earlier screen idea developed by the three. As a result of this, with the rights to the novel and film of Thunderball being fought over in court, Dr No became the first ever Bond adventure to reach the cinema.

The early Bond films, produced on an annual basis, were successful in Britain but, like the novels, initially did not really succeed at first in the massive American markets. It was not until the huge success of Goldfinger that the American market opened up for James Bond. The films were generally very well received on both sides of the Atlantic. However, Richard Whitehall, reviewing Dr No for the film journal Films and Filming, branded Dr No as "morally corrupt", heralding an age of "fascist cinema". Goldfinger, however, broke all British box office records and established the series as a long-term cinematic phenomenon.

Saltzman and Broccoli went on to produce a new film on average every two years, until their partnership ended in 1975. Broccoli went on to continue producing the films by himself, while grooming his stepson, Michael Wilson, and daughter, Barbara Broccoli, to take over from him. The films now form the most successful series in cinematic history and never fail to break records on their release. they have been parodied and imitated countless times, yet the original formula seems to get more and more popular each time.

Bond is now a famous household name, with "Bond...James Bond" apparently being one of the most recognisable quotes in the world. The trademark "Vodka Martini...shaken, not stirred", the Aston Martin DB5, beautiful women and high-octane action are all familiar traits today.

Chronology of Bond Novels

Year Title

1953 Casino Royale

1954 Live and Let Die

1955 Moonraker

1956 Diamonds Are Forever

1957 From Russia, with Love

1958 Dr No

1959 Goldfinger

1960 For Your Eyes Only (Collection of Short Stories)

• A View to a Kill

• For Your Eyes Only

• Quantum of Solace

• Risico

• The Hildebrand Rarity

1961 Thunderball

1962 The Spy Who Loved Me

1963 On Her Majesty's Secret Service

1964 You Only Live Twice

1965 The Man with the Golden Gun

1966 Octopussy & The Living Daylights

Chronology of Bond Films

Official Films

Year Title

1962 Dr No

1963 From Russia, with Love

1964 Goldfinger

1965 Thunderball

1967 You Only Live Twice

1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service

1971 Diamonds Are Forever

1973 Live and Let Die

1974 The Man with the Golden Gun

1977 The Spy Who Loved Me

1979 Moonraker

1981 For Your Eyes Only

1983 Octopussy

1985 A View to a Kill

1987 The Living Daylights

1989 Licence to Kill

1995 Goldeneye

1997 Tomorrow Never Dies

1999 The World is Not Enough

2002 Die Another Day

2006 Casino Royale

2008 Quantum of Solace (unreleased)