The 007 number assigned to James Bond may have been influenced by any number of sources. In the films and novels, the "00" prefix indicates Bond's discretionary "licence to kill", in executing his duties. Bond's number—007—was assigned by Fleming in reference to one of British naval intelligence's key achievements of World War I: the breaking of the German diplomatic code. One of the German documents cracked and read by the British was the Zimmermann Telegram, which was coded 0075, and which was one of the factors that led to the US entering the war. Subsequently, if material was graded 00 it meant it was highly classified and, as journalist Ben Macintyre has pointed out, "to anyone versed in intelligence history, 007 signified the highest achievement of British military intelligence."
Inspiration for "007"
Inspirations for James Bond
Inspirations for James Bond | Inspiration for "007"
It was assigned by the author in reference to one of British naval intelligence's key achievements of World War I and helped in breaking the German diplomatic code. The 007 number assigned to James Bond may have been influenced by any number of sources. Bond's number—007—was assigned by Fleming in reference to one of British naval intelligence's key achievements of World War I: the breaking of the German diplomatic code. Bond's number—007—was assigned by Fleming in reference to one of British naval intelligence's key achievements of World War I: the breaking of the German diplomatic code
who was the james bond character based on
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A number of elements had a real-life background, taken from people whom the author knew or events he was aware of. Some aspects of the character and tastes replicate those of the author himself.
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what is the inspiration behind the specific number used to refer to the character?
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The 007 number assigned to James Bond may have been influenced by any number of sources. In the films and novels, the "00" prefix indicates Bond's discretionary "licence to kill", in executing his duties. Bond's number—007—was assigned by Fleming in reference to one of British naval intelligence's key achievements of World War I: the breaking of the German diplomatic code. One of the German documents cracked and read by the British was the Zimmermann Telegram, which was coded 0075, and which was one of the factors that led to the US entering the war. Subsequently, if material was graded 00 it meant it was highly classified and, as journalist Ben Macintyre has pointed out, "to anyone versed in intelligence history, 007 signified the highest achievement of British military intelligence."
Inspirations for James Bond | Inspiration for "007"
The story is sometimes mentioned speculatively as one of many possible inspirations for 007, the code number of Ian Fleming's fictional detective James Bond, but no connection is known.
.007 | The 007 connection
Ian Fleming created the fictional character of James Bond as the central figure for his works. Bond is an intelligence officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. Fleming based his fictional creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division and 30 Assault Unit during the Second World War, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war". Among those types were his brother, Peter, who had been involved in behind-the-lines operations in Norway and Greece during the war.
James Bond | Creation and inspiration
A number of real-life inspirations have been suggested for James Bond, the fictional character created in 1953 by British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence officer Ian Fleming; Bond appeared in twelve novels and nine short stories by Fleming, as well as a number of continuation novels and twenty-six films, with seven actors playing the role of Bond. Although the stories and characters were fictional, a number of elements had a real-life background, taken from people whom Fleming knew or events he was aware of. These included the spy's name, which Fleming took from the American ornithologist James Bond, and the code number—007—which referred to the breaking of a World War I German diplomatic code.
Inspirations for James Bond | Introduction
007 is a code name of James Bond, a fictional character in the eponymous series "James Bond". 007 may also refer to:
007 (disambiguation) | Introduction
A Secret Service agent, James Bond was a composite based on a number of commandos that author Ian Fleming had known during his service in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, to whom he added his own style and a number of his own tastes. Fleming appropriated his character's name from the American ornithologist of the same name. Bond's code number 007 comes from one of British naval intelligence's key achievements of World War I: the breaking of the German diplomatic code. One of the German documents cracked and read by the British was the Zimmermann Telegram, which was coded 0075, and which was one of the factors that led to the US entering the war as an ally against the Central Powers.
Portrayal of James Bond in film | Fleming's literary characterisation
Besides real life individuals, James Bond was also inspired by one of Dennis Wheatley's characters; the secret agent Gregory Sallust, based on Wheatley's late friend Gordon Eric Gordon-Tombe.
Inspirations for James Bond | Literary inspirations
The Institute of National Remembrance revealed in 2020 that James Albert Bond, a British diplomat, had worked at the British Embassy in Warsaw. Released documents confirm that he conducted espionage activities. It is unclear whether Ian Fleming was aware of the existence of an actual spy named James Albert Bond.
Inspirations for James Bond | Character inspirations
Sir Fitzroy Maclean was another figure mentioned as a possibility, based on his wartime work behind enemy lines in the Balkans, as was the MI6 double agent Dušan Popov. In 2016, a BBC Radio 4 documentary explored the possibility that the character of James Bond was created by 20th Century author and mentor to Fleming, Phyllis Bottome in her 1946 novel, "The Lifeline". Distinct similarities between the protagonist in "The Lifeline", Mark Chalmers and Bond have been highlighted by spy writer, Nigel West.
James Bond (literary character) | Inspiration for the character
Some aspects of Bond's character and tastes replicate those of Fleming himself.
Inspirations for James Bond | Introduction
Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way. That black hair falling down over the right eyebrow. Much the same bones. But there was something a bit cruel in the mouth, and the eyes were cold."
James Bond | Creation and inspiration
Fleming based much of M's character on Rear Admiral John Godfrey, who was Fleming's superior at the Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War. After Fleming's death, Godfrey complained "He turned me into that unsavoury character, M." Other possible inspirations include Lieutenant Colonel Sir Claude Dansey, the deputy head of MI6 and head of the wartime Z network, who achieved different interpretations of his character from those who knew him: Malcolm Muggeridge thought him "the only professional in MI6", while Hugh Trevor-Roper considered Dansey to be "an utter shit, corrupt, incompetent, but with a certain low cunning". A further inspiration for M was Maxwell Knight, the head of MI5, who signed his memos as "M" and whom Fleming knew well.
M (James Bond) | Background
During the Second World War Fleming was the personal assistant to the director of the Naval Intelligence Division, Admiral John Godfrey. He reached the rank of commander—a rank he subsequently gave to his fictional creation—and was the planner for special operations unit 30th Assault Unit. Many of Bond's tastes and traits were Fleming's own, including sharing the same golf handicap, the taste for scrambled eggs and using the same brand of toiletries. Bond's tastes are also often taken from Fleming's, as was his behaviour, with Bond's love of golf and gambling mirroring his creator's. Fleming used the experiences of his espionage career and other aspects of his life as inspiration when writing, including using names of school friends, acquaintances, relatives and lovers throughout his books.
Inspirations for James Bond | Character inspirations
Fleming based his creation on a number of individuals which he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war". Among those types were his brother, Peter, whom Fleming worshipped and who had been involved in behind the lines operations in Norway and Greece during the war. Aside from Fleming's brother, a number of others also provided some aspects of Bond's make up, including Conrad O'Brien-ffrench, a skiing spy whom Fleming had met in Kitzbühel in the 1930s, Patrick Dalzel-Job, who served with distinction in 30 AU during the war, and Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale, station head of MI6 in Paris, who wore cuff-links and handmade suits and was chauffeured around Paris in a Rolls-Royce.
James Bond (literary character) | Inspiration for the character
006 is the code name of Alec Trevelyan, a villain in the James Bond film "GoldenEye". 006 may also refer to:
006 (disambiguation) | Introduction
The remainder of the New Yorker article reads as follows: “I’m here to see my publishers and assorted crooks,” he said. “Not other assorted crooks, mind you. By ‘crooks,’ I don’t mean crooks at all; I mean former Secret Service men. There are one or two of them here, you know.”
Inspirations for James Bond | Origins of the name
In the first novel, "Casino Royale", and the 2006 film adaptation, the 00 concept is introduced and, in Bond's words, means "that you've had to kill a chap in cold blood in the course of some assignment." Bond's 00 number (007) was awarded to him because he twice killed in fulfilling assignments. (This differentiates from deadly force used by non-00 agents in the course of self-defence or offensive action; plus, in the original time frame of the novel—the early 1950s—many MI6 agents would have had recent war service.) In the second novel, "Live and Let Die", the 00 number designates a past killing; not until the third novel, "Moonraker", does the 00 number designate a licence to kill.
00 Agent | Description
Bond's cigarettes were also the same as Fleming's, who had been buying his custom-made by Morland since the 1930s; Fleming added the three gold bands on the filter during the war to mirror his naval Commander's rank. On average, Bond smokes sixty cigarettes a day, although he cut back to around twenty-five a day after his visit to a health farm in "Thunderball". Fleming himself smoked up to eighty cigarettes a day. Apart from imbuing Bond with his own tastes, Fleming based his fictional creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in intelligence, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war".
Inspirations for James Bond | Character inspirations
Commander James Bond RN—code number 007—is a fictional character created by the British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1952. The character appeared in a series of twelve novels and two short story collections written by Fleming and a number of continuation novels and spin-off works after Fleming's death in 1964. There have been twenty-seven films in total, produced between 1962 and 2020. Fleming portrayed Bond as a tall, athletic, handsome secret agent in his thirties or forties; he has several vices, including drinking, smoking, gambling, automobiles and womanising. He is an exceptional marksman, and he is skilled in unarmed combat, skiing, swimming and golf.
Portrayal of James Bond in film | Introduction
On the morning of 17 February 1952, Ian Fleming started writing what would become his first book, "Casino Royale", at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica. He typed out 2,000 words in the morning, directly from his own experiences and imagination and finished work on the manuscript in just over a month, completing it on 18 March 1952. Fleming took the name for his character from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide "Birds of the West Indies"; Fleming, a keen birdwatcher himself, had a copy of Bond's guide and he later explained to the ornithologist's wife that "It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born".
Inspirations for James Bond | Origins of the name
Charles Fraser-Smith is widely credited as the inspiration for Q due to the spy gadgets he built for the Special Operations Executive. These were called Q-devices, after the Royal Navy's World War I Q-ships. In the Fleming novels there are frequent references to Q and Q Branch with phrases like "see Q for any equipment you need" ("Casino Royale") and "Q Branch would handle all of that" ("Diamonds Are Forever"), with a reference to "Q's craftsmen" in "From Russia, with Love".
Q (James Bond) | Novels
Subsequently, if material was graded 00 it meant it was highly classified. Fleming later told a journalist: "When I was at the Admiralty ... all the top-secret signals had the double-0 prefix ... and I decided to borrow it for Bond." Although James Bond is in his mid-to-late thirties, he does not age in Fleming's stories. Fleming biographer Andrew Lycett noted that, "within the first few pages [of "Casino Royale"] Ian had introduced most of Bond's idiosyncrasies and trademarks", which included his looks, his Bentley and his smoking and drinking habits: Bond's penchant for alcohol runs throughout the series of books and he smokes up to 70 cigarettes a day.
Portrayal of James Bond in film | Fleming's literary characterisation
It was a success and three print runs were needed to cope with the demand. The novel centres on the exploits of James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. Fleming took the name for his character from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, an expert on Caribbean birds and author of the definitive field guide "Birds of the West Indies". Fleming, himself a keen birdwatcher, had a copy of Bond's guide, and later told the ornithologist's wife, "that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born".
Ian Fleming | 1950s
On another occasion Fleming said: "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers'. Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department." After Fleming met the ornithologist and his wife, he described them as "a charming couple who are amused by the whole joke". The ornithologist was obliquely referred to in the film "Die Another Day" with Pierce Brosnan's Bond picking up a copy of "Birds of the West Indies" and posing as an ornithologist.
Inspirations for James Bond | Origins of the name
The novel centred on the exploits of James Bond, an intelligence officer in the 00 section of the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. Fleming took the name for his character from that of the eponymous American ornithologist, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide "Birds of the West Indies". Fleming based his creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war".
List of James Bond novels and short stories | Ian Fleming
The central figure in Ian Fleming's work is the fictional character of James Bond, an intelligence officer in the "Secret Service". Bond is also known by the code number 007 and, like Fleming, was portrayed as a Commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and World War II veteran. During World War II, Ian Fleming had mentioned to friends that he wanted to write a spy novel. It was not until 1952, however, shortly before his wedding to his pregnant girlfriend, Ann Charteris, that Fleming began to write "Casino Royale", to distract himself from his forthcoming nuptials. Fleming started writing his first book, "Casino Royale", at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica on 17 February 1952, typing out 2,000 words in the morning, directly from his own experiences and imagination.
James Bond (literary character) | Fleming's concept of Bond
Not all of the villains have unusual physical traits; Mathieu Amalric's Dominic Greene was depicted without such characteristics, instead being inspired by Tony Blair and Nicolas Sarkozy.
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Larger-than-life villains
655321 was the prisoner number of Alex, the main character from Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of "A Clockwork Orange". In the original book, by Anthony Burgess, the prisoner number was 6655321. It may also refer to:
655321 | Introduction
Commander James Bond is a fictional Intelligence Agent created by the British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the protagonist of the "James Bond" series of novels, films, comics and video games. Fleming wrote twelve Bond novels and two short story collections. His final two books—"The Man with the Golden Gun" (1965) and "Octopussy and The Living Daylights" (1966)—were published posthumously. The character is a Secret Intelligence Service agent, code number 007, residing in London but active internationally. Bond was a composite character who was based on a number of commandos whom Fleming knew during his service in the Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, to whom Fleming added his own style and a number of his own tastes.
James Bond (literary character) | Introduction
The 1967 film adaptation of Fleming's first novel, "Casino Royale", spoofed the EON film series. As part of its storyline, Sir James Bond (David Niven), after having assumed the position of M, mandates that all MI6 agents - male and female - be renamed James Bond 007 in order to confuse enemy agents of SMERSH.
00 Agent | False 00 Agents from "Casino Royale" (1967)
In 1970, the ASP was featured in "The Handgun", by Glaswegian gun expert Geoffrey Boothroyd. Boothroyd, the inspiration for “Q,” the technologically inventive character who outfitted James Bond with his lifesaving gadgets, would, in turn, later inspire Ian Fleming’s successor, John Gardner, to replace Bond’s renowned Walther PPK as 007’s weapon of choice. Beginning with 1984’s "Role of Honor", the ASP would go on to be featured in 11 James Bond novels. James Bond expert James McMahon would later write: “If Bond were a gun, he'd be the ASP. Dark, deadly, perfectly suited to his mission.”
Paris Theodore | Invention of the ASP
He further explained that: On another occasion, Fleming said: "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers'. Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department." Fleming decided that Bond should resemble both American singer Hoagy Carmichael and himself and in "Casino Royale", Vesper Lynd remarks, "Bond reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless." Likewise, in "Moonraker", Special Branch Officer Gala Brand thinks that Bond is "certainly good-looking ...
James Bond | Creation and inspiration
Albert R. Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond film series, objected to the character name "James Bind agent 006½" (intended for Charles Hawtrey) and threatened legal action. Hence, producer Peter Rogers changed the name to Charlie and the agent's code number to double 0 – ooh! Poster artist Tom Chantrell also had to modify the poster when similar complaints were voiced that the artwork was too similar to "From Russia with Love". The film pokes fun at various spy movies, the James Bond series being the least of them. They include "The Third Man" (coincidentally, Eric Pohlmann, who plays The Fat Man, had a minor part in "The Third Man" and was the voice of SPECTRE No 1 in "From Russia with Love").
Carry On Spying | Production
Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department." After Fleming met the ornithologist and his wife, he described them as "a charming couple who are amused by the whole joke". In the first draft of "Casino Royale" he decided to use the name James Secretan as Bond's cover name while on missions. In 2018, reports emerged on numerous British and American websites alike that the name could have emerged from an actual secret agent. A Welsh ex-lollipop man named James Charles Bond, according to released military records, had served under Fleming in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), an intelligence agency tasked by Winston Churchill to "set Europe ablaze" behind enemy lines.
James Bond (literary character) | Origins of the name
In contact with M, joined by Major Boothroyd they extract Marshall's characteristics as a fantasist who views himself and his group as an auxiliary unit, a combat team that fights an enemy invading Britain, created during the Second World War to defy the powers of Nazi Germany. And Marshall believes Britain needs defending from the likes of Alexander Thomas, hence making the latter "an enemy of the state" from their point of view, therefore reporting what they see as enemy action, including Thomas' comments, to intelligence services using Enigma Code, just like how the actual units used to do during the war.
James Bond 007: Service | Plot
Ian Fleming, who was a keen bird watcher living in Jamaica, was familiar with Bond's book, and chose the name of its author for the hero of "Casino Royale" in 1953, apparently because he wanted a name that sounded "as ordinary as possible". Fleming wrote to the real Bond's wife, "It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born." He did not contact the real James Bond about using his name in the books, and Bond did not learn of the identity "theft" until the early 1960s when the 007 books became popular in the U.S.
James Bond (ornithologist) | Fictional namesake
30 Commando or 30 Assault Unit (30AU), composed of specialist intelligence troops. The unit was Fleming's idea, and he nicknamed the troops his "Red Indians", although they disliked the name.
Casino Royale (novel) | Plot inspirations
The failed attempt to kill Bond at Royale-Les-Eaux was inspired by Fleming's knowledge of the attempted assassination of Franz von Papen, Vice-Chancellor of Germany and an ambassador under Hitler. Both Papen and Bond survived their assassination attempts, carried out by Bulgarians, because trees protected them from the blasts. The torture scene in which Bond's genitals are thrashed while he is strapped to a bottomless chair was a version of a French-Moroccan torture technique, "", in which the steel string of a mandolin was used to slice in half the testicles of British wartime agents. Fleming also included four references in the novel to "Red Indians", including twice on the last page, which came from a unit of commandos, known as No.
Casino Royale (novel) | Plot inspirations
Bond subsequently drives a Mark II Continental Bentley, which he uses in the remaining books of the series, although he is issued an Aston Martin DB Mark III with a homing device during the course of "Goldfinger".
James Bond (literary character) | Abilities
British Secret Service agent James Bond, codename 007, must prevent Sir Hugo Drax's plan to murder the entire human race and then restart humanity from outer space.
James Bond and Moonraker | Plot
Paul Arendt, writing for the BBC, agreed, observing that "Daniel Craig is not a good Bond. He's a "great" Bond. Specifically, he is 007 as conceived by Ian Fleming—a professional killing machine, a charming, cold-hearted patriot with a taste for luxury. Craig is the first actor to really nail 007's defining characteristic: he's an absolute swine". James Chapman commented on the realism and violence in the film, noting that Bond is seen to seriously bleed for the first time in the series; Chapman also identified a number of violent scenes which make "Casino Royale" notable in the series. In 2012 "Skyfall" was released: it was Craig's third outing as 007.
Portrayal of James Bond in film | Daniel Craig: 2005–present
The character—also known by the code number 007—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are the longest continually running film series of all time and have grossed over US$7.04 billion in total, making it the sixth-highest-grossing film series to date, which started in 1962 with "Dr. No", starring Sean Connery as Bond. As of 2020, there have been twenty-four films in the Eon Productions series. The most recent Bond film, "Spectre" (2015), stars Daniel Craig in his fourth portrayal of Bond; he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series.
James Bond | Introduction
Starting at Number 1 and ending at Number 12, he describes each person in turn and Warren later admitted this is what gave him the inspiration for "Coronation Street".
Tony Warren | Early life
Fleming used aspects of his private life to create Drax; Fleming named the character after his acquaintance Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax. Other elements of the plot came from Fleming's knowledge of wartime operations carried out by T-Force, a secret British Army unit formed to continue the work of 30 Assault Unit, itself created by Fleming.
Hugo Drax | Inspiration
Much of Number Six's background is kept a mystery during the series, including his name, his job and whom he worked for. In the first episode, it is stated that he was born on 19 March 1928 (the same date as McGoohan's birthday), and that he held a position of some responsibility with the British government, but the exact nature of his job is not known. Certain clues though can be determined from some episodes where Number Six knows and appears to have worked for people in British Intelligence.
Number Six (The Prisoner) | Biography
Also, villains do not gain survival points through their successes in an adventure.
James Bond 007 (role-playing game) | Hero Points
William Stephenson (1897–1989) was a Canadian-born British spy, potential inspiration for the character James Bond. William Stephenson may also refer to:
William Stephenson (disambiguation) | Introduction
In May 2018 the author Anthony Horowitz released "Forever and a Day"; set in the 1950s, the novel contains material written, but previously unreleased, by Fleming. It is set before "Casino Royale", and thoroughly details the events leading up to Bond's promotion to 00-status, and becoming the character he is by the original Fleming novel.
James Bond (literary character) | Anthony Horowitz
Airdates: 21, 24 & 28 January 2015 In the James Bond-themed Roadblock, one team member would be given a martini to hold until they had completed the task. After traveling from Limehouse Marina to the Presidents Quay House by speedboat, the chosen team member would have to figure out the code to unlock a safe containing the key to the telephone box. The code could be deciphered by arranging six actors who had played the part of James Bond into chronological order. The team member had to arrange placards of the actors into the correct order, all while holding the martini, and then use the numbers on the placards to figure out the code.
HaMerotz LaMillion 4 | Leg 7 (Finland → England)
The decision is widely believed to have been inspired by Stella Rimington having become head of MI5 in 1992. The character of Alec Trevelyan was originally scripted as "Augustus Trevelyan" and envisaged as an older character and a mentor figure to Bond. Anthony Hopkins and Alan Rickman were reportedly sought for the role but both turned it down. Sean Bean was subsequently cast and the character was rewritten as Bond's peer. John Woo was approached as the director, and turned down the opportunity, but said he was honored by the offer. The producers then chose New Zealander Martin Campbell as the director.
GoldenEye | Casting
Documents on the Welsh Bond's war record were released to the public in 2014.
James Bond (literary character) | Origins of the name
Presumably set after the events of Brexit, a word was received by MI-6 from an unidentified source that the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Thomas was being targeted by a shadowy radical nationalist group after he made a political statement against United Kingdom and their lack of usefulness to the United States in the aftermath of their recent turnouts within their own government. The trail leads British Intelligence agent, James Bond to Denbigh North, a district in Milton Keynes, to track down the recent residence of a former marine Jack Marshall. But, before 007 could allow himself to Marshall's hotel room, he dodges an explosion wired in the old methods of booby traps commonly employed during World War II.
James Bond 007: Service | Plot
Maugham used his spying experiences as the basis for "", a collection of short stories about a gentlemanly, sophisticated, aloof spy. This character is considered to have influenced Ian Fleming's later series of "James Bond" novels. In 1922, Maugham dedicated his book "On A Chinese Screen" to Syrie. This was a collection of 58 ultra-short story sketches, which he had written during his 1920 travels through China and Hong Kong, intending to expand the sketches later as a book.
Somerset Maugham | Intelligence work
"007 in New York", meanwhile, provided character and plot elements for the first two films starring Daniel Craig as Bond, "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace".
Octopussy and The Living Daylights | Introduction
Felix Leiter, James Bond's CIA ally and friend, played a part in six of the Fleming novels; he is introduced in "Casino Royale" as being thin, tall, about thirty-five years old and a former U.S. Marine who was working with the Joint Intelligence Staff of NATO. Fleming named the character after two of his American friends: "Felix" was Ivar Bryce's middle name, whilst Tommy Leiter was a mutual friend. Academic Kerstin Jütting describes Leiter as "a cool and quiet no-nonsense character who knows 007's strengths and weaknesses well". Physically, Fleming describes Leiter in "Casino Royale": "a mop of straw-coloured hair lent his face a boyish look which closer examination contradicted".
Felix Leiter | Novels
He has also disclosed that the character also draws on his recollections of former Radio Caroline DJ Simon Dee, who hosted the first real television chat show in the United Kingdom in 1967, which ended with his driving off in a sports car with a young blonde in the passenger seat. An important inspiration for the series is British super spy James Bond. Myers said of Bond, "I can't even tell you how huge it was in our house ... That's really why I wanted to do Austin Powers. Austin Powers is out of pure love for James Bond."
Austin Powers | Development
For example, the holding cell of Princess Leia in "" on the "Death Star" is cell No. 2187. The reference was continued in the 2015 movie "", with a character named FN-2187.
Arthur Lipsett | Influence on George Lucas
The origins of the Double O title may date to Fleming's wartime service. According to World War Two historian Damien Lewis in his book "Churchill's Secret Warriors", agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) were given a "0" prefix when they became "zero-rated" upon completion of training in how to kill. As part of his role as assistant to the head of naval intelligence, Rear Admiral John Godfrey (himself the inspiration for M), Fleming acted as liaison to the SOE.
00 Agent | Inspiration
The character of Amos, who has a white Persian cat as his pet and his organization are stand-ins for Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE, both of which at the time belonged to The Kevin McClory Estate following the controversy regarding the ownership of the plot and the characters in "Thunderball" and as such cannot have been used for legal reasons.
James Bond 007: Light of My Death | Trivia
James Bond is a fictional character created by the novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. Bond is a British secret agent working for MI6 who also answers to his codename, 007. He has been portrayed on film by the actors Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, in twenty-seven productions. All the films but two were made by Eon Productions. Eon now holds the full adaptation rights to all of Fleming's Bond novels. In 1961 the producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman joined forces to purchase the filming rights to Fleming's novels.
List of James Bond films | Introduction
The film contains direct nods to James Bond in a comedic and outlandish style. Flint is initially offered a Walther PPK and an attache case with a concealed throwing knife with Flint dismissing both as "crude". During the French strip club sequence, Flint stages a mock brawl with a patron who is identified as Agent 0008, a British secret agent. Flint asks if SPECTRE (the criminal organization in the early Bond movies) is involved, to which Agent 0008 replies, "It's bigger than SPECTRE!" The actor playing the role is similar in appearance to Sean Connery. Later in the film, Gila is shown reading a 0008 novel, a reference to the James Bond novels.
Our Man Flint | Influences
It was released in November 1995 and was one of many CCGs released during that time that were based on a movie or TV franchise. The first set was called "Goldeneye" and had 207 cards and featured material from every film up to that time, even Thunderball. Some sources claimed the set had as many as 217 or 231 cards. An expansion called "Villains and Women" was scheduled for a 1996 release but never materialized.
James Bond 007 (card game) | Publication history
The 1967 satire "Casino Royale" featured not one but two Ms. The first is played by John Huston, who also co-directed. In this film, M's real name is McTarry and he is accidentally killed when, in order to get Bond out of retirement, he orders the military to fire mortars at Bond's mansion when the retired spy refuses to return to duty. The first quarter of the film features Bond's subsequent visit to McTarry Castle in Scotland, on a quest to return the only piece of M's remains recovered after the attack—his bright red toupée. Subsequently, Bond—played by David Niven—becomes the new M and proceeds to order that all MI6 agents, male and female, be renamed "James Bond 007" in order to confuse the enemy.
M (James Bond) | John Huston/David Niven: 1967
Similarly, Moneypenny called Bond a "cunning linguist" after she interrupted his lesson with his Danish-language teacher. Brosnan was not happy with some of the humour in the films, particularly the "stupid one-liners — which I loathed — and I always felt phony doing them". The films often include a one-liner, often of a sexual nature, at the dénouement. At the close of "The Spy Who Loved Me", Roger Moore's final line when caught with a woman, was that he was "Keeping the British end up, Sir!", something that Chapman considered to have "plumbed new depths of banality". Similarly, "Moonraker" closes with a distracted Q answering M's question of "What's he doing?" with "I think he's attempting re-entry, sir"; a line described by Barnes and Hearn as "sheer magnificence".
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Humour
In the movie "" by J.J. Abrams, after the main character, Rey, is captured by the First Order, she uses the Force to convince a stormtrooper into setting her free. The actor who played the stormtrooper was Daniel Craig, and the crew of "The Force Awakens" unofficially dubbed the character "FN-007", in reference to Craig's role as James Bond. Fans adopted this name, as well as "JB-007", for the character. However, the video game "" identified the character as FN-1824, which is now considered his official name.
List of James Bond parodies and spin-offs | Daniel Craig cameo in "Star Wars"
Gameplay involved each player assuming the role as the Directors of the British Secret Service and both played James Bond characters. Players deployed Missions, Villains, Obstacles, Locations, and Henchmen for opponents to fight, and if able, would also play a Plot stack each turn. Each Plot stack would make the mission more difficult. If you had the right cards to complete the mission, you scored points to win the game.
James Bond 007 (card game) | Gameplay
The remake of the sequence for the wide-screen "Thunderball" featured Connery as Bond. This is accompanied by the opening bars of the "James Bond Theme", composed by Monty Norman, orchestrated by trumpeter and composer John Barry and Burt Rhodes. After Maurice Binder's death in 1991, Daniel Kleinman was responsible for the gun barrel sequence up to and including "Casino Royale". Design house MK12 supervised the graphics for "Quantum of Solace". Chapman has suggested that the sequence is a significant part of the James Bond mythos because it "foregrounds the motif of looking" that is central to the spy film genre.
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Gun barrel sequence
24601 is the natural number that comes after 24600 and before 24602. It is the first prison code of the character Jean Valjean in the novel (his only code in the musical) "Les Misérables". It was chosen by Victor Hugo when he believed that he was conceived on 24 June 1801 (that is, 24-6-01). In homage, or perhaps as a recurring in-joke in the performing arts, the number has frequently been used in other works of fiction. The number often identifies one who is persecuted.
24,601 | Introduction
However, on occasion, Q has shown a warm and fatherly concern for 007's welfare, such as at Bond's wedding in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", when he assures Bond that he is available if Bond ever requires his help. Q has also assisted Bond in a more active role in his missions in "Octopussy", remaining to aid Bond in person even after another ally is killed, and "Licence to Kill" saw him travel to assist Bond while he is officially on leave from MI6 even after Bond has resigned from MI6 to pursue his own vendetta. He frequently refers to Bond as "007", rather than by his name.
Q (James Bond) | Desmond Llewelyn: 1963–1999
Though Trevelyan's parents survived, his father, ashamed to have lived, killed his wife and himself. At the time, Trevelyan was only six years old. He was then transported to the United Kingdom and taken in by MI6, which continued to sponsor his training and education throughout his childhood (by Trevelyan's own account, MI6 thought he would've been "too young to remember"). He began formal work for the British government on turning 18 and began planning his revenge against the British government for his family's demise. He had considered asking his close friend to join him in his scheme but knew deep down that Bond would never betray MI6 to help him.
Alec Trevelyan | Character information
"007 Theme", not to be confused with the "James Bond Theme", is an adventure theme composed by John Barry in 1963 for the Bond film, "From Russia with Love". "The John Barry Seven" had pop chart hit with a cover version of Elmer Bernstein's theme to "The Magnificent Seven" that included seven beats repeated throughout the theme. Barry used seven beats throughout the "007 Theme". It became a secondary theme for the Bond films, being used throughout the series, primarily during action scenes. Its most notable appearances are: The theme has not been used in its entirety in a Bond film since its use in "Moonraker".
James Bond music | "007 Theme"
Pearson's also incorporates Fleming's flippant claim to not having written "The Spy Who Loved Me", but that Vivienne Michel mysteriously sent him the manuscript. Based upon the success of his Fleming biography, "The Life of Ian Fleming" (1966), MI6 instruct Pearson to write 007's biography; he is introduced to a retired James Bond — who is in his fifties, yet healthy, sun-tanned, and married to Honeychile Ryder, the heroine of "Dr. No". Most of "James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007" is Bond telling his life story, including school and first MI6 missions, referring to most every novel and short story and, briefly, to "Colonel Sun", the Robert Markham series-continuation novel.
James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 | Plot summary
Five of the Bond girls are "bad" girls (or at least working for the villain) who turn "good" (or switch sides) usually due to Bond's influence. Bond has fallen in love with only Tracy di Vicenzo in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and Vesper Lynd in "Casino Royale", but both of them die at or near the end of the respective films. Roald Dahl, a screenwriter of "You Only Live Twice", said he was given a formula to work to for the film: "you put in three girls ... Girl number one is pro-Bond. She stays around roughly through the first reel of the picture.
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Bond girls
Drummond later became a model for other literary characters created in the 1940s and '50s: W. E. Johns used McNeile's work as a model for his character Biggles, while Ian Fleming stated that James Bond was "Sapper from the waist up and Mickey Spillane below".
Bulldog Drummond | Influence
Count Robin played a large role in the development of the James Bond character. A Scottish aristocrat well known for wooing beautiful women, he worked with Ian Fleming on his book "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and was the main inspiration for the characteristics of James Bond. In the story, James Bond's cover as genealogist Sir Hilary Bray was based on the Count's position as a heraldic researcher at the College of Arms in London.
Robin de La Lanne-Mirrlees | Influence on James Bond
Historian Andrew Cook has suggested that Steinhauer's plot to blow up the Bank of England could have been Ian Fleming's inspiration for the character and plot of Auric Goldfinger.
Gustav Steinhauer | Trivia
At conclusion, as Bond rushes to another mission (contrary to mandatory retirement), John Pearson is invited to assume Ian Fleming's scribal duties, like Dr. Watson assumed with Sherlock Holmes.
James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 | Plot summary
After learning this, Blofeld kills Number 9 for disobeying orders and returns half the ransom money. In the movie "Thunderball", Number 9 is killed for embezzlement rather than rape. Blofeld is absent from the next novel, "The Spy Who Loved Me", though its events take place while Bond is battling SPECTRE in North America. In "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1963), Bond learns that Blofeld has altered his appearance radically —he is now tall and thin; has reduced his weight to ; sports long silver hair, a syphilitic infection on his nose, and no earlobes; he wears dark green tinted contact lenses to hide his distinctive eyes.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld | In novels
Using Bernin's phone that he took, Bond has MI6 trace a number he had received that wasn't a local call. The call turns out to come from Chinese intelligence officer General Ping (David K.S. Tse), who contacts Bond for a meeting in Bangkok to discuss the reason for his communication with Bernin.
James Bond 007: Blood Stone | Plot
In forming the early Bond character, Higson created the origins of some of Bond's character traits, including his love of cars and fine wine.
James Bond (literary character) | Young Bond
In 1962 Eon Productions, the company of Canadian Harry Saltzman and American Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli released the first cinema adaptation of an Ian Fleming novel, "Dr. No", featuring Sean Connery as 007. Connery was the first of seven actors to play Bond on the cinema screen, six of whom appeared in the Eon series of films. As well as looking different, each of the actors has interpreted the role of Bond in a different way.
James Bond (literary character) | Adaptations
Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and villain from the James Bond series of novels and films, created by Ian Fleming. A criminal mastermind with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agent James Bond. Blofeld is head of the global criminal organisation SPECTRE and is commonly referred to by the codename Number 1 within this organisation. The character was originally written by Fleming as a physically massive and powerfully built man, standing around 6'3" (1.90 m) and weighing 20 st (280 lbs, 127 kg), who had become flabby with a huge belly.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld | Introduction
The 007 is meant to be Glickenhaus's vision for a Le Mans prototype.
James Glickenhaus | Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus
Giles Blair, Purvis's boss at Q6; sophisticated and worldly, he has none of Purvis's internal doubts and so has great difficulty grasping the crux of Purvis's dilemma. 'I never really got beyond us being British and them being atheists and communists. You can't argue with that so I think I rather switched off after that point... ...All you've got to do is remember what you believe.' Blair represents the quintessential upper-class English bureaucrat; there is nothing of the glamour of James Bond about him. Despite being perhaps the central character of the play – certainly he has the most lines – he remains a somewhat ineffectual figure, happy to allow events to follow their course.
The Dog It Was That Died | Characters
Secretary Thomas was going to hold a press conference.
James Bond 007: Service | Plot
The central character of the novel is James Bond, the fictional MI6 agent created by Ian Fleming. Faulks modelled his version of the character on Fleming's version, ignoring the other continuation authors and the films; when interviewed, Faulks said that "My Bond is Fleming's Bond—not Connery, or Moore or Craig, for all their charms", going on to say that "my Bond drinks and smokes as much as ever". Faulks saw Bond as a man in constant peril: "This Bond, this solitary hero with his soft shoes and single under-powered weapon, was a man in dreadful danger. You feared for him." On another occasion he returned to the theme, describing the character as "a very vulnerable man, with his nice suit and soft shoes and ludicrously underpowered gun.
Devil May Care (Faulks novel) | Characters and themes
As with several of his works, Fleming appropriated the names or backgrounds of people he knew or had heard of for the story's characters: Red Grant, a Jamaican river guide—whom Fleming's biographer Andrew Lycett described as "a cheerful, voluble giant of villainous aspect"—was used for the half-German, half-Irish assassin. Rosa Klebb was partly based on Colonel Rybkina, a real-life member of the Lenin Military-Political Academy about whom Fleming had written an article for "The Sunday Times". The Spektor machine used as the bait for Bond was not a Cold War device, but had its roots in the Second World War Enigma machine, which Fleming had tried to obtain while serving in the Naval Intelligence Division.
From Russia, with Love (novel) | Plot inspirations
So many French and Italian films used "007" that United Artists told the Italian film industry that only James Bond could be 007, and threatened legal action. Working around this restriction, many films were given similar, but legally acceptable, three-digit numbers in their titles such as the Italian-Spanish "A 001, operazione Giamaica" a.k.a. "Our Man in Jamaica" (1965) and the Secret Agent 077 trilogy starring Ken Clark ("Agent 077 – Mission Bloody Mary", "Agent 077 From the Orient with Fury", and "Special Mission Lady Chaplin"). "" (1965) from director Umberto Lenzi features the first female Bond-type hero. Lenzi also made three films starring Roger Browne, "Superseven chiama Cairo" (1965), "Last Man to Kill" (1966), and "The Spy Who Loved Flowers" (1966).
Eurospy film | Continental Europe
The premise of "James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007" is that James Bond is based upon a real MI6 agent. Fleming hinted so in "You Only Live Twice", in Bond's obituary, that his adventures were the basis of a series of "sensational novels"; illustrating this contention, that novel's comic strip adaptation used covers from Fleming's James Bond novels. Writing autobiographically, Pearson begins the story with his own recruitment to MI6. Already, the department had assigned Ian Fleming to write novels based upon the real agent; Fleming was to be truthful about the agent's adventures. The idea was to hide the truth, of Bond's exploits, in plain sight; along the way, Fleming created fictional tales, such as "Moonraker", to keep the Soviets guessing what was fact and what was not.
James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 | Plot summary
At some other point Bond film producers Saltzman and Broccoli planned to make either a theatrical feature or a TV series based on the "003½" premise. The producers discussed story ideas with several unidentified screenwriters in London.
The Adventures of James Bond Junior 003½ | Introduction
The J70 was the inspiration for the character Toby the Tram Engine in The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off television series Thomas & Friends.
GER Class C53 | In fiction
when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, [James Bond] is the dullest name I ever heard." Fleming decided that Bond should resemble both the American singer Hoagy Carmichael and himself, and in the novel Lynd remarks that "Bond reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless." According to Andrew Lycett, Fleming's biographer, "within the first few pages ... [Fleming] had introduced most of Bond's idiosyncrasies and trademarks", which included his looks, his Bentley and his smoking and drinking habits. The full details of Bond's martini were kept until chapter seven of the book and Bond eventually named it "The Vesper", after Lynd.
Casino Royale (novel) | Characters
Unfortunately, I killed the villain at the end of the story. One day my brother-in-law, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to whom I owe a very great deal, said to me, 'What a pity you killed that fellow! A public-school villain would be a new figure for a series. Why not revive him?' 'I don't believe I could write such a series to save my life,' I replied. However, I was advised to think the suggestion over. I did so, and the eventual result was a variation of the type in the shape of Raffles.
A. J. Raffles (character) | Inspiration
When Sonia traps Number Six in a hot box in the Turkish baths, she does so by sliding a broom shaft through the handles of the doors. This technique was used on James Bond in "Thunderball" two years before. The episode features an actor named John Drake in a small role as a bowler in the two cricket matches featured in the early scenes; John Drake was the name of Patrick McGoohan's previous TV alter ego in the series "Danger Man", which reworked material from scripts not used in the previous series.
The Girl Who Was Death | Production notes
Following the setting, the game is focused on just a few leading roles, not large groups, and is intended to play well with just one gamemaster and as few as one player.
James Bond 007 (role-playing game) | Setting
It is also possible that Number One is, like The General, not a human being. In their official functions, Number Two and the Village operations staff even avoid referring to Number One by title. Some have interpreted this as indicating that there actually is no ""Number One"" in the personal sense, much like the non-existent Big Brother in George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four". It is evident, however, that there is someone who certainly seems to give direct orders to Number Two, because in several episodes, Number Two appears intimidated by telephone calls from a person addressed only as "Sir". According to co-creator George Markstein, "Number One is the villain in charge."
List of The Prisoner characters | Number One
In the sixth novel, "Dr. No", the service armourer Major Boothroyd appears for the first time. Fleming named the character after Geoffrey Boothroyd, a firearms expert who lived in Glasgow, who had written to the novelist suggesting that Bond was not using the best firearms available.
Q (James Bond) | Major Boothroyd
Bond applies to M for a position within the "Secret Service", part of the Civil Service, and rises to the rank of principal officer.
James Bond (literary character) | Background
In 1986, Timothy Dalton took over the role of James Bond from Roger Moore and EON Productions had decided to bring Aston Martin back to the Bond franchise with the new "007" now paired with a series 4 model in the film, "The Living Daylights". However, the film caused some confusion for viewers (even those quite familiar with Aston Martin models of that era). At the beginning of the film, the car is a V8 Volante (convertible). The actual car used in these scenes was a V8 Volante owned by Aston Martin Lagonda chairman, Victor Gauntlett. Later, the car is seen being fitted with a hardtop ("winterised") at Q Branch.
Aston Martin V8 | James Bond
In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (typically read ""Double O"" and denoted in Fleming's novels by the letters "OO" rather than the digits "00") is a field agent that holds a licence to kill in the field, at his or her discretion, to complete any mission. The novel "Moonraker" establishes that the section routinely has three agents concurrently; the film series, beginning with "Thunderball", establishes the number of 00 agents at a minimum of 9.
00 Agent | Introduction