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.
Introduction
Inspirations for James Bond
Inspirations for James Bond | Introduction
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. Fleming Ian Fleming John Godfrey
who was the james bond character based on
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Some aspects of Bond's character and tastes replicate those of Fleming himself.
Inspirations for James Bond | Introduction
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Starting in 1958 and continuing to 1983, James Bond was a comic strip that was based on the eponymous, fictional character created by author Ian Fleming. It consisted of 52 story arcs that were syndicated in British newspapers, seven of which were initially published abroad.
James Bond comic strips | Introduction
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
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
Fleming had therefore long been aware of Reilly's mythical reputation and had listened to Lockhart's recollections. Like Fleming's fictional creation, Reilly was multi-lingual, fascinated by the Far East, fond of fine living, and a compulsive gambler. When queried on whether Reilly's colorful life had directly inspired Bond, Ian Fleming replied: "James Bond is just a piece of nonsense I dreamed up. He's not a Sidney Reilly, you know."
Sidney Reilly | James 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
Aside from Fleming's brother, a number of others also provided some aspects of Bond's make up, including Conrad O'Brien-ffrench, Patrick Dalzel-Job and Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale. The name James Bond came 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".
James Bond | Creation and inspiration
In "Ian Fleming, The Man Behind James Bond" by Andrew Lycett, Sidney Reilly is listed as an inspiration for James Bond. Reilly's friend, former diplomat and journalist Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, was a close acquaintance of Ian Fleming for many years and recounted to Fleming many of Reilly's espionage adventures. Lockhart had worked with Reilly in Russia in 1918, where they became embroiled in an SIS-backed plot to overthrow Lenin's Bolshevik government. Within five years of his disappearance in Soviet Russia in 1925, the press had turned Reilly into a household name, lauding him as a master spy and recounting his many espionage adventures.
Sidney Reilly | James Bond
In creating the titles, Brownjohn was inspired by seeing light projecting on people's bodies as they got up and left a cinema; he was also influenced by constructivist artist László Moholy-Nagy projecting light on to clouds in the 1920s. Brownjohn also used the effect in the poster he created for "Goldfinger". Designer Maurice Binder, who had worked on the first Bond film, "Dr. No", had been unable to work on either "From Russia with Love" and "Goldfinger", but returned for "Thunderball", where he retained Brownjohn's concept for the titles. Binder eventually worked on thirteen Bond films and after his death in 1991, the opening credits were done by Daniel Kleinman.
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Title sequence
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to James Bond: James Bond is a fictional character created in 1953 by the journalist and writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The character has also been used in the long-running and sixth most financially successful English-language film series to date (after "Marvel Cinematic Universe", "Star Wars", "Wizarding World", "Avengers", and "Spider-Man"). The film series started in 1962 with "Dr. No", starring Sean Connery as James Bond, and has continued with other actors.
Outline of James Bond | Introduction
It also references Bond's family motto invented by Ian Fleming in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
I Wish I Was James Bond | Introduction
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"
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
There have also been other authors who wrote one book each, Kingsley Amis (under the pseudonym Robert Markham), Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd. Additionally, a series of novels based on Bond's youth—"Young Bond"—was written by Charlie Higson.
James Bond (literary character) | Introduction
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
Television also saw the effect of Bond films, with the NBC series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", which was described as the "first network television imitation" of Bond, largely because Fleming provided advice and ideas on the development of the series, even giving the main character the name Napoleon Solo. Other 1960s television series inspired by Bond include "I Spy", and "Get Smart".
James Bond | Cultural impact
"Austin Powers" is a media franchise created by Canadian comedian Mike Myers. Many of the characters throughout the franchise are parodies of Bond characters, including Myers' character of the same name. According to Myers, he has said that Sean Connery was the inspiration for his character, especially Powers' thick chest hair. In addition, the names of the films are also parodies of Bond novels and films.
List of James Bond parodies and spin-offs | "Austin Powers"
The first Bond film, "Dr. No", included the introduction of the character of James Bond. Bond was introduced in an exchange near the beginning of the film in a "now-famous nightclub sequence featuring Sylvia Trench", to whom he makes his "immortal introduction". It was Sean Connery's second line in the film. Following the release of "Dr. No", the quote "Bond ... James Bond", became a catch phrase that entered the lexicon of Western popular culture: writers Cork and Scivally said of the introduction in "Dr. No" that the "signature introduction would become the most famous and loved film line ever".
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Quotations
Adaptations of Bond started early in Fleming's writings, with CBS paying him $1,000 ($ in dollars) to adapt his first novel, "Casino Royale", into a one-hour television adventure; this was broadcast on 21 October 1954. The Bond character, played by Barry Nelson, was changed to "Card Sense" Jimmy Bond, an American agent working for "Combined Intelligence". In 1957 the "Daily Express" newspaper adapted Fleming's stories into comic strip format. In order to help the artists, Fleming commissioned a sketch to show how he saw Bond; illustrator John McLusky considered Fleming's version too "outdated" and "pre-war" and changed Bond to give him a more masculine look.
James Bond (literary character) | Adaptations
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 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
Years later, watching the movie again on DVD (with Lazenby's interviews), he found it to be "a perfect metaphor for life's disappointments". In 2010, Roger Moore, who also played James Bond, provided the voice of a talking cat character named Tab Lazenby in the film "", which contained .
George Lazenby | Influence on popular culture
James Bond is a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming. James Bond may also refer to:
James Bond (disambiguation) | Introduction
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
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
Documents on the Welsh Bond's war record were released to the public in 2014.
James Bond (literary character) | Origins of the name
The "James Bond Theme" for this movie is heavily influenced by the brassy, jazzy theme song sung by Shirley Bassey.
James Bond Theme | Sean Connery (1962–67)
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
He later completed a BA (Hons) in Drama from Hull University.
Jez Bond | Influences and theatre education
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
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Gert Fröbe | External links
Maurice Binder created the title sequence and introduced the gun barrel motif that appears in all the Eon Bond films. Monty Norman wrote the accompanying soundtrack, which included the "James Bond Theme", heard in the gun barrel sequence and in a calypso medley over the title credits; the theme was described by another Bond film composer, David Arnold, as "bebop-swing vibe coupled with that vicious, dark, distorted electric guitar, definitely an instrument of rock 'n' roll ... it represented everything about the character you would want: It was cocky, swaggering, confident, dark, dangerous, suggestive, sexy, unstoppable. And he did it in two minutes".
Production of the James Bond films | "Dr. No" (1962)
A number of the elements were altered or removed in 2006 with the reboot of the series, "Casino Royale". Some of the elements involved are a result of the production crew used in the earliest films in the series, with the work of Ken Adam, the original production designer, Maurice Binder, title designer, and John Barry, composer, continually updated and adapted as the series progressed.
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Introduction
Ian Fleming James Bond Sean Connery
Bibliography of works on James Bond | Related biographies
In a 1962 interview in "The New Yorker", he further explained: "When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument ... 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 based his creation on individuals he met during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division, and admitted that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war".
Ian Fleming | 1950s
"Birds of the West Indies" was a book owned by novelist Ian Fleming, who used the ornithologist's name for his own fictional British secret agent character, Commander James Bond. Fleming, a keen bird watcher while living at his estate in Jamaica, owned this book. He later explained that the author's name was "brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon, and yet very masculine – just what I needed." Fleming once said in a "Reader's Digest" interview: "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, and '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." The book has since become a collector's item amongst Bond fans and was featured as an homage in the twentieth James Bond film, "Die Another Day", when Bond poses as an ornithologist while in Cuba.
Birds of the West Indies | Inspiration for Ian Fleming
Much of the novel draws from Fleming's personal experiences: the opening of the book, with Bond's arrival at New York's Idlewild Airport was inspired by Fleming's own journeys in 1941 and 1953, and the warehouse at which Leiter is attacked by a shark was based on a similar building Fleming and his wife had visited in St. Petersburg, Florida, on their recent journey. He also used his experiences on his two journeys on the Silver Meteor as background for the route taken by Bond and Solitaire. Fleming used the names of some of his friends in the story, including Ivar Bryce for Bond's alias, and Tommy Leiter for Felix Leiter; He borrowed Bryce's middle name, Felix, for Leiter's first name, and part of John Fox-Strangways's surname for the name of the MI6 station chief in Jamaica.
Live and Let Die (novel) | Plot inspirations
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
The James Bond series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd and Anthony Horowitz. The latest novel is "Forever and a Day" by Anthony Horowitz, published in May 2018. Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny.
James Bond | Introduction
Merlin Theodore Minshall (21 December 1906 – 3 September 1987) was a British naval officer and adventurer. He is often claimed to have been one of the inspirations behind James Bond, the fictional spy created by Ian Fleming. Minshall worked for Fleming during the Second World War, as a member of the Royal Navy's Naval Intelligence Division.
Merlin Minshall | Introduction
It has been widely speculated that Ian Fleming used Maclean as one of his inspirations for James Bond.
Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet | Introduction
Director Peter R. Hunt later claimed:
George Lazenby | James Bond
Comic adaptation by Marvel based on the animated television serial.
List of James Bond comics | James Bond Jr
In 1992, Puffin Books published six novels based on the "James Bond Jr." animated television show. The books were written by John Peel under the pseudonym John Vincent, and were based on episodes from the television run.
James Bond Jr. | Novelisations by John Peel
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
the way he lights his cigarette before giving her the satisfaction of an answer. 'Bond, James Bond'." Once Connery says his line, Monty Norman's Bond theme plays "and creates an indelible link between music and character." In the short scene introducing Bond, there are portrayed "qualities of strength, action, reaction, violence – and this elegant, slightly brutal gambler with the quizzical sneer we see before us who answers a woman when he's good and ready." Raymond Benson, author of the continuation Bond novels, has stated that as the music fades up on the scene, "we have ourselves a piece of classic cinema".
Dr. No (film) | The introduction of James Bond
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". 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'.
James Bond (literary character) | Origins of the name
Bryce was a close friend of Ian Fleming. In 1958 Fleming approached McClory to produce the first Bond film. McClory rejected all of Fleming's books but felt that the character James Bond could be adapted for the screen. McClory, Bryce, Fleming and Jack Whittingham developed the new James Bond character through a number of treatments and screenplays. McClory, Fleming and Bryce settled on the screenplay "Longitude 78 West" (later renamed "Thunderball") and went into pre-production. Fleming had assigned his interest in the film to McClory and Bryce's company Xanadu and would make no more money from the project. He conspired with Bryce to force McClory out of the film, denying that McClory had any legal interest in the screenplays and treatments that had been written during their collaboration.
Kevin McClory | 1960s
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
In 1967, four years after Fleming's death, his literary executors, Glidrose Productions, approached Kingsley Amis and offered him £10,000 (£ in pounds) to write the first continuation Bond novel. The result was "Colonel Sun" published in 1968 under the pen-name Robert Markham. Journalist James Harker noted that although the book was not literary, it was stylish. Raymond Benson noted that Bond's character and events from previous novels were all maintained in "Colonel Sun", saying "he is the same darkly handsome man first introduced in "Casino Royale"".
James Bond (literary character) | Kingsley Amis
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me is the official novelization of the 1977 Eon "James Bond" film "The Spy Who Loved Me", which was itself inspired to the homonymous 1962 novel by Ian Fleming.
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me | Introduction
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
The British show "Top Gear" attempted to repeat the stunt in June 2008, but failed. The scene where Scaramanga's car flies was done at Bovington Camp, with a model inspired by an actual car plane prototype. Bond's duel with Scaramanga, which Mankewicz said was inspired by the climactic faceoff in "Shane", had its length shortened as the producers felt it was causing pacing problems. The trailers featured some of the cut scenes.
Filming of James Bond in the 1970s | "The Man with the Golden Gun"
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
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
Like other episodes in the previous series, it includes characters based on real persons. One is fledgling novelist Ian Fleming, who needs a name for his spy hero. The other is ornithologist James Bond (Charlie Higson), who begins a lecture to his fellow guests by introducing himself as "...Bond, James Bond", which solves Fleming's problem. (Fleming, who was an avid bird-watcher, did take the name from the ornithologist, though they had not met.)
A Caribbean Mystery | Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
On 23 April 2005, Ian Fleming Publications released the first illustration of the thirteen-year-old James Bond drawn by Kev Walker. Walker illustrations have also been used on the covers of the U.S. hardback editions of "Blood Fever" and "Double or Die". Walker also illustrated the "SilverFin" graphic novel released in the UK on 2 October 2008.
Young Bond | Illustrations
Fleming claimed that Bond's name was appropriated from the American ornithologist of the same name; however, new reports have emerged claiming Fleming may have got the name from a Welsh agent he served with, one James C. Bond. Bond has a number of consistent character traits which run throughout the books, including an enjoyment of cars, a love of food, alcohol and love-making, and a smoking habit of 60 custom-made cigarettes a day. Since Fleming's death in August 1964, there have been other authorised writers of Bond material, including John Gardner, who wrote fourteen novels and two novelizations; and Raymond Benson, who wrote six novels, three novelizations and three short stories.
James Bond (literary character) | Introduction
In 2001 it was voted as the "best-loved one-liner in cinema" by British cinema goers. On 21 June 2005, the line was honoured as the 22nd historically greatest cinema quotation by the American Film Institute, in its 100 Years Series. Not all the films contain the introduction, "Quantum of Solace", for example and in others it is often mocked by others—in "Thunderball", the villainous character Fiona Volpe mocks him by saying it to him while with Mr. Big in "Live and Let Die" interrupts Bond's introduction with: "Names is for tombstones, baby... waste him!" Likewise, in "Goldfinger," Tilly Masterson cuts him off as he's offering his name by asking him to carry her luggage.
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Quotations
As a clubman, he enjoyed membership of Boodle's, White's and the Portland Club, and a combination of Boodles and the Portland Club is thought to be the model for Blades; the author Michael Dibdin found the scene in the club to be "surely one of the finest things that Ian Fleming ever did." The early chapters of the novel centre on Bond's private life, with Fleming using his own lifestyle as a basis for Bond's. Fleming used further aspects of his private life, such as his friends, as he had done in his previous novels: Hugo Drax was named after his brother-in-law Hugo Charteris and a navy acquaintance Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, while Fleming's friend Duff Sutherland (described as "a scruffy looking chap") was one of the bridge players at Blades.
Moonraker (novel) | Plot inspirations
!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;"| James Bond
Barbara Bach | External links
He offered to introduce the two men, and arranged a meeting for the next morning. Saltzman and Broccoli formed a partnership in 1962 to create the holding company Danjaq, LLC and the production company Eon Productions, and almost immediately began recruiting personnel such as production designer Ken Adam, and teaming writers including Richard Maibaum and Mankowitz. With the rights to "Casino Royale" having gone to an early television adaptation, the team began considering the best novel to adapt for introducing the character. After meeting with United Artists and having received a million dollars in financing, the filmmakers chose "Dr. No".
Harry Saltzman | James Bond
List of James Bond novels
Outline of James Bond | Novels
In the UK, four of the TV episodes were adapted into a young children’s series by Buzz Books. Although the plots were basically the same, the books were much shorter and sometimes featured different characters from the TV show. The only villains never to appear in these books were Dr. No and Walker D. Plank.
James Bond Jr. | Buzz Books adaptations by Caryn Jenner
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
Much of the inspiration for the stories for the film came from two Fleming short stories from the collection "For Your Eyes Only": "Risico" and "For Your Eyes Only". Another set-piece from the novel of "Live and Let Die"—the keelhauling—which was unused in that novel's adaptation, was inserted into the plot. Production of "For Your Eyes Only" began on 2 September 1980 in the North Sea, with three days shooting exterior scenes for the scenes involving the "St Georges" spyboat. The interiors were shot later in Pinewood Studios, as well as the ship's explosion, which was done with a miniature in Pinewood's tank on the 007 Stage.
Production of the James Bond films | "For Your Eyes Only" (1981)
In most of the films, the main villain often captures Bond and, rather than kill him quickly, attempts a slow and protracted death, from which Bond always escapes. This will often also come with a scene of the villain explaining his master plan to Bond. Goldfinger chained Bond to a nuclear bomb in the vault, while Alec Trevelyan tied an unconscious Bond to a helicopter that was programmed to fire its own missiles at itself. Francisco Scaramanga gave Bond lunch and then proposed a duel in his "fun room", while Hugo Drax trapped Bond beneath the exhaust of a rocket to burn to death.
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Protracted attempt to kill Bond
Numerous films have attempted to use the "James Bond" formula; some have used the character of James Bond unofficially.
List of James Bond parodies and spin-offs | Imitative films
His friend, James Bond novelist Ian Fleming, named the character Sir Hugo Drax in his book "Moonraker" as a tribute.
Reginald Drax | Legacy
"Dr. No" – and the "Bond" films in general – also inspired television output, with the NBC series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", which was described as the "first network television imitation" of Bond. The style of the Bond films, largely derived from production designer Ken Adam, is one of the hallmarks of the Bond film series, and the effect of his work on Dr. No's lair can be seen in another film he worked on, "Dr. Strangelove". As the first film in the series, a number of the elements of "Dr. No" were contributors to subsequent films, including Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme" and Maurice Binder's gun barrel sequence, variants of which all appeared in subsequent films.
Dr. No (film) | Legacy
Following the release of the film "Dr. No" in 1962, the line "Bond ... James Bond", became a catch phrase that entered the lexicon of Western popular culture: writers Cork and Scivally said of the introduction in "Dr. No" that the "signature introduction would become the most famous and loved film line ever". In 2001, it was voted as the "best-loved one-liner in cinema" by British cinema goers, and in 2005, it was honoured as the 22nd greatest quotation in cinema history by the American Film Institute as part of their 100 Years Series. The 2005 American Film Institute's '100 Years' series recognised the character of James Bond himself as the third greatest film hero.
James Bond | Cultural impact
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
Hudson spoke six foreign languages and had a reputation as a ladies' man. According to "The Sunday Times", Ian Fleming used Hudson as a model for his character James Bond, although it has also been suggested that the character was modelled on his brother, Peter Fleming.
Bill Hudson (British Army officer) | In popular culture
A bibliography of reference material associated with the James Bond films, novels and genre.
Bibliography of works on James Bond | Introduction
Adam decided to do experiments with curved shapes for the scenery, as he felt all his previous setpieces were "too linear". This was demonstrated with the "Atlantis", which is a dome and curved surfaces outside, and many curved objects in Stromberg's office inside. For Gogol's offices, Adam wanted an open space to contrast M's enclosed headquarters, and drew inspiration from Sergei Eisenstein to do a "Russian crypt-like" set. The main unit began its work in August 1976 in Sardinia. Don McLaughlan, then head of public relations at Lotus Cars, heard that Eon were shopping for a new Bond car. He drove a prototype Lotus Esprit with all Lotus branding taped over, and parked it outside the Eon offices at Pinewood studios; on seeing the car Eon asked Lotus to borrow both of the prototypes for filming.
Filming of James Bond in the 1970s | "The Spy Who Loved Me"
However, the underlying chord progression of the song is very similar to the Henry Mancini composition "Softly" released two years earlier in 1960 on Mancini's soundtrack album for the CBS television series "Mr. Lucky". Norman describes the distinctive rhythm of the guitar in the first few bars of the "James Bond Theme" as "Dum di-di dum dum". He claims that it was inspired by the song "Good Sign Bad Sign" sung by Indian characters in "A House for Mr Biswas", a musical he composed based on a novel by V. S. Naipaul set in the Indian community in Trinidad. Norman showed his manuscript music from "A House for Mr Biswas" in a filmed interview and sang its lyrics.
James Bond Theme | Authorship and origin
Historian Howard Jones wrote that the administration's early effort to overthrow Castro was unsurprising in light of JFK's fascination with the Bond mystique; Skip Willman that reading Bond influenced their expectations with regard to the Cuban situation. Garry Wills wrote that while the invasion looked "crazy" in retrospect, it "made sense to a James Bond fan." The Rinspeed sQuba, a concept car released in 2008 that was the first car that can be driven on both land and underwater, was developed by designer and CEO Frank Rinderknecht, a James Bond fan who was directly inspired by the amphibious Lotus Esprit in the 1977 Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me".
James Bond fandom | Fan interaction
Beginning with "The Spy Who Loved Me", the teasers emphasised not only action sequences but stunts, a practice that prevailed until "Casino Royale". The sequence for "The World Is Not Enough" is unusually long: at over fourteen minutes it is two to three times the length of most others.
Motifs in the James Bond film series | Pre-title sequence
Most of the Bond novels and short stories have since been adapted for illustration, as well as Kingsley Amis's "Colonel Sun"; the works were written by Henry Gammidge or Jim Lawrence with Yaroslav Horak replacing McClusky as artist in 1966. After the Fleming and Amis material had been adapted, original stories were produced, continuing in the "Daily Express" and "Sunday Express" until May 1977. Several comic book adaptations of the James Bond films have been published through the years: at the time of "Dr. No"'s release in October 1962, a comic book adaptation of the screenplay, written by Norman J.
James Bond | Comics
No": Barry was called in to make an arrangement of Norman's motif after Norman had completed the score. There is no information about the distinctive ostinati, countermelodies, and bridges introduced by Barry that are juxtaposed with Norman's motif in order to flesh out the arrangement. These added musical figures have become as recognizable to listeners as Norman's motif, which is probably responsible for the controversy over the authorship of the "James Bond Theme" as listeners have come to know it.
James Bond Theme | Authorship and origin
To make Bond a more rounded character, Fleming put further aspects of his personality into his creation. The journalist and writer Matthew Parker observes that Bond's "physical and mental ennui" is a reflection of Fleming's poor health and low spirits when he wrote the book. The early depictions of Bond were based on earlier literary characters. In "New Statesman", the journalist William Cook writes of the early Bond: James Bond is the culmination of an important but much-maligned tradition in English literature. As a boy, Fleming devoured the Bulldog Drummond tales of Lieutenant Colonel Herman Cyril McNeile (aka "Sapper") and the Richard Hannay stories of John Buchan.
From Russia, with Love (novel) | Characters
After missing "From Russia with Love", Ken Adam returned as production designer. Adam's imagination provided the idea of gold stacked upon gold behind iron bars for the scenes in the United States Bullion Depository. Saltzman disliked the design's resemblance to a prison, but Hamilton liked it enough that it was built. Robert Brownjohn returned to develop the opening credit sequence, which featured clips of all three Bond films projected on actress Margaret Nolan's body. Its design was inspired by seeing light projecting on people's bodies as they got up and left a cinema. Principal photography on "Goldfinger" started on in Miami, at the Fontainebleau Hotel; the crew was small, consisting only of Hamilton, Broccoli, Adam and cinematographer Ted Moore.
Production of the James Bond films | "Goldfinger" (1964)
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
When asked which character was based on him, Marlowe answers, "Perhaps I'm not there at all", although in a later scene, he admits he was "the hero, of course".
James Clavell | Peter Marlowe
The lead character of "Casino Royale" is James Bond, an agent of the Secret Service. Fleming initially named the character James Secretan before he appropriated the name of James Bond, author of the ornithology guide, "Birds of the West Indies". Fleming explained to 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". He further explained that "When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument ...
Casino Royale (novel) | Characters
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