Ursula Andress in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963)

I was reading Fleming’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service when I spotted an interesting detail.
Consider the following lines on p. 155:


“Irma Bunt…waved a hand towards the crowded tables around them. ‘A most interesting crowd, do you not find, Sair Hilary? Everybody who is anybody…that is Ursula Andress, the film star…”


On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was published in April 1963. Eon’s film adaptation of Dr. No had been released the previous year in October 1962, while From Russia With Love was already in production to hit cinemas later in 1963. Ursula Andress’ cameo appearance, therefore, must be intended as a tongue-in-cheek joke on Fleming’s part. Is this the only recorded example of a Fleming novel directly referring to the existence of the film series? In the same book Fleming develops Bond’s Scottish family history, which some have argued is a reference to Sean Connery’s casting as 007, but this backstory might well also have been inspired by Fleming’s own Perthshire family roots. Ursula Andress’ appearance, on the other hand, has to be an unequivocal nod towards Eon’s Dr. No.


Ursula Andress’ cameo, while little more than a sly joke, does lead one to consider a wider point. A number of critical appreciations of the novels take pains to attempt to differentiate Fleming’s literary output from the Eon film franchise. Consider, for example, Ian Rankin’s introduction to the 2014 Vintage edition of For Your Eyes Only:


“The Bond you’ll find in these stories is…quite unlike any screen incarnation, at once more human and more complex…”


The implication is that Fleming’s original body of work and the Eon films are two distinct and separate creative visions of James Bond, and ought to be considered as such. However, Fleming’s OHMSS- written in 1962, published in 1963- undoubtedly must have been written with knowledge of the fledgling film series in mind. The end credits of Goldfinger, released in 1964, originally promised: “James Bond will return in Ian Fleming’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” Therefore, it can plausibly be argued that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service stands as the only Bond novel written by Fleming with the implicit goal of adapting it into an Eon Productions James Bond film, as part and parcel of the ongoing Broccoli and Saltzman series.



What do others think of this assessment? Was Fleming’s writing in OHMSS heavily influenced by the development of the Eon series? Would more allusions/references to the Eon films, like Ursula Andress, have appeared in book form if Fleming had been able to carry on the series after 1964?

"The spectre of defeat..."

Comments

  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    From memory Fleming was quite taken with Ursula and so gave her a name check in his
    1963 Novel.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Along the right lines but not exactly what you're after-

    This character

    Bernard-Horsfall-in-OHMSS.jpg

    in OHMSS is named as Shaun Campbell, arguably a disguised nod to Sean Connery. Not named as such in the film version for obvious reasons.

    In YOLT, both Noel Coward (alleged to have refused the part of Dr No) and David Niven (self-explanatory) get name checks.
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    The implication is that Fleming’s original body of work and the Eon films are two distinct and separate creative visions of James Bond, and ought to be considered as such. However, Fleming’s OHMSS- written in 1962, published in 1963- undoubtedly must have been written with knowledge of the fledgling film series in mind. The end credits of Goldfinger, released in 1964, originally promised: “James Bond will return in Ian Fleming’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” Therefore, it can plausibly be argued that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service stands as the only Bond novel written by Fleming with the implicit goal of adapting it into an Eon Productions James Bond film, as part and parcel of the ongoing Broccoli and Saltzman series.

    Very interesting thought. I guess he wouldn't have been altering his approach to suit the films or anything, but it would be impossible that it wasn't in the back of his mind that it would become a movie, most probably starring Connery.
    He was always pretty keen to get them adapted in some shape or form of course.
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    Fleming wrote On Her Majesty's Secret Service while they were filming Dr No in Jamaica.
    He helped find locations and got friends of his jobs on the film, including Chris Blackwell.
    He and three of his friends were walking along the beach when they interrupted the filming of Ursula Andress's big scene emerging from the water. There must be photos of that incident?
    He commented on what was left out of the film (giant squid and migrating landcrabs).

    He also visited the set while filming From Russia With love and argued about what was left out of that film (naked gypsy catfight), and I believe even visited the set of Goldfinger but did not live to see its release.

    I think he had enough involvement in the first two films, they have to count as Fleming approved, therefor as canonical as the books.
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    Wasn't Noel Coward with him on the beach? Or is that apocryphal?
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,177MI6 Agent
    A little too much speculation while remarking on one sentence. Fleming was known for inserting sly references to people he knew (ie. Ernie Cureo in DAF, Major Boothroyd in DN) and I think it is just another case of flattery.
  • GrindelwaldGrindelwald Posts: 1,294MI6 Agent
    Batman prod Dozier also had references to real people : Gothams mayor Linseed = then NYC mayor John Lindsay

    I was watching the False Face show recemtly , radio man Leo Gore could be a reference to singer Lesley Gore - prolly not though
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    ...Therefore, it can plausibly be argued that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service stands as the only Bond novel written by Fleming with the implicit goal of adapting it into an Eon Productions James Bond film, as part and parcel of the ongoing Broccoli and Saltzman series.

    What do others think of this assessment? Was Fleming’s writing in OHMSS heavily influenced by the development of the Eon series? Would more allusions/references to the Eon films, like Ursula Andress, have appeared in book form if Fleming had been able to carry on the series after 1964?
    When Fleming made his deal with EON, did it include all future volumes not yet written or published, or just the books up til that point?

    Moonraker, Dr No, most of For Your Eyes Only and Thunderball all began as proposed film or teevee scripts, before being repurposed as Bond novels once the deals fell apart. So they were all written with the goal of being filmed, just not as part of the eventual EON series.


    I have no idea if Fleming envisioned a film as he was writing OHMSS (do his letters say anything?), but as there was an actual movie being filmed right outside his window he must have been influenced by that, every day as he sat down to write.
    Matthew Parker's book Goldeneye – Where Bond was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica describes this period in detail. Fleming was definitely in a good mood at the moment, having finally realised his longterm goal.

    The skichases and Piz Gloria are all quite cinematic as written. And Fleming includes Bond's first meeting with Blofeld, culminating the SPECTRE plotthread just being introduced in the Dr No film.
    On the other hand, the long romance with Tracy is not the sort of thing that should fit with an episodic thriller series, especially one celebrating casual sex (in the Dr No film Bond's very first onscreen action is to pick up a chick).

    Were remaining books written with filming in mind? I dont see how Fleming could have ignored the inevitable adaptation. He travelled to Japan to research You Only Live Twice, and must have understood the appeal of the films at the time was travelogue (and he published Thrilling Cities round this time too). But the travelogue content was virtually the only content that made it into the film, the actual thriller plot proved unfilmable and much of the dialog was Bond and Tanaka debating philosophy and writing haikus. That content seems even more anti-cinematic than the romance with Tracy.

    The Man with the Golden Gun I don't think he was even trying, he was so sick by this point. He must have known EON wouldnt be returning to Jamaica so soon after Dr No.

    aside from OHMSS, the first thing Fleming wrote after the filming of Dr No was the Octopussy story, again unfilmable as written (nested flashbacks experienced by a man scubadiving to his death)


    conclusion: based on his career up til that point, I think Fleming would have to be thinking of how the films would adapt any remaining novels he wrote: a film deal was always his plan, and we can see he nitpicked over relatively minor deviations in the two films released in his lifetime. But, those last couple of things he wrote almost seem written to defy filmability!


    ...also, this was already written of course, but the newest novel available once Dr No was released was the Spy Who Loved Me, which Fleming specifically refused EON permission to adapt!
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    edited January 2021
    emtiem wrote:
    Wasn't Noel Coward with him on the beach? Or is that apocryphal?
    from Raymond Benson's James Bond Bedside Companion, Part One: the James Bond Phenomenon
    The first time Fleming visited the set of Dr. No, Terence Young was in the middle of shooting the scene in which Honeychile Rider (Ursula Andress) was coming out of the water onto the beach where Bond was hiding. Young's shot was ruined by four people walking down the beach towards the area. Young screamed and waved for them to lie down. The four men hit the sand and the remainder of the scene was shot. Half an hour later, Young remembered the men on the beach and sent someone to look for them. The men turned out to be Fleming, Noel Coward, Stephen Spender, the poet, and Peter Quennell, the author and critic.
    published in 1984, Benson's research may be out of date. Lycetts's biography, Parkers Goldeneye book, and Flemings letters have all been published since then.


    The chronology right round this period is interesting:
    Saltzman and Broccoli commit to making a six film series with United Artists June 21 1961. At this point they think Thunderball will be their first film.
    (Thunderball is most recent book to be published, and always intended to be a film.
    The Spy Who Loved Me has already been written but not yet published)

    Connery is hired October 1961. Fleming is is not immediately impressed with the casting.
    (so when does Fleming decide to make Bond Scottish? as soon as Connery is cast, or later after he changes his mind about his suitability?)

    The Living Daylights is written Oct 1961 (see this thread, post 17). Fleming knew the film series was going ahead. So could it too be written with adaptation in mind, or is it too introspective? (there's only one real set: a darkened apartment)

    Fleming writes OHMSS in Jamaica Jan-Feb 1962 as Dr No is being filmed almost right outside his window.

    The Living Daylights is published Feb 1962.

    The Spy Who Loved Me published April 1962, to bad reviews and Fleming's subsequently insisting no paperback reprints and no film adaptation.
    Yet when the film deal was established, this was the next book being currently worked on, so if EON did have rights to any future novels, they must have assumed this would be one they would be adapting?
    (two of those initial six films were novels not yet written when EON UA and Fleming made their deal, and tMwtGG was considered for adaptation during that period)

    Fleming writes Octopussy summer 1962, then hides it in a desk drawer to be discovered after his death. So some doubts about his own writing while the long awaited film is still in production.

    Also summer 1962 Fleming travels to Japan to research his next book, which again he ought to be assuming would be adapted by EON. Not sure if this is before or after he writes Octopussy.

    Dr No film released Oct 1962.
    Fleming writes YOLT Jan/Feb 1963.
    OHMSS published April 1963.
    Round this time Fleming visited Instanbul to witness the filming of From Russia With Love
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Good stuff, cp, enjoyed reading those.
  • ChadHahnChadHahn Posts: 3MI6 Agent
    What I read years before the internet was more than The Well was that Fleming didn't like casting Connery as Bond. Bond looked like Hoagy Carmichael and was English. But after seeing Connery as Bond he changed his mind enough so to make Bond Scottish.
  • RevelatorRevelator Posts: 556MI6 Agent
    Regarding Bond's ancestry, Charles Helfenstein in his book The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service writes that when Fleming commissioned the College of Arms to do genealogical research in late 1960, he asked if Bond possibly had Scottish roots.

    Why did Fleming ask this? Because he had a Scottish paternal grandfather. And since Bond shared many of Fleming's attributes, his creator was naturally curious if Bond also had Scottish ancestry.

    But there is a big difference between having Scottish ancestry and identifying as a Scot. The facts are that in every Bond book before OHMSS Bond was explicitly identified as English--identified by himself, by the narrator, and by other characters. Anyone who doesn't believe this is welcome to do a text search of the books.

    Only after Connery was cast, during the writing of OHMSS, did Fleming suddenly reveal that Bond was half-Scottish and regarded himself as a Scot ("we can be married again in an English church, or Scottish rather. That's where I come from"). The Ursula Andress reference in OHMSS shows how much the upcoming Bond film was in Fleming's mind when he was writing the book.

    Before Connery there was no indication whatsoever in the books that Bond had any Scottishness in him. It's possible that without Connery Fleming would have written OHMSS with just a brief reference to Bond's Scottish roots, and we would not have had Bond calling himself a "Scottish peasant" in TMWTGG.

    But with Connery's casting, Fleming decided to stress Bond's Scottishness, which he had never before revealed to his readers. Fleming's own Scottish roots made this task even more pleasant. And he also gave Bond a Swiss mother, perhaps because of the book's Swiss setting, Fleming's own experiences in Switzerland, and more likely because he was very fond of giving his characters split-nationalities.

    As for whether Fleming envisioned a film while he was writing OHMSS, I think his more immediate aim was to provide a "return to form" after the disastrous critical/commercial reception of The Spy Who Loved Me. By this point Fleming found writing the books increasingly draining and difficult--rather than trying to write in mind for the movies, he simply wanted to keep writing.

    I also believe Fleming came around to Connery quicker than many think. In a letter to his mistress Blanche Blackwell, dated Oct. 25, 1961, he writes: "The producer, Terence Young, seems very nice and the man they have chosen for Bond, Sean Connery, is a real charmer – fairly unknown but a good actor with the right looks and physique."

    Nevertheless, Fleming was intent on the books having a separate identity from the films. In a letter to an executive at Pan books, dated May 20, 1964, he writes:

    "I don’t think much of Harry Saltzman’s new jacket for Goldfinger. The golden girl looks like a man and there is far too much jazz about the film. Why the hell should we advertise Saltzman and Broccoli on one of my books? And on the back I see that Sean Connery gets at least twice the size type as the author. Seriously, although Saltzman is a splendid salesman, do please keep a sharp eye on this tendency of his to use my books for advertising his films."
  • Bond Collectors' WeekendsBond Collectors' Weekends Gainesville, Florida USAPosts: 1,882MI6 Agent
    Kenneth Snowman is another rare direct name check.

    I've got a looney theory about Snowman, Fanning and Octopussy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdDxv2hRk
    Seven (007) James Bond Tours! Mission: Mexico!
  • Bond Collectors' WeekendsBond Collectors' Weekends Gainesville, Florida USAPosts: 1,882MI6 Agent
    Revelator wrote:
    Regarding Bond's ancestry, Charles Helfenstein in his book The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service writes that when Fleming commissioned the College of Arms to do genealogical research in late 1960, he asked if Bond possibly had Scottish roots.

    Why did Fleming ask this? Because he had a Scottish paternal grandfather. And since Bond shared many of Fleming's attributes, his creator was naturally curious if Bond also had Scottish ancestry.

    But there is a big difference between having Scottish ancestry and identifying as a Scot. The facts are that in every Bond book before OHMSS Bond was explicitly identified as English--identified by himself, by the narrator, and by other characters. Anyone who doesn't believe this is welcome to do a text search of the books.

    Only after Connery was cast, during the writing of OHMSS, did Fleming suddenly reveal that Bond was half-Scottish and regarded himself as a Scot ("we can be married again in an English church, or Scottish rather. That's where I come from"). The Ursula Andress reference in OHMSS shows how much the upcoming Bond film was in Fleming's mind when he was writing the book.

    Before Connery there was no indication whatsoever in the books that Bond had any Scottishness in him. It's possible that without Connery Fleming would have written OHMSS with just a brief reference to Bond's Scottish roots, and we would not have had Bond calling himself a "Scottish peasant" in TMWTGG.

    But with Connery's casting, Fleming decided to stress Bond's Scottishness, which he had never before revealed to his readers. Fleming's own Scottish roots made this task even more pleasant. And he also gave Bond a Swiss mother, perhaps because of the book's Swiss setting, Fleming's own experiences in Switzerland, and more likely because he was very fond of giving his characters split-nationalities.

    As for whether Fleming envisioned a film while he was writing OHMSS, I think his more immediate aim was to provide a "return to form" after the disastrous critical/commercial reception of The Spy Who Loved Me. By this point Fleming found writing the books increasingly draining and difficult--rather than trying to write in mind for the movies, he simply wanted to keep writing.

    I also believe Fleming came around to Connery quicker than many think. In a letter to his mistress Blanche Blackwell, dated Oct. 25, 1961, he writes: "The producer, Terence Young, seems very nice and the man they have chosen for Bond, Sean Connery, is a real charmer – fairly unknown but a good actor with the right looks and physique."

    Nevertheless, Fleming was intent on the books having a separate identity from the films. In a letter to an executive at Pan books, dated May 20, 1964, he writes:

    "I don’t think much of Harry Saltzman’s new jacket for Goldfinger. The golden girl looks like a man and there is far too much jazz about the film. Why the hell should we advertise Saltzman and Broccoli on one of my books? And on the back I see that Sean Connery gets at least twice the size type as the author. Seriously, although Saltzman is a splendid salesman, do please keep a sharp eye on this tendency of his to use my books for advertising his films."

    Wow, you hit quite a few nails on the head here. -{
    Seven (007) James Bond Tours! Mission: Mexico!
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    Welcome back Revelator!! We haven't seen you in ages!
    Still finding new Fleming rarities?
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Revelator wrote:
    And he also gave Bond a Swiss mother, perhaps because of the book's Swiss setting, Fleming's own experiences in Switzerland, and more likely because he was very fond of giving his characters split-nationalities.

    I've always understood that Bond's Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix, was a tribute to Fleming's early Swiss love Monique Panchaud de Bottones, with whom the young Fleming had a passionate relationship (some sources say they were engaged) though his ever-dominant mother did not approve and brought it to an end.
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    edited February 2021
    Kenneth Snowman is another rare direct name check.

    I've got a looney theory about Snowman, Fanning and Octopussy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdDxv2hRk

    I'd be very interested in watching that video but unfortunately it's saying that the video is unavailable. I've conducted some research into 'The Property of a Lady' myself so I'd love to hear your theory!

    The auctioneer and chairman of Sotheby's at the time, Peter Wilson, also appears in the story.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Bond Collectors' WeekendsBond Collectors' Weekends Gainesville, Florida USAPosts: 1,882MI6 Agent
    Veddy strange, sorry!

    Here's a valid link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdDxv2hRkZk

    I look forward to your comments.
    Seven (007) James Bond Tours! Mission: Mexico!
  • RevelatorRevelator Posts: 556MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    I've always understood that Bond's Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix, was a tribute to Fleming's early Swiss love Monique Panchaud de Bottones, with whom the young Fleming had a passionate relationship (some sources say they were engaged) though his ever-dominant mother did not approve and brought it to an end.

    Yes, thank you for adding that. The relation between the Swiss Moniques is a very plausible one. When it came time to flesh out Bond's background in YOLT Fleming obviously couldn't draw on Connery's working class origins, so he put more of his own life into it. He could have made Bond Scottish on both sides, but most of his villains and many of his heroines have mixed nationalities. Why Fleming was so fond of this is hard to pinpoint.
    Welcome back Revelator!! We haven't seen you in ages!
    Still finding new Fleming rarities?

    Thanks! Alas, Covid-19 has curtailed my library expeditions and new material is hard to find at home. But if you would like to read some Fleming articles unearthed in 2019, take a look at my thread "Ian Fleming's Adventure Journalism," which was posted to the MI6 board: https://www.mi6community.com/discussion/19540/the-adventure-journalism-of-ian-fleming/p1
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    Veddy strange, sorry!

    Here's a valid link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdDxv2hRkZk

    I look forward to your comments.

    Thanks for sharing that video. I found your theory concerning Jim Fanning to he very interesting. It's honestly something I've never considered before but I can see your point. Fanning was also partly based on the character Dr Fanshawe in the short story as well though I think he was a less friendly sort of chap if I recall correctly. I once had a similar theory about Blofeld in the film DAF being a parody of Fleming:

    https://ajb007.co.uk/topic/40906/is-charles-grays-blofeld-in-daf-based-on-a-parody-of-ian-fleming/
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    Welcome back Revelator!! We haven't seen you in ages!
    Still finding new Fleming rarities?
    Revelator wrote:
    Thanks! Alas, Covid-19 has curtailed my library expeditions and new material is hard to find at home. But if you would like to read some Fleming articles unearthed in 2019, take a look at my thread "Ian Fleming's Adventure Journalism," which was posted to the MI6 board: https://www.mi6community.com/discussion/19540/the-adventure-journalism-of-ian-fleming/p1
    ooh, excellent, Revelator, I didn't know you had posted all those. That'll keep me out of mischief for a while.
    I remember Pearson's Fleming biography describing the series of articles about Cousteau, and treasure hunts and cave exploration, so that's something I'd long been hoping to read one day.
  • SpectreOfDefeatSpectreOfDefeat Posts: 404MI6 Agent
    "As for whether Fleming envisioned a film while he was writing OHMSS, I think his more immediate aim was to provide a "return to form" after the disastrous critical/commercial reception of The Spy Who Loved Me. By this point Fleming found writing the books increasingly draining and difficult--rather than trying to write in mind for the movies, he simply wanted to keep writing."


    I think that's a fair analysis. Fleming biographer Pearson (1966) appears to hedge his bets by implying that the existence of the films might have been a secondary factor in Fleming's thinking, but was not the main reason for the course-correction:


    "He [Fleming] took as much trouble as ever with the plot of On Her Majesty's Secret Service...although The Spy Who Loved Me was not published in England until that April [1962] he already sensed that his experiment of telling the story in the first person through his heroine and of leaving Bond offstage until well over halfway through was not what his public wanted..." Pearson p. 357-358


    Its intriguing, and a bit saddening, that Pearson asserts that Fleming thought that TSPWLM's first-person experiment was something of a failure even before publication. It would have been interesting if Fleming had written a similar novel where the first-person narrator throughout is actually Bond himself, sort of like how Lee Child's novels switch alternately between a first and third person perspective of Jack Reacher.

    "The spectre of defeat..."

  • Bond Collectors' WeekendsBond Collectors' Weekends Gainesville, Florida USAPosts: 1,882MI6 Agent
    Veddy strange, sorry!

    Here's a valid link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdDxv2hRkZk

    I look forward to your comments.

    Thanks for sharing that video. I found your theory concerning Jim Fanning to he very interesting. It's honestly something I've never considered before but I can see your point. Fanning was also partly based on the character Dr Fanshawe in the short story as well though I think he was a less friendly sort of chap if I recall correctly. I once had a similar theory about Blofeld in the film DAF being a parody of Fleming:

    https://ajb007.co.uk/topic/40906/is-charles-grays-blofeld-in-daf-based-on-a-parody-of-ian-fleming/

    Cool stuff! I was telling the Missus this week how when we had Tom Mankiewicz as an event guest, to talk with us for hours, I forgot to ask him about Blofeld and similar subjects!!! D'oh!
    Seven (007) James Bond Tours! Mission: Mexico!
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    Veddy strange, sorry!

    Here's a valid link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdDxv2hRkZk

    I look forward to your comments.

    Thanks for sharing that video. I found your theory concerning Jim Fanning to he very interesting. It's honestly something I've never considered before but I can see your point. Fanning was also partly based on the character Dr Fanshawe in the short story as well though I think he was a less friendly sort of chap if I recall correctly. I once had a similar theory about Blofeld in the film DAF being a parody of Fleming:

    https://ajb007.co.uk/topic/40906/is-charles-grays-blofeld-in-daf-based-on-a-parody-of-ian-fleming/

    Cool stuff! I was telling the Missus this week how when we had Tom Mankiewicz as an event guest, to talk with us for hours, I forgot to ask him about Blofeld and similar subjects!!! D'oh!

    That would've been great I'm sure to have met him! It would be interesting to know his reasoning in creating a new type of Blofeld in DAF. I know he did write an autobiography. I have a copy of it somewhere. I'm not sure if he goes into any detail on the thought processes behind the DAF Blofeld. I know the idea was to have Gray play Blofeld in the style of a famous gossip columnist of the time.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Sign In or Register to comment.