Great stuff - odd he hasn't mentioned that Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais rewrote chunks of the Lorenzo Semple Jr's script, which is why the Porridge joke appears.
The writer of the article did not think through some of his positions. Saying that the 2CV car chase in FYEO "felt low rent" misses the point that the chase was obviously meant to below rent and for a very good purpose: to show that Bond did not need gadgets or a high-powered car to triumph, in an amusing and clever fashion, over the bad guys (and in a chase more exciting than the more conventional ones in the series). This was a doubly important point to make in a film that was marking a transition away from gadget-heavy, "gloriously OTT" films like Moonraker. After '79 there was no way to go further OTT; the only route left was to go back to basics, a course pursued by other action films in the 80s as well. FYEO remains important for being a successful transitional film in the series, and OP followed its path--aside from the Acrostar it was not far more spectacular than its predecessor.
Mark Timbs on George Lazenby from the June 2023 issue of INFINTY.
Everyone has their favourite Bond film and everyone has their favourite Bond actor. Often, the man in the tux portraying Ian Fleming’s suave secret agent is the one they grew up with. For any millennial, Daniel Craig is the man and the one with the longest tenure as Bond (15 years), although that would have been less had Covid and lengthy ownership rights not got in the way.
A similar fate befell Timothy Dalton after his two Bonds at the tail of the 80s were curtailed by lengthy legal disputes. Action films were all the rage in the 90s, where Pierce Brosnan had to stand shoulder to shoulder with Will Smith, Mel Gibson, citydestroying aliens and dinosaurs, coming out pretty unscathed until Die Another Day nearly derailed the whole Bondwagon.
If you grew up in the 1970’s and enjoyed Bank Holiday Bonds throughout the following decade then Roger Moore was your double ‘O’ entendre, safari-suit-sporting and eyebrow-raising man of semi-action. However if you were with the movie Bond right from the start, and the man that screams James Bond to this very day, then Sean Connery is the definitive article. It is Connery’s Bond that sets the standard when it comes to the gadgets, the Aston Martin DB5, the Walther PPK and the tuxedo that has kept Bond going on the big screen for 60 years.
There is one man missing here however. The one that bridged the gap between the relatively serious spy movies of the 60s and the more tongue in cheek and OTT action of the 70s. The man who had to step into Connery’s suit (quite literally) and his rather large shoes following five Bond films from 1962 to 1967, at a time when the ‘spy’ craze was everywhere and do so without any acting experience.
George Lazenby was that man. He was born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia in September 1939, and his story is quite literally a rags to riches tale, with many ups and downs, which the man himself confessed was his favourite bit! Lazenby had a thirst for life and indeed for the ladies too; Non PC fact: His Bond scores the highest ratio of Bond Girls bedded… and he only made one film!
After a debilitating illness at a young age (losing one and a half kidneys) he was told by doctors not to play sports and not to drink. This was like a red rag to a bull, and young George did exactly those things and more. Getting into scraps and trouble meant the future 007 moved from school to school gaining little in the way of academic ability, though he learned how to use his wits and natural Aussie charm to get what he wanted.
Following a stint in the army and work as a car mechanic he progressed to becoming a car salesman. It was this career move and the love of his life moving to London in 1963 which instigated his relocating to a Britain at the time when music and movies were putting the country at the centre of the world entertainment map. London was beginning to swing, and though his relationship with his sweetheart didn’t work out, George was enamoured by the bright lights of London and decided to stay. Becoming a top car salesman in Park Lane brought him to the attention of talent scouts who took him out of the car showroom and into modelling agencies.
By 1968, having become the European Marlboro Man and ‘Big Fry’ in the Fry’s Chocolate commercials, George was the highest-paid model in the world and recognised wherever he went. The only people who appeared not to know him were the very people taken in by his swagger and persuasive personality and who gave him the shot at the biggest role in cinema at that time.
BACK TO BOND BASICS
By 1967 and the release of the fifth 007 adventure You Only Live Twice, Sean Connery had grown tired of playing Bond. Fearing typecasting and wanting the opportunity to complete other work without legions of fans chasing him wherever he went, he relinquished the role. He was also critical of Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Saltzman (the Bond producers who made him a star) because he felt they had not properly compensated for his work in the Bond films.
Casting agent Maggie Abbott was given the task of finding a new Bond. But who could possibly follow up Sean Connery’s fabulous portrayal?
The producers and director Peter Hunt (stepping up from editing all the previous five Bonds) went back to basics, deciding on Fleming’s 11th James Bond novel, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (originally published in April 1963 at a time when only the first Bond movie Dr. No had been released) as the next big screen outing.
In this one, Bond was to go undercover as a Genealogist to infiltrate a clinical allergyresearch institute in the Swiss Alps. It is run by arch nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is treating 12 women who each believe they have allergies. In reality they are Blofeld’s ‘Angels of Death’ who are being brainwashed to distribute bacteriological warfare agents around the world. In addition, Bond was to fall in love and marry while joining forces with a European crime syndicate to bring down Blofeld once and for all.
There are many rumours (some false, some true) regarding who was asked to audition to replace Connery. Among them: Michael Caine, Richard Burton, Patrick Mower, Terence Stamp and future Bond Timothy Dalton, who discounted himself on his young age. However there were five actors
short-listed for the coveted role: Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, John Richardson, Hans De Vries… and our man Lazenby.
Lazenby had followed the series of Bond films at the cinema and was envious of Connery. When the chance came about, it was a challenge that he couldn’t ignore. Stealthily he worked his way into the inner sanctum. He got his hair cut in the same barbers that Cubby frequented. He went to a tailors used by Connery for his Bond fittings, purchasing a suit not collected by Connery and wearing a Rolex not unlike Mr. Bond.
Although not a member of an acting union and having never acted before, he pushed his way into a casting meeting, convincing the powers that be that he had appeared in numerous small scale productions in various countries where it would be hard to check their authenticity.
Director Peter Hunt rumbled him eventually, but only after he had convinced two of the most powerful producers in the industry that this 6ft oner inch tall Australian, who broke the nose of a stuntman in a screen test, was the right man for the PPK. In Harry Saltzman’s words to the young actor, “We’re going with you”.
STUCK ON A MOUNTAIN
Filming commenced in October 1968 in the Swiss Alps where the magnificent scenery of Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant atop the Schilthorn near Murren was the base of production. Being stuck on a mountain, 29-year-old George Lazenby (the youngest Bond) enjoyed the perks of the job, stranded with the 12 Angels of Death (which included Angela Scoular, Catherine Schell, Joanna Lumley, Julie Ege and Jenny Hanley). He made fast friends with co-star (and future Kojak) Telly Savalas often losing his wages playing poker before they were won back for him by Saltzman.
Back at Pinewood, there was the infamous ‘garlic’ comment made by co-star Diana Rigg to the press before an intimate scene between the actor and the future Mrs. Bond. This of course was blown out of proportion as indication that there was friction between the two stars. (Editor’s note: Read Sam Irvin’s eyeopening Confessions of a Teenage Monster Hunter interview with Diana and you’ll see there was indeed plenty of friction!)
Due to Lazenby’s lack of acting experience, Peter Hunt ensured that he surrounded him with actors of a high stature. All the Bond regulars (M, Moneypenny and Q were back) and Savalas and Rigg had vast experience. For the benefit of doubt, Rigg (who sadly passed away in 2020) was professional throughout (even performing many of her own stunts during the stock-car ice-rink action scenes). Though Peter Hunt was an early advocate of the new actor, he did fall out with him during production and reportedly would only direct him through messages to others.
What was true is that Lazenby was naïve and often acted the star, possibly encouraged to do so by co-stars, crew and friends. Cubby was reported to have said: “You’re only a star when I say you are.” He would stand by his dislike of Lazenby for many years, and the reputation of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service suffered as a result.
The producers took a huge financial risk on the young Lazenby. What they didn’t expect afterwards was for him to refuse to sign his contract or indeed negotiate to appear in future Bond entries. They discovered rather too late in the day that they had a rough diamond who was every bit the confident James Bond off screen as he was on.
Both Harry and Cubby tried to persuade Lazenby that the gig was his, offering him a huge amount of money to stay, as well as the ability to make his own choice of movies outside of Bond if he signed a seven picture contract. Seven further films would have seen him portray Bond right through the seventies which would have meant no Roger Moore (and perhaps no double-taking pigeons). The future of Bond would have looked very different. At the time of OHMSS’ production, Lazenby was being managed by Ronan O’Rahilly, known as the creator of Radio Caroline, an offshore radio station that introduced pop fans to new music throughout the sixties before Radio One and UK legislation killed it off.
It was O’Rahilly that convinced Lazenby that James Bond was out of touch with the times. Whilst many people were strolling around in flares with long hair and a free love attitude, successful movies like Easy Rider were depicting the youth-targeted growing counter-culture scene.
O’Rahilly convinced Lazenby that now he was famous he could get any role he wanted, and that he could easily make more money following Clint Eastwood into Spaghetti Westerns in Italy. With his mind made up, Lazenby walked. This indeed had also happened to the other fellow, but not after just one appearance.
UNHAPPY ENDING
For a long time On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has had a reputation for being one of the most unsuccessful entries in the series. In fact this is far from true. It was the number one box office hit of the year in the UK and ranked Number 11 in the US despite only being released in mid-December 1969. However, its box office performance was no doubt impacted by the film’s 2 hour 20 minute running time, which resulted in less screenings per day. It remained the longest running movie in the franchise until Casino Royale in 2006.
Also working against the film was the unhappy ending. 53 year old Spoiler Alert: Diana Rigg’s Tracy Bond is assassinated at the movie’s end, as she is in the book. Connery was also just too tough an act to follow.
However, the film has had a thorough reappraisal over the past twenty years or so, and now often deservedly ranks as the fan’s favourite from all the 25 official James Bond movies. So much so that 2021’s No Time To Die borrowed heavily from not just its storyline but soundtrack too and even uses the infamous quote “We have all the time in the world.”
A great deal of the support for the film comes down to the man in the title role. Despite having no acting experience prior to making OHMSS, Lazenby makes a very good Bond. A tough exterior (shown in a few brutal fight sequences which won’t be seen again until Daniel Craig) and a cocksure charm help make him almost as effective as Connery.
In fact, if you imagine Connery in this film, there are two sequences where Lazenby outshines his predecessor. Trapped in the local Swiss village with Blofeld’s goons in close pursuit, Lazenby’s Bond frantically tries to find a way out, scared that he’s out of luck, until Rigg’s Tracy steps in and saves him. And he’s very good in the end scene, cradling his murdered wife in his arms. Despite his acting credentials, Connery never showed this level of emotion in the previous films and Lazenby really shines in these two examples.
What would have been nice next would have been a Diamonds Are Forever where Lazenby’s Bond was in full on revenge mode, going after Blofeld to avenge his wife’s death. Alas we got Diamonds Are Forever in 1971 with a brief (and expensive for the producers) return from Sean Connery. There was an element of revenge in the pre-credits sequence but from there on in, the humour was increased which paved the way for Roger Moore’s light-hearted and highly successful tenure.
LIFE AFTER BOND
George Lazenby soon found himself cut-off from the business. The old showbiz producer’s threat of “You’ll never work in this town again!” suddenly rang very true. Despite being asked not to, Lazenby attended the OHMSS London première with long hair and a beard. He was then removed from the usual press tours to promote the film.
Going back to basics, George never gave up but continued onward on his own terms. He studied drama to better his acting skills. His next project was Universal Soldier, a cinéma-vérité styled drama about a group of ex war mercenaries trying to overthrow an African dictator filmed around the dank back streets of London. It was directed by Zulu’s Cy Endfield, and Lazenby assisted with writing and producing the movie, which sank without trace on its 1971 release.
Next was an Italian giallo, the Venice-set Who Saw Her Die (1972). Whilst many praised Lazenby’s performance it wasn’t a particular success and not helped by the English version dubbing Lazenby with another actor.
Due to the popularity of Hong Kong-set martial arts films in the early seventies (indeed even Bond ventured there in 1974’s The Man With The Golden Gun), there was talk of Lazenby teaming up with Bruce Lee. There was a successful meeting between the two to set up the movie, but Lee sadly died at the age of 32. Lazenby stayed in Hong Kong, however and continued to make the film planned with Lee: The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss (1974). He followed this with The Man From Hong Kong and The Queen’s Ransom over the next two years, showing a physical threat to his talented opponents in the action stakes in all three.
Many smaller movies and television shows followed including a brief cameo as J.B. in 1983’s Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E. where he played a white-tuxedoed Bond lookalike in an Aston Martin DB5 and in 1990’s Superboy. But George’s once promising bright star had softened its glow. Out of sight for many, he became a quiz question and a punchline for Bond parodies.
Off-screen he married in the early seventies and had two children, one of whom sadly died of a brain tumour at 19 years of age. He later married and divorced tennis star Pam Shriver with whom he had three children, including twins.
In more recent times Lazenby has enjoyed the fan circuit of conventions and guest appearances, serving up his well told tales of becoming Bond and letting it all go. He has since stressed his many regrets on turning down Bond after only one film. But he is a fantastic raconteur who has lost none of the charm, arrogance and confidence that won him the Bond role in the first place.
Completely non PC, he gladly recounts the adventures he got up to with the opposite sex throughout his time as Bond and beyond. He certainly has much more love for the part than Connery did once he hung up the Walther.
The 2017 docu-drama Becoming Bond is a pretty funny look at his life and there’s an amusing 22Minutes sketch viewable online called 0070 where he pokes fun at himself. He also gave a good performance in the 2019 audio spy drama Passport to Oblivion opposite Glynis Barber and Terence Stamp.
Often referred to as the ‘forgotten Bond’ there is nothing forgettable about George Lazenby. A true maverick who did it his way and continues to tell the tale well into his eighties.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Barry McCann on Operation Kid Brother from INFINITY November 2023
Never mind who is the best James Bond, how about your favourite Bond knock off? The Man from UNCLE, Matt Helm, Charles Vine, Derek Flint? The 1960s were abounding with them. However, there is one curiosity piece which went a step further by featuring the brother of James Bond, both figuratively and literally, and a strange case of cinematic sibling rivalry. Okay, Connery, here comes Operation Kid Brother.
By the 1960s, the revitalised Italian movie industry was making a mint with Mockbusters, films so called because they imitated popular Hollywood products. The most famous example of this was the Spaghetti Western, in particular Sergio Leone’s Dollar trilogy with Clint Eastwood which, in turn, proved highly influential on the Hollywood western from there on.
Indeed, many of these mockbusters starred imported American actors to facilitate their way onto the world market, though working with a mainly Italian cast. However, dialogue was no problem as Italian studios tended to dub their movies in post-production, offering both English and Italian language versions for distribution.
Italian producers were not backyard in jumping onto the superspy craze following the breakthrough success of Goldfinger in 1964, and some productions that did achieve international release included Spy in Your Eye (1965) and the American co-produced Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966). But it was early in 1966 that producer Dario Sabatello set about cashing in on the 007 franchise far more audaciously than anyone had dared before.
Sabatello had apparently enquired about licensing James Bond for his own production, which if true was always going to be a non-starter. However, it seems he did approach Sean Connery about playing a faux Bond character, which again was never going to happen. Connery quite pointedly sought parts as far away from 007 as possible between his Bond assignments, and was about to quit the character anyway.
Still, if you cannot get the real McCoy then ask the family. A year previously in 1965, John Lennon’s estranged father, Alfred “Freddy” Lennon, had been wheeled into a recording studio to record the single ‘That’s My Life’ in what was seen as a cynical attempt to cash in on his now more famous son. Fate was to deliver Sabatello a similar ploy.
Neil Connery, the younger brother of Sean, was a plasterer based in his native Scotland with absolutely no intention of following his elder sibling into the acting game. That is, until one day when his tools were stolen and for which he was sacked by his employer. And it must have taken some guts to fire the brother of James Bond!
Because of this family connection, the incident made the news and Terence Young, the director who had mentored Sean Connery in his first Bond films, heard Neil speaking in a radio interview. Knowing that Dario Sabatello had been seeking Connery’s services, Young contacted and informed the producer how much Neil sounded like his big brother. Next thing, Sabatello was on his way to Edinburgh to meet the man.
An interview was arranged at the Caledonian Hotel which Neil Connery attended dressed in a hand-me-down Saville Road suit that, ironically, brother Sean had worn in one of his Bond outings. Not only was Sabatello impressed by Neil’s close resemblance to his sibling, but also his athleticism, he having trained as a boxer during his army days.
Things were looking promising and Alberto De Martino was appointed to direct.
Neil was invited to a screen test in Rome a month later, for which he had to embrace a girl, sing, dance and perform a hand-to-hand fight with a knife. By this point, he had got himself an agent who cheekily claimed that Sean would agree to cameo in the film if Neil clinched the part. Sean had made no such promise and remained openly hostile to the whole thing, though Neil said his brother did quietly advise him to “Make sure things are in black and white before you sign them, and that they’re to your advantage.”
It proved advice well given as Neil got himself a £5,000 salary, plus the extension of his contract into a six-picture deal should the film prove a winner. With the former plasterer now in place, the proposed movie Operation Casbah became O.K. Connery, being the phrase by which the crew signed off each stage of his audition. The title change also reflected the fact that Neil Connery was now playing a character called Dr. Neil Connery, in some strange attempt to hoodwink audiences this was not merely the actor’s sibling but James Bond’s own brother. Or, at least, hinted as far as copyright would allow them.
This attempt to position the film in an unofficial James Bond meta-universe did not stop there. Sabatello set about a shopping list of actors who had appeared in and remained identified with 007 movies past, three of whom, Adolfo Celi, Daniela Bianchi and Anthony Dawson had just worked with Alberto De Martino in his 1967 Italian war film Dirty Heroes. In addition, he also drafted in M and Miss Moneypenny themselves by engaging Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell, which further angered Sean Connery.
When learning that Lois had agreed to appear in the movie, Sean told her “You are betraying me,” to which she retorted “I am not. I am getting a bigger part than I ever had in the Bond films.” Lois also pointed out she was being paid more than all her Moneypenny appearances put together and did not have the luxury of the plentiful, highly paid roles that he enjoyed. As things turned out, Sean would have reason to be grateful to his Moneypenny for her presence in the rival project. When she sat with Neil at a press conference in Rome to launch the film, he quietly confessed to being nervous of journalists promoting competition with his brother. So Lois advised him to give her a kick if asked an awkward question, to which she would take over and answer it for him.
The film’s Italian principle backer and distributor, Titanus, managed to raise the proposed budget of $1.2 million by pre selling the worldwide rights to no less than United Artists, the backing studio of the Bond films themselves. Shooting was set to commence in the Mediterranean during late November 1966, just as filming on You Only Live Twice was coming to completion and in time for Yee-Wah Yang, one of the Bond movie’s Japanese bath girls, to be engaged by Sabatello for a leading role.
With Sean Connery declaring the latest Bond to be his last, Sabatello extended his brass neck further by proposing his brother could take over as 007 for the EON series. No doubt, the wily Italian had one eye on the fact that Neil was under a provisional long term contract to him, thus a deal with Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman would have to be done.
The Bond producers were having none of it, Harry Saltzman asserting “Neil Connery will never take over from his brother as James Bond” and dismissing Sabatello’s whole set up as “an attempt by the Italian to make a fast dollar.”
Sabatello’s hope that Sean himself could be persuaded to make a cameo appearance was dashed when the actor bluntly told him “By getting my brother to make this kind of picture, you are exploiting us both.”
The three-month filming schedule kicked off in Cinecitta, Rome, with further filming in Barcelona, Malaga, Monte Carlo, San Remo, Tetuan and Turin, so there was certainly no short-changing on the glamours locations. Interestingly, it was also decided that Neil Connery should sport a beard, which was applied by Alberto De Martino’s own father, Romolo de Martino The film opens with a luxurious yacht arriving port-side in Monte Carlo, its crew being attractive young women in sailor suits so cute and sexy one would think Hugh Hefner designed them. Below deck, the vessel’s owner, Thayer (Adolfo Celi), is enjoying a massage from another scantilyclad female before breaking off to receive a video transmission from a local airfield, where British agent Miss Maxwell (Lois Maxwell) is being observed awaiting her contact, Ward Jones, who is flying in by light aircraft.
Thayer remotely activates a radio controlled car and steers it into direct collision with the plane, causing it to explode and killing Jones. The airfield rescue team arrive on the scene, one of them retrieving a steel box Jones was delivering and making off with it. The thief removes her hazard suit to reveal Thayer’s operative, Maya Rafis (Daniela Bianchi), who is then ordered by to find Jones’s girlfriend, Yashuko (Yee-Wah Yang as Yachuo Yama).
Yashuko is the subject of a presentation at a Congress of Plastic Surgeons by Dr Neil Connery from Edinburgh, a cosmetic surgeon whose technique is based on a Tibetan method of hypnotism which facilitates full restoration without scar tissue, now successfully applied to Yashuko following a facial injury. He also demonstrates his ability to lip read.
A group of Thayer’s henchmen and women arrive at the conference posing as reporters, but intent on kidnapping Yashuko. A mass fight breaks out during which Connery kills one of the intruders, while the woman escapes only to be picked up and taken by Maxwell.
Maxwell’s boss, Commander Cunningham (Bernard Lee), attends an auction where he meets Thayer, the two of them already acquainted. Thayer is there to bid for a statue he is determined to possess, but is outbid at the last moment by the mysterious Alpha (Anthony Dawson), head of the criminal organisation THANATOS for which Thayer is second in command as codename Beta.
Meanwhile, Maya and another of Thayer’s henchwomen, Lotte Krayendorf (Ana María Noé), have located Yashuko who is being kept in a hospital. Disguised as nuns, Maya pumps gas into Yashuko’s room to knock her out, before Lotte removes her via an elaborate pulley through the window and down to a waiting ambulance below.
Connery is brought in to meet Cunningham and Maxwell, the Commander commenting “Miss Yashuko is right, I can see the resemblance.” Maxwell responds “Think so? I’m not so sure of that, really. I don’t think he is quite so good looking.” Never the less, Cunningham tells Connery “You’re the brother of our top agent, so I think we can trust you.”
Connery identifies a photo of the dead Jones, explaining he had taught the man a form of hypnosis by which a subject could be fed information and carry it in their unconscious without knowing. Cunningham tells him Jones was bringing them an important package and had requested protection for Yashuka as part of the deal. Connery concludes he must have planted the data for the package in her mind using the hypnotic technique, and he is enlisted to help recover the information.
The THANATOS organisation board are holding a conference in their secret base located under a Bavarian castle, Alpha and Thayer heading proceedings. An ambitious plan to extort the world’s gold reserves has suffered a set back by their failure to obtain an atomic nucleus, for which agent Gamma (Mario Soria) is held responsible and killed by poisoned water. Thayer informs Alpha that Commander Cunningham is onto them. “He’s enlisted the aid of that young Scottish Doctor, you know the brother of zero… zero…” to which Alpha responds “A most disagreeable family.” Connery meets and competes with Thayer at a Monte Carlo archery contest, but Cunningham then dispatches him to Malaga where Yashuko has been seen. Thayer’s henchwoman, Mildred (Agata Flori), follows him there. Connery and Maxwell make contact with Juan (Franco Giacobini), and they track down Yashuko to Krayendorf’s castle after Connery extracts her whereabouts from Mildred by hypnotism. An armed attack on the location results in Krayendorf being killed and Yashuko rescued. As Connery is extracting the information from her, Yashuko is assassinated by Mildred, who herself is then killed by Juan.
In one of the film’s most bizarre sequences, an atomic nucleus is being transported in a van by American military police, which is stopped by Maya and her henchwomen dressed up as can can girls to lure the MPs and ambush them. The women then change into cat costumes and disguise the van as “The Wild Pussy Club” before setting off with their prize, no doubt as a nod to Pussy Galore and her troupe of ladies.
Now in the possession of THANATOS, the atomic nucleus will create high frequency magnetic waves that could paralyse most of the world’s metal machinery, a weapon with which they will blackmail the major powers. Alpha also decides that the “Scottish Doctor” needs to be eliminated.
Connery travels to Morocco and investigates a rug factory Thayer owns, which strangely employs only blind men. An attempt made on Connery’s life is thwarted by Maya, who tells him Thayer is holding a party in his palace and suggests he attends. During this event, Thayer reveals to his most trusted allies he wants Alpha dead and replaced by a double surgically created by Connery, hence wanting to keep him alive. Though not within earshot, Connery lip reads Thayer planning to eliminate his henchwomen and warns Maya, who initially dismisses this with “You read too many novels like Fleming.”
Disguised as a blind Moroccan weaver, Connery infiltrates the rug factory to find its workers are exposed to dangerous radioactive materials. He is captured and taken to Thayer’s yacht to transform Kurt (Guido Lollobrigida) into Alpha’s lookalike, but Connery hypnotises Kurt to attack Thayer while the female crewmembers mutiny and take over the yacht. Thayer kills Kurt and then escapes to the THANATOS headquarters.
Considering him to have failed, Alpha demands Thayer kill himself by the customary poisoned water, but he fakes his death and Alpha is killed instead. Thayer is now in control and the next phase of Operation Blackmail is set in motion.
Maya is now on Connery’s side and the pair locate the THANATOS lair by helicopter using a Geiger counter to detect the radioactive rugs, Connery infiltrating the base while Maya flies back to Cunningham to get reinforcements. The magnetic wave is activated, paralysing all mechanisms including motor vehicles and handguns, so Maya and Juan enlist the Scottish team from the archery contest who ride to the base on horseback to attack it with bow and arrows.
Connery plants an anti-magnetic explosive to disable the paralysing wave but is then confronted by Thayer, the pair settling their differences with an archery duel for which Thayer pays for with his life. Both the base and its magnetic wave are destroyed, saving the day and prompting Cunningham to try recruiting Connery as a permanent agent. He decides instead to accompany Maya for a cruise on Thayer’s yacht.
The most striking thing about Sabatello’s film is not just his drafting of actors from the Bond films, but putting some of them in like-for-like roles.
Bernard Lee’s Cunningham is so much like his M that it could be him operating in the field under a codename, as Moneypenny may also be doing under the name of Maxwell. But then, that was the intended impression.
Having played SPECTRE’s Number Two complete with eye-patch, it must have been déjà vu for Adolfo Celi to find himself as THANATOS’s Beta complete with monocle. Also appropriate was having the Alpha head played by Anthony Dawson who, apart from appearing as Professor Dent in Dr. No (1962), had served as SPECTRE’s half hidden Number One in subsequent Bond films, before the character was revealed to be Donald Pleasence’s Blofeld that is.
Daniela Bianchi’s Maya is actually more in keeping with Luciana’s Paluzzi’s Fiona, Largo’s henchwoman in Thunderball (1964), but at least it gave her the chance to play a very different and stronger character to her rather helpless Tatania Romanova in From Russia with Love (1963).
Ana María Noé as Lotte Krayendorf is obviously based on Rosa Klebb from that same film, as confirmed by partially naming her after the original actress Lotte Lenya. Presumably, Sabatello’s budget did not stretch to engaging Lenya herself, or she just wasn’t interested.
Despite the physical resemblance of Neil Connery to “the other fella”, the knowing winks of his character being literally the brother of James Bond must very well have been lost on some audiences at the time, given he no longer sounded like his better known sibling or, indeed, himself. Having contracted appendicitis, Neil was unavailable for post-production dubbing and his Scottish vocal replaced by an American accent. Ironic, as it was Neil’s voice on that fateful radio interview which first attracted the attention to him.
For the music Alberto de Martino hired Ennio Morricone, who was coming to international attention thanks to his distinctive scores for Leone’s Dollars trilogy. He worked with fellow composer Bruno Nicolai on a catchy soundtrack that did in places echo John Barry combined with Morricone’s own musical idiom. The theme song, ‘The Man for Me’, was delivered by the Italian vocalist and actress Maria Cristina Brancucci, credited on this occasion as simply Christy.
Operation Kid Brother, as the film became titled for its UK and USA release, premiered at the Pavilion in London’s West End on April 25, 1967, the taglines heralding “Neil Connery is Too Much” and “Operation Kid Brother is Too Much for One Mother!”
CONTINUED BELOW…
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Exactly what Effie Connery, the boys’ real life mother, made of this is anyone’s guess, though it is a wonder Sabatello did not try signing her up too.
The film poster by American artist Ron Lesser was designed in the style of Robert McGinnis, the illustrator of the classic run of James Bond film posters from Thunderball to The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). McGinnis had not long moonlighted to Charles K. Feldman for his 1967 version of Casino Royale, the poster design for that declaring “Casino Royale is Too Much… for One James Bond!” Evidently there was “too much” of a theme going on with Bond spoofs that year.
Though given a family friendly ‘A’ rating, Operation Kid Brother found itself put on general release in a strange pairing up with the X rated Beach Red, a serious anti-war drama produced, directed and starring Cornel Wilde. This effectively cancelled the film’s intended family audience as no one under 16 would be admitted.
It managed to do somewhat better in America with box office returns considered decent, but hardly impressive. For other markets, it did the rounds under alternative titles including Operation Double 007 and Secret Agent 00. During the early 1970s, it was finally granted a stand-alone re-release in UK cinemas and usually booked for Sunday matinée screenings, where at least it was finally accessible to younger audiences.
Where the movie really failed to shine was in terms of critical plaudits. Many criticised its rather laboured screenplay, not surprising as it went through four different writers (Paolo Levi, Frank Walker, Stanley Wright and Stefano Canzio). There was also the film’s rather slow direction, Alberto de Martino allowing many scenes to linger in comparison to the faster pace of the genuine Bond capers.
But much of the negativity took aim at Neil Connery’s lack of acting experience, which does show in places while being dubbed with an inappropriate voice did not help. However, his natural athleticism scored in the fight sequences and he also managed to learn archery for the scene where competes with Thayer in the sport, inspired no doubt by the clay pigeon challenge between Largo and Bond in Thunderball.
The film’s modest business proved not enough to activate Neil Connery’s long term contract and he returned to England where his services as an actor were hired for the low budget sci-fi thriller The Body Stealers (1969), a movie best known to genre fans for reusing the Dalek flying saucer from the film Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 AD made three years earlier.
Sadly, any dream of Neil carrying forward a Connery acting dynasty was not to be. It took Sean’s son, Jason, to later carry that can, though he wisely avoided accepting Bond type parts. Jason did, however, play Ian Fleming in the 1990 biopic Spymaker, commenting at the time “Freud would have a field day.”
In the meantime, Neil Connery returned to plastering with occasional film and TV appearances. Despite press claims at the time, there were no hard feelings from Sean as confirmed when Neil accompanied him to the Scottish première of Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. Indeed, filming that Bond movie enabled Sean to reconcile with Lois Maxwell, telling her “I have to thank you for protecting my brother and I. Without you I’m sure he would have gotten into trouble. I’m sorry I was rude to you.”
Neil Connery passed away on 9 May 2021, just seven months after Sean. His death did receive some feature coverage in the press, The Sun in particular recalling his involvement in Operation Kid Brother with affection. One can imagine most of its readers had never heard of the film or surprised to learn Sean Connery did have an acting brother.
Question is does this Italian mockbuster deserve to be better remembered or rediscovered? Unlike the blatantly comedic Matt Helm and Derek Flint movies, which have come to be seen as forerunners of Austin Powers, Operation Kid Brother is a spoof played with a fairly straight face and interestingly more prescient of developments in future Bond films themselves.
The sequence where Thayer’s female crew attack the men on board his yacht is a practical dry run for the climax of Octopussy (1983), where Maud Adams’s band of sisters ambush the guards at the villain’s palace hideout. And deploying the Monneypenny figure as a field operative was something later taken up by EON themselves in 2012’s Skyfall.
Until the Bond producers decide where they are going next with the legitimate franchise, maybe the gap could be filled with an updated remake of this shameless but fun copycat. O.K. Craig – Operation Kid Sister anybody?
END OF ARTICLE
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Back when we were doing the watchalongs, some of us tried to persuade someone (Higgins?) to see this, claiming it was a magnificent example of spy fiction, a vastly underrated movie, etc. Sadly he didn't go for it.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
Thank you @CoolHandBond for that article…like chrisno1 - there was loads of information in there that I’d never heard/read before…I have this film in the now defunct VHS format somewhere…it’s obviously not very good - despite some of the cast - but it’s not unwatchable either 🤔
Two points…
The absolute child in me laughed out loud at the company name of the principal backer - Titanus 🤣
And the Freddie Lennon tune - if any of you have heard it? - is a little too close to the tune of Imagine 🤨
Thank you the post! I'm now very curious to hear Neil Connery's actual, non-dubbed voice, but I can't find any clips.
I must admit that if I was Cubby or Harry and heard that Sean Connery had a brother who looked and sounded like him, I'd give him a screen test! Neil obviously wouldn't have had anything matching Sean's charisma or talent, but it wouldn't have hurt to gauge his potential. He had no acting experience, but it's not as if Lazenby had much either.
He was so sexy and fun and professional. It was great. I enjoyed it!”
Honor Blackman, 2012
‘HE’ of course being Sean Connery, and ‘it’ may have been that onscreen tumble in the hay, but was mainly the third James Bond movie itself, a film so iconic it’s been copied for the past 60 years. So, whether you’re a hardcore 007 fan or casual aficionado, let’s take another trip down memory lane and reflect on arguably the definitive Connery-era Bond movie.
THE PRODUCTION
Thanks to series regular Richard Maibaum, and Paul Dehn (who later rebooted the early Planet of the Apes saga), the script was 24-carat. However, getting the right person to turn their words into 24 frames per second of screen magic meant taking a gamble. Terence Young had directed the first two epics, and Guy Hamilton’s inaugural 007 movie saw the helmer keen to shake things up. Guy, an original choice for Dr No director, had problems with some of the crew as the ‘new boy’.
After being given “a boot up the arse”, they got on “splendidly” according to Hamilton on the Blu-ray yack track.
Following Robert Brownjohn’s stunning opening credits, and THAT bombastic song courtesy of lyricists Anthony Newley and Lesley Bricusse; composer John Barry, and Shirley Bassey, we’re off to Miami. Well, sort of. Sean Connery was busy filming Marnie for Alfred Hitchcock at the time of production, so Guy Hamilton had to improvise with the early shots at the Fontainebleau hotel, mostly filmed at Pinewood. (Cec Linder’s Felix Leiter was on location for the Florida bits, but then his scenes were merged with studio shots and background plates).
Like M’s one-hit wonder Pop Music, all 007’s M wants to “talk about” is the mission. Exposition is a key factor in all Bond epics, and Bernard Lee’s MI6 grand fromage did a fine job of feeding assorted JBs the intel until Moonraker, (the same year as that aforementioned track).
Naturally Bond knew everything there was to know about the bad guy, the MacGuffin, and the mission already, but without that ‘other fella’ to ask the question in the right way, an exposition ’punchline’ can fall flatter than a henchman dropping from a villain’s airship.
And as good as Lee is on his third outing, a shout out to Goldfinger’s other splendid briefing bloke, Richard Vernon, aka Colonel Smithers*; he later played Slartibartfast in the radio and TV versions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
*Not to be confused with Jeremy Bulloch’s namesake tech guy at Q branch in later Bond movies.
Not only was this the first glimpse of Q’s workshop, but also every Bond fan’s favourite motor, the Aston Martin DB5. Guy Hamilton was against Q’s explanation of what the car does, preferring to reveal the assorted gadgets when they were needed, but producer Cubby Broccoli knew the audience wanted a demo, and insisted. Hamilton begrudgingly agreed, and later realised Cubby was on the money. Without Q’s “Now pay attention” scene, we would have been denied one of the best briefings in 007 history, not least because of Connery’s reaction to the DB5’s most memorable gadget: “Ejector seat? You’re joking!”
THE MAN WITH THE MIDAS TOUCH
German-born Gert Frobe had been a screen presence for years before being cast as ‘the man with the Midas touch’. The Ballad of Berlin (1948) and The Heroes Are Tired (1955) were a couple of his many projects prior to Bond duties. So he had the acting chops, and seemed perfect as bad guy Auric Goldfinger, but his dialogue was a problem. As Gert couldn’t speak English when he arrived for the shoot, his lines were dubbed by actor Michael Collins. It mattered little, as Frobe had a sinister on-screen presence that didn’t rely on physical gimmicks like many 007 villains. His Goldfinger was just bad to the bone, as that iconic James vs laser scene proved, and audiences both loved and loathed him.
All Bond movies are basically chess games, and the staple of any 007 ‘chess’ match is the use of sacrificial pawns, whether it’s generic scientists blown up in a helicopter or beautiful women either fed to piranhas, or hunted by dogs. But covering Auric Goldfinger’s alluring assistant Jill Masterson in gold paint? That was screen murder as an art form, and 007’s reaction to his most recent conquest is a mix of horror and fascination.
The scene: Goldfinger is cheating at cards via an earpiece with an accomplice (Jill) feeding him vital info about his opponent, which leads to the first of a couple of cat and mouse scenes between 007 and the eponymous villain.
Former Carry On girl Shirley Eaton didn’t have a lot of heavy lifting to do in Goldfinger. Her five minutes of screen time as Jill Masterson sees Shirley lying down for most of the time. However, she became the most famous sacrificial pawn in 007 history and one of the most photographed women of 1964. Talk about maximum impact, minimum effort. The fact that Jill’s vengeful sister Tilly (Tania Mallet) is later bumped off as well was a major rug- pull. Killing one sibling was shocking. But both? Unheard of.
The second 007 vs Goldfinger scene is a fun game of golf, underlining what we already knew: the bad guy is a cheat on the fairway too. As a side note, Connery was a novice during the golf scenes shot at Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire, but he became obsessed with the game from then on.
Of course we also get a look at Harold Sakata’s Oddjob, one of the best villainous sidekicks, not least because of that razortipped hat. Thanks to some clever wire work and rapid editing by Peter Hunt (who later helmed On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), that display of lethal headgear foreshadows the all-important showdown in the third act when Bond has to defuse a bomb, and defeat the mute assassin.
Pussy Galore was easily one of the most intriguing Bond women in the franchise. After two films in which 007 just looked at a woman and they fell into bed with him, he needed a ‘challenge’. Could a lesbian stunt pilot be ‘converted’ after a tumble in the hay* with MI6’s most famous killer/sex pest? If you are a first-time viewer, no prizes for guessing the outcome there. *Honor Blackman was used to judo falls onto cement as Cathy Gale in TV’s The Avengers, so she felt it was “luxury” shooting the barn brawl where she had to land on hay.
BOOK TO SCREEN COMPARISONS
Tony Greenway, one of his Majesty’s leading 007 experts, gives us the low-down on how Ian Fleming’s original novel compares to the movie. On paper, there are an enjoyable number of similarities between Goldfinger the novel and Goldfinger the film. They both have Bond foiling Goldfinger’s card scam in Miami and then ‘borrowing’ his girlfriend/ accomplice, Jill (surname Masterton in the novel, but Masterson in the film, for some unfathomable reason). They both include a grudge match game of golf between Bond and the villain; Bond being strapped to a table while something sharp edges up towards his nether regions; henchman Oddjob killing Tilly (Jill’s sister) with his steelrimmed hat; Goldfinger assembling a bunch of gangsters in an attempt to raid Fort Knox; and (spoiler!) both have Bond dispatching Goldfinger on an airplane at the climax.
Yet significant changes in Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn’s screenplay dramatically improve the Fleming original. For starters, in the book, Bond doesn’t see Jill’s lifeless body covered from head to toe in gold paint. Instead, he merely finds out about the way she was murdered from Tilly, which drastically lessens its impact.
And it isn’t a laser beam that threatens to cut Bond in half. It’s a circular saw which, as villainous plans go, is a bit old-fashioned and moustache-twirling. In this scene there’s no: “Do you expect me to talk?” “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!” either. Which is a pity.
In the novel, Pussy Galore isn’t Goldfinger’s personal pilot with a cut-glass British accent and a natty line in judo moves - she’s a gangster from Harlem with a potty mouth. In the film, it’s hinted that Pussy is gay (“You can turn off the charm,” she tells Bond. “I’m immune.”).
In the book, she’s unequivocally a lesbian - until the very end, of course, when, with Bond’s help, she discovers she isn’t. The Tilly of the novel is a lesbian, too, and it’s made explicit that she is sexually attracted to Pussy (oh, look, BEHAVE).
Other changes: Goldfinger doesn’t murder all the gangsters by gassing them in his games room. And it’s Oddjob who gets sucked out of the plane window, not Goldfinger (rather disappointingly, Bond just strangles him).
But the best thing that Maibaum and Dehn do is have Goldfinger attempt to irradiate Fort Knox with an atom bomb - a much more plausible and evil scheme than the one cooked up in novel. In the book, even though Goldfinger has an atomic warhead at his disposal, his plan is to stage a break-in and steal all the gold (an idea that the Bond of the movie openly scoffs at). The film also shows audiences the breath-taking interior of Fort Knox; or, at least, Ken Adam’s approximation of it. In the book, Goldfinger’s plans are scuppered before he can get inside. And while Bond drives an Aston Martin DB3 in the book, it doesn’t have left and right front-wing machine guns, an oil slick or an ejector seat - unlike the film’s fully loaded Aston Martin DB5.
FASHIONABLY GREAT
As you may recall from Infinity 52’s Dr No feature, writer and film producer Jonathan Sothcott is an expert on 007’s threads. I asked the man behind new movies Peter Rabid and Knightfall why Sean’s sartorial look is so timeless.
“Connery’s suits in Goldfinger are perhaps his best remembered, not least because it remains his most iconic Bond film. The threepiece light grey suit is the standard by which all subsequent Bond clobber is judged and the one most likely to be replicated by Hong Kong tailors. But the star of the show is the barleycorn tweed jacket in Switzerland, an immaculate, timeless look.
“I think the white tux/red carnation is what solidified Bond’s reputation as the guy in the dinner jacket at all times, which has become more contrived as the years go by and formal-wear retreats into the past. But you can also understand why it made such an impact.”
So, what’s Jonathan’s verdict on 007 III? “For me Goldfinger remains overrated - the great bits (Honor Blackman, the song, Connery) are GREAT, but like all the mid-60s spy films it’s a bit of a slog and Bond is sidelined for a long time in jail.”
Personally, that ‘Come On Eileen’ dungaree look is a crime against fashion in Never Say Never Again, but Jonathan has his own ‘sartorial Sean’ low point...
“Connery’s baby blue Terry bowling romper suit is possibly the series’ leisurewear nadir, conveniently skated over by style commentators for decades. What were they thinking?”
MEMORIES GALORE
Back to that aforementioned chat with Honor Blackman (which took place around noon on 12/12/12). While she was promoting a campaign for Cancer Research UK, the actress recalled her feelings about making one of the definitive 007 movies. Naturally
I had to ask what it was like working with Connery...
“Well as a female, with Sean at that stage of life, it was interesting and exciting,” she explained in that unmistakable husky voice. “But you know, one gets on with it in a Bond film. It may turn out to be glamorous, but what goes on is just work.”
Did Honor have any idea how iconic Pussy Galore would become?
“I knew I’d always have trouble with the name, but no. How could one ever know? It’s just as the same as when one started The Avengers that one thought: ‘Oh, it’s six months’ work, and that’s that’. You don’t think any further, and then the whole thing catches alight. We’d had Dr No and From Russia with Love, so it wasn’t yet the legendary series it is now.”
When Honor passed away in 2020, the acting world lost one of its best-loved thespians.
DEBRIEFING
Goldfinger may divide hardcore fans, and some scenes, including that fight in the barn, will leave many fuming. However, six decades on there’s no denying the influence it had on filmmakers, or the fact those unforgettable moments and tight running time make for a compelling watch.
Director Guy Hamilton returned to the Bond franchise with more classics, including The Man With The Golden Gun, which turns 50 this year. And you can read about that under-rated gem in a future issue.
*Thanks to Tony Greenway and Jonathan Sothcott
TRIVIA GALORE
Mack the Knife’ (which references From Russia with Love’s Lotte Lenya) was the inspiration for Goldfinger’s unforgettable title track. John Barry’s needle- drop ‘Golden Girl’, when Bond discovers Jill’s body, later inspired Sneaker Pimps’ 1996 hit ‘6 Underground’.
Goldfinger’s factory may have been in Switzerland, but the night shots were at Pinewood. Some scenes were shot at nearby Black Park, also utilised for assorted Hammer movies.
Tania Mallet (Tilly) was a cousin of Helen Mirren. Goldfinger was her only movie role, and clearly synonymous with the film, she popped up in The New Avengers episode ‘The Midas Touch’ in 1976. Tania died in 2019.
Look out for Burt Kwouk (Mr Ling), who later found fame in the Pink Panther saga.
The glamorous stick jockeys of ‘Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus’ were mostly cigar-smoking, crop-duster pilots wearing blonde wigs from Woolworths. RAF Northolt was utilised for the Flying Circus hangar; the same location was later reused for the opening scenes of Octopussy.
As car-crushers were practically non-existent in the UK at the time, where much of the film was shot, one was used in Miami. A New York projectionist screening the rushes days later was outraged that a pricey Lincoln Continental was destroyed for the movie.
If Goldfinger had set off his radioactive bomb, the fallout would have been ‘safe’ by 2022.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and (the original) True Lies featured their own take on Bond’s classic white tuxedo/carnation look.
Naturally Goldfinger left an indelible mark on future 007 movies, including Quantum of Solace. Poor Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) is covered in oil instead of gold paint. By 2015, Spectre also tipped its (non-lethal) hat to the 1964 masterpiece when a Rolls Royce not unlike Goldfinger’s emerges from the desert.
END OF ARTICLE
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Half a century after it first thrilled cinemagoers, Roger Crow looks back on Roger Moore’s second 007 outing, and chats with co-star Britt Ekland; a style expert analyses Bond ’74’s attire, and there’s an archive ‘Q’ and A with the much-missed Desmond Llewelyn.
It’s a Sunday night in the 1980s, and while the threat of school looms large for one telly addict, there’s a couple of hours of pure bliss unfolding. The Man With the Golden Gun offers stunts, exotic locations, nefarious villains, sauciness, Roger Moore, a killer score, and THAT car stunt. James Bond Nine (as nobody called it) was pure joy, even with those adverts. So let’s go back half a century and put the movie in context.
Made during the October 1973 oil crisis (when fuel was embargoed due to the US’s involvement in the Yom-Kippur war), there’s little wonder the MacGuffin was an energy gizmo: the Solex Agitator. Oh, and as Carl Douglas reminded us with his chart smash, “Everybody was Kung Fu fighting,” so naturally there was a set-piece which paid homage to Enter the Dragon. That Bruce Lee classic was borrowed from 007 epics, so it was just a case of Bond returning the favour.
Then there was the eponymous bad guy: Christopher Lee as arch assassin Francisco Scaramanga, the three-nippled gunman who charges a hefty price for his services, and is essentially the anti-007. Yes, they’re both professional killers, as they remark in a scene gloriously imitated by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in their first faux foodie documentary, The Trip. One does it for Queen and country, and the other is in it for the money. Naturally Scaramanga wants to kill Bond, which leads to a duel of sorts. It’s the simplicity of the story which makes this work so well: alpha male assassin versus alpha MI6 spy.
Like Britt Ekland (Mary Goodnight) in that bikini during the finale, it’s a stripped-down affair which doesn’t boast epic sets or dozens of allied troops storming the bad guy’s lair. Just Bond vs. Scaramanga in a duel to the death.
I asked screenwriter/producer and fellow 007 fan Jonathan Sothcott for his take on the movie. “The Man With The Golden Gun has really lost its lustre over the years and I’m not entirely sure why when I was a kid it was definitely the playground favourite. Christopher Lee has never been more relaxed or had more fun on screen and it really pays off unlike his climactic ‘battle’ with Bond, which is the film’s weakest point.
As you’ll recall from previous Infinity/Bond features, Jonathan isn’t just one of Blighty’s best-dressed film makers, but also an expert on 007’s threads, so it would be rude not to get his thoughts on Bond ‘74’s look.
“(Roger) Moore’s Saint/Persuaders tailor Cyril Castle returns for his second and final Bond film with the boldest, most colourful wardrobe the character wore in the series along with some of the very best suits: the grey double-breasted chalk stripe in M’s office is magnificent and could be worn today just as stylishly. The charcoal herringbone suit for dinner with Goodnight is also a stunner, perfectly proportioned and with just enough flair to stand out. But the best of them all is the marine blue suit in the nightclub scene; the colour is just so rich and lustrous and is stylish without being showy.
“The film also continued Moore’s trend as the ‘separates’ Bond with a stunning and unusual (three buttons rather than the standard two) navy blazer and a beautiful silk plaid sports coat. Yes it looks like heavy tweed but in reality would have been climate-appropriate.”
CHARMING CARMEN
Bond always needs a breadcrumb trail which leads from the obligatory exposition scene in M’s office to getting his man, or woman, and nearly all crime thrillers involving an exotic club of some sort. Step forward Saida, whose navel inevitably attracted a certain Naval officer thanks to the ballistic charm crucial to our man’s investigation.
The scenes in Saida’s dressing room, the final shots of the movie, were filmed in August ‘74. The dancer was originally overweight in the screenplay, and 007 winced at the sight of her. Naturally that wasn’t the case when a slimline, alluring Carmen Du Sautoy took on the role. She later joined the RSC, and became a cult star in Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden’s 1981/82 fantasy sitcom Astronauts. Who, or what else is in the movie? Well, glad you asked…
Look out for: Maud Adams in the first of her two 007 movies. Here she portrays Scaramanga’s moll Andrea Anders, nine years before playing the eponymous femme fatale of Octopussy. Herve Villechaize as lethal sidekick Nick-Nack, just before TV hit Fantasy Island turned him into one of Hollywood’s most famous diminutive actors. He took his own life aged 50 in 1993, and was later played by Peter Dinklage in a 2018 biopic, My Dinner with Herve. Marc Lawrence as Rodney, the American gangster who meets his demise in the early minutes as Scaramanga reveals his skill with a gun. Lawrence had also appeared in Diamonds Are Forever, where he threw Plenty O’Toole (Lana Wood) out of a hotel window.
James Cossins appeared in countless cult classics, including TV’s The Avengers, Hammer favourite Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb, and Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em. His character was originally called Boothroyd, but as that was Q’s name, it was changed to Colthorpe.
Khao Phing Kan, aka Ko Khao Phing Kan, was once an island in Thailand. Now it’s THE island. Pre-1974, it was a relatively undisturbed beauty spot. Then TMWTGG was released and all that changed forever.
Now better known as James Bond Island, its biggest threat isn’t a pricy assassin, but litter and erosion from the countless tourists who flock there every year. And yes, it was re-used for Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997.
If you’ve never read Ian Fleming’s original book and are wondering how it compares to the film, then 007 expert Tony Greenway sheds light on those…
BOOK-TO-SCREEN COMPARISONS
“The Man with the Golden Gun Ian Fleming’s last Bond novel which was published posthumously in 1965 is generally considered to be one of the weakest 007 books. At the beginning of the story, Bond, who has been captured and brainwashed by the Russians, is sent back to London to kill M. However, the dastardly plot fails, Bond’s brainwashing is reversed, and M sends a rehabilitated but weakened 007 out on a kill-or-cure mission to dispatch one of the KGB’s best assassins: Francisco ‘Pistols’ Scaramanga.”
I’m thinking of reading the novel for the first time. Will it be anything like the film?
“Here’s a word of caution for you: you’re going to be disappointed (or pleased, depending on your view of the movie). There’s no henchman called Nick Nack, and no deadly funhouse, Solex Agitator, Kung Fu fighting, Sheriff J.W. Pepper on holiday (thank God) or Far East locations. In fact, the film-makers simply pilfered the title, jettisoned the source material including its Jamaica setting, and came up with their own characters and storyline.”
Surely the bad guy can’t have changed much between novel and movie, can he?
“Yes, both the book and the film feature a killer called Scaramanga. Yet the one in the movie is dapper and urbanea sort of anti-Bondand his golden gun is memorably and nattily concocted from a pen, lighter, cufflink and cigarette case. In the novel, Scaramanga is a flashy Cuban-based hitman who communicates in gangster-speak (sample dialogue: “But just you remember this, mister. If it turns out you’re not who you say you are, I’ll blow you to bits. Get me?”) and, less memorably, uses a gold-plated Colt 45 revolver and a golden Derringer. Nevertheless, both the film and book Scaramangas sport - yes!a third nipple (although much less is made of this in the novel) and are reported to make love before a kill in order to improve their ‘eye’. Plus, in their early days, both worked in a circus where they murdered someone who had shot and killed their favourite elephant.”
Any other connections between the book and the film? “Yes, the character of Mary Goodnight. Bizarrely, the film script takes almost verbatim a short paragraph in the novel where Goodnight tells Bond about the buttons on her dress, and that one of them might be a suicide pill (a homing device in the film). But we really are scraping the barrel for connections if that’s the best we can come up with.
“Mind you, The Man with the Golden Gun novel has inspired other Bond film adventures including the dreaded Die Another Day (Bond is captured and tortured by the North Koreans, then released); Skyfall (a literally washed-up 007 is sent out on a death-defying mission before he’s fit and ready); and Licence to Kill (the big bad guy unwittingly recruits Bond into his criminal enterprise, not realising that he’s out to get him).
And is it really a coincidence that Franz Sanchez, the villain of Licence to Kill, shares the same initials with Francisco Scaramanga?
Oh, all right then. Yes. Probably.”
TRUE BRITT
A few years ago, I had a chat with Britt Ekland about a stage version of The Cat and the Canary. Naturally I had to ask about her turn as Mary Goodnight in TMWTGG.
The Man with the Golden Gun is one of my favourite Bond films. What are your memories of making it?
“It was such a privilege to be part of that kind of movie. I never truly understood at the time that it would have this kind of massive following still, and interest. It’s fantastic that it has this kind of following all over the world!”
The film has an added degree of authenticity now because you didn’t have access to CGI at the time.
“Everything that happened was real. When the car flew over the river… They trained with an AMC car back in Detroit for months and months and months. If they were to do that today they would probably use a crane or something. That’s what I like. That they were so real.”
Tell us about that massive explosion during the finale at Scaramanga’s lair.
“Well, before you do anything like that, the team goes through it with you and points out every single case where there is an explosive. You rehearse and rehearse. But then it gets too real, and I just did what any normal person would do. Throw myself on the ground and put my hands on my head. But I never managed to do that because Roger (Moore) pulled me up and dragged me along.”
Thank heavens for that because it might have been a case of “Good night Goodnight” for real.
THE QUARTERMASTER CORNER ‘Q’ & A
Desmond Llewelyn, who died in 1999, wasn’t the first actor to play ‘Q’ and he wasn’t the last, but he was the most beloved. Tony Greenway talked to Desmond during the limbo period after 1989’s Licence to Kill, and when filming had completed on 1995’s GoldenEye. Here’s what he had to say...
Peter Burton played a Q-like character called ‘the Armourer’ in the first Bond film, Dr No (1962). How did you come to replace him as Q in From Russia With Love (1963)?
I made a film which Terence Young (director of Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Thunderball) wrote and directed called They Were Not Divided which was about the Welsh Guards Armoured Division. Luckily for me, when the part of Q came up in From Russia with Love, Peter Burton wasn’t available. I presume my name came up and, as Terence knew me from Divided he said: ‘OK, you’ve got the part.’
How did Terence want you to play Q?
My character in They Were Not Divided had a Welsh accent, naturally, and Terence thought it would be a good thing for Q to have one. But it wouldn’t have worked: ‘Look you, I’ve got this luvvvely, brrriefcase, ‘ere.’ So I managed to persuade him otherwise.
Which Bond directors have you enjoyed working with?
They were all highly professional. I was very fond of Terence Young, but then Guy Hamilton (director of 1964’s Goldfinger) was the man who gave me the character of Q more than anyone else. In rehearsals, when Sean came in, I strode over to meet him. But Guy said: ‘No, no, no! Don’t take any notice of him.’ I was a bit puzzled because this was James Bond, after all. But Guy was adamant and said: ‘You don’t like this man because he doesn’t treat your gadgets with the proper respect. In fact, you hate him.’ The penny dropped and I’ve played Q like that ever since.
What was your verdict on Roger Moore?
I’ve always said that Roger Moore is a much better actor than most people think. Roger was established enough to be able to create a different Bond to Sean, yet keeping him roughly the same. Personally, I think he made him a bit too light, but that’s just Roger’s way.
DEBRIEFING
It may not be perfect, but for this viewer at least, The Man With the Golden Gun is a terrific slice of entertainment. Yes, Goodnight hinders the mission more than helps it, and that swanee whistle during the peerless car/ river jump is audio agony. However, despite being dismissed by some, there’s a lot right about this 50-year-old classic. Following his debut, Roger Moore settled into 007’s shoes with ease; Christopher Lee’s villain is all brooding menace, and compared to later bum-numbing Bond epics, the 125-minute runtime is ideal. Lulu’s title track, with lyrics by Don Black and music by John Barry, may not be everyone’s cuppa, but compared to a couple of the recent watered-down 007 title songs, at least it grabs you by the lapels. And the MI6 HQ set inside the lopsided RMS Queen Elizabeth remains one of the series’ best.
Broadsheet critics may have turned their noses up from their privileged screening rooms, but for paying punters in flea-pits around the globe, it was a welcome escape from the horrors of the real world. Made for a mere $7million, the movie went on to gross more than $97million. Little wonder followup The Spy Who Loved Me boasted a bigger budget, though due to legal wrangling, cinema-goers had to wait three years for that game-changing epic. However, that’s a story for another day.
END OF ARTICLE
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
A good read, though obviously I disagree with some of the points. Being ancient I watched the film on release (still have the program from the Scottish premiere) and loved it. I still do, though am not blind to its faults as discussed in our Weekly Watch thread.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
Nice article…thanks for posting it, CHB.
Whilst it’s not a favourite of mine, TMWTGG has enough in it to keep it entertaining.
A change of thread title to try and attract more readers (the heading will change reflecting the subject each post).
From INFINITY #74
THE MAN WHO COU7D HAVE BEEN BOND
Forever known to cult TV fans as Colonel Paul Foster from UFO, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s first TV series foray into live action, the late actor Michael Billington was once a front runner to play 007, as Paul Carey reports...
Born in Blackburn, Lancashire on December 24 1941, Michael Billington came to London in the early sixties to work for the film distributor Warner-Pathé. It wasn’t long before he found work at the famous Windmill Theatre in Soho, subsequently becoming a chorus boy in such West End musicals as How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1963). He performed in cabaret and also acted as a stooge to Danny La Rue in his nightclub. But then, seeking straight acting roles, he took drama lessons and landed a small part in the West End production of Incident at Vichy with Alec Guinness and Anthony Quayle.
Billington’s first film role was in a short entitled Dream A40 (1964), which was banned at the time due to a scene where two male lovers kissed. His television debut came in 1965, as Neil Hall, one of the players for Brentwich United in the BBC’s football soap opera, United, before he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company as an understudy and small part player. It was a bit part as a heavy in an episode of Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner (1967), that got him noticed by casting director Rose Tobias Shaw as a possible replacement for Italian actor Franco Derosa, who hadn’t worked out during the filming of the pilot for UFO. The actor’s brooding good looks were a hit with Sylvia Anderson, and knowing he would be popular with female viewers, she and Gerry signed the 29-year-old actor for the series.
An introductory episode was developed for Paul Foster’s character, who witnesses a UFO encounter with Sky 1 while on a test flight. His determination to get to the truth leads him to Straker and SHADO in an episode entitled ‘Exposed.’ His first few episodes show him with a receding hairline, before the actor was given a series of wigs of various shades of brown.
As the third lead in the series behind Ed Bishop’s Commander Straker and George Sewell’s Alec Freeman, Paul Foster was to be at the centre of most of the action, with the two other characters directing things from HQ. However, as Straker’s character developed he became more hands on, pushing Freeman to the side.
The first production block of seventeen episodes came to an end, and the production moved from MGM British studios at the end of November 1969, due to the studio closing down. With production not commencing again at Pinewood until June of 1970, George Sewell, as well as several other regulars in the cast, had moved on to other work. This led to Foster becoming the second lead, forming a popular partnership with Straker as a couple of action men for the last few episodes.
With a small role in the film Alfred the Great (1969), Billington appeared in two episodes of Yorkshire TV’s Hadleigh, and an episode of Z-CARS, before getting his next big TV role in historical drama series The Onedin Line (1971) as Daniel Fogarty, appearing in 35 episodes between 19714. The character returned in later seasons, but was recast with Tom Adams when Billington was unavailable. During this period he again secured only a small part in the BBC television production of War and Peace (1972) and played Milo Tindle in a touring stage production of Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth (the part played by Michael Caine in the 1972 film).
NEVER A JAMES BOND FAN
It was around this time that Billington began his association with the James Bond franchise. He admitted that he was never a big James Bond fan, but liked the early Sean Connery films, particularly Goldfinger. Talking to Phillipe Lombard for Archives 007, he expressed his initial feelings about the possibility of taking on the role.
“When I learned that the Producers had me in mind to replace Sean Connery I had very mixed feelings. Needless to say, that as a young actor, deep inside I felt excited at the prospects of becoming, even for a short time a ‘Film Star.’ But I was also aware that it could have backfired and I could have become unemployable once my prospective tenure as Bond had come to an end. I still had ambition to have a long career in films, and I could not foresee the Bond thing lasting much longer once Sean Connery; by far the best Bond ever, quit.”
His initial involvement began in the mid-sixties when Bud Ornstein, Head of Production for United Artists in Europe, saw him in a theatre production and invited Billington to meet him at the UA Offices. Ornstein said he would get some photographs taken and show them to Harry Saltzman. Several weeks later Billington was called in to meet with director Peter Hunt for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It was noted how the actor bore a resemblance to George Lazenby, who ended up with the role.
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) was just opening, and Billington was filming UFO, when Harry Saltzman came to view some special effects footage from the series, as the plan at the time was to do Moonraker next. This of course led to Anderson effects maestro Derek Meddings moving over to work on the Bond franchise. While there, producer Sylvia Anderson, an accomplished casting director in her own right, suggested Billington might be right to play Bond.
Billington tested for the role of 007 more than any other actor, first testing as Sean Connery’s replacement in Live and Let Die (1973). Billington felt he did well on the test for Live and Let Die and liked director Guy Hamilton. It was a specially written scene with actress Caroline Seymour. He was told by an insider that there was going to be an offer made, and there were stories in the national press that seemed to confirm that. So when it was announced that Roger Moore was to be the new Bond, Billington was stunned.
Jane Seymour who had appeared as Solitaire in Live and Let Die, went on to play Billington’s wife in The Onedin Line. She told him that Harry Saltzman would from time-to-time quiz her about him, including probing questions about his sexuality. As way of compensation after his previous disappointment, Cubby Broccoli offered him the small role of Sergei Barsov, the Russian agent and lover of Barbara Bach’s character, who is killed by Bond in the pre-title sequence of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
SKIING HOLIDAY
Harry Saltzman had gone by this time and Cubby was on his own. They had apparently been producing alternate Bond films up until then. Billington was aware that it might prevent him from playing Bond down the line; but thought he’d enjoy a couple of weeks in San Moritz skiing. And believing the franchise was on its last legs anyway, why not? In his portrayal he decided to make the character a dark anti-hero instead of playing it as Bond. Billington found himself working with second unit director John Glenn to shoot the skiing scenes but apart from evenings at dinner, didn’t see him much. Most of the work was done by Willie Bogner with a movie camera between his legs pointing behind him, while skiing backwards. A half a day filming in bed with Barbara Bach at Pinewood completed his scenes.
Billington later received a call to go to Paris for another series of tests. Moonraker (1979) was in pre-production and they were looking at possible Bond girls. He filmed some test scenes with the likes of Shelley Hack and the beautiful Sylvia Kristel among others.
Director Lewis Gilbert told him that he thought Billington should be the next 007, but it was really up to Cubby. According to Lewis, if Cubby invited him out to dinner on the last night of the tests, he was in with a shot. He did, and the actor had a pleasant dinner with Cubby, Mrs Broccoli, Lois, John Glen, and Barbara, Cubby’s daughter. He and Barbara spent a night on the town in Paris, with John Glen as chaperone. The next day he flew back to London.
Months later, Billington was working in Hollywood. All alone in a Los Angeles hotel, he decided to call the Bond office in Culver City to see if anyone was in town. Barbara was doing film studies at Loyola Marymont, and called him back. They went to a Hollywood Party, and became close. With For Your Eyes Only (1981) on the horizon, and John Glen directing, the crew were heading to Corfu to begin filming but Roger Moore was holding out. Cubby had Billington fitted out with Wardrobe and flown to Corfu for a picture shoot. The issues with Moore were of course resolved, but Billington stated that he was the first choice of “Cubby” Broccoli to be the next Bond, if negotiations with Moore had fallen through on For Your Eyes Only.
He made his final screen test for the part for Octopussy (1983). Roger this time was being “extra coy.” Billington tested with Deborah Sheldon and Susan Penhaligon but felt it was purely cosmetic. He didn’t feel John Glen was an actors’ director, and he seemed more secure with Roger. Billington may have felt he had a good chance of securing the coveted role, as he was dating Cubby’s daughter Barbara Broccoli at the time. But with the Octopussy screen test and in his view the quality of the film series declining, Billington accepted that ship had sailed. It would prove to be the biggest disappointment of his career, and after eight years the relationship with Barbara also came to an end, with Billington marrying Katherine Kristoff in 1988.
COMING TO AMERICA
During the 70s Billington travelled to the US and studied acting with famed teachers Lee and Anna Strasberg. With roles in TV mini-series Edward The Seventh (1975) and Sister Dora (1977), Billington’s next big TV role was as the lead in the first season of military drama Spearhead (1978), playing Colour Sergeant “Jacko” Jackson in 7 episodes. He also guest starred in an episode of The Professionals
(‘The Rack’ 1978) as gangster businessman John Coogan. Billington then turned his hand to script writing, penning the original draft of the David Essex starring film Silver Dream Racer (1980).
Feeling he needed to kick-start his career, Billington moved to Hollywood, appearing in such shows as Hart To Hart, Greatest American Hero, Fantasy Island, Philip Marlowe Private Eye and Magnum PI. He also acquired the recurring role of villainous Count Louis Dardinay in the short-lived action series The Quest (1982) and appeared in the TV movie Antony and Cleopatra (1984) as Ventidius.
Returning to the UK, Billington was cast as Peter Hubbard in Dwight H Little’s acclaimed spy thriller KGB: The Secret War (1985) He was then given the lead role as customs officer Tom Gibbons in BBC TV’s The Collectors (1986). But the series was not well received either by critics or the viewers, and the actor admitted it pretty much ended his career there and then.
Michael’s wife Katherine Kristoff died in 1998, after which he devoted himself to raising their son, Michael Jr. By that time, however, meaningful roles had begun to dry up. He made his final TV appearance in an episode of ITV’s Maigret (‘Maigret and the Nightclub Dancer,’ 1993).
By the mid-1990s Billington was a popular tutor working at the Lee Strasberg Studio in London, and he also worked on a book of a stage musical about Jack the Ripper. He would enthusiastically write on his website about the acting craft, with fewer opportunities to practice it.
Billington said this about his career in a 2004 interview: “I like the work I did in the theatre, like Death of a Salesman and Sleuth. You get more time to enjoy a play. Also Edward the VII I enjoyed, and I did a little film called KGB The Secret War, many years later, where I played a sort of Russian spy living in America. And I loved doing that tiny role in the Bond-film The Spy Who Loved Me. It was very interesting to go to Switzerland, do a bit of skiing and be paid for it!”
Michael remained an enthusiastic and popular guest at UFO conventions both in the UK and abroad for many years. He died of cancer on June 3, 2005, just five days before the death of his UFO co-star Ed Bishop.
END OF ARTICLE
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
That was a great piece, thanks @CoolHandBond for sharing that…I wonder what he did at the Windmill Theatre ☺️
Comments
Good stuff again…but really looking forward to the Lazenby one 😁
That was fun, I think I’d take issue with their criticism of the 2CV chase though, I think it’s the best in the series! 😄
Enjoyed reading that, thanks CHB.
Great stuff - odd he hasn't mentioned that Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais rewrote chunks of the Lorenzo Semple Jr's script, which is why the Porridge joke appears.
Fun article about the various appearances of that joke, from Porridge and earlier:
The writer of the article did not think through some of his positions. Saying that the 2CV car chase in FYEO "felt low rent" misses the point that the chase was obviously meant to be low rent and for a very good purpose: to show that Bond did not need gadgets or a high-powered car to triumph, in an amusing and clever fashion, over the bad guys (and in a chase more exciting than the more conventional ones in the series). This was a doubly important point to make in a film that was marking a transition away from gadget-heavy, "gloriously OTT" films like Moonraker. After '79 there was no way to go further OTT; the only route left was to go back to basics, a course pursued by other action films in the 80s as well. FYEO remains important for being a successful transitional film in the series, and OP followed its path--aside from the Acrostar it was not far more spectacular than its predecessor.
Mark Timbs on George Lazenby from the June 2023 issue of INFINTY.
Everyone has their favourite Bond film and everyone has their favourite Bond actor. Often, the man in the tux portraying Ian Fleming’s suave secret agent is the one they grew up with. For any millennial, Daniel Craig is the man and the one with the longest tenure as Bond (15 years), although that would have been less had Covid and lengthy ownership rights not got in the way.
A similar fate befell Timothy Dalton after his two Bonds at the tail of the 80s were curtailed by lengthy legal disputes. Action films were all the rage in the 90s, where Pierce Brosnan had to stand shoulder to shoulder with Will Smith, Mel Gibson, citydestroying aliens and dinosaurs, coming out pretty unscathed until Die Another Day nearly derailed the whole Bondwagon.
If you grew up in the 1970’s and enjoyed Bank Holiday Bonds throughout the following decade then Roger Moore was your double ‘O’ entendre, safari-suit-sporting and eyebrow-raising man of semi-action. However if you were with the movie Bond right from the start, and the man that screams James Bond to this very day, then Sean Connery is the definitive article. It is Connery’s Bond that sets the standard when it comes to the gadgets, the Aston Martin DB5, the Walther PPK and the tuxedo that has kept Bond going on the big screen for 60 years.
There is one man missing here however. The one that bridged the gap between the relatively serious spy movies of the 60s and the more tongue in cheek and OTT action of the 70s. The man who had to step into Connery’s suit (quite literally) and his rather large shoes following five Bond films from 1962 to 1967, at a time when the ‘spy’ craze was everywhere and do so without any acting experience.
George Lazenby was that man. He was born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia in September 1939, and his story is quite literally a rags to riches tale, with many ups and downs, which the man himself confessed was his favourite bit! Lazenby had a thirst for life and indeed for the ladies too; Non PC fact: His Bond scores the highest ratio of Bond Girls bedded… and he only made one film!
After a debilitating illness at a young age (losing one and a half kidneys) he was told by doctors not to play sports and not to drink. This was like a red rag to a bull, and young George did exactly those things and more. Getting into scraps and trouble meant the future 007 moved from school to school gaining little in the way of academic ability, though he learned how to use his wits and natural Aussie charm to get what he wanted.
Following a stint in the army and work as a car mechanic he progressed to becoming a car salesman. It was this career move and the love of his life moving to London in 1963 which instigated his relocating to a Britain at the time when music and movies were putting the country at the centre of the world entertainment map. London was beginning to swing, and though his relationship with his sweetheart didn’t work out, George was enamoured by the bright lights of London and decided to stay. Becoming a top car salesman in Park Lane brought him to the attention of talent scouts who took him out of the car showroom and into modelling agencies.
By 1968, having become the European Marlboro Man and ‘Big Fry’ in the Fry’s Chocolate commercials, George was the highest-paid model in the world and recognised wherever he went. The only people who appeared not to know him were the very people taken in by his swagger and persuasive personality and who gave him the shot at the biggest role in cinema at that time.
BACK TO BOND BASICS
By 1967 and the release of the fifth 007 adventure You Only Live Twice, Sean Connery had grown tired of playing Bond. Fearing typecasting and wanting the opportunity to complete other work without legions of fans chasing him wherever he went, he relinquished the role. He was also critical of Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Saltzman (the Bond producers who made him a star) because he felt they had not properly compensated for his work in the Bond films.
Casting agent Maggie Abbott was given the task of finding a new Bond. But who could possibly follow up Sean Connery’s fabulous portrayal?
The producers and director Peter Hunt (stepping up from editing all the previous five Bonds) went back to basics, deciding on Fleming’s 11th James Bond novel, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (originally published in April 1963 at a time when only the first Bond movie Dr. No had been released) as the next big screen outing.
In this one, Bond was to go undercover as a Genealogist to infiltrate a clinical allergyresearch institute in the Swiss Alps. It is run by arch nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is treating 12 women who each believe they have allergies. In reality they are Blofeld’s ‘Angels of Death’ who are being brainwashed to distribute bacteriological warfare agents around the world. In addition, Bond was to fall in love and marry while joining forces with a European crime syndicate to bring down Blofeld once and for all.
There are many rumours (some false, some true) regarding who was asked to audition to replace Connery. Among them: Michael Caine, Richard Burton, Patrick Mower, Terence Stamp and future Bond Timothy Dalton, who discounted himself on his young age. However there were five actors
short-listed for the coveted role: Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, John Richardson, Hans De Vries… and our man Lazenby.
Lazenby had followed the series of Bond films at the cinema and was envious of Connery. When the chance came about, it was a challenge that he couldn’t ignore. Stealthily he worked his way into the inner sanctum. He got his hair cut in the same barbers that Cubby frequented. He went to a tailors used by Connery for his Bond fittings, purchasing a suit not collected by Connery and wearing a Rolex not unlike Mr. Bond.
Although not a member of an acting union and having never acted before, he pushed his way into a casting meeting, convincing the powers that be that he had appeared in numerous small scale productions in various countries where it would be hard to check their authenticity.
Director Peter Hunt rumbled him eventually, but only after he had convinced two of the most powerful producers in the industry that this 6ft oner inch tall Australian, who broke the nose of a stuntman in a screen test, was the right man for the PPK. In Harry Saltzman’s words to the young actor, “We’re going with you”.
STUCK ON A MOUNTAIN
Filming commenced in October 1968 in the Swiss Alps where the magnificent scenery of Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant atop the Schilthorn near Murren was the base of production. Being stuck on a mountain, 29-year-old George Lazenby (the youngest Bond) enjoyed the perks of the job, stranded with the 12 Angels of Death (which included Angela Scoular, Catherine Schell, Joanna Lumley, Julie Ege and Jenny Hanley). He made fast friends with co-star (and future Kojak) Telly Savalas often losing his wages playing poker before they were won back for him by Saltzman.
Back at Pinewood, there was the infamous ‘garlic’ comment made by co-star Diana Rigg to the press before an intimate scene between the actor and the future Mrs. Bond. This of course was blown out of proportion as indication that there was friction between the two stars. (Editor’s note: Read Sam Irvin’s eyeopening Confessions of a Teenage Monster Hunter interview with Diana and you’ll see there was indeed plenty of friction!)
Due to Lazenby’s lack of acting experience, Peter Hunt ensured that he surrounded him with actors of a high stature. All the Bond regulars (M, Moneypenny and Q were back) and Savalas and Rigg had vast experience. For the benefit of doubt, Rigg (who sadly passed away in 2020) was professional throughout (even performing many of her own stunts during the stock-car ice-rink action scenes). Though Peter Hunt was an early advocate of the new actor, he did fall out with him during production and reportedly would only direct him through messages to others.
What was true is that Lazenby was naïve and often acted the star, possibly encouraged to do so by co-stars, crew and friends. Cubby was reported to have said: “You’re only a star when I say you are.” He would stand by his dislike of Lazenby for many years, and the reputation of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service suffered as a result.
The producers took a huge financial risk on the young Lazenby. What they didn’t expect afterwards was for him to refuse to sign his contract or indeed negotiate to appear in future Bond entries. They discovered rather too late in the day that they had a rough diamond who was every bit the confident James Bond off screen as he was on.
Both Harry and Cubby tried to persuade Lazenby that the gig was his, offering him a huge amount of money to stay, as well as the ability to make his own choice of movies outside of Bond if he signed a seven picture contract. Seven further films would have seen him portray Bond right through the seventies which would have meant no Roger Moore (and perhaps no double-taking pigeons). The future of Bond would have looked very different. At the time of OHMSS’ production, Lazenby was being managed by Ronan O’Rahilly, known as the creator of Radio Caroline, an offshore radio station that introduced pop fans to new music throughout the sixties before Radio One and UK legislation killed it off.
It was O’Rahilly that convinced Lazenby that James Bond was out of touch with the times. Whilst many people were strolling around in flares with long hair and a free love attitude, successful movies like Easy Rider were depicting the youth-targeted growing counter-culture scene.
O’Rahilly convinced Lazenby that now he was famous he could get any role he wanted, and that he could easily make more money following Clint Eastwood into Spaghetti Westerns in Italy. With his mind made up, Lazenby walked. This indeed had also happened to the other fellow, but not after just one appearance.
UNHAPPY ENDING
For a long time On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has had a reputation for being one of the most unsuccessful entries in the series. In fact this is far from true. It was the number one box office hit of the year in the UK and ranked Number 11 in the US despite only being released in mid-December 1969. However, its box office performance was no doubt impacted by the film’s 2 hour 20 minute running time, which resulted in less screenings per day. It remained the longest running movie in the franchise until Casino Royale in 2006.
Also working against the film was the unhappy ending. 53 year old Spoiler Alert: Diana Rigg’s Tracy Bond is assassinated at the movie’s end, as she is in the book. Connery was also just too tough an act to follow.
However, the film has had a thorough reappraisal over the past twenty years or so, and now often deservedly ranks as the fan’s favourite from all the 25 official James Bond movies. So much so that 2021’s No Time To Die borrowed heavily from not just its storyline but soundtrack too and even uses the infamous quote “We have all the time in the world.”
A great deal of the support for the film comes down to the man in the title role. Despite having no acting experience prior to making OHMSS, Lazenby makes a very good Bond. A tough exterior (shown in a few brutal fight sequences which won’t be seen again until Daniel Craig) and a cocksure charm help make him almost as effective as Connery.
In fact, if you imagine Connery in this film, there are two sequences where Lazenby outshines his predecessor. Trapped in the local Swiss village with Blofeld’s goons in close pursuit, Lazenby’s Bond frantically tries to find a way out, scared that he’s out of luck, until Rigg’s Tracy steps in and saves him. And he’s very good in the end scene, cradling his murdered wife in his arms. Despite his acting credentials, Connery never showed this level of emotion in the previous films and Lazenby really shines in these two examples.
What would have been nice next would have been a Diamonds Are Forever where Lazenby’s Bond was in full on revenge mode, going after Blofeld to avenge his wife’s death. Alas we got Diamonds Are Forever in 1971 with a brief (and expensive for the producers) return from Sean Connery. There was an element of revenge in the pre-credits sequence but from there on in, the humour was increased which paved the way for Roger Moore’s light-hearted and highly successful tenure.
LIFE AFTER BOND
George Lazenby soon found himself cut-off from the business. The old showbiz producer’s threat of “You’ll never work in this town again!” suddenly rang very true. Despite being asked not to, Lazenby attended the OHMSS London première with long hair and a beard. He was then removed from the usual press tours to promote the film.
Going back to basics, George never gave up but continued onward on his own terms. He studied drama to better his acting skills. His next project was Universal Soldier, a cinéma-vérité styled drama about a group of ex war mercenaries trying to overthrow an African dictator filmed around the dank back streets of London. It was directed by Zulu’s Cy Endfield, and Lazenby assisted with writing and producing the movie, which sank without trace on its 1971 release.
Next was an Italian giallo, the Venice-set Who Saw Her Die (1972). Whilst many praised Lazenby’s performance it wasn’t a particular success and not helped by the English version dubbing Lazenby with another actor.
Due to the popularity of Hong Kong-set martial arts films in the early seventies (indeed even Bond ventured there in 1974’s The Man With The Golden Gun), there was talk of Lazenby teaming up with Bruce Lee. There was a successful meeting between the two to set up the movie, but Lee sadly died at the age of 32. Lazenby stayed in Hong Kong, however and continued to make the film planned with Lee: The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss (1974). He followed this with The Man From Hong Kong and The Queen’s Ransom over the next two years, showing a physical threat to his talented opponents in the action stakes in all three.
Many smaller movies and television shows followed including a brief cameo as J.B. in 1983’s Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E. where he played a white-tuxedoed Bond lookalike in an Aston Martin DB5 and in 1990’s Superboy. But George’s once promising bright star had softened its glow. Out of sight for many, he became a quiz question and a punchline for Bond parodies.
Off-screen he married in the early seventies and had two children, one of whom sadly died of a brain tumour at 19 years of age. He later married and divorced tennis star Pam Shriver with whom he had three children, including twins.
In more recent times Lazenby has enjoyed the fan circuit of conventions and guest appearances, serving up his well told tales of becoming Bond and letting it all go. He has since stressed his many regrets on turning down Bond after only one film. But he is a fantastic raconteur who has lost none of the charm, arrogance and confidence that won him the Bond role in the first place.
Completely non PC, he gladly recounts the adventures he got up to with the opposite sex throughout his time as Bond and beyond. He certainly has much more love for the part than Connery did once he hung up the Walther.
The 2017 docu-drama Becoming Bond is a pretty funny look at his life and there’s an amusing 22Minutes sketch viewable online called 0070 where he pokes fun at himself. He also gave a good performance in the 2019 audio spy drama Passport to Oblivion opposite Glynis Barber and Terence Stamp.
Often referred to as the ‘forgotten Bond’ there is nothing forgettable about George Lazenby. A true maverick who did it his way and continues to tell the tale well into his eighties.
Interesting article, thanks CHB.
Nice piece - thanks for sharing that 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the article, gents.
Has he really only got half a kidney?
According to his Wikipedia entry it’s true.
It's an Australian kidney, probably bigger and more robust than most. Great article, nothing very new but a good read
Barry McCann on Operation Kid Brother from INFINITY November 2023
Never mind who is the best James Bond, how about your favourite Bond knock off? The Man from UNCLE, Matt Helm, Charles Vine, Derek Flint? The 1960s were abounding with them. However, there is one curiosity piece which went a step further by featuring the brother of James Bond, both figuratively and literally, and a strange case of cinematic sibling rivalry. Okay, Connery, here comes Operation Kid Brother.
By the 1960s, the revitalised Italian movie industry was making a mint with Mockbusters, films so called because they imitated popular Hollywood products. The most famous example of this was the Spaghetti Western, in particular Sergio Leone’s Dollar trilogy with Clint Eastwood which, in turn, proved highly influential on the Hollywood western from there on.
Indeed, many of these mockbusters starred imported American actors to facilitate their way onto the world market, though working with a mainly Italian cast. However, dialogue was no problem as Italian studios tended to dub their movies in post-production, offering both English and Italian language versions for distribution.
Italian producers were not backyard in jumping onto the superspy craze following the breakthrough success of Goldfinger in 1964, and some productions that did achieve international release included Spy in Your Eye (1965) and the American co-produced Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966). But it was early in 1966 that producer Dario Sabatello set about cashing in on the 007 franchise far more audaciously than anyone had dared before.
Sabatello had apparently enquired about licensing James Bond for his own production, which if true was always going to be a non-starter. However, it seems he did approach Sean Connery about playing a faux Bond character, which again was never going to happen. Connery quite pointedly sought parts as far away from 007 as possible between his Bond assignments, and was about to quit the character anyway.
Still, if you cannot get the real McCoy then ask the family. A year previously in 1965, John Lennon’s estranged father, Alfred “Freddy” Lennon, had been wheeled into a recording studio to record the single ‘That’s My Life’ in what was seen as a cynical attempt to cash in on his now more famous son. Fate was to deliver Sabatello a similar ploy.
Neil Connery, the younger brother of Sean, was a plasterer based in his native Scotland with absolutely no intention of following his elder sibling into the acting game. That is, until one day when his tools were stolen and for which he was sacked by his employer. And it must have taken some guts to fire the brother of James Bond!
Because of this family connection, the incident made the news and Terence Young, the director who had mentored Sean Connery in his first Bond films, heard Neil speaking in a radio interview. Knowing that Dario Sabatello had been seeking Connery’s services, Young contacted and informed the producer how much Neil sounded like his big brother. Next thing, Sabatello was on his way to Edinburgh to meet the man.
An interview was arranged at the Caledonian Hotel which Neil Connery attended dressed in a hand-me-down Saville Road suit that, ironically, brother Sean had worn in one of his Bond outings. Not only was Sabatello impressed by Neil’s close resemblance to his sibling, but also his athleticism, he having trained as a boxer during his army days.
Things were looking promising and Alberto De Martino was appointed to direct.
Neil was invited to a screen test in Rome a month later, for which he had to embrace a girl, sing, dance and perform a hand-to-hand fight with a knife. By this point, he had got himself an agent who cheekily claimed that Sean would agree to cameo in the film if Neil clinched the part. Sean had made no such promise and remained openly hostile to the whole thing, though Neil said his brother did quietly advise him to “Make sure things are in black and white before you sign them, and that they’re to your advantage.”
It proved advice well given as Neil got himself a £5,000 salary, plus the extension of his contract into a six-picture deal should the film prove a winner. With the former plasterer now in place, the proposed movie Operation Casbah became O.K. Connery, being the phrase by which the crew signed off each stage of his audition. The title change also reflected the fact that Neil Connery was now playing a character called Dr. Neil Connery, in some strange attempt to hoodwink audiences this was not merely the actor’s sibling but James Bond’s own brother. Or, at least, hinted as far as copyright would allow them.
This attempt to position the film in an unofficial James Bond meta-universe did not stop there. Sabatello set about a shopping list of actors who had appeared in and remained identified with 007 movies past, three of whom, Adolfo Celi, Daniela Bianchi and Anthony Dawson had just worked with Alberto De Martino in his 1967 Italian war film Dirty Heroes. In addition, he also drafted in M and Miss Moneypenny themselves by engaging Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell, which further angered Sean Connery.
When learning that Lois had agreed to appear in the movie, Sean told her “You are betraying me,” to which she retorted “I am not. I am getting a bigger part than I ever had in the Bond films.” Lois also pointed out she was being paid more than all her Moneypenny appearances put together and did not have the luxury of the plentiful, highly paid roles that he enjoyed. As things turned out, Sean would have reason to be grateful to his Moneypenny for her presence in the rival project. When she sat with Neil at a press conference in Rome to launch the film, he quietly confessed to being nervous of journalists promoting competition with his brother. So Lois advised him to give her a kick if asked an awkward question, to which she would take over and answer it for him.
The film’s Italian principle backer and distributor, Titanus, managed to raise the proposed budget of $1.2 million by pre selling the worldwide rights to no less than United Artists, the backing studio of the Bond films themselves. Shooting was set to commence in the Mediterranean during late November 1966, just as filming on You Only Live Twice was coming to completion and in time for Yee-Wah Yang, one of the Bond movie’s Japanese bath girls, to be engaged by Sabatello for a leading role.
With Sean Connery declaring the latest Bond to be his last, Sabatello extended his brass neck further by proposing his brother could take over as 007 for the EON series. No doubt, the wily Italian had one eye on the fact that Neil was under a provisional long term contract to him, thus a deal with Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman would have to be done.
The Bond producers were having none of it, Harry Saltzman asserting “Neil Connery will never take over from his brother as James Bond” and dismissing Sabatello’s whole set up as “an attempt by the Italian to make a fast dollar.”
Sabatello’s hope that Sean himself could be persuaded to make a cameo appearance was dashed when the actor bluntly told him “By getting my brother to make this kind of picture, you are exploiting us both.”
The three-month filming schedule kicked off in Cinecitta, Rome, with further filming in Barcelona, Malaga, Monte Carlo, San Remo, Tetuan and Turin, so there was certainly no short-changing on the glamours locations. Interestingly, it was also decided that Neil Connery should sport a beard, which was applied by Alberto De Martino’s own father, Romolo de Martino The film opens with a luxurious yacht arriving port-side in Monte Carlo, its crew being attractive young women in sailor suits so cute and sexy one would think Hugh Hefner designed them. Below deck, the vessel’s owner, Thayer (Adolfo Celi), is enjoying a massage from another scantilyclad female before breaking off to receive a video transmission from a local airfield, where British agent Miss Maxwell (Lois Maxwell) is being observed awaiting her contact, Ward Jones, who is flying in by light aircraft.
Thayer remotely activates a radio controlled car and steers it into direct collision with the plane, causing it to explode and killing Jones. The airfield rescue team arrive on the scene, one of them retrieving a steel box Jones was delivering and making off with it. The thief removes her hazard suit to reveal Thayer’s operative, Maya Rafis (Daniela Bianchi), who is then ordered by to find Jones’s girlfriend, Yashuko (Yee-Wah Yang as Yachuo Yama).
Yashuko is the subject of a presentation at a Congress of Plastic Surgeons by Dr Neil Connery from Edinburgh, a cosmetic surgeon whose technique is based on a Tibetan method of hypnotism which facilitates full restoration without scar tissue, now successfully applied to Yashuko following a facial injury. He also demonstrates his ability to lip read.
A group of Thayer’s henchmen and women arrive at the conference posing as reporters, but intent on kidnapping Yashuko. A mass fight breaks out during which Connery kills one of the intruders, while the woman escapes only to be picked up and taken by Maxwell.
Maxwell’s boss, Commander Cunningham (Bernard Lee), attends an auction where he meets Thayer, the two of them already acquainted. Thayer is there to bid for a statue he is determined to possess, but is outbid at the last moment by the mysterious Alpha (Anthony Dawson), head of the criminal organisation THANATOS for which Thayer is second in command as codename Beta.
Meanwhile, Maya and another of Thayer’s henchwomen, Lotte Krayendorf (Ana María Noé), have located Yashuko who is being kept in a hospital. Disguised as nuns, Maya pumps gas into Yashuko’s room to knock her out, before Lotte removes her via an elaborate pulley through the window and down to a waiting ambulance below.
Connery is brought in to meet Cunningham and Maxwell, the Commander commenting “Miss Yashuko is right, I can see the resemblance.” Maxwell responds “Think so? I’m not so sure of that, really. I don’t think he is quite so good looking.” Never the less, Cunningham tells Connery “You’re the brother of our top agent, so I think we can trust you.”
Connery identifies a photo of the dead Jones, explaining he had taught the man a form of hypnosis by which a subject could be fed information and carry it in their unconscious without knowing. Cunningham tells him Jones was bringing them an important package and had requested protection for Yashuka as part of the deal. Connery concludes he must have planted the data for the package in her mind using the hypnotic technique, and he is enlisted to help recover the information.
The THANATOS organisation board are holding a conference in their secret base located under a Bavarian castle, Alpha and Thayer heading proceedings. An ambitious plan to extort the world’s gold reserves has suffered a set back by their failure to obtain an atomic nucleus, for which agent Gamma (Mario Soria) is held responsible and killed by poisoned water. Thayer informs Alpha that Commander Cunningham is onto them. “He’s enlisted the aid of that young Scottish Doctor, you know the brother of zero… zero…” to which Alpha responds “A most disagreeable family.” Connery meets and competes with Thayer at a Monte Carlo archery contest, but Cunningham then dispatches him to Malaga where Yashuko has been seen. Thayer’s henchwoman, Mildred (Agata Flori), follows him there. Connery and Maxwell make contact with Juan (Franco Giacobini), and they track down Yashuko to Krayendorf’s castle after Connery extracts her whereabouts from Mildred by hypnotism. An armed attack on the location results in Krayendorf being killed and Yashuko rescued. As Connery is extracting the information from her, Yashuko is assassinated by Mildred, who herself is then killed by Juan.
In one of the film’s most bizarre sequences, an atomic nucleus is being transported in a van by American military police, which is stopped by Maya and her henchwomen dressed up as can can girls to lure the MPs and ambush them. The women then change into cat costumes and disguise the van as “The Wild Pussy Club” before setting off with their prize, no doubt as a nod to Pussy Galore and her troupe of ladies.
Now in the possession of THANATOS, the atomic nucleus will create high frequency magnetic waves that could paralyse most of the world’s metal machinery, a weapon with which they will blackmail the major powers. Alpha also decides that the “Scottish Doctor” needs to be eliminated.
Connery travels to Morocco and investigates a rug factory Thayer owns, which strangely employs only blind men. An attempt made on Connery’s life is thwarted by Maya, who tells him Thayer is holding a party in his palace and suggests he attends. During this event, Thayer reveals to his most trusted allies he wants Alpha dead and replaced by a double surgically created by Connery, hence wanting to keep him alive. Though not within earshot, Connery lip reads Thayer planning to eliminate his henchwomen and warns Maya, who initially dismisses this with “You read too many novels like Fleming.”
Disguised as a blind Moroccan weaver, Connery infiltrates the rug factory to find its workers are exposed to dangerous radioactive materials. He is captured and taken to Thayer’s yacht to transform Kurt (Guido Lollobrigida) into Alpha’s lookalike, but Connery hypnotises Kurt to attack Thayer while the female crewmembers mutiny and take over the yacht. Thayer kills Kurt and then escapes to the THANATOS headquarters.
Considering him to have failed, Alpha demands Thayer kill himself by the customary poisoned water, but he fakes his death and Alpha is killed instead. Thayer is now in control and the next phase of Operation Blackmail is set in motion.
Maya is now on Connery’s side and the pair locate the THANATOS lair by helicopter using a Geiger counter to detect the radioactive rugs, Connery infiltrating the base while Maya flies back to Cunningham to get reinforcements. The magnetic wave is activated, paralysing all mechanisms including motor vehicles and handguns, so Maya and Juan enlist the Scottish team from the archery contest who ride to the base on horseback to attack it with bow and arrows.
Connery plants an anti-magnetic explosive to disable the paralysing wave but is then confronted by Thayer, the pair settling their differences with an archery duel for which Thayer pays for with his life. Both the base and its magnetic wave are destroyed, saving the day and prompting Cunningham to try recruiting Connery as a permanent agent. He decides instead to accompany Maya for a cruise on Thayer’s yacht.
The most striking thing about Sabatello’s film is not just his drafting of actors from the Bond films, but putting some of them in like-for-like roles.
Bernard Lee’s Cunningham is so much like his M that it could be him operating in the field under a codename, as Moneypenny may also be doing under the name of Maxwell. But then, that was the intended impression.
Having played SPECTRE’s Number Two complete with eye-patch, it must have been déjà vu for Adolfo Celi to find himself as THANATOS’s Beta complete with monocle. Also appropriate was having the Alpha head played by Anthony Dawson who, apart from appearing as Professor Dent in Dr. No (1962), had served as SPECTRE’s half hidden Number One in subsequent Bond films, before the character was revealed to be Donald Pleasence’s Blofeld that is.
Daniela Bianchi’s Maya is actually more in keeping with Luciana’s Paluzzi’s Fiona, Largo’s henchwoman in Thunderball (1964), but at least it gave her the chance to play a very different and stronger character to her rather helpless Tatania Romanova in From Russia with Love (1963).
Ana María Noé as Lotte Krayendorf is obviously based on Rosa Klebb from that same film, as confirmed by partially naming her after the original actress Lotte Lenya. Presumably, Sabatello’s budget did not stretch to engaging Lenya herself, or she just wasn’t interested.
Despite the physical resemblance of Neil Connery to “the other fella”, the knowing winks of his character being literally the brother of James Bond must very well have been lost on some audiences at the time, given he no longer sounded like his better known sibling or, indeed, himself. Having contracted appendicitis, Neil was unavailable for post-production dubbing and his Scottish vocal replaced by an American accent. Ironic, as it was Neil’s voice on that fateful radio interview which first attracted the attention to him.
For the music Alberto de Martino hired Ennio Morricone, who was coming to international attention thanks to his distinctive scores for Leone’s Dollars trilogy. He worked with fellow composer Bruno Nicolai on a catchy soundtrack that did in places echo John Barry combined with Morricone’s own musical idiom. The theme song, ‘The Man for Me’, was delivered by the Italian vocalist and actress Maria Cristina Brancucci, credited on this occasion as simply Christy.
Operation Kid Brother, as the film became titled for its UK and USA release, premiered at the Pavilion in London’s West End on April 25, 1967, the taglines heralding “Neil Connery is Too Much” and “Operation Kid Brother is Too Much for One Mother!”
CONTINUED BELOW…
Exactly what Effie Connery, the boys’ real life mother, made of this is anyone’s guess, though it is a wonder Sabatello did not try signing her up too.
The film poster by American artist Ron Lesser was designed in the style of Robert McGinnis, the illustrator of the classic run of James Bond film posters from Thunderball to The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). McGinnis had not long moonlighted to Charles K. Feldman for his 1967 version of Casino Royale, the poster design for that declaring “Casino Royale is Too Much… for One James Bond!” Evidently there was “too much” of a theme going on with Bond spoofs that year.
Though given a family friendly ‘A’ rating, Operation Kid Brother found itself put on general release in a strange pairing up with the X rated Beach Red, a serious anti-war drama produced, directed and starring Cornel Wilde. This effectively cancelled the film’s intended family audience as no one under 16 would be admitted.
It managed to do somewhat better in America with box office returns considered decent, but hardly impressive. For other markets, it did the rounds under alternative titles including Operation Double 007 and Secret Agent 00. During the early 1970s, it was finally granted a stand-alone re-release in UK cinemas and usually booked for Sunday matinée screenings, where at least it was finally accessible to younger audiences.
Where the movie really failed to shine was in terms of critical plaudits. Many criticised its rather laboured screenplay, not surprising as it went through four different writers (Paolo Levi, Frank Walker, Stanley Wright and Stefano Canzio). There was also the film’s rather slow direction, Alberto de Martino allowing many scenes to linger in comparison to the faster pace of the genuine Bond capers.
But much of the negativity took aim at Neil Connery’s lack of acting experience, which does show in places while being dubbed with an inappropriate voice did not help. However, his natural athleticism scored in the fight sequences and he also managed to learn archery for the scene where competes with Thayer in the sport, inspired no doubt by the clay pigeon challenge between Largo and Bond in Thunderball.
The film’s modest business proved not enough to activate Neil Connery’s long term contract and he returned to England where his services as an actor were hired for the low budget sci-fi thriller The Body Stealers (1969), a movie best known to genre fans for reusing the Dalek flying saucer from the film Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 AD made three years earlier.
Sadly, any dream of Neil carrying forward a Connery acting dynasty was not to be. It took Sean’s son, Jason, to later carry that can, though he wisely avoided accepting Bond type parts. Jason did, however, play Ian Fleming in the 1990 biopic Spymaker, commenting at the time “Freud would have a field day.”
In the meantime, Neil Connery returned to plastering with occasional film and TV appearances. Despite press claims at the time, there were no hard feelings from Sean as confirmed when Neil accompanied him to the Scottish première of Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. Indeed, filming that Bond movie enabled Sean to reconcile with Lois Maxwell, telling her “I have to thank you for protecting my brother and I. Without you I’m sure he would have gotten into trouble. I’m sorry I was rude to you.”
Neil Connery passed away on 9 May 2021, just seven months after Sean. His death did receive some feature coverage in the press, The Sun in particular recalling his involvement in Operation Kid Brother with affection. One can imagine most of its readers had never heard of the film or surprised to learn Sean Connery did have an acting brother.
Question is does this Italian mockbuster deserve to be better remembered or rediscovered? Unlike the blatantly comedic Matt Helm and Derek Flint movies, which have come to be seen as forerunners of Austin Powers, Operation Kid Brother is a spoof played with a fairly straight face and interestingly more prescient of developments in future Bond films themselves.
The sequence where Thayer’s female crew attack the men on board his yacht is a practical dry run for the climax of Octopussy (1983), where Maud Adams’s band of sisters ambush the guards at the villain’s palace hideout. And deploying the Monneypenny figure as a field operative was something later taken up by EON themselves in 2012’s Skyfall.
Until the Bond producers decide where they are going next with the legitimate franchise, maybe the gap could be filled with an updated remake of this shameless but fun copycat. O.K. Craig – Operation Kid Sister anybody?
END OF ARTICLE
A great read. Some background info I wasn't aware of, plus an indepth synopsis of the movie itself. I have never seen it and am sorely tempted now.
Agreed, a great read.
Back when we were doing the watchalongs, some of us tried to persuade someone (Higgins?) to see this, claiming it was a magnificent example of spy fiction, a vastly underrated movie, etc. Sadly he didn't go for it.
Thank you @CoolHandBond for that article…like chrisno1 - there was loads of information in there that I’d never heard/read before…I have this film in the now defunct VHS format somewhere…it’s obviously not very good - despite some of the cast - but it’s not unwatchable either 🤔
Two points…
The absolute child in me laughed out loud at the company name of the principal backer - Titanus 🤣
And the Freddie Lennon tune - if any of you have heard it? - is a little too close to the tune of Imagine 🤨
@Sir Miles The absolute child in me laughed out loud at the company name of the principal backer - Titanus 🤣
I can tell you’re a Carry On and Up Pompeii fan 😂
Completely 😁
Thank you the post! I'm now very curious to hear Neil Connery's actual, non-dubbed voice, but I can't find any clips.
I must admit that if I was Cubby or Harry and heard that Sean Connery had a brother who looked and sounded like him, I'd give him a screen test! Neil obviously wouldn't have had anything matching Sean's charisma or talent, but it wouldn't have hurt to gauge his potential. He had no acting experience, but it's not as if Lazenby had much either.
Roger Crow talks GF - INFINITY February 2024
GILT COMPLEX - GOLDFINGER AT 60
He was so sexy and fun and professional. It was great. I enjoyed it!”
Honor Blackman, 2012
‘HE’ of course being Sean Connery, and ‘it’ may have been that onscreen tumble in the hay, but was mainly the third James Bond movie itself, a film so iconic it’s been copied for the past 60 years. So, whether you’re a hardcore 007 fan or casual aficionado, let’s take another trip down memory lane and reflect on arguably the definitive Connery-era Bond movie.
THE PRODUCTION
Thanks to series regular Richard Maibaum, and Paul Dehn (who later rebooted the early Planet of the Apes saga), the script was 24-carat. However, getting the right person to turn their words into 24 frames per second of screen magic meant taking a gamble. Terence Young had directed the first two epics, and Guy Hamilton’s inaugural 007 movie saw the helmer keen to shake things up. Guy, an original choice for Dr No director, had problems with some of the crew as the ‘new boy’.
After being given “a boot up the arse”, they got on “splendidly” according to Hamilton on the Blu-ray yack track.
Following Robert Brownjohn’s stunning opening credits, and THAT bombastic song courtesy of lyricists Anthony Newley and Lesley Bricusse; composer John Barry, and Shirley Bassey, we’re off to Miami. Well, sort of. Sean Connery was busy filming Marnie for Alfred Hitchcock at the time of production, so Guy Hamilton had to improvise with the early shots at the Fontainebleau hotel, mostly filmed at Pinewood. (Cec Linder’s Felix Leiter was on location for the Florida bits, but then his scenes were merged with studio shots and background plates).
Like M’s one-hit wonder Pop Music, all 007’s M wants to “talk about” is the mission. Exposition is a key factor in all Bond epics, and Bernard Lee’s MI6 grand fromage did a fine job of feeding assorted JBs the intel until Moonraker, (the same year as that aforementioned track).
Naturally Bond knew everything there was to know about the bad guy, the MacGuffin, and the mission already, but without that ‘other fella’ to ask the question in the right way, an exposition ’punchline’ can fall flatter than a henchman dropping from a villain’s airship.
And as good as Lee is on his third outing, a shout out to Goldfinger’s other splendid briefing bloke, Richard Vernon, aka Colonel Smithers*; he later played Slartibartfast in the radio and TV versions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
*Not to be confused with Jeremy Bulloch’s namesake tech guy at Q branch in later Bond movies.
Not only was this the first glimpse of Q’s workshop, but also every Bond fan’s favourite motor, the Aston Martin DB5. Guy Hamilton was against Q’s explanation of what the car does, preferring to reveal the assorted gadgets when they were needed, but producer Cubby Broccoli knew the audience wanted a demo, and insisted. Hamilton begrudgingly agreed, and later realised Cubby was on the money. Without Q’s “Now pay attention” scene, we would have been denied one of the best briefings in 007 history, not least because of Connery’s reaction to the DB5’s most memorable gadget: “Ejector seat? You’re joking!”
THE MAN WITH THE MIDAS TOUCH
German-born Gert Frobe had been a screen presence for years before being cast as ‘the man with the Midas touch’. The Ballad of Berlin (1948) and The Heroes Are Tired (1955) were a couple of his many projects prior to Bond duties. So he had the acting chops, and seemed perfect as bad guy Auric Goldfinger, but his dialogue was a problem. As Gert couldn’t speak English when he arrived for the shoot, his lines were dubbed by actor Michael Collins. It mattered little, as Frobe had a sinister on-screen presence that didn’t rely on physical gimmicks like many 007 villains. His Goldfinger was just bad to the bone, as that iconic James vs laser scene proved, and audiences both loved and loathed him.
All Bond movies are basically chess games, and the staple of any 007 ‘chess’ match is the use of sacrificial pawns, whether it’s generic scientists blown up in a helicopter or beautiful women either fed to piranhas, or hunted by dogs. But covering Auric Goldfinger’s alluring assistant Jill Masterson in gold paint? That was screen murder as an art form, and 007’s reaction to his most recent conquest is a mix of horror and fascination.
The scene: Goldfinger is cheating at cards via an earpiece with an accomplice (Jill) feeding him vital info about his opponent, which leads to the first of a couple of cat and mouse scenes between 007 and the eponymous villain.
Former Carry On girl Shirley Eaton didn’t have a lot of heavy lifting to do in Goldfinger. Her five minutes of screen time as Jill Masterson sees Shirley lying down for most of the time. However, she became the most famous sacrificial pawn in 007 history and one of the most photographed women of 1964. Talk about maximum impact, minimum effort. The fact that Jill’s vengeful sister Tilly (Tania Mallet) is later bumped off as well was a major rug- pull. Killing one sibling was shocking. But both? Unheard of.
The second 007 vs Goldfinger scene is a fun game of golf, underlining what we already knew: the bad guy is a cheat on the fairway too. As a side note, Connery was a novice during the golf scenes shot at Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire, but he became obsessed with the game from then on.
Of course we also get a look at Harold Sakata’s Oddjob, one of the best villainous sidekicks, not least because of that razortipped hat. Thanks to some clever wire work and rapid editing by Peter Hunt (who later helmed On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), that display of lethal headgear foreshadows the all-important showdown in the third act when Bond has to defuse a bomb, and defeat the mute assassin.
Pussy Galore was easily one of the most intriguing Bond women in the franchise. After two films in which 007 just looked at a woman and they fell into bed with him, he needed a ‘challenge’. Could a lesbian stunt pilot be ‘converted’ after a tumble in the hay* with MI6’s most famous killer/sex pest? If you are a first-time viewer, no prizes for guessing the outcome there. *Honor Blackman was used to judo falls onto cement as Cathy Gale in TV’s The Avengers, so she felt it was “luxury” shooting the barn brawl where she had to land on hay.
BOOK TO SCREEN COMPARISONS
Tony Greenway, one of his Majesty’s leading 007 experts, gives us the low-down on how Ian Fleming’s original novel compares to the movie. On paper, there are an enjoyable number of similarities between Goldfinger the novel and Goldfinger the film. They both have Bond foiling Goldfinger’s card scam in Miami and then ‘borrowing’ his girlfriend/ accomplice, Jill (surname Masterton in the novel, but Masterson in the film, for some unfathomable reason). They both include a grudge match game of golf between Bond and the villain; Bond being strapped to a table while something sharp edges up towards his nether regions; henchman Oddjob killing Tilly (Jill’s sister) with his steelrimmed hat; Goldfinger assembling a bunch of gangsters in an attempt to raid Fort Knox; and (spoiler!) both have Bond dispatching Goldfinger on an airplane at the climax.
Yet significant changes in Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn’s screenplay dramatically improve the Fleming original. For starters, in the book, Bond doesn’t see Jill’s lifeless body covered from head to toe in gold paint. Instead, he merely finds out about the way she was murdered from Tilly, which drastically lessens its impact.
And it isn’t a laser beam that threatens to cut Bond in half. It’s a circular saw which, as villainous plans go, is a bit old-fashioned and moustache-twirling. In this scene there’s no: “Do you expect me to talk?” “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!” either. Which is a pity.
In the novel, Pussy Galore isn’t Goldfinger’s personal pilot with a cut-glass British accent and a natty line in judo moves - she’s a gangster from Harlem with a potty mouth. In the film, it’s hinted that Pussy is gay (“You can turn off the charm,” she tells Bond. “I’m immune.”).
In the book, she’s unequivocally a lesbian - until the very end, of course, when, with Bond’s help, she discovers she isn’t. The Tilly of the novel is a lesbian, too, and it’s made explicit that she is sexually attracted to Pussy (oh, look, BEHAVE).
Other changes: Goldfinger doesn’t murder all the gangsters by gassing them in his games room. And it’s Oddjob who gets sucked out of the plane window, not Goldfinger (rather disappointingly, Bond just strangles him).
But the best thing that Maibaum and Dehn do is have Goldfinger attempt to irradiate Fort Knox with an atom bomb - a much more plausible and evil scheme than the one cooked up in novel. In the book, even though Goldfinger has an atomic warhead at his disposal, his plan is to stage a break-in and steal all the gold (an idea that the Bond of the movie openly scoffs at). The film also shows audiences the breath-taking interior of Fort Knox; or, at least, Ken Adam’s approximation of it. In the book, Goldfinger’s plans are scuppered before he can get inside. And while Bond drives an Aston Martin DB3 in the book, it doesn’t have left and right front-wing machine guns, an oil slick or an ejector seat - unlike the film’s fully loaded Aston Martin DB5.
FASHIONABLY GREAT
As you may recall from Infinity 52’s Dr No feature, writer and film producer Jonathan Sothcott is an expert on 007’s threads. I asked the man behind new movies Peter Rabid and Knightfall why Sean’s sartorial look is so timeless.
“Connery’s suits in Goldfinger are perhaps his best remembered, not least because it remains his most iconic Bond film. The threepiece light grey suit is the standard by which all subsequent Bond clobber is judged and the one most likely to be replicated by Hong Kong tailors. But the star of the show is the barleycorn tweed jacket in Switzerland, an immaculate, timeless look.
“I think the white tux/red carnation is what solidified Bond’s reputation as the guy in the dinner jacket at all times, which has become more contrived as the years go by and formal-wear retreats into the past. But you can also understand why it made such an impact.”
So, what’s Jonathan’s verdict on 007 III? “For me Goldfinger remains overrated - the great bits (Honor Blackman, the song, Connery) are GREAT, but like all the mid-60s spy films it’s a bit of a slog and Bond is sidelined for a long time in jail.”
Personally, that ‘Come On Eileen’ dungaree look is a crime against fashion in Never Say Never Again, but Jonathan has his own ‘sartorial Sean’ low point...
“Connery’s baby blue Terry bowling romper suit is possibly the series’ leisurewear nadir, conveniently skated over by style commentators for decades. What were they thinking?”
MEMORIES GALORE
Back to that aforementioned chat with Honor Blackman (which took place around noon on 12/12/12). While she was promoting a campaign for Cancer Research UK, the actress recalled her feelings about making one of the definitive 007 movies. Naturally
I had to ask what it was like working with Connery...
“Well as a female, with Sean at that stage of life, it was interesting and exciting,” she explained in that unmistakable husky voice. “But you know, one gets on with it in a Bond film. It may turn out to be glamorous, but what goes on is just work.”
Did Honor have any idea how iconic Pussy Galore would become?
“I knew I’d always have trouble with the name, but no. How could one ever know? It’s just as the same as when one started The Avengers that one thought: ‘Oh, it’s six months’ work, and that’s that’. You don’t think any further, and then the whole thing catches alight. We’d had Dr No and From Russia with Love, so it wasn’t yet the legendary series it is now.”
When Honor passed away in 2020, the acting world lost one of its best-loved thespians.
DEBRIEFING
Goldfinger may divide hardcore fans, and some scenes, including that fight in the barn, will leave many fuming. However, six decades on there’s no denying the influence it had on filmmakers, or the fact those unforgettable moments and tight running time make for a compelling watch.
Director Guy Hamilton returned to the Bond franchise with more classics, including The Man With The Golden Gun, which turns 50 this year. And you can read about that under-rated gem in a future issue.
*Thanks to Tony Greenway and Jonathan Sothcott
TRIVIA GALORE
Mack the Knife’ (which references From Russia with Love’s Lotte Lenya) was the inspiration for Goldfinger’s unforgettable title track. John Barry’s needle- drop ‘Golden Girl’, when Bond discovers Jill’s body, later inspired Sneaker Pimps’ 1996 hit ‘6 Underground’.
Goldfinger’s factory may have been in Switzerland, but the night shots were at Pinewood. Some scenes were shot at nearby Black Park, also utilised for assorted Hammer movies.
Tania Mallet (Tilly) was a cousin of Helen Mirren. Goldfinger was her only movie role, and clearly synonymous with the film, she popped up in The New Avengers episode ‘The Midas Touch’ in 1976. Tania died in 2019.
Look out for Burt Kwouk (Mr Ling), who later found fame in the Pink Panther saga.
The glamorous stick jockeys of ‘Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus’ were mostly cigar-smoking, crop-duster pilots wearing blonde wigs from Woolworths. RAF Northolt was utilised for the Flying Circus hangar; the same location was later reused for the opening scenes of Octopussy.
As car-crushers were practically non-existent in the UK at the time, where much of the film was shot, one was used in Miami. A New York projectionist screening the rushes days later was outraged that a pricey Lincoln Continental was destroyed for the movie.
If Goldfinger had set off his radioactive bomb, the fallout would have been ‘safe’ by 2022.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and (the original) True Lies featured their own take on Bond’s classic white tuxedo/carnation look.
Naturally Goldfinger left an indelible mark on future 007 movies, including Quantum of Solace. Poor Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) is covered in oil instead of gold paint. By 2015, Spectre also tipped its (non-lethal) hat to the 1964 masterpiece when a Rolls Royce not unlike Goldfinger’s emerges from the desert.
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Great reading, thanks for posting that.
Very good article, if treading familiar ground
From INFINITY May 2024
THE MAN WITH THE OLDEN GUN
Half a century after it first thrilled cinemagoers, Roger Crow looks back on Roger Moore’s second 007 outing, and chats with co-star Britt Ekland; a style expert analyses Bond ’74’s attire, and there’s an archive ‘Q’ and A with the much-missed Desmond Llewelyn.
It’s a Sunday night in the 1980s, and while the threat of school looms large for one telly addict, there’s a couple of hours of pure bliss unfolding. The Man With the Golden Gun offers stunts, exotic locations, nefarious villains, sauciness, Roger Moore, a killer score, and THAT car stunt. James Bond Nine (as nobody called it) was pure joy, even with those adverts. So let’s go back half a century and put the movie in context.
Made during the October 1973 oil crisis (when fuel was embargoed due to the US’s involvement in the Yom-Kippur war), there’s little wonder the MacGuffin was an energy gizmo: the Solex Agitator. Oh, and as Carl Douglas reminded us with his chart smash, “Everybody was Kung Fu fighting,” so naturally there was a set-piece which paid homage to Enter the Dragon. That Bruce Lee classic was borrowed from 007 epics, so it was just a case of Bond returning the favour.
Then there was the eponymous bad guy: Christopher Lee as arch assassin Francisco Scaramanga, the three-nippled gunman who charges a hefty price for his services, and is essentially the anti-007. Yes, they’re both professional killers, as they remark in a scene gloriously imitated by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in their first faux foodie documentary, The Trip. One does it for Queen and country, and the other is in it for the money. Naturally Scaramanga wants to kill Bond, which leads to a duel of sorts. It’s the simplicity of the story which makes this work so well: alpha male assassin versus alpha MI6 spy.
Like Britt Ekland (Mary Goodnight) in that bikini during the finale, it’s a stripped-down affair which doesn’t boast epic sets or dozens of allied troops storming the bad guy’s lair. Just Bond vs. Scaramanga in a duel to the death.
I asked screenwriter/producer and fellow 007 fan Jonathan Sothcott for his take on the movie. “The Man With The Golden Gun has really lost its lustre over the years and I’m not entirely sure why when I was a kid it was definitely the playground favourite. Christopher Lee has never been more relaxed or had more fun on screen and it really pays off unlike his climactic ‘battle’ with Bond, which is the film’s weakest point.
As you’ll recall from previous Infinity/Bond features, Jonathan isn’t just one of Blighty’s best-dressed film makers, but also an expert on 007’s threads, so it would be rude not to get his thoughts on Bond ‘74’s look.
“(Roger) Moore’s Saint/Persuaders tailor Cyril Castle returns for his second and final Bond film with the boldest, most colourful wardrobe the character wore in the series along with some of the very best suits: the grey double-breasted chalk stripe in M’s office is magnificent and could be worn today just as stylishly. The charcoal herringbone suit for dinner with Goodnight is also a stunner, perfectly proportioned and with just enough flair to stand out. But the best of them all is the marine blue suit in the nightclub scene; the colour is just so rich and lustrous and is stylish without being showy.
“The film also continued Moore’s trend as the ‘separates’ Bond with a stunning and unusual (three buttons rather than the standard two) navy blazer and a beautiful silk plaid sports coat. Yes it looks like heavy tweed but in reality would have been climate-appropriate.”
CHARMING CARMEN
Bond always needs a breadcrumb trail which leads from the obligatory exposition scene in M’s office to getting his man, or woman, and nearly all crime thrillers involving an exotic club of some sort. Step forward Saida, whose navel inevitably attracted a certain Naval officer thanks to the ballistic charm crucial to our man’s investigation.
The scenes in Saida’s dressing room, the final shots of the movie, were filmed in August ‘74. The dancer was originally overweight in the screenplay, and 007 winced at the sight of her. Naturally that wasn’t the case when a slimline, alluring Carmen Du Sautoy took on the role. She later joined the RSC, and became a cult star in Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden’s 1981/82 fantasy sitcom Astronauts. Who, or what else is in the movie? Well, glad you asked…
Look out for: Maud Adams in the first of her two 007 movies. Here she portrays Scaramanga’s moll Andrea Anders, nine years before playing the eponymous femme fatale of Octopussy. Herve Villechaize as lethal sidekick Nick-Nack, just before TV hit Fantasy Island turned him into one of Hollywood’s most famous diminutive actors. He took his own life aged 50 in 1993, and was later played by Peter Dinklage in a 2018 biopic, My Dinner with Herve. Marc Lawrence as Rodney, the American gangster who meets his demise in the early minutes as Scaramanga reveals his skill with a gun. Lawrence had also appeared in Diamonds Are Forever, where he threw Plenty O’Toole (Lana Wood) out of a hotel window.
James Cossins appeared in countless cult classics, including TV’s The Avengers, Hammer favourite Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb, and Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em. His character was originally called Boothroyd, but as that was Q’s name, it was changed to Colthorpe.
Khao Phing Kan, aka Ko Khao Phing Kan, was once an island in Thailand. Now it’s THE island. Pre-1974, it was a relatively undisturbed beauty spot. Then TMWTGG was released and all that changed forever.
Now better known as James Bond Island, its biggest threat isn’t a pricy assassin, but litter and erosion from the countless tourists who flock there every year. And yes, it was re-used for Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997.
If you’ve never read Ian Fleming’s original book and are wondering how it compares to the film, then 007 expert Tony Greenway sheds light on those…
BOOK-TO-SCREEN COMPARISONS
“The Man with the Golden Gun Ian Fleming’s last Bond novel which was published posthumously in 1965 is generally considered to be one of the weakest 007 books. At the beginning of the story, Bond, who has been captured and brainwashed by the Russians, is sent back to London to kill M. However, the dastardly plot fails, Bond’s brainwashing is reversed, and M sends a rehabilitated but weakened 007 out on a kill-or-cure mission to dispatch one of the KGB’s best assassins: Francisco ‘Pistols’ Scaramanga.”
I’m thinking of reading the novel for the first time. Will it be anything like the film?
“Here’s a word of caution for you: you’re going to be disappointed (or pleased, depending on your view of the movie). There’s no henchman called Nick Nack, and no deadly funhouse, Solex Agitator, Kung Fu fighting, Sheriff J.W. Pepper on holiday (thank God) or Far East locations. In fact, the film-makers simply pilfered the title, jettisoned the source material including its Jamaica setting, and came up with their own characters and storyline.”
Surely the bad guy can’t have changed much between novel and movie, can he?
“Yes, both the book and the film feature a killer called Scaramanga. Yet the one in the movie is dapper and urbanea sort of anti-Bondand his golden gun is memorably and nattily concocted from a pen, lighter, cufflink and cigarette case. In the novel, Scaramanga is a flashy Cuban-based hitman who communicates in gangster-speak (sample dialogue: “But just you remember this, mister. If it turns out you’re not who you say you are, I’ll blow you to bits. Get me?”) and, less memorably, uses a gold-plated Colt 45 revolver and a golden Derringer. Nevertheless, both the film and book Scaramangas sport - yes!a third nipple (although much less is made of this in the novel) and are reported to make love before a kill in order to improve their ‘eye’. Plus, in their early days, both worked in a circus where they murdered someone who had shot and killed their favourite elephant.”
Any other connections between the book and the film? “Yes, the character of Mary Goodnight. Bizarrely, the film script takes almost verbatim a short paragraph in the novel where Goodnight tells Bond about the buttons on her dress, and that one of them might be a suicide pill (a homing device in the film). But we really are scraping the barrel for connections if that’s the best we can come up with.
“Mind you, The Man with the Golden Gun novel has inspired other Bond film adventures including the dreaded Die Another Day (Bond is captured and tortured by the North Koreans, then released); Skyfall (a literally washed-up 007 is sent out on a death-defying mission before he’s fit and ready); and Licence to Kill (the big bad guy unwittingly recruits Bond into his criminal enterprise, not realising that he’s out to get him).
And is it really a coincidence that Franz Sanchez, the villain of Licence to Kill, shares the same initials with Francisco Scaramanga?
Oh, all right then. Yes. Probably.”
TRUE BRITT
A few years ago, I had a chat with Britt Ekland about a stage version of The Cat and the Canary. Naturally I had to ask about her turn as Mary Goodnight in TMWTGG.
The Man with the Golden Gun is one of my favourite Bond films. What are your memories of making it?
“It was such a privilege to be part of that kind of movie. I never truly understood at the time that it would have this kind of massive following still, and interest. It’s fantastic that it has this kind of following all over the world!”
The film has an added degree of authenticity now because you didn’t have access to CGI at the time.
“Everything that happened was real. When the car flew over the river… They trained with an AMC car back in Detroit for months and months and months. If they were to do that today they would probably use a crane or something. That’s what I like. That they were so real.”
Tell us about that massive explosion during the finale at Scaramanga’s lair.
“Well, before you do anything like that, the team goes through it with you and points out every single case where there is an explosive. You rehearse and rehearse. But then it gets too real, and I just did what any normal person would do. Throw myself on the ground and put my hands on my head. But I never managed to do that because Roger (Moore) pulled me up and dragged me along.”
Thank heavens for that because it might have been a case of “Good night Goodnight” for real.
THE QUARTERMASTER CORNER ‘Q’ & A
Desmond Llewelyn, who died in 1999, wasn’t the first actor to play ‘Q’ and he wasn’t the last, but he was the most beloved. Tony Greenway talked to Desmond during the limbo period after 1989’s Licence to Kill, and when filming had completed on 1995’s GoldenEye. Here’s what he had to say...
Peter Burton played a Q-like character called ‘the Armourer’ in the first Bond film, Dr No (1962). How did you come to replace him as Q in From Russia With Love (1963)?
I made a film which Terence Young (director of Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Thunderball) wrote and directed called They Were Not Divided which was about the Welsh Guards Armoured Division. Luckily for me, when the part of Q came up in From Russia with Love, Peter Burton wasn’t available. I presume my name came up and, as Terence knew me from Divided he said: ‘OK, you’ve got the part.’
How did Terence want you to play Q?
My character in They Were Not Divided had a Welsh accent, naturally, and Terence thought it would be a good thing for Q to have one. But it wouldn’t have worked: ‘Look you, I’ve got this luvvvely, brrriefcase, ‘ere.’ So I managed to persuade him otherwise.
Which Bond directors have you enjoyed working with?
They were all highly professional. I was very fond of Terence Young, but then Guy Hamilton (director of 1964’s Goldfinger) was the man who gave me the character of Q more than anyone else. In rehearsals, when Sean came in, I strode over to meet him. But Guy said: ‘No, no, no! Don’t take any notice of him.’ I was a bit puzzled because this was James Bond, after all. But Guy was adamant and said: ‘You don’t like this man because he doesn’t treat your gadgets with the proper respect. In fact, you hate him.’ The penny dropped and I’ve played Q like that ever since.
What was your verdict on Roger Moore?
I’ve always said that Roger Moore is a much better actor than most people think. Roger was established enough to be able to create a different Bond to Sean, yet keeping him roughly the same. Personally, I think he made him a bit too light, but that’s just Roger’s way.
DEBRIEFING
It may not be perfect, but for this viewer at least, The Man With the Golden Gun is a terrific slice of entertainment. Yes, Goodnight hinders the mission more than helps it, and that swanee whistle during the peerless car/ river jump is audio agony. However, despite being dismissed by some, there’s a lot right about this 50-year-old classic. Following his debut, Roger Moore settled into 007’s shoes with ease; Christopher Lee’s villain is all brooding menace, and compared to later bum-numbing Bond epics, the 125-minute runtime is ideal. Lulu’s title track, with lyrics by Don Black and music by John Barry, may not be everyone’s cuppa, but compared to a couple of the recent watered-down 007 title songs, at least it grabs you by the lapels. And the MI6 HQ set inside the lopsided RMS Queen Elizabeth remains one of the series’ best.
Broadsheet critics may have turned their noses up from their privileged screening rooms, but for paying punters in flea-pits around the globe, it was a welcome escape from the horrors of the real world. Made for a mere $7million, the movie went on to gross more than $97million. Little wonder followup The Spy Who Loved Me boasted a bigger budget, though due to legal wrangling, cinema-goers had to wait three years for that game-changing epic. However, that’s a story for another day.
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A good read, though obviously I disagree with some of the points. Being ancient I watched the film on release (still have the program from the Scottish premiere) and loved it. I still do, though am not blind to its faults as discussed in our Weekly Watch thread.
Nice article…thanks for posting it, CHB.
Whilst it’s not a favourite of mine, TMWTGG has enough in it to keep it entertaining.
A change of thread title to try and attract more readers (the heading will change reflecting the subject each post).
From INFINITY #74
THE MAN WHO COU7D HAVE BEEN BOND
Forever known to cult TV fans as Colonel Paul Foster from UFO, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s first TV series foray into live action, the late actor Michael Billington was once a front runner to play 007, as Paul Carey reports...
Born in Blackburn, Lancashire on December 24 1941, Michael Billington came to London in the early sixties to work for the film distributor Warner-Pathé. It wasn’t long before he found work at the famous Windmill Theatre in Soho, subsequently becoming a chorus boy in such West End musicals as How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1963). He performed in cabaret and also acted as a stooge to Danny La Rue in his nightclub. But then, seeking straight acting roles, he took drama lessons and landed a small part in the West End production of Incident at Vichy with Alec Guinness and Anthony Quayle.
Billington’s first film role was in a short entitled Dream A40 (1964), which was banned at the time due to a scene where two male lovers kissed. His television debut came in 1965, as Neil Hall, one of the players for Brentwich United in the BBC’s football soap opera, United, before he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company as an understudy and small part player. It was a bit part as a heavy in an episode of Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner (1967), that got him noticed by casting director Rose Tobias Shaw as a possible replacement for Italian actor Franco Derosa, who hadn’t worked out during the filming of the pilot for UFO. The actor’s brooding good looks were a hit with Sylvia Anderson, and knowing he would be popular with female viewers, she and Gerry signed the 29-year-old actor for the series.
An introductory episode was developed for Paul Foster’s character, who witnesses a UFO encounter with Sky 1 while on a test flight. His determination to get to the truth leads him to Straker and SHADO in an episode entitled ‘Exposed.’ His first few episodes show him with a receding hairline, before the actor was given a series of wigs of various shades of brown.
As the third lead in the series behind Ed Bishop’s Commander Straker and George Sewell’s Alec Freeman, Paul Foster was to be at the centre of most of the action, with the two other characters directing things from HQ. However, as Straker’s character developed he became more hands on, pushing Freeman to the side.
The first production block of seventeen episodes came to an end, and the production moved from MGM British studios at the end of November 1969, due to the studio closing down. With production not commencing again at Pinewood until June of 1970, George Sewell, as well as several other regulars in the cast, had moved on to other work. This led to Foster becoming the second lead, forming a popular partnership with Straker as a couple of action men for the last few episodes.
With a small role in the film Alfred the Great (1969), Billington appeared in two episodes of Yorkshire TV’s Hadleigh, and an episode of Z-CARS, before getting his next big TV role in historical drama series The Onedin Line (1971) as Daniel Fogarty, appearing in 35 episodes between 19714. The character returned in later seasons, but was recast with Tom Adams when Billington was unavailable. During this period he again secured only a small part in the BBC television production of War and Peace (1972) and played Milo Tindle in a touring stage production of Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth (the part played by Michael Caine in the 1972 film).
NEVER A JAMES BOND FAN
It was around this time that Billington began his association with the James Bond franchise. He admitted that he was never a big James Bond fan, but liked the early Sean Connery films, particularly Goldfinger. Talking to Phillipe Lombard for Archives 007, he expressed his initial feelings about the possibility of taking on the role.
“When I learned that the Producers had me in mind to replace Sean Connery I had very mixed feelings. Needless to say, that as a young actor, deep inside I felt excited at the prospects of becoming, even for a short time a ‘Film Star.’ But I was also aware that it could have backfired and I could have become unemployable once my prospective tenure as Bond had come to an end. I still had ambition to have a long career in films, and I could not foresee the Bond thing lasting much longer once Sean Connery; by far the best Bond ever, quit.”
His initial involvement began in the mid-sixties when Bud Ornstein, Head of Production for United Artists in Europe, saw him in a theatre production and invited Billington to meet him at the UA Offices. Ornstein said he would get some photographs taken and show them to Harry Saltzman. Several weeks later Billington was called in to meet with director Peter Hunt for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It was noted how the actor bore a resemblance to George Lazenby, who ended up with the role.
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) was just opening, and Billington was filming UFO, when Harry Saltzman came to view some special effects footage from the series, as the plan at the time was to do Moonraker next. This of course led to Anderson effects maestro Derek Meddings moving over to work on the Bond franchise. While there, producer Sylvia Anderson, an accomplished casting director in her own right, suggested Billington might be right to play Bond.
Billington tested for the role of 007 more than any other actor, first testing as Sean Connery’s replacement in Live and Let Die (1973). Billington felt he did well on the test for Live and Let Die and liked director Guy Hamilton. It was a specially written scene with actress Caroline Seymour. He was told by an insider that there was going to be an offer made, and there were stories in the national press that seemed to confirm that. So when it was announced that Roger Moore was to be the new Bond, Billington was stunned.
Jane Seymour who had appeared as Solitaire in Live and Let Die, went on to play Billington’s wife in The Onedin Line. She told him that Harry Saltzman would from time-to-time quiz her about him, including probing questions about his sexuality. As way of compensation after his previous disappointment, Cubby Broccoli offered him the small role of Sergei Barsov, the Russian agent and lover of Barbara Bach’s character, who is killed by Bond in the pre-title sequence of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
SKIING HOLIDAY
Harry Saltzman had gone by this time and Cubby was on his own. They had apparently been producing alternate Bond films up until then. Billington was aware that it might prevent him from playing Bond down the line; but thought he’d enjoy a couple of weeks in San Moritz skiing. And believing the franchise was on its last legs anyway, why not? In his portrayal he decided to make the character a dark anti-hero instead of playing it as Bond. Billington found himself working with second unit director John Glenn to shoot the skiing scenes but apart from evenings at dinner, didn’t see him much. Most of the work was done by Willie Bogner with a movie camera between his legs pointing behind him, while skiing backwards. A half a day filming in bed with Barbara Bach at Pinewood completed his scenes.
Billington later received a call to go to Paris for another series of tests. Moonraker (1979) was in pre-production and they were looking at possible Bond girls. He filmed some test scenes with the likes of Shelley Hack and the beautiful Sylvia Kristel among others.
Director Lewis Gilbert told him that he thought Billington should be the next 007, but it was really up to Cubby. According to Lewis, if Cubby invited him out to dinner on the last night of the tests, he was in with a shot. He did, and the actor had a pleasant dinner with Cubby, Mrs Broccoli, Lois, John Glen, and Barbara, Cubby’s daughter. He and Barbara spent a night on the town in Paris, with John Glen as chaperone. The next day he flew back to London.
Months later, Billington was working in Hollywood. All alone in a Los Angeles hotel, he decided to call the Bond office in Culver City to see if anyone was in town. Barbara was doing film studies at Loyola Marymont, and called him back. They went to a Hollywood Party, and became close. With For Your Eyes Only (1981) on the horizon, and John Glen directing, the crew were heading to Corfu to begin filming but Roger Moore was holding out. Cubby had Billington fitted out with Wardrobe and flown to Corfu for a picture shoot. The issues with Moore were of course resolved, but Billington stated that he was the first choice of “Cubby” Broccoli to be the next Bond, if negotiations with Moore had fallen through on For Your Eyes Only.
He made his final screen test for the part for Octopussy (1983). Roger this time was being “extra coy.” Billington tested with Deborah Sheldon and Susan Penhaligon but felt it was purely cosmetic. He didn’t feel John Glen was an actors’ director, and he seemed more secure with Roger. Billington may have felt he had a good chance of securing the coveted role, as he was dating Cubby’s daughter Barbara Broccoli at the time. But with the Octopussy screen test and in his view the quality of the film series declining, Billington accepted that ship had sailed. It would prove to be the biggest disappointment of his career, and after eight years the relationship with Barbara also came to an end, with Billington marrying Katherine Kristoff in 1988.
COMING TO AMERICA
During the 70s Billington travelled to the US and studied acting with famed teachers Lee and Anna Strasberg. With roles in TV mini-series Edward The Seventh (1975) and Sister Dora (1977), Billington’s next big TV role was as the lead in the first season of military drama Spearhead (1978), playing Colour Sergeant “Jacko” Jackson in 7 episodes. He also guest starred in an episode of The Professionals
(‘The Rack’ 1978) as gangster businessman John Coogan. Billington then turned his hand to script writing, penning the original draft of the David Essex starring film Silver Dream Racer (1980).
Feeling he needed to kick-start his career, Billington moved to Hollywood, appearing in such shows as Hart To Hart, Greatest American Hero, Fantasy Island, Philip Marlowe Private Eye and Magnum PI. He also acquired the recurring role of villainous Count Louis Dardinay in the short-lived action series The Quest (1982) and appeared in the TV movie Antony and Cleopatra (1984) as Ventidius.
Returning to the UK, Billington was cast as Peter Hubbard in Dwight H Little’s acclaimed spy thriller KGB: The Secret War (1985) He was then given the lead role as customs officer Tom Gibbons in BBC TV’s The Collectors (1986). But the series was not well received either by critics or the viewers, and the actor admitted it pretty much ended his career there and then.
Michael’s wife Katherine Kristoff died in 1998, after which he devoted himself to raising their son, Michael Jr. By that time, however, meaningful roles had begun to dry up. He made his final TV appearance in an episode of ITV’s Maigret (‘Maigret and the Nightclub Dancer,’ 1993).
By the mid-1990s Billington was a popular tutor working at the Lee Strasberg Studio in London, and he also worked on a book of a stage musical about Jack the Ripper. He would enthusiastically write on his website about the acting craft, with fewer opportunities to practice it.
Billington said this about his career in a 2004 interview: “I like the work I did in the theatre, like Death of a Salesman and Sleuth. You get more time to enjoy a play. Also Edward the VII I enjoyed, and I did a little film called KGB The Secret War, many years later, where I played a sort of Russian spy living in America. And I loved doing that tiny role in the Bond-film The Spy Who Loved Me. It was very interesting to go to Switzerland, do a bit of skiing and be paid for it!”
Michael remained an enthusiastic and popular guest at UFO conventions both in the UK and abroad for many years. He died of cancer on June 3, 2005, just five days before the death of his UFO co-star Ed Bishop.
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That was a great piece, thanks @CoolHandBond for sharing that…I wonder what he did at the Windmill Theatre ☺️
It’s quite interesting how many people were apparently ’first choice’ to play Bond if Roger had left in the early 80s 😁