"Bond, James Bond" The first Eon Bond film, starring Sean Connery, who beat out Terrence Cooper, Roger Moore, and many other actors. Connery's first line is considered one of the greatest screen entrances in history. "Well, we're not going to make any money out of this. How can we show a picture which has a limey truck driver playing the lead?" An early draft featured a pet monkey named Dr. No, instead of the main villain, who was now named Buckfield. Broccoli refused to allow the change and co-writer Wolf Mankowitz was so annoyed that he had his name removed from the credits (he later co-wrote the spoof Casino Royale). Undercover After the film's release in Italy, the Vatican issued a special communiqué expressing its disapproval at the film's moral standpoint.
Director
Terence Young: "I knew Ian, funnily enough, but I never particularly liked him.
We became, eventually, enormously good friends, but I thought he was a pompous
son of a bitch, immensely arrogant, and when we met just after I'd been signed
to do the picture at some big press show put on by United Artists, he said, 'So
they've decided on you to fuck up my work.'"
"Well, we're not going to make
any money out of this. How can we show a picture which has a limey truck driver
playing the lead?"
Broccoli and Saltzman decided that Bond should not get involved in politics (curious
for someone in the spy profession). So Dr. No's Russian backers were replaced
with the terrorist group SPECTRE from the novel Thunderball.
The budget was only $1,000,000 but when costs over run by $100,000 United Artists
tried to pull the plug fearing they would never recoup its outlay.
Connery met with the producers in a surly mood. He refused a screen test, ranting
and pounding the table with his fists. After his aggressive outburst, the producers
agreed that they had their man.
Terence Young taught Connery how to be Bond. "I had a very clear idea of what
an old Etonian should be. I was a Guards officer during the war, and I thought
I knew how Bond should behave." He took him to his personal tailor and purchased
his clothes, shoes, jackets and ties. Connery's sweat shirts and jeans were discarded.
Young continued this practice through Goldfinger,
when he taught Connery golf (Connery continued to play fanatically from then on).
Fleming originally asked Noel Coward to play the part of Dr. No, Coward replied
in a telegram "Dear Ian, the answer to Dr. No is No, No, No, No!". He also recommended
his cousin Christopher Lee (See also The Man With the
Golden Gun). After the film's release in Italy, the Vatican issued a special
communiqu? expressing its disapproval at the film's moral standpoint.
The voice of Honey Ryder is not that of Ursula Andress, but lawyer Nikki van der
Zyl. Ursula's voice was described by producer Max Arnow as that of a "Dutch comic."
Connery is afraid of spiders. So the shot of spider in his bed was originally
done with a sheet of glass between him and the spider, but when this didn't look
realistic enough, the scene was re-shot with stuntman Bob Simmons. The glass is
still visible in one shot.
The
Japanese office of United Artists originally translated the title as "We don't
want a doctor," and even had posters printed with that title. Fortunately, the
mistake was discovered at the last moment.
United
Artists decided to premiere the film in London first, to test market it before
committing to an American opening. In fact there were plans to banish the film
to the Midwestern drive-in circuit. But fortunately the critical and public response
in London was strong enough to insure future Bond films. The
voice of Honey Ryder is not that of Ursula Andress, but lawyer Nikki van der Zyl.
Ursula's voice was described by producer Max Arnow as that of a "Dutch comic."
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