RE-POST: 30th anniversary of the last U.N.C.L.E.

David McCallum, left, and Robert Vaughn during filming of The Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Originally published March 4. Re-posted today, the actual anniversary

You can’t keep a good man down. So it was for former U.N.C.L.E. spies Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, who made a one-time return 30 years ago.

The intrepid agents, again played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, were back after a 15-year absence. This time they appeared in a made-for-television movie broadcast in April 1983 on CBS, instead of NBC, home of the original 1964-68 series.

It was a mixed homecoming. Return’s script, penned by executive producer Michael Sloan, recycled the plot of Thunderball, the fourth James Bond film. Thrush steals two nuclear bombs from a U.S. military aircraft. Thrush operative Janus (Geoffrey Lewis) boasts that the criminal organization is now “a nuclear power.” Yawn. Thrush was much more ambitious in the old days.

The show had been sold to NBC as “James Bond for television.” Sloan & Co. took the idea literally, hiring one-time 007 George Lazenby to play “JB,” who happens to drive as Aston Martin DB5. JB helps Solo, who has just been recalled to active duty for U.N.C.L.E., get out of a jam in Las Vegas.

The original U.N.C.L.E. had been filmed no further out that about 30 miles from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s studio in Culver City, California. Return was really filmed in and around Las Vegas, with the desert nearby substituting for Libya, where Thrush chieftain Justin Sepheran (Anthony Zerbe) has established his headquarters.

Vaughn and McCallum, being old pros, make the best of the material they’re given, especially when they appear together. That’s not often, as it turns out. After being reunited, they pursue the affair from different angles. Solo has to put up with skeptical U.N.C.L.E. agent Kowalski (Tom Mason), who complains out loud about new U.N.C.L.E. chief Sir John Raleigh (Patrick Macnee) bringing back two aging ex-operatives.

Sloan did end up bringing in two crew members of the original series: composer Gerald Fried, who worked on the second through fourth seasons, and director of photography Fred Koenekamp, who had photographed 90 U.N.C.L.E. episodes from 1964 through 1967. Also on the crew was Robert Short, listed as a technical adviser. He and Danny Biederman had attempted to put together an U.N.C.L.E. feature film. Their project eventually was rejected in favor of Sloan’s TV movie.

In the end, the April 5, 1983 broadcast produced respectable ratings but CBS passed on committing to a new U.N.C.L.E. series. Despite many attempts, Return remains the last official U.N.C.L.E. production.

For a more detailed review, CLICK HERE.

Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’s 30th anniversary

David McCallum, left, and Robert Vaughn during filming of The Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

You can’t keep a good man down. So it was for former U.N.C.L.E. spies Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, who made a one-time return 30 years ago.

The intrepid agents, again played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, were back after a 15-year absence. This time they appeared in a made-for-television movie broadcast in April 1983 on CBS, instead of NBC, home of the original 1964-68 series.

It was a mixed homecoming. Return’s script, penned by executive producer Michael Sloan, recycled the plot of Thunderball, the fourth James Bond film. Thrush steals two nuclear bombs from a U.S. military aircraft. Thrush operative Janus (Geoffrey Lewis) boasts that the criminal organization is now “a nuclear power.” Yawn. Thrush was much more ambitious in the old days.

The show had been sold to NBC as “James Bond for television.” Sloan & Co. took the idea literally, hiring one-time 007 George Lazenby to play “JB,” who happens to drive as Aston Martin DB5. JB helps Solo, who has just been recalled to active duty for U.N.C.L.E., get out of a jam in Las Vegas.

The original U.N.C.L.E. had been filmed no further out that about 30 miles from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s studio in Culver City, California. Return was really filmed in and around Las Vegas, with the desert nearby substituting for Libya, where Thrush chieftain Justin Sepheran (Anthony Zerbe) has established his headquarters.

Vaughn and McCallum, being old pros, make the best of the material they’re given, especially when they appear together. That’s not often, as it turns out. After being reunited, they pursue the affair from different angles. Solo has to put up with skeptical U.N.C.L.E. agent Kowalski (Tom Mason), who complains out loud about new U.N.C.L.E. chief Sir John Raleigh (Patrick Macnee) bringing back two aging ex-operatives.

Sloan did end up bringing in two crew members of the original series: composer Gerald Fried, who worked on the second through fourth seasons, and director of photography Fred Koenekamp, who had photographed 90 U.N.C.L.E. episodes from 1964 through 1967. Also on the crew was Robert Short, listed as a technical adviser. He and Danny Biederman had attempted to put together an U.N.C.L.E. feature film. Their project eventually was rejected in favor of Sloan’s TV movie.

In the end, the April 5, 1983 broadcast produced respectable ratings but CBS passed on committing to a new U.N.C.L.E. series. Despite many attempts, Return remains the last official U.N.C.L.E. production.

For a more detailed review, CLICK HERE.

Oscars producer says show won’t have 6 Bond actors

One of the producers of the Feb. 24 Oscars telecast told THE DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD WEB SITE the show’s James Bond tribute won’t include the six film 007s together.

The Web site interviewed Craig Zadan and Neil Meron about their plans for the broadcast, which will be seen on ABC in the U.S. There was this excerpt:

“We certainly are going to be celebrating the nominees and winners like a regular Oscar show, but they are fitting into the design of the show that we’ve created, so there’s going to be an enormous amount of entertainment”, Zadan says, pointing to the 50 years of James Bond tribute they have announced, which won’t be a reunion of the actors who played 007 despite rampant media speculation. “It’s something else, something very unique and very exciting but no, we’re not getting the Bonds together”.

Zadan isn’t quoted about what the something else is. To view the entire story, which details planned changes in the telecast, CLICK HERE. Meanwhile, you can CLICK HERE for a sampling of some stories that presented less-than-convincing evidence that a joint appearance of the six actors was going to happen.

Some less-than-convincing 007 journalism

“What’s the matter, James? You sound skeptical!”

There has been some less-than-convincing journalism recently concerning Agent 007. A few examples caught our eye:

We Got This Covered, Jan. 12: The entertainment Web site had A STORY with this headline: “All Six James Bonds May Be On Stage At Oscars.”

The evidence?

Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton have reportedly agreed, making Sean Connery the lone hold-out. An Oscars source said he is hopeful that Connery will join the other five. Check out that comment below. (emphasis added)

“Sir Sean has been invited to take to the stage along with Daniel and the other 007s. As yet, we’ve not had a no from him. Normally he is quick to turn things down…

First “reportedly” translates roughly to “we don’t know this ourselves and we don’t want to credit those who have reported it.” Also, Connery hasn’t said no? Wake us up when he actually says yes.

Vanity Fair, Jan. 24: The magazine’s Web site had THIS STORY about the prospect of all six film 007s appearing at the Oscars. An excerpt:

A day after it was announced that Adele would perform her Oscar-nominated James Bond theme song, “Skyfall,” for the first time live at next month’s Academy Awards, a rumor is circulating the Interweb that the Academy will further pad the James Bond portion of the February 24 program. Producers have already revealed that the show, hosted by Seth MacFarlane, will feature a 50th-anniversary tribute to the iconic British spy, most likely a montage celebrating the franchise’s 23 films. A new report, however, speculates that all six of the actors who have played Bond over the years—Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig—will unite for the first time ever at the Oscars as further tribute to the Ian Fleming character.

A rumor? On the Internet? Vanity Fair presents a link to THIS STORY from the Independent that says, well, there’s a rumor.

Geek Tyrant, Jan. 24: The Web site had THIS STORY that proclaimed it had been CONFIRMED the six Bond film actors would appear. Its evidence? A link to the same story in the Independent that Vanity Fair linked that said, well, there’s a rumor it will happen.

NewsRadio95.com, Jan. 24: The radio station’s Web site has THIS STORY with this excerpt:

Yesterday we brought you the news that Adele will be appearing at the 2013 Oscars to perform the Best Original Song nominated “Skyfall.” But now there’s even bigger James Bond news to share: it’s looking like every actor who has portrayed the classic character are set to appear on stage together for the first time ever to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of James Bond. This calls for a martini!

Now before we get too excited, we must remember that this is not confirmed as of yet, but it’s a rumor that has been floating and the Adele news supports it. Can’t you just picture the singer’s luscious voice ushering the Bonds on stage as the crowd loses its collective mind? (emphasis added)

Before we get too excited, let us know when you have actual information you’re willing to stand behind.

Forbes.com, Jan. 22: The financial magazine’s Web site had THIS STORY that proclaimed, “`Skyfall’ Becomes Tenth Highest-Grossing Film of All Time.” One problem: there are no actual figures to back this up.

The exact box office totals are not yet officially tabulated, but they will place Bond’s current receipts at somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.045 billion. Yesterday, Skyfall opened in China to enormous numbers, and it should finish its run as the seventh highest-grossing movie in history, bumping The Dark Knight Rises down to number eight on the all-time list.

At the time this was posted, there was exactly one day of Skyfall box office sales data in China available ($5.1 million). The author didn’t know he was estimating. Maybe he was right, but he had no actual hard data to back it up. The movie has had better-than-expected ticket sales and, as of the start of the week, was knocking on the top 10 in ticket sales unadjusted for inflation. But this reads more like an exercise in getting people to click than actual journalism.

During Skyfall’s production there were a number of stories from various sources (including U.K. tabloid newspapers) that TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE. These stories varied in how transparent the outlets obtained their information. Some had solid records in reporting scoops ahead of official press releases.

The examples cited above didn’t appear to even check things out. Instead, they were content to repeat rumors or guess.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from HMSS!

Our annual holiday greeting:

It’s tough being James Bond in real life

“James Bond? Never heard of him!”

It’s one thing to be James Bond in a movie. It’s something else entirely to be James Bond in real life. Ian Fleming, of course, “simply stole” the name of the real-life ornithologist (1900-1989) while writing his first novel, Casino Royale, in 1952. The world-famous name has caused problems for some men ever since.

That, at least is the premise of a new documentary, The Other Fellow. The film was directed by Matthew Boyer, who told us about what prompted the project.

Am writing to show you a preview of a documentary called “The Other Fellow” about real men around the world named James Bond and how the popularity of the films and the character has affected their lives. It was shot in the leadup to the release of Skyfall, a period that heavily effects the day to day life of these real-life James Bonds.

(snip)

The title comes from George Lazenby’s famous line in OHMSS “this never happened to the other fellow” – said in reference to his more famous predecessor Sean Connery. For the Bond’s in our film this seemed appropriate, living in the shadow of their famous alter ego.

We have ten Bonds from around the world who have had to deal with numerous Seinfeld-style problems (being banned from Facebook, dealing with the police, airport security and waiters) as a result of the name as well as more serious topics such as a James Bond in the Caribbean who was targeted and shot by the local police force – “the Guyana police still joke about it, they did what the KGB, the Russians, the Germans and everyone else was trying to do for years – shoot James Bond”.

Here’s the trailer for the documentary:

Of course, 15 years ago, when Tomorrow Never Dies was coming out, Heineken had a James Bond promotion that also featured real-life James Bonds. It’s still on YouTube:

REVIEW: Everything or Nothing

Doing a documentary about the James Bond film series, on the surface, would seem to be daunting. After all, some would say, is there really anything left to be said? The answer is yes, and, for the most part, director Stevan Riley does so with his Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007. At the same time, it’s not the definitive story and there is one major, inexplicable omission.

On the plus side, and the positives are overwhelming, the 98-minute documentary, moves quickly and tells it story efficiently. It gives James Bond creator Ian Fleming and founding 007 film co-producer Harry Saltzman their full due, something that HASN’T ALWAYS HAPPENED DURING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR of the Bond film series. The film also makes excellent use of 007 film scores, especially those composed by John Barry.

What’s more, there are glimpses of candor: one-time 007 George Lazenby talking at length how he squandered the opportunity of a lifetime; former United Artists executive David V. Picker expressing exasperation that Saltzman and partner Albert R. Broccoli re-negotiated their deal with UA multiple times while letting Sean Connery get away; current-Eon Productions co-boss Barbara Brocoli dismissing her father’s former partner, Irving Allen, as a “blowhard” without naming him; how Saltzman favored hiring Roger Moore as 007 while Broccoli initially opposed the move; and how Kevin McClory, who won the film rights to Thunderball in court, lurked as a recurring foe to Eon Productions.

The latter, though, leads up to the one omission that’s hard to explain — because had it been included would have reinforced one piece of 007 history that’s explored in detail. Much of the first half of the documentary deals with how Connery felt he had been exploited by Broccoli and Saltzman, to the point where the star refused to do anything on the set of You Only Live Twice as long as Saltzman was present.

What’s the omission? The documentary never mentions Irving Allen beyond the one Barbara Broccoli comment. Albert Broccoli was partner with Allen for years, so the breakup probably wasn’t very comfortable. But more importantly, once Allen was proven wrong in his opinion of James Bond — Allen thought the character wasn’t movie material — the producer ended up producing THE MATT HELM MOVIES RELEASED BY COLUMBIA PICTURES.

To get that series off the ground, Allen had to make Dean Martin a full partner and that, in turn, meant that Martin got paid more for The Silencers than Connery did for Thunderball. The documentary goes into great detail about Connery felt he was being exploited. The Silencers is Exhibit A and Broccoli’s former partner Allen was a major player. As the cliche goes, Irony is so ironic. That would have been a great point to make.

Also, it would have been interesting to ask the following questions: Ms. Broccoli, your father’s former partner did the Matt Helm movies where Dean Martin got paid more than Sean Connery. Could that have contributed to the way Connery felt about his Bond salary? Or: Mr. Picker, what was your reaction when you found out Dean Martin got paid more for doing Matt Helm than Sean Connery got for playing James Bond? The answers would have enlivened the documentary even more, we suspect.

Also, the documentary’s candor seems to run short concerning later movies. It talks about the 2006 Casino Royale while not discussing Quantum of Solace very much, aside from a few quick clips.

If it sounds like we’re ragging on Everything Or Nothing, we’re not. It’s very well done. It even, for a Bond fan, flirts with perfection. There are some other omissions (there’s basically no mention of the spoof 1967 Casino Royale or how American John Gavin was signed to do Diamonds Are Forever before Connery came back).

Overall, Everything Or Nothing is a great show for hard-core fan or casual 007 viewer. It just could have been even better without much more work. GRADE: A-Minus.

UPDATE: We’re watching the documentary a second time. We didn’t mention how Lazenby says Broccoli and Saltzman “sent a girl” to his room to make sure the one-time male model was heterosexual.

Dr. No’s 50th anniversary conclusion: legacy

In evaluating the legacy of Dr. No as it approaches its 50th anniversary, start with the obvious: There’s still a 007 film series to talk about.

James Bond isn’t the biggest entertainment property in the world the way it was in 1965. But its longevity is unique. The five decades that have passed include more than a decade of enforced hiatus (a troublesome 1975 financial split between Eon co-founders Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman; a legal fight in the early 1990s between Broccoli and MGM; and MGM’s 2010 bankruptcy) disrupting production of the Bond movies. But the Bond films soldier on, with the 23rd entry in the Eon Productions’ series, Skyfall, coming out soon.

The series turned actor Sean Connery into a major star. It made Roger Moore, known mostly as a television star, into a movie star. The same applies to Pierce Brosnan. It made Daniel Craig a star. Even George Lazenby (one movie) and Timothy Dalton (two) who had limited runs as 007 are identified with the series.

The films generated new fans of Ian Fleming’s hero to the point that the movie 007 long ago outsized the influence of his literary counterpart. Finally, the film 007 helped form an untold number of friendships among Bond fans who would have never met otherwise.

All of that began with a modestly budgeted film, without a big-name star, led by a director for hire, Terence Young, who’d be instrumental in developing the cinema version of Agent 007. Dr. No, filmed in Jamaica and at Pinewood Studios, made all that followed possible.

Fans may fuss and feud about which Bond they like best. This 007 film or that may be disparaged by some fans, praised by others. The series may get rebooted. Bond may get recast. The tone of the entries may vary greatly.

In the end, Bond continues. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. can’t say that; The Avengers, the John Steed variety which debuted the year before Dr. No, can’t say that; Matt Helm can’t say that. In time, we suspect, Jason Bourne, which influenced recent 007 movies, won’t either.

Many of those responsible for Dr. No aren’t around to take the bows. They include producers Broccoli and Saltzman; director Young; screenwriter Richard Maibaum; editor Peter Hunt; United Artists studio executive Arthur Krim who greenlighted the project; Joseph Wiseman, who played the title charater, the first film Bond villain; Jack Lord, the first, and some fans say still the best, screen Felix Leiter, who’d become a major television star on Hawaii Five-O; art director Syd Cain, the main lieutenant for production designer Ken Adam; and composer John Barry who orchestrated Monty Norman’s James Bond Theme and who would later define 007 film music.

That’s too bad but that’s what happens with the passage of time. The final product, though remains. It’s all summed up with these words:

James Bond will return.

OHMSS finishes No. 1 in 007 Magazine survey

“007 Magazine? I demand a recount!”

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the sixth in the Eon Productions 007 film series, was named the best James Bond movie in a survey by readers of 007 Magazine.

The 1969 007 film was the first Eon Bond movie without Sean Connery, instead starring George Lazenby in his only Bond appearance. It was directed by Peter Hunt, who had worked on the previous Eon 007 films as a film editor and second unit director.

Here’s an excerpt from 007 Magazine’s announcement:

Readers of 007 MAGAZINE were asked to rate all 24 Bond films (including the ‘unofficial’ 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale and the rogue 1983 Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again) on a scale from 0-10. The average score for each film was then calculated, with OHMSS averaging an impressive 8.912 to finish ahead of second-placed Goldfinger (1964) – average mark 8.824, and third-placed From Russia With Love (1963) – average mark 8.802.

A similar vote was announced ON THE OFFICIAL JAMES BOND FACEBOOK PAGE though it’s restricted to the Eon series only. The result of that vote is supposed to be announced on Oct. 5, the 50th anniversary of Dr. No’s U.K. premier.

Reproducing the cinema 007′s original suits

The original Anthony Sinclair (right) fits Sean Connery

Anthony Sinclair, the Savile Row tailoring house named after the man who supplied Sean Connery with his original 007 suits a half century ago, is reproducing two of the suits for an exhibit in London in July.

A STORY IN THE CURRENT ISSUE OF BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK MAGAZINE quotes David Mason, the creative director at Anthony Sinclair, about the effort. Also, you, too, can dress like the original film 007. Anthony Sinclair offers an “off-the-rack” version of the suits for 750 British pounds, or a tailored one starting at 2,000 pounds, according to the article.

The Anthony Sinclair Web site describes how the original Sinclair developed a look known as the Conduit Cut beginning in the late 1950s, named after Conduit Street where he was based. The Web site says, “The style is timeless, and as fresh today as it was when 007 first stepped onto the screen in 1962. When Sinclair retired, his shears were handed down to his apprentice, Richard W. Paine, who continues to work for the company today, maintaining the standard of exemplary quality and style set by the master.”

The Anthony Sinclair tailoring house also has a Conduit Cut weblog. An entry on APRIL 15 describes the origins of the effort to reproduce the 007 suits:

To help celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the Bond films, the Barbican in London is hosting an exhibition entitled, “Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style”. However, most of the clothes made for the first actor, Sean Connery, have long disappeared, and so EON, the film’s producers, have approached Anthony Sinclair to request faithful reproductions of some of the pieces originally made by the company, including the famous evening suit worn by Connery in his first appearance as James Bond in the 1962 film, “Dr. No”. The records of production of these suits have also vanished from Sinclair’s archives, consequently the specifications for the remakes are being put together piece by piece, with the help of the exhibition’s curators, starting with the cloth.

The blog has had additional entries on APRIL 28, MAY 7 and MAY 19 concerning the work performed to come up with the 007 suit reproductions. The blog entries include some Bond film history, including how George Lazenby and Roger Moore were fitted by different tailors for their Bond films.

The John Cork-directed documentary Inside On Her Majesty’s Secret Service noted how Lazenby bought a suit by Sinclair to audition for the role. “Whilst this would have ensured that he looked the part for the screen test, it was as close as Sinclair’s tailoring got to the film production,” the Conduit Cut weblog says. The last Bond film featuring Sinclair suits was 1971′s Diamonds Are Forever, according to the weblog.