OHMSS’s 40th anniversary Part I: The men who would be Bond

In a few short weeks it will be the 40th anniversary of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The film is a) one of the best, if not the best, James Bond movies; b) the “first major hiccup” in the Bond series (as TCM weekend host Ben Mankiewicz put it in introducing Diamonds Are Forever when [...]

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service to get a big-screen showing

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the sixth James Bond movie which is about to have its 40th anniversary, is going to get a big-screen showing this fall.
The Lafayette Theater in Suffern, New York, will show the film on Nov. 28, as part of its Big Screen Classics series. Films in that series are shown at [...]

007/Hawaii Five-O connections

Some James Bond connections to television shows are natural. There are ties between 007 and The Avengers TV series because both were filmed in the U.K. There are a lot of ties between 007 and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. But there are surprising number of connections between James Bond movies and the Hawaii Five-O TV [...]

Memories of 007 double features

Elsewhere on this blog, Paul Baack shared his version of a poster for a double feature of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. In this home video era, such a double bill won’t reach movie theaters, at least for a general release. But that poster got us to remembering about Bond double features of the [...]

HMSS nominations for best lines from James Bond movies

What’s the best line from a James Bond movie? Here are a few for consideration:
“Bond, James Bond.” Sean Connery (James Bond, natch) from Dr. No.
Analysis: Perhaps a cliche now, but Connery established a classic introduction line.
“She should have kept her mouth shut.” Sean Connery (Bond), capping off a tense sequence in the movie From Russia [...]

Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. out on DVD

The Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the 1983 made-for-TV movie, came out on DVD this week. It wasn’t included when the original series came out on DVD in 2007. So here’s a look, starting with the main titles:

Gerald Fried, the veteran composer who did more MFU episodes than any other [...]

An incomplete history of hacking 007 movies for television

The news that TCM is going to show the six Sean Connery 007 films produced by Eon Productions Ltd. got us to thinking about the rocky history of James Bond movies on television. Here’s a partial list:
1972: ABC airs Goldfinger, Eon’s third Bond movies and the 1964 film that became a blockbuster. ABC editors took [...]

George Lazenby interview part II coming Jan. 6

On Tuesday, Jan. 6, the online radio show Dave White Presents will include the second part of Wes Britton’s 45-minute interview with George Lazenby, the second film 007. In the first part, Lazenby talked about his years in Australia, his coming to England, and his becoming 007. The second installment will feature more stories about [...]

James Bond and New Year’s Day

In the James Bond canon, New Year’s Day has a special, and tragic, place.
I do.
James Bond said the words at ten-thirty in the morning of a crystal-clear New Year’s Day in the British Consul General’s drawing room.
And he meant them.
(On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, “All the Time in the World,” page 186, 11th printing, Signet [...]

Louis Armstrong’s swan song for 007

We continue with our look at the UK documentary about James Bond songs. We’re skipping ahead because, well, we’re going straight to a rather touching tale. But, like anything associated with James Bond, it didn’t come very easily.
For Louis Armstrong, his performance of We Have All the Time in the World capped a magnificent career. [...]