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.