2014: numerous big 007 anniversaries

“Order plenty of Bollinger — ’55, of course.”

We were reminded that 2014 will mark a number of significant James Bond film anniversaries. Thus, there’s more reason than normal for 007 fans to dip into their home video copies.

50th anniversary of Goldfinger. The first mega-hit for Agent 007.

45th anniversary of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. An early attempt to bring 007 back down to earth, but one that wasn’t judged a success by United Artists.

40th anniversary of The Man With The Golden Gun. A box office misstep after Live And Let Die set a worldwide 007 box office record (though not in the U.S. market).

35th annivesary of Moonraker. Producer Albert R. Broccoli’s extragant follow-up to The Spy Wh Loved Me.

25th anniversary of Licence to Kill. A controversial Bond entry that preceded a six-year hiatus for the series.

15th anniversary of The World Is Not Enough. Pierce Brosnan’s third 007 entry and a preview of attempts to bring a more dramatic take to the world of 007.

UPDATE: As reader Stuart Basinger reminds us:

60th anniversary of the CBS television broadcast of Casino Royale. The first, and so far only, adaptation to feature an American (Barry Nelson in this case) playing Bond.

50th anniversary of Ian Fleming’s death on Aug. 12. 007’s creator passed away the month before the film version of Goldfinger’s U.K. debut.

And one more that’s related:
50th anniversary of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: Debut of the series featuring Ian Fleming’s other spy, Napoleon Solo, co-created with television producer Norman Felton.

MI6 Confidential issue #10 hot off the presses!

Our friends and colleagues over at MI6 Confidential magazine have just published their latest issue, a big number 10.

This time around, editor Hugh Maddocks and his team spotlight 2006’s Daniel Craig-debuting Casino Royale, which is now considered by most James Bond fans to be among the series’ classics. As well as running interviews with the on-screen villains, Issue #10 highlights some of the aspects of the critically-acclaimed production that are often overlooked: pre-visualization, production design, scoring, special effects, costume design, and the publicity machine that made sure everyone knew ‘Bond was back!’

Some features in the new issue:

• Bay Area Bonding – Tracking A View To A Kill around famous San Francisco landmarks
• James Bond’s France – Searching for the real Casino Royale
• ‘Card Sense’ Jimmy Bond – A look back at the 1954 Casino Royale live teleplay on CBS
• That Sinking Feeling – Peter Lamont and Chris Corbould on recreating Venice
• Rogues Gallery – Interviews with the villains of Casino Royale: Mads Mikkelsen, Jesper Christensen and Clemens Schick
• Between Script & Screen – Before the cameras roll, storyboard artist Martin Asbury reveals his ‘pre-vis’ magic
• Scoring Casino Royale – Composer David Arnold talks about the score and Bond theme deconstruction
• Dressing 007 – Costume designer Lindy Hemming explains the new look for a new Bond
• Around The World With Casino Royale – How the worldwide publicity machine boosted Bond at the box-office
• Age of Heroes – Sean Bean discusses his new WWII film based on Ian Fleming’s 30 Commando Unit
• The Last Word – Director Martin Campbell on shooting the intricate poker sequence

Issue #10 is now shipping around the world. To order online, visit their website at www.mi6confidential.com

HMSS congratulates Hugh & company on the landmark 10th issue of their terrific full-color magazine!

First 007 meets the first Superman

Of course, that would be actor Barry Nelson (James Bond in the 1954 adaptation of Casino Royale on CBS, being a panelist on the game show To Tell The Truth, hosted by Bud Collyer, the radio voice of Superman starting in the late 1930s.

Salute to Charles Bennett

Not many writers can claim to have collaborated with Alfred Hitcock, did the first adaptation of an Ian Fleming novel or created the (arguably) second-most popular villain on The Wild, Wild West.

Then again, few writers had the longevity or talent of Charles Bennett (1899-1995).

Bennett was a screenwriter on Hitchcock’s <a.1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much and The 39 Steps.

Decades later, Bennett, along with writer Antony Ellis, adapted Ian Fleming’s first novel, Casino Royale, for television. It was a tricky affair. Even though CR was Fleming’s shortest novel, it would be used as part of CBS’s Climax! anthology program in 1954. That meant squeezing the short novel (or novella, depending on your personal definition) to a 60-minute time slot. Even though there were fewer commercials then compared to today, it still meant 50 to 52 minutes of airtime.

Bennett and Ellis ended up making James Bond into an American operative (Barry Nelson) and transforming Felix Leiter into a European agent. Also, the writers melded two characters, Vesper Lynd and French agent Rene Mathis, into “Valerie Mathis.”

Here’s the ending of the 1954 production, including the end titles, which haven’t been included in all home video releases:

About a decade later, Bennett penned an episode of The Wild, Wild West. It featured a villain named Count Manzeppi, intended to be a recurring foe similar to the popular Dr. Loveless. Manzeppi, played by Victor Buono (007 screenwriter Richard Maibuam’s choice to play Goldinger), would only appear in two WWW episodes. Still, Manzeppi was memorable. Here, in the Bennett-scripted debut, he confronts a U.S. Secret Service agent (whose life expectency can be measured in minutes) along with a henchman played by Richard Pryor: