The Golden Age of James Bond
Sean Connery was the definitive Bond. George Lazenby took a shot but didn’t have the right screen charisma to pull it off. Roger Moore didn’t have what it took eitherâÂ?¦ but the producers discovered that it they beefed up the comedy and toned down the violence audiences would come to see his version of the character anyway. Roger Moore’s Bond seemed to have more in common with Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau than the superspy popularized by Connery but as long as the movies made money the owners of the popular film franchise didn’t seem to mind.
“Dr. No” was the first James Bond film, released in 1962. It was not intended to be the first of a series but just another film version of just another popular action novel. The stylized sets of Ken Adams, the wonderful Monty Norman/John Barry score, the crisp direction of Terence Young and, of course, the stellar screen presence of Sean Connery served to make the movie a spectacular hit. (The near-naked appearance of Ursula Andress didn’t exactly hurt either.) Though most of the familiar elements of the Bond franchise were not yet in place the movie was such a success that the screen adaptation of another Ian Fleming adventure was quickly planned.
“From Russia With Love” was the second book chosenâÂ?¦ another relatively faithful adaptation of Fleming’s novel. (As the film series progressed the writers would take more and more liberty with the actual plots of the books.) Some of the more familiar trappings of the series began to evolve in this film: the black-humored Bondian quips, the gadgets, the pre-credits action and, of course, the return of a secondary villain at the very end to take one more shot (or stab as the case may be) at killing Bond.
“Goldfinger” is usually considered the apex of the seriesâÂ?¦ with all of the familiar elements firmly in place and fully realized. The pre-credits action sequence has absolutely nothing to do with the movie’s plot but succeeds in grabbing the audience’s attention from the onset.
The concept of larger-than-life Bondian villains is perfectly conceived in the characters of Auric Goldfinger and his menacing right hand man, Oddjob. The action is bigger and better than the previous films and the film works in a little self-referential humor (a bomb’s detonation is stopped just as it reached a countdown of “007”) though not at the expense of its authentically exciting story.
“Thunderball” is one of the “biggest” Bonds but not necessarily the best. The exciting pre-credits sequence again has no purpose but to start things off with a bang. Connery is now so comfortable playing the character that he could probably do it in his sleep. In fact, this whole movie seems to have a sluggish lethargy to itâÂ?¦ as if everyone were just going through the motions. The gadgets, the quips, the action, even the villainâÂ?¦ they all seem a little tired and matter-of-fact after “Goldfinger”. The undersea climax, though well-staged, does not help to liven things upâÂ?¦ after all, everything moves so much more slowly under water.
“You Only Live Twice” was more of the same in the now-familiar Bond formula but done with a little more pizzazz than the previous installment. Some of the largest sets ever built were constructed for the climax of this filmâÂ?¦ where it is revealed that the villain’s secret headquarters are located within a Japanese volcano. Though a much livelier film than “Thunderball” it seems as though the formula is beginning to wear a bit thin. Sean Connery claimed that he had had enough of the character of Bond and would prefer to do other film work that might be more seriously considered by audiences and critics alike. He said he would not do another.
“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was the last of the Bond films to have any relation whatsoever to the novel on which it was based. Director Peter Hunt, who edited the previous Bond movies was called upon to direct this one and it is no coincidence that the action scenes in this movie are considered the most exciting of any Bond film. The breathtaking ski chase sequences, for instance, coupled with the rousing John Barry score are the most pulse-pounding scenes ever committed to film.
Several Bond films since have tried to duplicate the grandeur of Peter Hunt’s snowbound action scenes but they have never come close. Though this was the most exciting Bond picture and it had the most dramatic ending (Bond gets married only to have his wife murdered by Blofeld as they leave for their honeymoon) the box office receipts were very disappointing. The blame was mostly put on the film’s length (almost 2 Ã?½ hours), the fact that it was too “serious” and on George Lazenby’s performance as Bond. Lazenby was not really a bad Bond at all but audiences were just not ready to accept anyone but Connery in the role. He remains underrated and generally unknown to this day.
Unfortunately, “serious” went out the window in the next film, “Diamonds Are Forever” which saw the return of Sean Connery to the role he made famous. After a pre-credits opening that saw Connery/Bond seeking calculated revenge for what happened to Lazenby/Bond in the previous film, the film takes a calculatedly lightweight approach to the material. The women were more lightheaded and the villains were more lighthearted. There is no longer a sense of menace or a sense of real danger. In one sequence Bond wrestles with a pair of bikini-clad beauties named Bambi and ThumperâÂ?¦ which looks like it belongs in one of Dean Martin’s humorous Matt Helm movies.
“Live and Let Die” was the next Bond film, this time Connery could not be coerced back with any amount of money so the role went to TV actor Roger Moore. The light comic tone of the previous film was maintained (after all, it was a big success) though there were still a number of exciting and suspenseful scenes that kept the movie from getting too silly (in particular the incredible alligator sequence). The memorable music and the gorgeous New Orleans locales also helped to make the film palatable even to Bond fans who decried the absence of Connery in the role he made famous.
This was to be the last true Bond film. The next film, “The Man With The Golden Gun” eschewed all seriousness in favor of badly-timed slapstick and silly jokes. Even the film’s greatest action stunt (a car doing a 360 degree spin in mid-air) was marred by a ridiculous penny-whistle sound effect out of a Looney Toons cartoon. Christopher Lee played the title villain but there was no tension in his mano-a-mano showdown with Bond.
He is dispatched matter-of-factly with a ridiculous ruse involving Bond trading places with a wax dummy and the film goes on and on with a gratuitous blow-everything-up finale and the most ridiculous subsidiary-villain-returns-for-one-more-chance-at-killing-Bond climax ever: Moore/Bond vs. little Herve Villechaize (not yet a household name but soon to be familiar all over the world as Tattoo on “Fantasy Island”). After this filmed atrocity it was officialâÂ?¦ James Bond was no more.
