The Death Collectors: Bond Films that Never Were

23. Dr. No (1962)
DR. NO (1962)
Cary Grant IS James Bond

5Odj3jh.png


I’m not doing another one of these. (Pauses) Why not?
They got me fighting a giant squid, for chrissakes!

(A telephone conversation between
Cary Grant and his agent, c. 1962)​

In many ways, that Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman ever met was something of an accident, a curious – if ultimately unfortunate - quirk of fate. Broccoli had long wanted to buy the film rights to James Bond, going as far as attempting to acquire the rights of Casino Royale from the widow of their last owner. Saltzman had actually bought option rights to most of the novels a few months ago, but time was fast running out without anyone who’d back the project and give it sufficient buoyancy. That both men found each other was said to be the work of their mutual friend and writer Wolf Mankowitz, and after some intense talks – and a good deal of bluffing – neither man relented on their respective opening position. At the final moment, they decided to work together on producing them, and set upon the task of finding studio backing. Both men toured London and Hollywood with remarkable persistence, only to get the door slammed on their face several times. Much as the books sold well, the studios wanted nothing to do with them. They were alternatively too British, too sadistic, and even too sexual.

Close to exhausting their options, they exploited personal connections to get Columbia Pictures to take a serious look at their offer. Despite some initial confusion – the executives allegedly confused Ian Fleming with a series of different writers -, Columbia finally decided to take on a gamble. In June of 1961 they announced that they would greenlight the Bond project, but with a limited budget. Taking it as a win, Saltzman and Broccoli immediately created their own companies in order to produce: Danjaq and EON, and set upon the task of deciding on their first project. Not having the rights to Casino Royale, they had their initial scriptwriter – and female trailblazer - Johanna Harwood work on adapting Thunderball. As this fell apart due to rights issues and an eventual trial, Goldfinger came next. Once Columbia made it clear they did not have the budget for it, they ultimately settled on Dr. No. While controversial, the novel’s limited locations made the potential shoot all the easier and cheaper. Following Harwood’s first draft, a straightforward adaptation of the novel, Broccoli and Saltzman then asked their friend Mankowitz – working alongside Richard Maibaum – to deliver another take on the project.

As Mankowitz and Maibaum wrote as fast as humanly possible to meet their deadlines, two key decisions had to be made: hiring a director, and just as crucial, casting James Bond. Oddly enough, one of those decisions led to the other. Having been discouraged from hiring American director Phil Karlson due to his high directorial fee, the producers then circled around countless British alternatives, going through options like Guy Hamilton and Terence Young and being disappointed at the lack of interest in taking on Dr. No. Thus they found their leading man before the director. Although many at Columbia and EON expected a long debate regarding whether it was preferable to have a younger actor to “mold” into Bond, or a more established veteran, this was rendered moot the moment Cary Grant showed interest in the role. Having triumphed in the spy thriller North by Northwest, and being well acquainted with Broccoli – Grant had been best man at his wedding – he also happened to like the Fleming books, and was therefore willing to be cast.

An enthusiastic Columbia Pictures – sensing box office gold – promised to raise the budget should Grant be hired, the only stumbling block being his reluctance to accept Broccoli and Saltzman’s insistence on a three-picture contract. Both parties negotiated for a while, until the producers finally accepted that, already aged 58, Grant might grow too old for playing the role for a long period of time. Ultimately, the promise of a higher budget proved too attractive, and Grant was signed on for two appearances as Bond. Having thus gained the money to upgrade the picture from extremely low budget into a more “respectable” affair, Broccoli and Saltzman were then able to go back to Karlson and pay his fee. They now had a director and an established star. To their frustration, the script then became a problem. Mankowitz and Maibaum had delivered a new script, tossing out Harwood’s efforts and most of the novel itself in order to follow a story of their own, replacing Dr. No with their own villain and – in an act that infuriated both producers – pursuing some rather unorthodox creative choices.

The producers would have told them to start again from scratch, were it not for the fact that being beholden to Columbia meant they could not do as they liked. And to their remarkable bad luck, some of the executives at the studio actually liked the Mankowitz-Maibaum angle, remarking that the novel needed to be made more “exotic” to catch the attention of audiences. Saltzman and Broccoli won the battle of getting the bulk of Harwood’s script back on board, but they lost the war over the overall concept of the film. It would not be a spy film particularly grounded on reality, and not even Grant and Fleming’s later protests could change that fact. Keen to turn the tables on Columbia, the EON team moved into casting the other roles, and planned for a coup by offering the main villain role to Max von Sydow – who chose to take another offer – and then to Noël Coward, who also dismissed the film. In despair, the producers were saved by Fleming himself, who suggested his cousin for the role. And since that relative of his just happened to be Christopher Lee, who had gained notoriety for Dracula (1958), they signed him up on the spot.

By December 1961 most of Dr. No’s cast had been assembled. Besides Grant and Lee, Eunice Gayson, Martine Beswick and Talitha Pol were all brought on board on various female supporting roles, and accomplished character actors like Kenneth More, Anthony Dawson and John Kitzmiller entered the fray as Bond’s allies and/or foes. But the female heroine continued to evade them until just a few days before shooting began, dozens of actresses and models being paraded before Broccoli, Saltzman and director Karlson and then dismissed by various reasons. Then Broccoli suggested Swedish model and actress Anita Ekberg, whom he had worked with in the past. Ekberg – already famous from La Dolce Vita – dazzled the creative team, who felt they had certain “sex appeal” in their hands. The movie then immediately started shooting in January 1962 all the way into April, alternatively filming in Jamaica, and at Pinewood Studios in England.

Despite their best efforts, it was a difficult experience for all those involved, over extending the deadline for three weeks and going significantly over budget due to the special effects involved in the climax. Grant was cavalier enough despite the harsh demands on the role, but depended heavily on a stunt double due to the physical demands involving the second half of the film. He was, however, not without apprehension and frustration at some aspects of the script, which he felt also went too far. Other scenes could only be filmed after extensive debate and consultation with Columbia, including the planned cold-blooded killing of Mr. Dent by Bond which had to be changed into self-defense, intense debates over humor in the film – which had to be toned down so it wouldn’t “lose its edge” -, and Broccoli and Saltzman’s attempts to shift the villain back into the Harwood version. Lee, a consummate professional, impressed many with his commitment, but he himself was said to feel “ridiculous” with the character he was saddled with. In the end, production pushed through. As a final concession to Columbia, the originally planned theme for the film – an instrumental one – was replaced late into the process with an original song by Mel Tormé.

After opening credits and the main theme by Tormé, Dr. No opens up in Kingston (Jamaica), where MI6 Station Chief Strangways (Michael Goodliffe) and his secretary are brutally murdered by three assassins (credited as the “Three Blind Mice”). In London, MI6 agent James Bond (Cary Grant) is acquainted with socialite Sylvia Trench (Martine Beswick) at a game of baccarat, and after she introduces herself in his apartment they spend the night together. Summoned to meet M (Kenneth More), head of MI6, by his secretary Loelia Ponsonby (Eunice Gayson), Bond is informed of Strangways’ sudden disappearance, and is tasked with investigating the matter. After another encounter with Sylvia Trench, 007 flies to Jamaica.

Landing in Kingston, Bond starts his search by reaching out to Quarrel (John Kitzmiller), a local boatman who was helping Strangways travel across the neighboring small islands. Learning that the missing agent was investigating a certain Dr. No, the mysterious owner of Crab Key, Bond starts to suspect Strangways might have been murdered. 007’s actions – and his rough methods – soon attract the attention of Mr. Dent (Anthony Dawson), Dr. No’s main contact in Kingston. Told by the faceless No to disrupt Bond’s efforts, Dent attempts to do so by introducing himself and trying to lead the investigation in the wrong direction. Unfortunately for him, Dent’s increasingly frantic efforts prove a failure as Bond proves equally smarter and more ruthless than he expected. He then resorts to murder, setting the Three Blind Mice against Bond in a car chase in which the operatives meet a fiery death. Dent follows up by having his associate Miss Taro (Talitha Pol) seduce the agent, only for Bond to turn the tables and have her arrested.

Under intense pressure – and threats – by No’s voice, Dent finally ambushes Bond and shoots him, only to realize the agent has set up a trap. 007 then kills his enemy in self-defense. Convinced No is at the bottom of the matter, Bond has Quarrel take him all the way to Crab Key, where they meet shell diver Honey Rider (Anita Ekberg). Surprised by armed guards, the three attempt an escape, only for Quarrel to meet a horrible death after being burned to death by No’s “dragon” (a sand buggy equipped with flamethrower. Bond and Ryder are captured by the island’s natives, who bring them to a shrine which honors “No”, revealed to be the monkey god of Crab Key. Once the natives summon their god, the couple is introduced to the eccentric criminal scientist Professor Buchwald (Christopher Lee), a Fu-Manchu-style character armed with metal hands. Buchwald, as it happens, carries with him the capuchin monkey Lee Ying, having convinced the natives that the monkey is No in order to gain their loyalty and establish a base of operations without being bothered.

Bond and Ryder are subsequently brought there to dine with Buchwald, the professor revealing himself as an agent of the SPECTRE secret organization. By manipulating Buchwald’s ego, Bond is able to get him to reveal his nefarious plan to blow up the Panama Canal using a nuclear-powered weapon he’s spent his life designing. Confessing to ordering Strangways’ death and impressed with Bond’s physical prowess, Buchwald forces him to go through a tortuous obstacle course to save Ryder, who’s been chained and left to be eaten alive by crabs. Despite experiencing immense pain, 007 successfully overcomes all of Buchwald’s obstacles and traps that culminate on a giant squid. After killing the squid and releasing Ryder, both sabotage the power source to Buchwald’s weapon, causing an overload. As the SPECTRE operatives flee the area, Buchwald takes on Bond and initially overpowers him, only to fall to his death in the boiling reactor pool.

Escaping on the “dragon” with Buchwald’s monkey pet, Bond and Ryder survive the explosion and hand over the monkey to the natives. In return, the natives hand over one of the SPECTRE boats, which they both use to sail towards Jamaica. The movie ends as Bond and Ryder share a passionate kiss. Highlights of the film include the Three Blind Mice car chase, Bond’s confrontation with Dent, Honey Rider and Buchwald’s introductions, and the Buchwald obstacle course sequence.

Dr. No premiered in the United Kingdom first in November 1962, and it was immediately torn to pieces by the critics, who seemed to criticize the film from different yet devastating angles. Many took issue with the violence and the sexual overtones of the film, comparing it with the highly controversial Peeping Tom (1960) – which had destroyed the career of director Michael Powell - and dismissing it as “entertainment of the most immoral kind”. Others felt the plot and its execution was ridiculous, if not outright offensive given the depiction of Buchwald as a “cheap Fu-Manchu clone” and the portrayal of the Crab Key natives. And yet others felt Grant was just too old to be believable in a role with such physical involvement, and/or dismissed Ekberg’s Ryder as little more than an “seductive air-head”. Audiences weren’t particularly enthused, strong opening numbers slowly dying off as word of mouth spread and some even reportedly laughed at a number of sequences meant to be serious.

Thus condemned on its initial release, Columbia faced the daunting challenge of having to present the film in the United States, and/or cutting their losses at great financial expense. They chose the latter, leading them to want to kick themselves once the severely under-promoted film actually started doing better than in Britain, audiences seemingly more willing to buy into the whole concept and experience. However, reviews were only slightly less harsh, with many speaking of a “cinematic disaster”. The scant praise offered for the film often went to some of the action sequences and, in some cases, for Christopher Lee, with it being argued he had saved an already cartoonish character from descending entirely into unintentional parody. Grant subsequently made it very clear he did not want to play the character once again, and Columbia raced to wash their hands from the whole affair. The dreams of a franchise suddenly collapsed as Dr. No, while actually profitable, was written off by many as cinematic poison, if not either boring or immoral.

Saltzman and Broccoli would try again a final time by recasting Bond and attempting to improve on earlier mistakes in From Russia, With Love, with equally disappointing results despite the significantly higher quality of the film. Breaking off their partnership, both men had the solace that other planned adaptations of Bond novels – in this case, Casino Royale (1964) and Thunderball (1968) – didn’t attract audiences either, or didn’t do well enough to justify sequels. The film rights were sold shortly after Ian Fleming’s untimely death, and with James Bond having been played by four different men – in three rival would-be franchises – in six years left little room for the character to establish itself within the public consciousness as anything other than a British spy with interchangeable traits and settings. And once Jean-Paul Belmondo shot into international stardom as Hubert Bonisseur in the OSS 117 films, Bond was soon forgotten.

During the 1990’s and early 2000’s, Dr. No underwent a limited measure of cinematic rehabilitation, with some critics arguing the movie, while flawed, was nowhere near the disaster it was pronounced during its time. While still very dismissive of a number of elements, it was argued Grant’s performance was far more nuanced and effective than once believed, and that even Ekberg acquitted herself well with a degree of magnetism that went overlooked. Praise regarding Lee continued, even if the actor himself always denounced the film and his role as something best forgotten. More recently, Dr. No has also been held as an example of prejudices in early 1960’s Hollywood, it being argued that the Buchwald character could be construed as offensive, and the portrayal of the Crab Key inhabitants and the Jamaican characters – other than Quarrel – should be considered outright racist. Still, the film is obscure enough that such arguments only come forward between movie aficionados.

Author’s Notes: I struggled for a while on whether Dr. No was worth exploring, until it suddenly dawned on me the question: what if it had been a disaster? Thus the original pod has Columbia Pictures and not United Artists distributing the film, ensuring butterflies fly all over the place. Their more “hands-on” approach ensures the survival of the bizarre Mankowitz pitch, Grant agrees to do it and the producers lower their demands, and so on. There is still something of a “spy-craze” due to Belmondo and OSS 117 – it occurred to me as a fun gag, it’s not meant to be a realistic outcome -, but more French-inspired and nowhere near close Bondmania. That aside, this should be our antepenultimate entry. After the coming entry – yet another take on GoldenEye – we will have the big finale.​

THE DEATH COLLECTORS will return in
“GOLDENEYE”
 
I'm wondering if it's going to be a "Code Name" theory one. Casino Royale 2006, but more akin to the Niven one
Didn't one of the modern novels implied the previous 007 was one of either James parents ( they never mentioned who BTW) so more a codename, the number has a massive personal weight for the bonds
 

Garrison

Donor
DR. NO (1962)
Cary Grant IS James Bond

5Odj3jh.png


I’m not doing another one of these. (Pauses) Why not?
They got me fighting a giant squid, for chrissakes!

(A telephone conversation between
Cary Grant and his agent, c. 1962)​

In many ways, that Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman ever met was something of an accident, a curious – if ultimately unfortunate - quirk of fate. Broccoli had long wanted to buy the film rights to James Bond, going as far as attempting to acquire the rights of Casino Royale from the widow of their last owner. Saltzman had actually bought option rights to most of the novels a few months ago, but time was fast running out without anyone who’d back the project and give it sufficient buoyancy. That both men found each other was said to be the work of their mutual friend and writer Wolf Mankowitz, and after some intense talks – and a good deal of bluffing – neither man relented on their respective opening position. At the final moment, they decided to work together on producing them, and set upon the task of finding studio backing. Both men toured London and Hollywood with remarkable persistence, only to get the door slammed on their face several times. Much as the books sold well, the studios wanted nothing to do with them. They were alternatively too British, too sadistic, and even too sexual.

Close to exhausting their options, they exploited personal connections to get Columbia Pictures to take a serious look at their offer. Despite some initial confusion – the executives allegedly confused Ian Fleming with a series of different writers -, Columbia finally decided to take on a gamble. In June of 1961 they announced that they would greenlight the Bond project, but with a limited budget. Taking it as a win, Saltzman and Broccoli immediately created their own companies in order to produce: Danjaq and EON, and set upon the task of deciding on their first project. Not having the rights to Casino Royale, they had their initial scriptwriter – and female trailblazer - Johanna Harwood work on adapting Thunderball. As this fell apart due to rights issues and an eventual trial, Goldfinger came next. Once Columbia made it clear they did not have the budget for it, they ultimately settled on Dr. No. While controversial, the novel’s limited locations made the potential shoot all the easier and cheaper. Following Harwood’s first draft, a straightforward adaptation of the novel, Broccoli and Saltzman then asked their friend Mankowitz – working alongside Richard Maibaum – to deliver another take on the project.

As Mankowitz and Maibaum wrote as fast as humanly possible to meet their deadlines, two key decisions had to be made: hiring a director, and just as crucial, casting James Bond. Oddly enough, one of those decisions led to the other. Having been discouraged from hiring American director Phil Karlson due to his high directorial fee, the producers then circled around countless British alternatives, going through options like Guy Hamilton and Terence Young and being disappointed at the lack of interest in taking on Dr. No. Thus they found their leading man before the director. Although many at Columbia and EON expected a long debate regarding whether it was preferable to have a younger actor to “mold” into Bond, or a more established veteran, this was rendered moot the moment Cary Grant showed interest in the role. Having triumphed in the spy thriller North by Northwest, and being well acquainted with Broccoli – Grant had been best man at his wedding – he also happened to like the Fleming books, and was therefore willing to be cast.

An enthusiastic Columbia Pictures – sensing box office gold – promised to raise the budget should Grant be hired, the only stumbling block being his reluctance to accept Broccoli and Saltzman’s insistence on a three-picture contract. Both parties negotiated for a while, until the producers finally accepted that, already aged 58, Grant might grow too old for playing the role for a long period of time. Ultimately, the promise of a higher budget proved too attractive, and Grant was signed on for two appearances as Bond. Having thus gained the money to upgrade the picture from extremely low budget into a more “respectable” affair, Broccoli and Saltzman were then able to go back to Karlson and pay his fee. They now had a director and an established star. To their frustration, the script then became a problem. Mankowitz and Maibaum had delivered a new script, tossing out Harwood’s efforts and most of the novel itself in order to follow a story of their own, replacing Dr. No with their own villain and – in an act that infuriated both producers – pursuing some rather unorthodox creative choices.

The producers would have told them to start again from scratch, were it not for the fact that being beholden to Columbia meant they could not do as they liked. And to their remarkable bad luck, some of the executives at the studio actually liked the Mankowitz-Maibaum angle, remarking that the novel needed to be made more “exotic” to catch the attention of audiences. Saltzman and Broccoli won the battle of getting the bulk of Harwood’s script back on board, but they lost the war over the overall concept of the film. It would not be a spy film particularly grounded on reality, and not even Grant and Fleming’s later protests could change that fact. Keen to turn the tables on Columbia, the EON team moved into casting the other roles, and planned for a coup by offering the main villain role to Max von Sydow – who chose to take another offer – and then to Noël Coward, who also dismissed the film. In despair, the producers were saved by Fleming himself, who suggested his cousin for the role. And since that relative of his just happened to be Christopher Lee, who had gained notoriety for Dracula (1958), they signed him up on the spot.

By December 1961 most of Dr. No’s cast had been assembled. Besides Grant and Lee, Eunice Gayson, Martine Beswick and Talitha Pol were all brought on board on various female supporting roles, and accomplished character actors like Kenneth More, Anthony Dawson and John Kitzmiller entered the fray as Bond’s allies and/or foes. But the female heroine continued to evade them until just a few days before shooting began, dozens of actresses and models being paraded before Broccoli, Saltzman and director Karlson and then dismissed by various reasons. Then Broccoli suggested Swedish model and actress Anita Ekberg, whom he had worked with in the past. Ekberg – already famous from La Dolce Vita – dazzled the creative team, who felt they had certain “sex appeal” in their hands. The movie then immediately started shooting in January 1962 all the way into April, alternatively filming in Jamaica, and at Pinewood Studios in England.

Despite their best efforts, it was a difficult experience for all those involved, over extending the deadline for three weeks and going significantly over budget due to the special effects involved in the climax. Grant was cavalier enough despite the harsh demands on the role, but depended heavily on a stunt double due to the physical demands involving the second half of the film. He was, however, not without apprehension and frustration at some aspects of the script, which he felt also went too far. Other scenes could only be filmed after extensive debate and consultation with Columbia, including the planned cold-blooded killing of Mr. Dent by Bond which had to be changed into self-defense, intense debates over humor in the film – which had to be toned down so it wouldn’t “lose its edge” -, and Broccoli and Saltzman’s attempts to shift the villain back into the Harwood version. Lee, a consummate professional, impressed many with his commitment, but he himself was said to feel “ridiculous” with the character he was saddled with. In the end, production pushed through. As a final concession to Columbia, the originally planned theme for the film – an instrumental one – was replaced late into the process with an original song by Mel Tormé.

After opening credits and the main theme by Tormé, Dr. No opens up in Kingston (Jamaica), where MI6 Station Chief Strangways (Michael Goodliffe) and his secretary are brutally murdered by three assassins (credited as the “Three Blind Mice”). In London, MI6 agent James Bond (Cary Grant) is acquainted with socialite Sylvia Trench (Martine Beswick) at a game of baccarat, and after she introduces herself in his apartment they spend the night together. Summoned to meet M (Kenneth More), head of MI6, by his secretary Loelia Ponsonby (Eunice Gayson), Bond is informed of Strangways’ sudden disappearance, and is tasked with investigating the matter. After another encounter with Sylvia Trench, 007 flies to Jamaica.

Landing in Kingston, Bond starts his search by reaching out to Quarrel (John Kitzmiller), a local boatman who was helping Strangways travel across the neighboring small islands. Learning that the missing agent was investigating a certain Dr. No, the mysterious owner of Crab Key, Bond starts to suspect Strangways might have been murdered. 007’s actions – and his rough methods – soon attract the attention of Mr. Dent (Anthony Dawson), Dr. No’s main contact in Kingston. Told by the faceless No to disrupt Bond’s efforts, Dent attempts to do so by introducing himself and trying to lead the investigation in the wrong direction. Unfortunately for him, Dent’s increasingly frantic efforts prove a failure as Bond proves equally smarter and more ruthless than he expected. He then resorts to murder, setting the Three Blind Mice against Bond in a car chase in which the operatives meet a fiery death. Dent follows up by having his associate Miss Taro (Talitha Pol) seduce the agent, only for Bond to turn the tables and have her arrested.

Under intense pressure – and threats – by No’s voice, Dent finally ambushes Bond and shoots him, only to realize the agent has set up a trap. 007 then kills his enemy in self-defense. Convinced No is at the bottom of the matter, Bond has Quarrel take him all the way to Crab Key, where they meet shell diver Honey Rider (Anita Ekberg). Surprised by armed guards, the three attempt an escape, only for Quarrel to meet a horrible death after being burned to death by No’s “dragon” (a sand buggy equipped with flamethrower. Bond and Ryder are captured by the island’s natives, who bring them to a shrine which honors “No”, revealed to be the monkey god of Crab Key. Once the natives summon their god, the couple is introduced to the eccentric criminal scientist Professor Buchwald (Christopher Lee), a Fu-Manchu-style character armed with metal hands. Buchwald, as it happens, carries with him the capuchin monkey Lee Ying, having convinced the natives that the monkey is No in order to gain their loyalty and establish a base of operations without being bothered.

Bond and Ryder are subsequently brought there to dine with Buchwald, the professor revealing himself as an agent of the SPECTRE secret organization. By manipulating Buchwald’s ego, Bond is able to get him to reveal his nefarious plan to blow up the Panama Canal using a nuclear-powered weapon he’s spent his life designing. Confessing to ordering Strangways’ death and impressed with Bond’s physical prowess, Buchwald forces him to go through a tortuous obstacle course to save Ryder, who’s been chained and left to be eaten alive by crabs. Despite experiencing immense pain, 007 successfully overcomes all of Buchwald’s obstacles and traps that culminate on a giant squid. After killing the squid and releasing Ryder, both sabotage the power source to Buchwald’s weapon, causing an overload. As the SPECTRE operatives flee the area, Buchwald takes on Bond and initially overpowers him, only to fall to his death in the boiling reactor pool.

Escaping on the “dragon” with Buchwald’s monkey pet, Bond and Ryder survive the explosion and hand over the monkey to the natives. In return, the natives hand over one of the SPECTRE boats, which they both use to sail towards Jamaica. The movie ends as Bond and Ryder share a passionate kiss. Highlights of the film include the Three Blind Mice car chase, Bond’s confrontation with Dent, Honey Rider and Buchwald’s introductions, and the Buchwald obstacle course sequence.

Dr. No premiered in the United Kingdom first in November 1962, and it was immediately torn to pieces by the critics, who seemed to criticize the film from different yet devastating angles. Many took issue with the violence and the sexual overtones of the film, comparing it with the highly controversial Peeping Tom (1960) – which had destroyed the career of director Michael Powell - and dismissing it as “entertainment of the most immoral kind”. Others felt the plot and its execution was ridiculous, if not outright offensive given the depiction of Buchwald as a “cheap Fu-Manchu clone” and the portrayal of the Crab Key natives. And yet others felt Grant was just too old to be believable in a role with such physical involvement, and/or dismissed Ekberg’s Ryder as little more than an “seductive air-head”. Audiences weren’t particularly enthused, strong opening numbers slowly dying off as word of mouth spread and some even reportedly laughed at a number of sequences meant to be serious.

Thus condemned on its initial release, Columbia faced the daunting challenge of having to present the film in the United States, and/or cutting their losses at great financial expense. They chose the latter, leading them to want to kick themselves once the severely under-promoted film actually started doing better than in Britain, audiences seemingly more willing to buy into the whole concept and experience. However, reviews were only slightly less harsh, with many speaking of a “cinematic disaster”. The scant praise offered for the film often went to some of the action sequences and, in some cases, for Christopher Lee, with it being argued he had saved an already cartoonish character from descending entirely into unintentional parody. Grant subsequently made it very clear he did not want to play the character once again, and Columbia raced to wash their hands from the whole affair. The dreams of a franchise suddenly collapsed as Dr. No, while actually profitable, was written off by many as cinematic poison, if not either boring or immoral.

Saltzman and Broccoli would try again a final time by recasting Bond and attempting to improve on earlier mistakes in From Russia, With Love, with equally disappointing results despite the significantly higher quality of the film. Breaking off their partnership, both men had the solace that other planned adaptations of Bond novels – in this case, Casino Royale (1964) and Thunderball (1968) – didn’t attract audiences either, or didn’t do well enough to justify sequels. The film rights were sold shortly after Ian Fleming’s untimely death, and with James Bond having been played by four different men – in three rival would-be franchises – in six years left little room for the character to establish itself within the public consciousness as anything other than a British spy with interchangeable traits and settings. And once Jean-Paul Belmondo shot into international stardom as Hubert Bonisseur in the OSS 117 films, Bond was soon forgotten.

During the 1990’s and early 2000’s, Dr. No underwent a limited measure of cinematic rehabilitation, with some critics arguing the movie, while flawed, was nowhere near the disaster it was pronounced during its time. While still very dismissive of a number of elements, it was argued Grant’s performance was far more nuanced and effective than once believed, and that even Ekberg acquitted herself well with a degree of magnetism that went overlooked. Praise regarding Lee continued, even if the actor himself always denounced the film and his role as something best forgotten. More recently, Dr. No has also been held as an example of prejudices in early 1960’s Hollywood, it being argued that the Buchwald character could be construed as offensive, and the portrayal of the Crab Key inhabitants and the Jamaican characters – other than Quarrel – should be considered outright racist. Still, the film is obscure enough that such arguments only come forward between movie aficionados.

Author’s Notes: I struggled for a while on whether Dr. No was worth exploring, until it suddenly dawned on me the question: what if it had been a disaster? Thus the original pod has Columbia Pictures and not United Artists distributing the film, ensuring butterflies fly all over the place. Their more “hands-on” approach ensures the survival of the bizarre Mankowitz pitch, Grant agrees to do it and the producers lower their demands, and so on. There is still something of a “spy-craze” due to Belmondo and OSS 117 – it occurred to me as a fun gag, it’s not meant to be a realistic outcome -, but more French-inspired and nowhere near close Bondmania. That aside, this should be our antepenultimate entry. After the coming entry – yet another take on GoldenEye – we will have the big finale.​

THE DEATH COLLECTORS will return in
“GOLDENEYE”
So a case of all the parts seemed superficially right but just never jelled.
 
Didn't one of the modern novels implied the previous 007 was one of either James parents ( they never mentioned who BTW) so more a codename, the number has a massive personal weight for the bonds

If memory serves, Carte Blanche suggested one or both of his parents was a secret agent, but not necessarily the last 007
 
As someone who’s read all of the original Fleming novels, reading Dr. No was…quite a trip. I remember reading the first part and thinking “wow, the Connery movie sure was a faithful adaptation! It hit all the same beats and has the same plot points and…wait, WTF, a GIANT SQUID?????”

Any adaptation which tried to keep the squid was facing an uphill battle, and once I saw it mentioned at the start of this entry, I had a feeling it was all downhill from there.
 
Lovely entries there- I can see Berry in a Jinx doing off instead of Catwoman. Brosnan getting a fantastic final entry is a great ending for this tenure too.

Like the Alt Dr No killing the franchise off. Well written.

I’d like to see a Bond Crossover for the finale where one of the many universes Bonds all turn up in the same movie aka ‘The Five Doctors’- though with less time travel!
 
24. GoldenEye (1994)
GOLDENEYE (1994)
Timothy Dalton IS James Bond

0WSTl79.png


PUSHKIN: I thought the Cold War was over.
BOND: You tell me, Leonid.”

(GoldenEye shooting script, 1993)

John? What’s with the doves?
Oh, they’re symbolic.
Yes, I… I get that. But symbolic of what exactly?”

(Alan Rickman to John Woo, 1994)

[Prequel to the “PUREFOYVERSE”,
see “TOMORROW NEVER DIES” for future events]​

The nightmare was finally over. Or so they believed at EON Productions, having gone through one of the most hellish periods they’d ever experienced since the company’s foundation back in 1961. After an almost uninterrupted streak of releasing Bond films one after the other, this time they’d been forced to wait for four years without being able to make a firm start on a project, all while the world changed in sudden, unexpected and positively stunning ways. The release of Licence Revoked (1989) had been unsuccessful and, amidst heavy competition at the box office, it had done about as badly as possible in the vital US market. Then, Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti had taken over MGM/UA and tried to strip and sell its assets, forcing EON to sue Parretti and take him to court over a prolonged battle over film rights. Having gone as far as having prepared treatments and scripts for Bond 17 – which to many at EON were headed in the right direction -, all preparations for a third Dalton film had to be postponed, if not outright shelved. And with Albert R. Broccoli’s health steadily decaying, EON would soon lose its most important person.

But, as some said, it was always darkest before the dawn, and 1992 proved a karmic, if stressful retribution of sorts. Parretti’s antics and outrageous behaviour had caught up with him, leading to the collapse of his fortune and empire. The lawsuits had reached a successful end, and MGM had been seized back from Parreti by Crédit Lyonnais, resulting in new management. Frank Mancuso had been installed as the new MGM/UA chairman, and he had rapidly brought in John Calley – already involved in the previous Bondian rival Never Say Never Again – to preside over UA. Both men liked Bond and thought of it as a fond part of their memories, and despite all the naysaying about the character and its seemingly bleak future in the post-Cold War period, they wanted the secret agent back on the big screen. Talks ensued between MGM/UA and EON, and by early 1993 not only could the Broccolis announce to the world that Bond 17 had started development, they had also hired writer Michael France to prepare a script after the latter lobbied hard for the job.

There was, however, a twin stumbling block. On one side, Timothy Dalton – whose contract had long since expired – was reluctant to return for a long period of time to the role, being at best willing to commit to one film. On the other hand, and perhaps most distressing, MGM was said not to want him back. In the middle stood the Broccolis, all of whom – Cubby, Barbara and Michael Wilson – had developed a rapport with Dalton and very much wanted him back. Having reached a compromise deal after long conversations, the first hurdle was cleared: Dalton would do it, and would commit to a single sequel should his third film prove successful. The second was tougher, with Mancuso and Calley emphatically stating they thought of Dalton as close to box office poison as far as Bond was concerned. The deadlock was only broken during a particularly tense meeting, when despite his ailments Cubby Broccoli hit the table with his fist and declared that Dalton was James Bond. MGM finally relented, but not cheaply. The budget for the next film was cut, and EON was very clearly warned the film had to get out as soon as humanly possible.

Thus pressured to deliver on time, and having confirmed Dalton’s return to the press amidst a muted – if not outright dismissive – public response, EON set to work. France had travelled to Russia to conduct extensive research and returned with an action-packed script, one that MGM didn’t particularly like, but one that could not be entirely rewritten – as some executives intended – without delaying the film for months. Hiring fellow writer Bruce Feirstein for a number of last minute rewrites, and despite some noteworthy additions, the final script would strongly resemble France’s planned vision of the film, which involved reaffirming Bond’s relevance in a world filled with former agents and weapons of mass destruction still flying around. Next on the list of challenges was finding the right director, and after a promising false start with Martin Campbell – who eventually turned down the movie – they were forced to think outside the box. An increasingly large list of directors turned it down, until EON stumbled upon a recent arrival into Hollywood: Hongkonger John Woo, famed for his elaborate action sequences and fresh from a box office hit – though very much not a critical darling – with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Woo was flattered by the unexpected offer, but came close to rejecting the offer out of the sheer pressure associated with a Bond film – and particularly a pivotal one such as this -. That he took on the role is often attributed to his frustration at studio intervention since his arrival, perhaps reasoning that a clear-cut success might give him the necessary clout to gain autonomy in his future projects. Whatever the case, Woo signed onto the project, once again to the media’s derision towards the project. With the script basically ready, circling around post-Soviet Russia and titled “GoldenEye” after Ian Fleming’s famous Jamaica estate, intensive casting began as Barbara Broccoli took centre stage. For the villain, an elderly and treacherous former MI6 agent, EON very much wanted Anthony Hopkins for the part, reportedly asking him no less than three times to take on the role. Hopkins refused, but kept his options open for the future. They then moved to Alan Rickman, who, while increasingly tired of playing villainous roles, respected Dalton and figured the experience might be worth a try. Lacking a main heroine until almost the final moment, it was finally decided that, despite her extreme youth, Czech model and actress Eva Herzigová would play computer prodigy Marina Veronskaya. The wide array of villains was filled with actors of significant calibre, including Gottfried John, Tchéky Karyo and Famke Janssen, and Robbie Coltrane was signed on for a supporting role. Although the producers made a successful effort to get John Rhys-Davies to return as General Pushkin, a planned attempt to bring back David Hedison as Felix Leiter fell through as the character would lack an effective role.

Despite Dalton’s return, only Desmond Llewellyn of the MI6 cast would be back with him, with Caroline Bliss (Moneypenny) and Robert Brown (M) being let go. For the former, the character would be replaced with novel character Loelia Ponsonby, played by little known actress Elizabeth Hurley. For the latter, a last minute suggestion by Feirstein led to the then controversial recasting of the M role with a female actress. Having been turned down by Glenda Jackson – who was highly critical and dismissive of the Bond franchise -, Calley saved the day by suggesting Judi Dench, who jumped at the opportunity. Another key piece was assembled when composer John Barry chose to return once again, working alongside Swedish band Ace of Base for the film’s title song “The GoldenEye”. Filming took place across six months during early 1994, a highly intense process which took Woo and the film crew to England, Russia, France and Puerto Rico, and which placed intense demands on the $50 million budget due to the large number of action sequences involved.

Despite being outwardly in high spirits, it was a grueling and tough experience for Dalton, and each complex action shoot spearheaded by Woo convinced him more and more this had to be his retirement film. He was, however, complimentary of the script, a sentiment shared by part of the cast but not necessarily by MGM, who started to fear disaster. The successful release of Arnold Schwazenegger’s True Lies a few weeks after filming ended only seemed to accentuate these fears, that GoldenEye would not be enough to resuscitate the franchise and might even look outdated on its release.

GoldenEye’s pre-title sequence takes place in Kazakhstan, before the end of the Cold War, with James Bond (Timothy Dalton) and agents 003 and 005 trying to rescue fellow and veteran operative Augustus Trevelyan (Alan Rickman), also known as 006, from capture by the Russians. Under orders to either save or kill 006, Bond hesitates to snipe him at the last moment, allowing Trevelyan to reveal the whole thing as a ruse and spring a trap on his former colleagues. Trevelyan murders 003 and 005 in cold blood, and Bond barely escapes alive.

In the present time – after a title sequence depicting the fall of the Soviet Union – Bond disrupts an attempted attack against a high-speed train in France, defeating and killing terrorist operative Emil (Andrew Divoff) within a tunnel. In a series of brief sequences, we see a number of Russian characters across the west being brutally murdered by Savatier (Tchéky Karyo), a mute assassin. Meanwhile, at Severnaya, Russia, a disguised control station for the high-tech satellite GoldenEye – capable of firing a massive EMP – is sabotaged, allowing Trevelyan, prestigious scientist Alexei Makvenio (Gottfried John), and pilot and assassin Xenia Labyakova (Famke Janssen) to murder the personnel, take over the GoldenEye, and fire it on Severnaya, destroying evidence of the theft. Unbeknownst to them, computer programmer Marina Veronskaya (Eva Herzigová) survives the weapon strike, and successfully escapes the burned remnants of the facility. At the MI6 HQ, new secretary Loelia Ponsonby (Elizabeth Hurley) informs Bond that the new M demands his presence for an urgent briefing.

Alongside Chief of Staff Tanner (Michael Kitchen) and Q (Desmond Llewellyn), M (Judi Dench) – whose distaste for Bond is made clear -, it’s revealed MI6 has picked up on one of the murders committed by Savatier, that of a Russian scientist rumored to have worked on GoldenEye. Although the satellite being just a rumor, the Severnaya accident seems to confirm its existence – despite strident Russian denials – and M tasks Bond with investigating the matter. Trevelyan’s associates, the Janus Criminal Syndicate, meet at his lavish manor outside Moscow, and upon being briefed of the failed attack on the train 006 realizes he’s up against Bond. Flying to Moscow, Bond works alongside local MI6 contact Valentin Romaly (Robbie Coltrane), who takes him to a diplomatic reception in which 007 unsuccessfully tries to interrogate his old acquaintance General Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies), head of the KGB, about GoldenEye and Severnaya. Leaving the reception, Bond is later intercepted at a steaming bath by Xenia, who informs him the files for GoldenEye are hidden at the KGB archives. Although Bond suspects a trap – and it is one laid by Trevelyan – he resolves to infiltrate the building.

Bond successfully enters the building, evades a series of traps and escapes the building with a number of documents on GoldenEye, not before his presence is discovered by Pushkin. The resulting backlash, carefully prepared by 006 to pit Russia and England against each other, leads to a furious M having to declare Bond a rogue agent to prevent further escalation. Suspecting a conspiracy, Bond persuades Romily to let him investigate Dr. Makvenio, seemingly the only survivor of the original team behind GoldenEye. Bond and Marina – who, seeing Makvenio as her mentor, is unaware of his treachery – separately infiltrate a military facility in Kazakhstan, where Makvenio is to destroy a number of decommissioned nuclear weapons under UN supervision. Reaching out to him, Marina is betrayed and left to die in the explosion, only for Bond to kill the scientist and save her at the last moment. Both are captured by the KGB and brought to a safe house – the same in which Trevelyan staged his betrayal -, for interrogation by Pushkin. Before the General can arrive, Trevelyan, Savatier and a team of assassins storm the facility and murder the officers, allowing 006 to have a personal talk with Bond.

Following an angry personal confrontation, 007 distracts Trevelyan and makes a daring escape alongside Marina, escaping from a saw-wielding helicopter whilst driving across a dangerous frozen lake. Despite Marina’s distrust, she finally resolves to work with Bond to stop Trevelyan and the weapon. Arriving shortly after, Pushkin is forced to order an all-out manhunt to stop Bond. Taking a train to St. Petersburg, 007 reaches out to Romaly again for help evading the Russians, and uses data taken from Makvenio to steal a valuable data disk from a Janus-aligned bank. An increasingly irate Trevelyan orders Xenia and Savatier to find the couple. When the KGB intercepts Bond and his allies, 007 is brought to Pushkin’s presence while the escaping Romaly and Marina are chased by Trevelyan’s subordinates. Pleading with Pushkin to listen, Bond makes a sudden escape and the General prevents his men from shooting the agent down, having decided to trust him. Romaly is killed by Savatier trying to protect Marina, and Bond arrives in time to take on Xenia. After a brutal fight – in which Xenia attempts to use her pressure point tactics – Marina develops the courage to shoot her before she can kill 007.

Having escaped Savatier, and after analyzing the data, they conclude Trevelyan’s control room for the weapon is on the Caribbean island of St. Latrelle. While NATO unsuccessfully tries to find and shoot down the GoldenEye, the couple fly into the island and, despite being shot down by Janus helicopters, they infiltrate the enormous satellite dish from the jungle. While Marina sabotages the weapon, Bond is captured and brought to Trevelyan’s presence, where the former MI6 agent reveals his plans to fire the GoldenEye on New York City after committing unprecedented electronic financial theft. Once Marina is also captured, Bond detonates an explosion, wreaking havoc while Trevelyan’s technicians are unable to stop the GoldenEye from being targeted towards the facility. The electromagnetic pulse kills Savatier right as he’s about to best Bond, and in a subsequent final struggle atop the battered dish 007 is able to take his revenge by pushing Trevelyan to his death.

With all communications to St. Latrelle destroyed by the GoldenEye – which subsequently self-destructs due to Marina’s previous commands -, M and General Pushkin express concern over Bond’s potential demise. It’s then shown that Bond and Marina have escaped, and are enjoying each other’s company at a beach in the Caribbean.

GoldenEye premiered in November 1994 after an intense media campaign, in which EON and MGM worked hard to try and dispel the prejudices of the media and herald the triumphant return of James Bond. When audiences failed to turn out much on the first few days, MGM reportedly read the riot act at Broccoli and Wilson by the phone, only for word of mouth and the first reviews to speak favorably of the film and attendance to start rising, then skyrocketing. Soon it became clear that GoldenEye, while far from some of the more optimistic projections, was not only a clear-cut financial success and the most profitable enterprise led by Dalton, it was also breaking the curse of the franchise feeling stagnated. Ultimately, GoldenEye was generally regarded as a successful yet flawed return for the franchise, dazzling audiences with its complex and innovative action set pieces yet disappointing in some of the character moments. Herzigová in particular was widely criticized as miscast and not believable in the role, and some of Woo’s creative decisions were seen as “overblown”.

In the aftermath of the film’s release, and even as work had started on scripts for Bond 18 involving Dalton, it became internally clear for the actor and for the elder Broccoli that their partnership was coming to a natural, hopefully non-bitter end. The franchise was alive and saved, and it was time to take it forward and into the next level. In retrospect, GoldenEye – the longest film in the franchise at the time - is seen as the high point of the Dalton Era, even though a minority holds that The Living Daylights or even Licence to Kill are technically superior on account of being less reliant on stunts and action. Though still uncomfortable with some of the humorous elements, Dalton is seen as being “in command” through the film, with semi-effective flashes of emotion over his rivalry with Trevelyan. Rickman is also trumpeted as an example of an effective if underwritten villain, clever enough to try and play sides against each other and reminding fans of From Russia with Love. From the supporting cast, Famke Janssen and Robbie Coltrane tended to gain the most praise, with some disappointment expressed at their immediate demise.

Highlights of the film include the bulk of the action sequences, Bond’s confrontations with Trevelyan and M, General Pushkin’s conflict over whether to trust 007, and the tense confrontation between Bond, Xenia and Savatier in St. Petersburg.

Author’s Notes: And here we have Dalton and John Woo’s GoldenEye, already referenced in the Tomorrow Never Lies entry. Originally this was only going to be in the background, but it’s such a persistent POD in the franchise that it felt weird not to include him. The plot comes entirely from Michael France’s script, which is available on the internet. I only made a few alterations with stuff that’s already in OTL’s GoldenEye (like the female M, not present in France’s script), shuffled some of the cast and/or added a few new faces. The main POD is that Cubby Broccoli successfully persuades Dalton to return and MGM to accept him, leading in turn to MGM demanding a fast release which avoids the months upon months of script rewrites by other writers. This makes GoldenEye less effective than the one we know, but still a solid entry. Next, the finale.​

THE DEATH COLLECTORS will return in
“THE DEATH COLLECTOR”
 
24.5 What might have been
Not sure how long it will take me to write the final entry, but in the meantime, I wanted to offer a few thoughts on the scenarios I’m not covering – but thought about doing them – and why they won’t be a part of the TL:
  • James Bond TV series: As some know, Ian Fleming was commissioned to write episodes for a potential Bond TV series in the late 50’s, and got a few treatments out before the project was cancelled. Thus a few of the later published short stories (and/or unreleased material, like a treatment Anthony Horowitz used to write Trigger Mortis) came from that. Would have been fun, but I struggled so much with finding who to cast in 60’s and 70’s entries that I really didn’t have the slightest idea of whom to place there (not just the Bond actor). Maybe that’s material for another TL?​
  • Live and Let Die: Truly a product of its time. It would have been utterly different had this been made in any other period (either too insensitive and racist in the 50’s-60’s, or unrecognizable later on), and I couldn’t think of a take on this that interested me.​
  • Moonraker: A few alternate versions are referenced across the TL, ranging from good ones to outright disasters (my favorite is non-EON Moonraker with Burt Reynolds as an Americanized Bond). Since I covered James Mason’s Drax in For Your Eyes Only, it felt redundant to pursue yet another alt-Moonraker.​
  • James Brolin’s Octopussy: As someone pointed out before, I have this scenario in the background of one or two entries, as something of a disaster. I could have tried to flesh it out, but having already used the alt plot with SPECTRE, it also felt redundant.​
  • Sam Neill: Neill was on my mind from the start, because he allegedly aced his screen test (only Cubby Broccoli happened to dislike it). However, I later learned he really didn’t want the part, and ultimately, going with Brosnan and Hamilton for alternate LTK and TLD seemed more fun.​
  • John Gardner’s Bond books: Originally this was going to be the Ogilvy universe, with Ian Ogilvy doing either Icebreaker, Role of Honour or Nobody Lives Forever. Could have been fun, but it was difficult to make it work since Broccoli really didn’t want to adapt the non-Fleming books, and made it a point of principle. I also couldn’t decide on whom to cast as Tamil Rahani, and I finally dropped the idea.​
  • The World is Not Enough: I’m not sure there was ever much of an alt-plot to this. Ultimately, didn’t think of a way to make it interesting and didn’t have a non-Brosnan Bond in mind either.​
  • Tarantino’s Casino Royale: Ah yes, the Holy Grail. Was never going to happen. Neither Sony nor EON were ever going to hire him or sell him the rights. Would have been fun to write, but I try to keep these semi-realistic and couldn’t think of how to get there. It’s also been written about, probably would have gone with the cliché of Uma Thurman as Vesper, Tim Roth as Le Chiffre, Harvey Keitel as M or Mathis, and perhaps Madsen or Samuel L. Jackson as Leiter.​
  • No Time To Die: Couldn’t be bothered. It’s not that I dislike it, it just feels too recent to have reliable info on what might have been.​
 
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Not sure how long it will take me to write the final entry, but in the meantime, I wanted to offer a few thoughts on the scenarios I’m not covering – but thought about doing them – and why they won’t be a part of the TL:
  • James Bond TV series: As some know, Ian Fleming was commissioned to write episodes for a potential Bond TV series in the late 50’s, and got a few treatments out before the project was cancelled. Thus a few of the later published short stories (and/or unreleased material, like a treatment Anthony Horowitz used to write Trigger Mortis) came from that. Would have been fun, but I struggled so much with finding who to cast in 60’s and 70’s entries that I really didn’t have the slightest idea of whom to place there (not just the Bond actor). Maybe that’s material for another TL?​
I myself had an idea as part of the pop culture in an alternate universe where Eisenhower dies in 1955 and Nixon becomes President, that would see none other than Roger Moore become the TV Bond through the late 1950s and into 1960s, who would then return in films of various quality through the 1970s to the 1980s.
 
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