Bond and Me

First in a series

Growing up, I lived the rural life, until I came to the Big City in 1962. That was the year the first Bond film, Dr. No,  was released. I didn’t see it then. It would be about 10 years later that I first saw it, when it was re-released. I was at university. It was my then fiancé who took me to see it. He was always taking me to view classic movies. We frequented a movie theatre in downtown Long Beach, that charged us a mere 50 cents to see classics. Oh the films we saw: Casablanca, To Have and to Have Not, The Maltese Falcon, and Dr. No.  So many films with Bogey as the archetypical tough guy. And then, we switched to Sean Connery as the quintessential tough guy.

The big sixtieth anniversary of the Bond franchise drew me back to see them once more. It’s not the first time I had second views of several of the older films. There isn’t a Boomer out there that doesn’t have his, or her, Bond faves.

We Boomers grew up with Bond. As we grow into our final years, we have this anniversary as a marker of just how old we are getting to be.

This past week, I watched Dr. No, and then, From Russia with Love. That is to say, I sat through them in the darkness of my living room, to really see them again. There would be no getting up to take a quick pee. Sitting in the quiet with only the Bond theme playing,  I wondered where the time had gone? Those 60 years, they are there inside me, and these films are a part of the record, the data inside my head. Yes, Dr. No is not much of a story, juvenile really, and yes, there are no special effects like we have gotten used to seeing. Nonetheless, I focused in on it.

Many times, I hear the term, “We were so innocent back then,” used as a descriptor of the era in which we Boomers grew up. However,  I don’t think our parents were innocent. In 1962, the Boomer parents had recently been through a world war, followed quickly by the Korean War. And then Mao took over China, and caused all his misery. So there was no innocence, except to say the world was a bit war weary. There was a looking away from the unpleasantness, until Viet Nam became the war we could not ignore. This time, the Boomers themselves were fighting and dying. Our disgust with the commies became rather intense in some circles. Especially, among the conservatives. The Commies were everywhere in the Eastern part of the world. The Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Cuba, right off our shore, they were creeping in on us. We needed a guy like Bond to keep them at bay.

Bond is, of course, an archetype. The manly man, born of the WW2 generation, he is cold, practical, yet a lover of sensual pleasures. That gives him balance, makes him human. He is the modern, city bred, non committal male. Bond has love affairs, and rolls in the hay, and an ongoing office flirtation.  He is a misuser of the women in his life. He uses the women of the enemy without mercy. Nonetheless, Bond is resourceful, and a good man to have in fight on your side. He “saves” situations. He gets things done. But it costs him in physical pain. In real life, if one met Commander Bond, one would see a scarred body.

And his soul? How pretty would that be? You can imagine that.

The Bond archetype is the same as many heroes in fiction: an individual that has a goal, and accomplishes it. In Dr. No, which is the first film, and the third novel, we meet this cold and practical man in the person of Sean Connery.

The actor personified the archetype. At 6’2,” he had the physique, and the courage. Below is a story that illustrates the excellent casting decision, to give the part to Connery.

While in Edinburgh, Connery was targeted by the Valdor gang, one of the most violent in the city. He was first approached by them in a billiard hall where he prevented them from stealing his jacket and was later followed by six gang members to a 15-foot-high (4.6 m) balcony at the Palais de Danse. There, Connery singlehandedly launched an attack against the gang members, grabbing one by the throat and another by the biceps and cracking their heads together. From then on, he was treated with great respect by the gang and gained a reputation as a "hard man”.

Dr. No, the book, did not receive good reviews Dr. No, the movie, was a huge success. Sitting in my living room, I panned it. It is not an exciting film, or story. Was it Sean Connery bringing that character to life that gave the audience what it needed? He was a part of the thrill of it all. In an age wherein feminism was budding, the popular culture gave us a playboy savior of the Western world.

I will get back to that theme as I view more films. Bond, as the typical non committal male, obviously has female issues. On the other hand, a good spy cannot go sentimental on us.

From Russia with Love was Flemings 5th novel, and the second film. The plot and characters are much more interesting.  The action is more exciting, due to its complexity, and roster of nasty characters. My favorite good guy is Bond’s friend and contact in Istanbul, Karim Bey.  Bey is one of those individuals who is the ultimate extrovert. He knows everyone, good and bad, and knows what goes on all over the city because he knows the old, underground passage ways.  He is a spy! His archetype is that of a monarch: Leader, facilitator and know them all. Like any monarch, his family is employed in the business.  Each son has his role to play.

If you are viewing all the films and think you want to skip Dr. No, that is no loss. But do not skip From Russia With Love. Of course when I saw it in Long Beach, Russia was still our big enemy. Though the Soviet Union is officially over, the Russian issue keeps unfolding, into the 21st century. I wonder, will I live long enough to see Russia become the good guy?

Sixty years of Bond, and it has to be said: Where did the time go?

Those sixty years have given us 27 movies and 8 different actors playing  Bond. Fasten your seat belts. The History Desk is on this ride. Over the next three months, I will view, and review them all, in order of their release. Next post will feature Fleming’s history.  Here’s a preview: Ian Fleming was a non committal guy…