Monday, October 1, 2012

Bond, James Bond ...

... turns 50 this week.

The film franchise that is. The character of James Bond is a bit older; he was created by Ian Fleming in 1953 and in Fleming's mind he looked like this ...

The first Bond film, Dr. No, opened in 1962 with - in my opinion the best Bond - Sean Connery as agent 007. Connery would go on to play Bond in 6 films between 1962 and 1971.


 I think the wedding ring was a huge oversight
or perhaps Sir Sean wouldn't take it off?

talk about aging gracefully

Although I preferred him as 'The Saint', Roger Moore was a fine Bond. He played the character in 7 films between 1973 and 1985.



from the little known film 'Octo-Piggy'?

Timothy Dalton played James Bond twice in 1987 and 1989.


I think Pierce Brosnan got better looking as he got older ...


Brosnan played Bond in 4 films between 1995 and 2002



In 2006 Daniel Craig became the current Bond. He has starred in 2 films with the third, Skyfall, scheduled to open next month.




There are 2 women who are constants throughout the Bond films ...

Miss Moneypenny - first portrayed by Lois Maxwell



M - the head of all the 00's, played by the magnificent Judi Dench


And then there are the girls. Bond girls. Tons and tons of Bond girls.

My favorite women who played a Bond Girl are ...

The very first Bond girl - Ursula Andress


Jill St. John

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore
How delicious is that character name!?


I could never understand why Halle Berry chose to be a Bond Girl. She certainly doesn't need any assurance that she can play sexy and she had just won the Oscar for 'Monster's Ball'
You gotta love a bikini that comes with weapons



If you'd like to see some of the top Bond Villians just click the link.

So there you have it.

Are you a Bond fan?
Who are your favorites?

I had a bizarre dream while researching this post that Justin Bieber became the next Bond. Scared the hell out of me!

30 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Yep, love James Bond, too -- all of them! Fun post for the day and that was a scary, bizarre dream!! Bieber???? Yep, scared the hell out of me, too! Have a good week! Hugs to Hope and to you!

jaycoles@gmail.com said...

ONe or the cable PPV channels had a bunch of the James Bond Movies on this summer and I watched a lot of them. I didn't find out about them until it was to late to watch all 19 they were showing but did watch a bunch. That said I have to disagree. I think Daniel Craig is the Best Bond (with The Sir Sean) next. Perhaps it is because the franchise has grown up and it is not as "off the wall" as the earlier ones.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a massive Bond fan but I like what I have seen over the years. It's always good fun. I was very impressed by the Casino Royale remake with Daniel Craig, though I haven't seen Quantum of Solace. How about George Lazenby? How could you forget old George? Sean Connery will always be the classic Bond but Roger Moore was good for a laugh. Don't you think he played it a little too camp, though? Perhaps that was just how things were in the 70's.

Daryl said...

Sean was Bond .. Daniel is Toonman's male crush ... loved reading the books and watching the movies

Mike said...

That was not a bizarre dream. That was a class 1 nightmare.

I'm With Stupid said...

Don't forget about George Lazenby! He was Bond for one movie. The badly underrated "Oh Her Majesty's Secret Service."

Sean is the Bond of them all. No doubt about it. But, I would rank Daniel Craig as #2. I really like him.

Also, beginning Oct 1 all the Bond movies are available on NetFlix instant watch. Awesome, huh?

Aaaaaaand, if Daniel Craig decided to give up playing Bond my pick for his replacement would Idris Elba.

Jay

DJan said...

I loved Sean Connery as Bond. All the others seemed not quite... Sean-like. :-)

Ron said...

Faaaaaaaabulous post, Lady Dianne!

And you chose excellent photos!

Well, for me, Sean will always be 'the' Bond. My next favorite would be Roger Moore. Both Connery and Moore have a more mature quality that I liked in their Bonds.

Love the photo Judi Dench. Don't just adore that woman? I can watch her in any movie and think she's the BOMB!

"I had a bizarre dream while researching this post that Justin Bieber became the next Bond. Scared the hell out of me"

Bwhahahahahahahahahaha! OMG...that's HILARIOUS! And as Mike said, "Class 1 nightmare!"

Fun post, dear lady!

X



HermanTurnip said...

Hey, Bond rules! And they've just released "Bond 50", a blu-ray box set of all the James Bond films. I'm already clearing space on my shelves for this set!

Reb said...

Connery was definitely the best Bond, I am beginning to think that Craig might be a close second. He has the necessary rough nature to go along with the smooth elegance. I have enjoyed all the Bonds though, some less then others.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

LOL, LOL...That would have scared the hell out of me, too!
Sean C. was my favorite, though I did like Roger M., too....And, Of Course, my old neighbor Pierce, who is such a dear dear man, is right up there with them, too....
Never saw Dalton nor have I seen Daniel Craig, though I like him as an actor, a lot!!

What a Franchise....retty mazing! The Brocolli's really knew and know how to market things, don't they?

OldLady Of The Hills said...

"pretty" amazing...! God knows where the "p" went...lol!

Cherie said...

The only Bond that I really didn't care for was Timothy Dalton. I've liked him in other stuff though. Pierce was highly anticipated because I was a huge fan of Remington Steele. And, I'm quite pleased with Daniel Craig. He's cheeky, in more ways than one. ;)

Ellen Whyte said...

The books are better but the old films are great entertainment. Not to keen on the new ones. Too long!

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

Sean...yeah baby! Justin Bieber as Bond would scare the hell out of me too!
<><

Granny Annie said...

I had no idea how much I knew about Bond, James Bond or how much I did not know. Love Sean Connery. Love Judith Dench. Odd Job was my favorite villain. Who would ever forget Pussy Galore just because of the name. You turned this subject into a delightful post.

Akelamalu said...

Sean Connery was the BEST Bond IMO and oh my hasn't he got more gorgeous as he's got older? Phew!

Ivanhoe said...

I don't know where to even start! I watch Bond every time it's on. Which is like every holiday. Hehe! My fav is still Sean, although Pierce and Daniel are growing on me. I enjoyed Roger as well. There was also George Lazenby, but he only played in one - In Her Majesty Service. Not impressed about that one. I still love Dr. No the best and can not wait for the Skyfall. Will go see it to the movies. Mark's fave is Goldeneye :)
Hugs from Ohio,
I.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I always liked Sean Connery the best as James Bond!

When I was young I was so thrilled to have a telephone number that actually ended in "007" I felt cool when I could recite those last numbers as "double 0 seven" when someone asked for my number..lol!

EG CameraGirl said...

Sean Connery certainly HAS aged well, hasn't he? I imagine most of the Bond girls have not done so well, except for Judi Dench, that is. ;)

Linda said...

Having grown up during the Roger Moore era of Bond, I was always used to him playing the title character but I must say that nobody does it better than Sean Connery. Not that Pierce Brosnan did a bad job at all or that Daniel Craig doesn't succeed either but there's just something about those early films that make you want more.

Why, I'd even probably like a Bond film made by Connery at his current age as he most definitely aged well and got sexier as he went. Rowr.

Unknown said...

Daniel Craig's eyes just slay me...

Pearl said...

I actually don't have a favorite Bond, although I can say that I have, in my head, heard the theme song on more than one occasion.

:-) Everything is better with a theme song.

Pearl

Pat said...

That was a fun post! All those handsome men! Sigh! Thanks for a walk down memory lane!

Hilary said...

I can't say that James and I ever.. Bonded but I still enjoyed your fun tribute. And yes, most of those men got better with age. There might still be hope for Justin. ;)

Geraldine said...

what a wonderful post. I LOVE Judi Dench and she is definitely someone who just keeps getting better. And Pierce, definitely ageing VERY well. :<)

Hugs, G

Granny Annie said...

Another of my blog friends posted about this 50 year celebration. You might enjoy her post as well. http://stopprocrastinatingandjustdoit.blogspot.com/2012/10/sean-connery-source-wiki-commons-hard.html?showComment=1349787387873#c495560602209099644

Winifred said...

Enjoyed your post, got your link from Grannie Annie.

The awful thing is I remember going to see Dr No. Makes you realise your age. If it affects me like that what must Sean Connery & Roger Moore feel like!

I still can't get used to Daniel Craig as Bond but I think it's a lot to do with the change in the style of the films which sadly to me are losing their distinctive style.

Knight said...

Sean is a God as is Judy. Sir's and Dame's probably don't enjoy me calling them by first names but in my delusional brain we are all close friends so it's okay.

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