9 replies to this topic

[JimmyBond]

I of course mean that only because I'm asking the people who were alive back then Anyways, my question is this: What was it like having 3 consecutive Bond films with three different actors? Did that cause any debate or make people think that maybe the Bond films were running out of steam?

[Simon]

If you're refering to the '67-'73 era, then;

YOLT - Connery
CR - David Niven
OHMSS - Lazenby
DAF - Connery
LALD - Moore

makes five consecutive films with five consecutively different actors.

Or am I just being a bit too clever?

But in answer to your question, I don't know, as I wasn't around then.

[RJJB]

Being an ancient one who was alive back then, I can answer this question.

YOLT was a perfect mindless adventure for the 14 year old kid I was back then. At the time. it didn't matter that the plot was full of holes. The movie was action packed enough to keep me happy. It was only after seeing it a few times and having the Chicago Tribune list as one of the 10 worst movies of the year that I started thinking how bad it really was. I still enjoyed it but it wasn't in the same league as its predecessors. As was mentioned, the series did seem to be losing steam.

When Lazenby assumed the role in OHMSS, I was disappointed, naturally because of Connery being gone. But the movie was done so well and was such a return to a serious storyline, that I accepted the new 007 and felt the series had returned to its previous high standards. Lazenby, though no Sean Connery, played the role with enough swagger that he could have grown into it. Plus Diana Rigg helped me get over any difficult times.

Seeing Sean Connery back as Bond in DAF was great. When I heard the movie was coming out, I couldn't wait to see it, even if it meant being stuck on the side of the autobahn in the middle of Germany because my insistence in seeing it delayed some travel plans. But even that wasn't enough to convince me that the movie was any good. I have good memories of seeing the movie, mainly because I also saw it once in Amsterdam when the movie premiered. But it still remained a cheesy entry in the series. It was too silly and the bad special effects showed the budget reflected.

When I heard that Roger Moore was taking over the role, I wasn't too happy. He was fine as Simon Templar--I enjoyed watching that. But he wasn't Bond. He had none of the coolness that Connery had. He was far too wimpy to be James Bond. But it was still a new Bond movie and the excitement was still there. The first time I saw the movie, I gave it a fair shot. Despite the difference in Bond's portryal, I enjoyed it until Kanaga's explosive demise. That ruined the entire movie for me and colored my perception of the film as a whole. The producers had gone way beyond silly to a complete farce. Today, it is one of the movies that I will never watch again.

Basically it comes down to a combination of actor and script. Connery and two bad scripts (YOLT and DAF) can't compete with OHMSS, despite the shortcoming of George Lazenby, who I never thought was all that bad. The one-two punch of the casting of Roger Moore and the emphasis on silliness that started in DAF and continued in LALD was the biggest factor in my being less than thrilled with the series.

[WhiteKnight2000]

That's really interesting to hear your views. I grew up watching Moore and Connery on TV bank holidays etc in the eighties. The first Bond I saw at the cinema was AVTAK. I sort of grew up accepting that Bond was played by different actors.

[B007GLE]

I'm 40 so I guess that qualifies me as an old timer.

I became aware of Bond almost through osmosis as he was such a pop icon of the '60s. I knew Bond inspired commercials and toys long before seeing a Bond film. I had the Gilbert figures and would get little tib-bits fromt he films from people who saw them and then play those scenes with the figures.

Anyway, DAF was my first Bond, I was 8. None of the films had even been on American television yet, if I remember correctly.

I had no idea the someome else played Bondin OHMSS or that BOn'ds wife was killed in the previous film.

Wehn Roger was hired for LALD I cut out the article about it in Time Magazine and frankly wouldn't have cared who played Bond as long as Bond movie came out.

I saw LALD at 10 years old and couldn't have been happier.

For me (at that time) it was the character who mattered more than the actor. Actually I would probably say the same thing now. No matter who plays Bond in the next film (Sharon Stone even) I'll go see it opening night.

[Four Aces]

I was born sometime in the 50's. I grew up with all of them. My first Bond movie was FRWL. It showed as a double-feature with DN. Back then it was common to show two movies back-to-back. I of course was a child when I saw these.

I have to agree with RJJB's observations. Especially about Moore being selected as Bond. I thought Moore was great as Simon Templar, but I have always thought he looked too sissy-like to be a Bond, especially with the dorky mole thing on his face. Makes him look sort of woman-like, a scar would be better. For many years when I would see Moore I would think he looked too much like Honey West, who also sported a mole [female detective show at the time]. I was hoping that Patrick McGoohan would have been selected as Bond. He was perfect for the role and had starred successfully in Secret Agent Man and The Prisoner, both popular TV series in the 60's. I did however, grow to like Moore. TSWLM was excellent, and that's what really sold me on Moore later on.

Lazenby, the lost Bond, and OHMSS was a non-event for me. I did like seeing Diana Rigg, who will always be Emma Peel as far as I am concerned, while Lazenby is Peter Best[Bess?]. He blew it.

Other succesors like Dalton and Brosnan I think fit the bill. In reviewing the DVDs recently I am more impressed with Dalton now than ever, who I thought was a miserable Bond at one time, but Connery will always be "the Bond" as far as I am concerned.

It was interesting times in the early/mid 60's. This was the Cold War at full force, and was prior to the Vietnam/Summer of Love tripe that came out later. The TV shows reflected the Flemingesque genre of the Cold War, either via spy or detective shows. A lot of this was also inspired by the Playboy magazine lifestyle articles that were being published at the time also. Some memorable shows for me are:

Secret Agent Man
Honey West
The Prisoner
The Thin Man
77 Sunset Strip
The Avengers
The Saint
Get Smart.

And others I have forgotten.

The Vietnam anti-war movement killed these shows, as society here in the U.S. took a different outlook wrt the "bad guys". Nevertheless, these types of shows have resurrected with current events [Balkans, Mid-East, etc.], but the classical Flemingesque Stranger appears to be missing, or has been neutered.

4A

Edited by Four Aces, 02 March 2004 - 07:19 PM.

[doublenoughtspy]

I've always wondered what that period of 3 different Bonds in 3 consecutive movies was like as well.

It just goes to show you how strong the character is and how the public can accept different actors in the role.

[Turn]

Some memorable shows for me are:

Secret Agent Man
Honey West
The Prisoner
The Thin Man
77 Sunset Strip
The Avengers
The Saint
Get Smart.

And others I have forgotten.

The Vietnam anti-war movement killed these shows, as society here in the U.S. took a different outlook wrt the "bad guys". Nevertheless, these types of shows have resurrected with current events [Balkans, Mid-East, etc.], but the classical Flemingesque Stranger appears to be missing, or has been neutered.

4A

Not to get off the subject, but it's funny. I was watching an old McGyver rerun at work during lunch and it was so cheesy compared to the fun, exotic spy shows from 20 years before.

Back in the late '80s and early 90s something like McGyver was the best we had and it seemed like the old days of fun, kick-butt spy shows were gone. Now we've come full-circle with things like Alias and 24 which have brought some excitement back.

[Four Aces]

...we've come full-circle with things like Alias and 24 which have brought some excitement back...

Yes we have gone full circle. The only thing that seems different to me now is that there is a team approach now, though there is prime protagonist in the newer show. I wish the shows would go back to more of the single operator loner type, like in the old days.

4A

P.S. There were some team type shows back then, like Mission Impossible.

[Donovan]

Three consecutive Bond actors also happened with "Never Say Never Again," "A View To A Kill," and "The Living Daylights".