11 replies to this topic

[Achille Aubergine]

Sorry if you knew it already :
http://www.life.com/...-bond-auditions

Brynner as Blofeld...Just perfect !

Edited by Achille Aubergine, 27 November 2010 - 10:15 AM.

[dinovelvet]

If Anthony Rogers was one of the five finalists whittled down from 400, I shudder to imagine what the other 395 applicants looked like.

Picture #16 looks like Pierce Brosnan. Pictures #13 and #14 make me wonder what they ever saw in George Lazenby. If Robert Campbell had even half of Lazenby's acting "ability" he should have been hired. Shave off the mutton chops in pic#13 and you would never know that photo was taken back in 1968. Classic, clean good looks last a lifetime. Lazenby was okay looking and acting, but clearly the wrong choice was made for OHMSS and someone didn't perform due-dilligence on Lazenby. If they had done a proper background check they might have discovered he was immature and not to be trusted and saved themselves a disastrous PR campaign.

Rogers has a bit of a James Coburn thing going on, so maybe they were looking for an In Like Flint-esque guy. I agree that Campbell is the pick of the bunch here, and if I was basing my decision on choosing from these photos, he'd get the gig. He does look a bit like Brosnan and/or Josh Brolin.

[David Schofield]

If Anthony Rogers was one of the five finalists whittled down from 400, I shudder to imagine what the other 395 applicants looked like.

Picture #16 looks like Pierce Brosnan. Pictures #13 and #14 make me wonder what they ever saw in George Lazenby. If Robert Campbell had even half of Lazenby's acting "ability" he should have been hired. Shave off the mutton chops in pic#13 and you would never know that photo was taken back in 1968. Classic, clean good looks last a lifetime. Lazenby was okay looking and acting, but clearly the wrong choice was made for OHMSS and someone didn't perform due-dilligence on Lazenby. If they had done a proper background check they might have discovered he was immature and not to be trusted and saved themselves a disastrous PR campaign.

Rogers has a bit of a James Coburn thing going on, so maybe they were looking for an In Like Flint-esque guy. I agree that Campbell is the pick of the bunch here, and if I was basing my decision on choosing from these photos, he'd get the gig. He does look a bit like Brosnan and/or Josh Brolin.

Campbell, it appears, was/is an American.

Now obviously EON would have known that when he was tested, but I wonder if they found he couldn't do a reasonable Brit accent and that did his chances in????

Step forward option 2, Mr Lazenby, without the aforementioned due diligence/background/maturity/personality checks.

[doublenoughtspy]

Campbell, it appears, was/is an American.

Now obviously EON would have known that when he was tested, but I wonder if they found he couldn't do a reasonable Brit accent and that did his chances in????

What evidence do you have that Campbell was/is American?

The Life Magazine article says all 5 speak with British accents. I realize it doesn't mean that they ARE British, and obviously they weren't since Lazenby is Australian.

[Doctor Whom]

Sorry if you knew it already :
http://www.life.com/...-bond-auditions

Brynner as Blofeld...Just perfect !

If Anthony Rogers was one of the five finalists whittled down from 400, I shudder to imagine what the other 395 applicants looked like.

Picture #16 looks like Pierce Brosnan. Pictures #13 and #14 make me wonder what they ever saw in George Lazenby. If Robert Campbell had even half of Lazenby's acting "ability" he should have been hired. Shave off the mutton chops in pic#13 and you would never know that photo was taken back in 1968. Classic, clean good looks last a lifetime. Lazenby was okay looking and acting, but clearly the wrong choice was made for OHMSS and someone didn't perform due-dilligence on Lazenby. If they had done a proper background check they might have discovered he was immature and not to be trusted and saved themselves a disastrous PR campaign.

Rogers had an intriguingly brief career, if IMDB is to be believed. After appearing in a Doctor Who serial, he moved to the U.S., appearing in an episode of the TV series Combat (1965) and small parts in two Howard Hawks films, Red Line 7000 (1965) and El Dorado (1966). In 1967 he appeared in Camelot. After that, he had no more film or TV credits. He may have gotten out of the business or stuck with the stage.

Campbell doesn't appear to be an actor at all. There's no entry for him in the IMDB. I know that some people have said that he's an American, the brother of screenwriter R. Wright Campbell. But since the R in R. Wright Campbell stands for Robert, I'm not so sure.
He does look good, though.

[Turn]

Lazenby was okay looking and acting, but clearly the wrong choice was made for OHMSS and someone didn't perform due-dilligence on Lazenby. If they had done a proper background check they might have discovered he was immature and not to be trusted and saved themselves a disastrous PR campaign.

Sounds like you're applying NFL standards on character to an actor. In this case, Lazenby would have been a great fit for the Cincinnati Bengals.

I don't know that would have worked in 1968 or if there even was such a thing. Could anybody really foresee the decisions Lazenby would make? Given that OHMSS is now viewed as a classic, who really knows if any of the others would have been any better or cares. The series may have ended in the '70s for all we know.

Also bear in mind as well that Connery made plenty of public rumblings about being dissatisfied with the Bond role and openly criticized Broccoli and Saltzman. If reports from the time are to be believed Connery refused to do a screentest and gave indications he would be a handful. Given his success in the role, a lot of that gets forgotten.

[Doctor Whom]

Lazenby was okay looking and acting, but clearly the wrong choice was made for OHMSS and someone didn't perform due-dilligence on Lazenby. If they had done a proper background check they might have discovered he was immature and not to be trusted and saved themselves a disastrous PR campaign.

Sounds like you're applying NFL standards on character to an actor. In this case, Lazenby would have been a great fit for the Cincinnati Bengals.

I don't know that would have worked in 1968 or if there even was such a thing. Could anybody really foresee the decisions Lazenby would make? Given that OHMSS is now viewed as a classic, who really knows if any of the others would have been any better or cares. The series may have ended in the '70s for all we know.

Also bear in mind as well that Connery made plenty of public rumblings about being dissatisfied with the Bond role and openly criticized Broccoli and Saltzman. If reports from the time are to be believed Connery refused to do a screentest and gave indications he would be a handful. Given his success in the role, a lot of that gets forgotten.

I've always thought that part of the reason they went with (let's face it) a rather motley collection of "finalists" is precisely because of Connery's "rumblings." Unless you were around at the time, as I was, it's hard to envision the effect that Bond had on the pop culture of the time. I don't think anything before or since has informed pop culture the way Bond did circa 1965. Naturally, Connery, as the literal personification of Bond, was seen by many, including the star himself, as being a very important part of the phenomenon. More so than the producers would have liked. As far as Saltzman and Broccoli were concerned, they were the driving force behind the films' success. Seen in this light, it makes perfect sense that the producers might feel that the best way to put this whole Connery thing to rest was to get someone "off the street" (or close to it), make him a successful Bond and reassert their status as genius producers.

[SamuelKevlar]

Motley collection indeed. Still images don't say everything, of course, but based on visuals alone Campbell would have been ten times the Bond Lazenby - who'd already perfected his naff grin, I see - was.

[Messervy]

Nice pics.
Well, I know looking at pictures doesn't mean much (I never would've thought Craig would look so good as Bond after seeing him in Layer Cake and a couple of pics), but on the whole these men don't amount to much. De Vries and Rogers? Please!

Anyway, looking at Laz' pics, I wish he could have done a couple more Bond films. He would then have had the opportunity to fine-tune his presence, which was already great, into something even better.

[Doctor Whom]

Nice pics.
Well, I know looking at pictures doesn't mean much (I never would've thought Craig would look so good as Bond after seeing him in Layer Cake and a couple of pics), but on the whole these men don't amount to much. De Vries and Rogers? Please!

Anyway, looking at Laz' pics, I wish he could have done a couple more Bond films. He would then have had the opportunity to fine-tune his presence, which was already great, into something even better.

I've seen some of the stuff that de Vries is in, but I don't recall him. Some or Rogers' work is available on You Tube here (starting about two minutes in) and here (starting around 3:13).

[David Schofield]

Lazenby was okay looking and acting, but clearly the wrong choice was made for OHMSS and someone didn't perform due-dilligence on Lazenby. If they had done a proper background check they might have discovered he was immature and not to be trusted and saved themselves a disastrous PR campaign.

Sounds like you're applying NFL standards on character to an actor. In this case, Lazenby would have been a great fit for the Cincinnati Bengals.

I don't know that would have worked in 1968 or if there even was such a thing. Could anybody really foresee the decisions Lazenby would make? Given that OHMSS is now viewed as a classic, who really knows if any of the others would have been any better or cares. The series may have ended in the '70s for all we know.

Also bear in mind as well that Connery made plenty of public rumblings about being dissatisfied with the Bond role and openly criticized Broccoli and Saltzman. If reports from the time are to be believed Connery refused to do a screentest and gave indications he would be a handful. Given his success in the role, a lot of that gets forgotten.

I've always thought that part of the reason they went with (let's face it) a rather motley collection of "finalists" is precisely because of Connery's "rumblings." Unless you were around at the time, as I was, it's hard to envision the effect that Bond had on the pop culture of the time. I don't think anything before or since has informed pop culture the way Bond did circa 1965. Naturally, Connery, as the literal personification of Bond, was seen by many, including the star himself, as being a very important part of the phenomenon. More so than the producers would have liked. As far as Saltzman and Broccoli were concerned, they were the driving force behind the films' success. Seen in this light, it makes perfect sense that the producers might feel that the best way to put this whole Connery thing to rest was to get someone "off the street" (or close to it), make him a successful Bond and reassert their status as genius producers.

And it would appear that none of the runners up were considered again after the Lazenby implosion for either DAF or LALD.

So eventually it seems the producers went for a half-way-house compromise, neither ego driven star like Connery nor non-entity like Lazenby and these guys.

They went for a failed movie star and fading TV actor who was only too happy and compliant for the gig - Roger Moore.

[Doctor Whom]

Lazenby was okay looking and acting, but clearly the wrong choice was made for OHMSS and someone didn't perform due-dilligence on Lazenby. If they had done a proper background check they might have discovered he was immature and not to be trusted and saved themselves a disastrous PR campaign.

Sounds like you're applying NFL standards on character to an actor. In this case, Lazenby would have been a great fit for the Cincinnati Bengals.

I don't know that would have worked in 1968 or if there even was such a thing. Could anybody really foresee the decisions Lazenby would make? Given that OHMSS is now viewed as a classic, who really knows if any of the others would have been any better or cares. The series may have ended in the '70s for all we know.

Also bear in mind as well that Connery made plenty of public rumblings about being dissatisfied with the Bond role and openly criticized Broccoli and Saltzman. If reports from the time are to be believed Connery refused to do a screentest and gave indications he would be a handful. Given his success in the role, a lot of that gets forgotten.

I've always thought that part of the reason they went with (let's face it) a rather motley collection of "finalists" is precisely because of Connery's "rumblings." Unless you were around at the time, as I was, it's hard to envision the effect that Bond had on the pop culture of the time. I don't think anything before or since has informed pop culture the way Bond did circa 1965. Naturally, Connery, as the literal personification of Bond, was seen by many, including the star himself, as being a very important part of the phenomenon. More so than the producers would have liked. As far as Saltzman and Broccoli were concerned, they were the driving force behind the films' success. Seen in this light, it makes perfect sense that the producers might feel that the best way to put this whole Connery thing to rest was to get someone "off the street" (or close to it), make him a successful Bond and reassert their status as genius producers.

And it would appear that none of the runners up were considered again after the Lazenby implosion for either DAF or LALD.

So eventually it seems the producers went for a half-way-house compromise, neither ego driven star like Connery nor non-entity like Lazenby and these guys.

They went for a failed movie star and fading TV actor who was only too happy and compliant for the gig - Roger Moore.

I thought I read somewhere that Richardson was in the early running for LALD. Nonetheless it’s telling that they didn’t reconsider any of the other 1968 finalists, especially given the number of times they looked at people like Michael Billington and Timothy Dalton. Campbell and de Vries look to be no older than early thirties, and de Vries was still active when LALD was being cast.