39 replies to this topic

[Triton]

I was watching the Dr. No Special Edition DVD documentary and was very surprised to learn that Cubby Broccoli approached his very good friend Cary Grant to play James Bond. Cary Grant declined the part saying that he was interested in doing only one picture, and not in doing a series. Doing some research, I discovered that Cary Grant's birthday was January 18, 1904, making him 57 years old when he was approached in 1961. In 1959, Cary Grant played Roger Thornhill in the Alfred Hitchcock classic North By Northwest.

I thought that this was very interesting because many fans and critics felt that Roger Moore was over the hill, or too long in the tooth, at 57 to play James Bond in A View to a Kill.

I wonder what the first James Bond film would have been like with Cary Grant had agreed to play the character.

The documentary also reveals that James Mason was also approached, which would have made him 52 years old. James Mason said that he was only interested in making two James Bond motion pictures.

It's interesting how some fans are starting to consider Pierce Brosnan at 50 to be too old for the role.

[Bryce (003)]

Check out Grant in "To Catch a Thief" as well. The casino scenes with him in a tux will sell anyone on the idea that he could have been 007.

[Bond111]

Wow I never calculated that. Still, everyone ages differently, and aparrently Roger didn't age as gracefully as Cary Grant. I didn't have any problem with his age in North by Northwest. I think he could have made a decent Bond, but had that happened we would have a very different James Bond today, methinks.

[Triton]

The tone of Dr. No would certainly have been very different with Cary Grant in the role. I don't think that Cary Grant's James Bond would have been more intellectual than physical. He certainly would never have executed Professor Dent with a shot in the back.

[Blox]

Cary Grant would have been too old to play Bond in 62. Watch him in "Charade" from 1961 (with the precusor to the gunbarrel, Maurice Binder main titles, and Barry-esque main theme). He was already doing "Entrapment" scenes -- an older man fending off the advances of a younger woman. The closest you'll get to Cary Grant playing James Bond isn't NBNW, but rather Hitchcock's "Notorious," as `agent Devlin.'

Mason and Niven were a little too `delicate' to be convincing. Moore, over the hill in AVTAK. PB is looking a little long in the tooth as well. (Why he feels he can wait two years between Bonds at this point is beyond me).

Imo Bond is best when played by an unknown 30 something actor.

B l o x

[Pussfeller]

When I read LALD, I always imagine Cary Grant as James Bond. Likewise when I read MR. But I don't think he would work out in the films, since they were fairly different in tone from the books. They would have been too much like other popular films of the day and I bet that they would have been forgotten or viewed as period pieces, not as part of a larger James Bond "series."

In any case, the whole Bondmania thing probably never would have happened had someone like Grant taken the role.

[Xenobia]

I don't which "Charade" you were watching Blox, but by the second name change, Cary Grant's character wasn't fending off anyone. ;-)

Perhaps I came in too late to the movie appreciate it, but I didn't think there was anything particularly Bondesque to Grant in "North by Northwest." It's a great film, don't get me wrong, but other than proving he could still do action sequences, I don't think Grant was particularly Bond in that.

-- Xenobia

[DLibrasnow]

I think Cary Grant would have made a very good James Bond. I don't think Dr. No would have been the same picture so it's unfair for fans to try and force him into the Sean Connery jigsaw piece that makes up the movie we now know as the first cinematic James Bond film.

[Triton]

I wasn't implying that Roger Thornhill or North By Northwest was even remotely Bondesque, I mentioned this film because I thought more movie fans would have seen this movie than Operation Petticoat (1959), The Grass is Greener (1960), or That Touch of Mink (1962) and could recall Cary Grant's appearance during this period.

Although Notorious with Ingrid Bergman is another great Hitchcock and Cary Grant motion picture, the movie was released in 1946, five years before the creation of James Bond in Casino Royale and 16 years before the release of Dr. No.

I thought it was surprising that both Cary Grant and James Mason were even considered for the James Bond role and I was surprised at the age of the actors when they were approached. If either of them had been cast as James Bond, the James Bond movie series would have been very different in style and content and may have even ended with Dr. No. James Bond certainly would have been a different cinematic character.

Thank goodness both actors weren't interested in starring in a series of films and Sean Connery was eventually cast in the role.

Sorry, I guess I did start a What if thread.

[DLibrasnow]

I agree....the Bond series would have been very different in tone and style if Cary Grant had accepted the role of James Bond in "Dr. No".

[Mister Asterix]

Apparently, Grant was also consider for the role of Bond in a 1962 version of Casino Royale that never got made. There is an interesting article at HMSS speculating about what the film would have been like.

[DLibrasnow]

That would have been an interesting twist...With the EON series not having been established at that time (and Sean Connery a virtual unknown) I would venture to say that Cary Grant starring as James Bond in a 1962 "Casino Royale" would have beaten the Sean Connery "Dr. No" vehicle at the box office.

[ray t]

sean connery in dr. no oozes SEX. cary at the time oozed 'proper gentleman'.

i'll bet the world-wide box office of dr. no was higher than any of the cary grant movies of the time.

sean's James Bond was ALL about sex and violence, something which was alien (but highly craved) at the time.

btw, roger looked a lot younger in LALD than cary in 1961/2. age is one thing...looking your age is another.

[ChandlerBing]

Cary Grant as James Bond in Dr. No.
Dyan Cannon as Honey Ryder.

[Triton]

Originally posted by ChandlerBing
Cary Grant as James Bond in Dr. No.
Dyan Cannon as Honey Ryder.

Sorta of like Martin Landau and Barabara Bain before they divorced? If you hire one of these spouses, you have to find a role for the other.

[stromberg]

"North by Northwest" not bondesque? But of course it is. It's a Bond story from a different point of view. Let's have a look just at the basic story:

An innocent person that gets into a spy story by accident. Strange things happen to him, people get killed, other people try to kill him, he's seduced by a stranger of whom he doesn't know if he's a good or a bad guy. He hasn't got any clue about what's going on, thinks that this must be some kind of joke or nightmare. And after everything has been cleared up, he even can lend a good hand so that the story ends well.

On the other hand, we have the undercover agent who infiltratet the villain's organization. Desperately needs to avoid his cover to be blown. To reach that purpose, her own organization misuses the above mentioned innocent person as a red herring.

There we have it: Cary Grant alias Roger Thornhill aka George Kaplan: the first male Bond girl, and Eve Marie Saint, as Eve Kendall, James Bond's female equal who hit the screen even before James Bond himself did . Add to that James Mason as a villain and Martin Landau as a henchman who would both have suited any Bond movie very well.

[Xenobia]

I suspect Grant's version of Casino Royale would have been quite similar to Notorious

-- Xenobia

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by ray t

i'll bet the world-wide box office of dr. no was higher than any of the cary grant movies of the time.

A lot of "Dr. No"'s box office success came after the later movies established the series. Upon its intial release it was successful, but it lacked the star power that Cary Grant would have brought to a competing Bond movie.
One would have to remember that in 1962 the "Bond formula" still needed to be established. In actual fact many consider "Goldfinger" (two years later) as the film where all the elements finally fell into place.

[ray t]

yes, a material portion of DNs u.s. box office came after Goldfinger. it, however, was an immediate hit upon release in the UK especially.

as i recall, Dr No is the ONLY bond film listed in a book (paraphrasing) 'top 100 british movies of all time'

the hitchcock movies seem almost pedestrian in relation to Dr No.

in terms of style, movement, sex, violence, cinematography and score (read: The James Bond Theme) it was a mega-bullit with the striking connery. dare i say, an aging and 'proper' grant would not have been able to pull off things like:

bedding sylvia immediately; well...almost immeditely

using miss taro sexually (almost with a hint/degree of hatred)

executing dent without remorse

the way it was done was a heaven-send for adults at the cusp of the sexual revolution.

casting grant would have been the begining and end of the cinematic james bond

so going back to the box office argument. Connery effectively made the formula take off along with others with Goldfinger. this in turn boosted Dr. No's ultimate box office.

my argument is that cary would have meant a watered-down bond leading to a one-off movie which would have limited Dr. No's take after its initial (hence ONLY) run in america.

i hope you understand what i'm trying to say as i feel i'm not articulating my thoughts correctly (long day in the markets 'n all...)

i.e. Connery, by Thunderball, was the biggest star on the planet. to many movie goers he was (incorrectly in retrospect) responsible for the success of bond. this helped DN second time around. so no connery...no goldfinger, etc by 1964...65...etc

[DLibrasnow]

I still think Grant would have made a more (immediately) financially successful "Casino Royale" than Connery's "Dr. No"...
Wasn't "Dr. No" also released late in 1962, if there had been a Cary Grant "CR" released first, would this have affected DN's take...Would people be so used to Grant's portrayal that they would have been unable to accept Connery in the role?!

[Xenobia]

Originally posted by ray t
dare i say, an aging and 'proper' grant would not have been able to pull off things like:

bedding sylvia immediately; well...almost immeditely

using miss taro sexually (almost with a hint/degree of hatred)

executing dent without remorse

the way it was done was a heaven-send for adults at the cusp of the sexual revolution.

casting grant would have been the begining and end of the cinematic james bond

Perhaps I need to rethink my stand on North by Northwest. In that film Grant (in his proper years) did in fact bed a woman very quickly, and then used that same woman without remorse later on, when he found out she had set him up. I didn't get far enough into the film to see Grant killing without remorse, but that to is something he had done previously in his films, and could do again if he had to.

Casting Cary Grant as Bond would not have been the alpha and the omega of the series, but I think we would have been an OHMSS mentality (or perhaps an FYEO one) for as long as he held the role.

-- Xenobia

PS: Had he been cast, Grant did tell Cubby Broccoli he would only do one.

[DLibrasnow]

Point of trivia....Isn't it true that Cary Grant was best man at Cubby's wedding!!?? I seem to remember that on one of the DVD documentaries!

[stromberg]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow
Point of trivia....Isn't it true that Cary Grant was best man at Cubby's wedding!!?? I seem to remember that on one of the DVD documentaries!

Yep, right you are.

Always loved the idea of Grant playing Bond. But I was never sure if this would really have worked. Don't think so, but maybe you're right Darren: starting with CR staring Grant and then turning to Connery in DN... interesting idea. (I always thought that Grant's take on Bond might have been somewhat more roger-ish, so the better successor for Grant would have been Roger Moore.) I really don't know if people would have accepted Connery, so this might have been beginning and the end of the cinematic Bond as well...

[Xenobia]

I do believe Mr. Grant stood up for Cubby when Cubby and Dana Broccoli married.

Now, if I remember the story correctly...Cubby, Mikey G and Cary had a wild boys night out the night before the wedding. The next morning, only Cary was still standing, and he suggested to Dana that they follow the plot of an old time movie, and run off together.

Dana declined. I am still in shock that she did. (What woman says no to CARY GRANT!)

-- Xenobia

[DLibrasnow]

Now that you recount the story I think you are correct Xenobia....I am amazed that Mikey G was old enough at that point to have a wild boys night out?

[Triton]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow
Point of trivia....Isn't it true that Cary Grant was best man at Cubby's wedding!!?? I seem to remember that on one of the DVD documentaries!

Yes, Cary Grant was best man at Cubby Broccoli's and Dana Wilson's wedding in Las Vegas in 1959. The story Dana tells is that Micheal G. Wilson and Cubby went out the night before and Micheal and Cubby were hung over on the wedding day. Cary jokingly asked her if she wanted to run away with the best man. This information was from the "Cubby Broccoli -- The Man Behind Bond" documentary on the Diamonds Are Forever Special Edition DVD.

According to James Bond: The Legacy by John Cork and Bruce Scivally:

Cubby Broccoli married Dana Wilson in Las Vegas on 21st June 1959 at the home of Beldon Katleman. The best man was Cary Grant, whom Broccoli met on his first trip to Hollywood 25 years earlier. Dana's son, the 16-year old Micheal G. Wilson, took his future step father out for a night on the town that left the groom sleepless and hung over. After a jug of coffee, a hunk of pumpernickel, and a cold shower, Broccoli took Dana as his wife.

[Xenobia]

Ah Vegas....it used to be a fun town. Now you have to be 21 to step foot in the casinos, even as a walk through.

-- Xenobia

[ChandlerBing]

Yeah, it was fun until Danny Ocean and those ten other guys ruined it for everyone! All it takes is one bad apple in the bunch, and they ruin it for everyone!

[Mister Asterix]

Sure, Dana could turn down Grant, she had already been married to the first Bruce Wayne so she knew the type.

[Xenobia]

But it's Cary Grant...he had no type! He was an original, never duplicated.

I wouldn't have said no to him, but then again I tend to have a self-punishing taste in men.

-- Xenobia