10 replies to this topic

[Shaun Forever]

Or did they just want to ignore OHMSS altogether?

[DamnCoffee]

If Lazenby continued to play Bond in DAF, i think Telly would have been considered - there was a great Bond between the both of them

[Skudor]

Good question. Does anyone know? I guess he wouldn't have been as Lazenby wasn't returning.

[Bryce (003)]

With Blofeld dabbling in plastic surgery and making doubles of himself, they probably opted to go with another actor.

Just a guess. I recall some mention of it on the DVD documentary. Not just the casting of Grey, but the reasoning behind it.

[Skudor]

Was thinking along those lines... dabbling in plastic surgery is the right way to put it. I don't think they explicitly say he's had surgery - just that his double has. Bond recognises him in Las Vegas, doesn't he?

[Daddy Bond]

Before I knew any better, when I was first watching the Bond movies through, I thought (silly me), that Blofeld was either 1. Just the name given to whoever was in charge of the bad guys or 2. That there was a Blofeld family (kindof like the Mafie) - because there seemed to be almost no continuity regarding who played the roll.

Anyway, I like to imagine the latter when I'm watching the movies. A Blofeld family. Blofeld in TB, etc. was the dad, and in YOLT, OHMSS, etc., they are all brothers (given the same name by an ego-centric father).

Regards.

[lazenbyland]

To answer this question you really need to travel back in time to 1971. I was around at the time and though still quite young I do recall the so-called return of Connery.

At that stage OHMSS was already becoming the forgotten Bond. It was just known as that other film that didn't have Connery starring, er, who was it again?

And you have to remember that in 1969-71 the Bond films weren't yet being shown on TV and there was no such thing as VCRs and DVDs. If you saw a Bond film it was, for the vast majority, a case of going to the theater and watching it...once.

There was much more interest in the fact that Connery was returning. OHMSS was already getting a bum rap from those who has seen the film and decided beforehand that to have a film without Connery just couldn't possibly be as good as one with Connery. People wouldn't accept any other actor pretending to be Connery. When Moore took over he is such a radical departure from Connery that no-one ever thought he would portray a Bond like Connery so he wasn't hampered by comparison the same way Lazenby was.

There was definitely no interest in the fact that DAF could have had any revenge motive. It was all Connery, Connery and Connery. The fact that DAF isn't a patch on OHMSS was irrelevant to most. The same trick McClory tried to pull with NSNA though with less success. Remember that the first storyline they used was to have Goldfinger's brother turn up as the villain. As we all know there is absolutely no mention of the events of OHMSS in DAF except we are meant to assume that the pre-credits is Bond out for revenge, but even this was filmed such that anyone who hadn't seen OHMSS wouldn't be wondering what was going on. The only other loose reference is when Sir Donald asks Bond if he'd had a relaxing holiday. When Bond answers "Hardly relaxing, but most satisfying", it can either be taken as Bond referring to the events of OHMSS or the fact that Connery had taken a break from the role. Most would have opted for the latter.

However the plotline of DAF is clearly to distance itself from OHMSS and for it more to be a continuation of the Connery films after You Only Live Twice. The producers would have been wondering whether to follow on from OHMSS but they clearly hedged their bets and swung 99% towards a Bond that was to reflect the jokiness of the Moore era.

I can't say for certain but I doubt Savalas was ever considered for the role of Blofeld. He was rapidly becoming a leading man himself anyway but as to whether they actually picked up the phone and asked him, I think that DAF is enough evidence to suggest that they didn't and just found someone available who was menacing enough to play Blofeld. Savalas would have been too physical for Connery in DAF who still looked good but wasn't in the greatest shape.

The plastic surgery idea is a non-starter I'm afraid. The plastic surgery wasn't being done to make Blofeld look different. It was to create doubles who looked like Blofeld. Gray's Blofeld therefore is the same Blofeld in appearance as Savalas' Blofeld just as Lazenby, Dalton and Moore's Bond is the same Bond in appearance as Connery's.

[Skudor]

Good post

[DamnCoffee]

agreed, very nice post Lazenby

[Daddy Bond]

I think my idea is more fun.

[DaveBond21]

Good post, lazenbyland.

I was aware that they were distancing themselves as much as possible from OHMSS, which didn't become popular until it had been shown on TV a few times. They didn't really recognise its existence until TSWLM with references to Tracy, and then her grave in FYEO.

Watched DAF again last night, and it's obviously meant to follow on from YOLT, hence the first shot being in Japan.

Add to that M's matter-of-fact "get back to work" attitude to Bond, suggesting this is not a Bond whose wife has been killed. In that respect you could argue that DAF was a kind of reboot.