26 replies to this topic

[coco1997]

First of all, I have to say again, RIP Lois Maxwell, the ORIGINAL and BEST Miss Moneypenny. You will be missed.

But...

In reading over this tragic news article, I came across this quote from Roger Moore:

“It was a great pity that, after I moved out of Bond, they didn’t take her on to continue in the Timothy Dalton films. I think it was a great disappointment to her that she had not been promoted to play M. She would have been a wonderful M.”

What a wonderful idea. I think Ms. Maxwell could have played a WONDERFUL M. We'd have seen the "progressiveness" of the Pierce Brosnan era some eight years earlier with a female M playing opposite Timothy Dalton. Who else thinks this would have been just a spectacular idea? I know this was probably just a toss-off comment by Roger, but I think it actually has some merit. For some reason I really smile at the idea of Dalton's Bond reporting to a superior who the three Bonds prior spent time teasing and flirting with. Could have given us a nice sense of continuity, as well. What does everyone else think?

Edited by coco1997, 30 September 2007 - 05:29 PM.

[Royal Dalton]

She very seriously wanted to play M, and lobbied Cubby Broccoli to take over the role.

I've got an interview with her from 1995, where she talks about it, and she's clearly very upset that when they finally went for a female M, they chose Judi Dench instead of her.

"It should have been me. It should have been me..."

[marktmurphy]

Yes, she mentioned this quite a lot.

[coco1997]

Hmmm...I'd never heard of this. Now I'm thinking it's one of the biggest missed opportunities of the series.

[Matt_13]

Whoa that hit me hard. RIP Lois.

[00Twelve]

Hope all's well on the other shore, Lois. We'll miss you!

[DamnCoffee]

Why is this the Timothy Dalton section?

RIP Lois

[Righty007]

Why is this the Timothy Dalton section?

RIP Lois

Read the first post.

[DamnCoffee]

Why is this the Timothy Dalton section?

RIP Lois

Read the first post.

Ah! Silly Me, I was a little confused, since Brown played M in the Moore and Dalton era, I assumed that Lois was wanted to take the role in 95' replacing Dench, the new Female M. So I thought this ought to be in the Brosnan section.

Now I understand

[HH007]

You know, that never occured to me until Moore said it, about Maxwell taking over as M, but that would have been interesting to see.

R.I.P Lois Maxwell

[HH007]

Something else just occured to me. I know they weren't planning on doing it for this film, but I think it would be a nice tribute to Lois Maxwell to re-introduce the Moneypenny character for Bond 22. What do you think?

[coco1997]

There's no way they won't do it. They did it with Desmond Llewelyn when TWINE was released on VHS, so I'm sure they'll do it for Ms. Maxwell as well, probably during the end credits of Bond 22. Maybe they could even reference the name "Ms. Maxwell" within the context of the film?

All things considered, Lois Maxwell's Moneypenny was just as important to the success of the original films as Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, and so on.

[TheSaint]

The last member of the original triumvirate has left us.

Glad I got a chance to meet her at Spy-Fi Con '93.

Rest in peace, Lois.

[Bryce (003)]

Cherish that memory Saint.

I always hoped to meet her at some event.

As to this whole "Moneypenny becomes M" thing, yes, it would have been spectacular.

I did hear, at one point, that when the idea of a female M came about, they considered Diana Rigg.

Might have been a bit creepy in some respects, but she could have been great. BTW - via a couple of the Avengers sites, her and Patrick Macnee still meet once a year in London to have lunch. Rather cool that.

No offense or disrespect to Dame Judi though. She's fabulous.

But yes, Lois as M would have been over the moon.

Still feeling a bit weepy over her passing though. What an incredible lady.

[Keir]

Wow, what an intriguing idea. It would have allowed for continuity and enabled Bond to stay "in the family." I had never heard that...

[MovieMaestro]

It's an interesting idea, but the continuity issues would be a little strange- The Moneypenny/Bond relationship worked because both Maxwell and Moore were of similar ages. Dalton/Broz would have been much too young for the relationship to work with Maxwell, so having Moneypenny as a much older M than Bond would throw the timeline (even more) out of wack, IMO.

Maxwell is a big loss, though. The last scene in OHMSS with her catching the hat still stands as one of the most touching scenes of the series. I for one would love to see Moneypenny return in Bond 22 as a tribute to Maxwell, even more so than a returning Q (considering Moneypenny was actually a Fleming character).

[red_grant]

as an actress i am sure she would have done a marvellous job.
but i guess maxwell was so popular as Moneypenny people may not have accepted her as M.

[stamper]

So Judi is the same age as Brosnan and Craig ? News to me.

[tambourineman]

You can say that Lois becoming M would have been a great idea now in hindsight, but can you imagine the fan backlash at the time if Miss Moneypenny had become M? And theres other problems - what happens to the Bond/Moneypenny dynamic then when she becomes his superior? The flirting thing was a staple of the Bond formula, what would have happened - would Bond have been flirting with his much older superior? That would have been too weird. Would they have brought in a totally new character to play Moneypenny's secretary to fill in? What happens to the Bond timeline? Its always been screwy, but it would have been made that much worse when in one movie we see a young Bond and young Moneypenny flirting, then in another movie we see an old Moneypenny as M with a young Bond.

[sharpshooter]

Indeed. It would of been a big talking point.

I dont want to be cruel or anything, but to quote Lennon "Everybody loves you when your 6 foot in the ground"

[Zorin Industries]

[quote name='coco1997' post='778354' date='30 September 2007 - 18:27']First of all, I have to say again, RIP Lois Maxwell, the ORIGINAL and BEST Miss Moneypenny. You will be missed.

But...

In reading over this tragic news article, I came across this quote from Roger Moore:

[Mike00spy]

She could have played M, but not as Miss Moneypenny becoming M.

[plankattack]

I don't by any means intend to be disrespectful to the memory of Lois Maxwell but in regards to this particular idea - no way. A completely asinine idea, emblematic of the creative lethargy/laziness/paralysis that was rampant at EON from 1977 onwards, relegating the series to status of television soap opera.

While I was not originally thrilled at the recasting of M as a woman (and no, I'm not hung up on M having to be a man a la Fleming) - I think the casting of Dench, one of the greatest actresses ever, has turned out to be masterstroke, the only mistake being that she, the character and the actress, haven't always been used to the best effect (TWINE - which continues to be a terrible missed opportunity). But still, the Bond/M scenes in GE are up there with the best of Lee/Connery/Laz.

But the notion that Moneypenny, flirtatious secretary, humourous byplay, would become 007's boss is a poor one indeed, only further reducing the figure of Bond to charicuture.

[Scottlee]

As much as Lois Maxwell was fantastic as Moneypenny, I'm not convinced she would have made a good 'M'. I just don't see it.

[Gri007]

Rest In Peace Lois,

You will always be the one and only true Moneypenny.



Rest In Peace Lois,

You will always be the one and only true Moneypenny.

[DaveBond21]

Yes, this was something that was suggested in 1986, but at the time, the idea of Bond answering to a female boss was dismissed as an idea, only to resurface in 1995.

[puck]

I also feel sad for the loss of Lois Maxwell. What a gem!

I can't say I'm not thrilled with Judy of course. But the idea of having an actor who played a subordinate, whose flirtations were unfailingly rebuffed, coming back as a totally different character and as a heavy no less, might have been fun to watch. Especially opposite 4th harder edged Bond.

Edited by puck, 02 October 2007 - 08:05 AM.