17 replies to this topic

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I watched Diamonds Are Forever again the other night. At the end, Bond uses the bathosub Blofeld is trapped in to slam against the computer room controlling the satellite but we the viewers never learn for certain that Blofeld is dead at that point. Later on, EON had considered resurrecting Blofeld for The Spy Who Loved Me but that plan was thwarted by Kevin McClory and his threatened legal actions. Then of course, EON brought an unnamed villain who suspiciously resembled Blofeld for the For Your Eyes Only pts. Does anyone know if back in 1971 prior to any of the later McClory/SPECTRE troubles occuring, Broccoli and Saltzman chose to do this on purpose and leave Blofeld's "death" ambiguous in the hopes of one day bringing him and SPECTRE back to the series?

[dinovelvet]

I guess it's possible, but originally they did intend to very much kill him, as the original DAF screenplay featured an ending where Blofeld escapes via the sub to the Baja coast, and Bond chases him using a weather balloon(!).

The two of them have a fight in a salt mine which ends with Blofeld being crushed in machinery (similar to Dario in LTK I guess). When Felix arrives and asks where that "bastard" Blofeld is, Bond makes a quip about Blofeld being "the salt of the Earth".

Obviously that was all dropped and was never filmed, so somebody changed their mind about it at some point.

[Dr. Metz]

I guess it's possible, but originally they did intend to very much kill him, as the original DAF screenplay featured an ending where Blofeld escapes via the sub to the Baja coast, and Bond chases him using a weather balloon(!).

The two of them have a fight in a salt mine which ends with Blofeld being crushed in machinery (similar to Dario in LTK I guess). When Felix arrives and asks where that "bastard" Blofeld is, Bond makes a quip about Blofeld being "the salt of the Earth".

Obviously that was all dropped and was never filmed, so somebody changed their mind about it at some point.

A weather balloon? i thought he chased him in a boat. Anyway, i think that they purposely used the ending they did so they could use Blofeld in later movies if they wanted to, so if they couldn't think up an original villain, they could rely on good ol'Blofeld to come in and save the day.

[dinovelvet]

I guess it's possible, but originally they did intend to very much kill him, as the original DAF screenplay featured an ending where Blofeld escapes via the sub to the Baja coast, and Bond chases him using a weather balloon(!).

The two of them have a fight in a salt mine which ends with Blofeld being crushed in machinery (similar to Dario in LTK I guess). When Felix arrives and asks where that "bastard" Blofeld is, Bond makes a quip about Blofeld being "the salt of the Earth".

Obviously that was all dropped and was never filmed, so somebody changed their mind about it at some point.

A weather balloon? i thought he chased him in a boat.

Maybe there are different versions, but when I read it, it was a balloon, as Blofeld sees Bond descending and quips "Mary Poppins, I presume?".

[Dr. Metz]

I guess it's possible, but originally they did intend to very much kill him, as the original DAF screenplay featured an ending where Blofeld escapes via the sub to the Baja coast, and Bond chases him using a weather balloon(!).

The two of them have a fight in a salt mine which ends with Blofeld being crushed in machinery (similar to Dario in LTK I guess). When Felix arrives and asks where that "bastard" Blofeld is, Bond makes a quip about Blofeld being "the salt of the Earth".

Obviously that was all dropped and was never filmed, so somebody changed their mind about it at some point.

A weather balloon? i thought he chased him in a boat.

Maybe there are different versions, but when I read it, it was a balloon, as Blofeld sees Bond descending and quips "Mary Poppins, I presume?".

Hmm. That would fit the overall campy tone of the film, so it makes sense.

[DaveBond21]

I remember my brother and me watching the end of DAF when we were kids (around 1985), and getting frustrated that we didn't see Blofeld definitely die. When you're a kid and you've just watched a Bond villain taunt 007 throughout the movie, you want to see him definitely die - in a bloody way, if possible!!

However, yes, it seems they left it ambigious with a view to bringing Blofeld back in The Spy Who Loved Me. I sometimes think of Stromberg as Blofeld, knowing that was the original intention. Also Curt Juergens would have made a suitable final Blofeld.

[The Richmond Spy]

Bond makes a quip about Blofeld being "the salt of the Earth".

That would have been legendary! Too bad we didn't get that.

[The Shark]

Bond makes a quip about Blofeld being "the salt of the Earth".

That would have been legendary! Too bad we didn't get that.

They could still re-use it, somehow....

[Guy Haines]

At the time I was glad they made Blofeld's end ambiguous - I always wanted to see another Bond besides Connery and Lazenby take him on again. Pity it never really happened - I don't count the PTS of FYEO, it was just a "hook" devised because of the possibility of a new actor as Bond in that film, and was a way of introducing this new actor and re-assuring the punters that the new Bond was sound. When Roger Moore signed up again, the pre title credit scene became redundant.

[DaveBond21]

At the time I was glad they made Blofeld's end ambiguous - I always wanted to see another Bond besides Connery and Lazenby take him on again. Pity it never really happened - I don't count the PTS of FYEO, it was just a "hook" devised because of the possibility of a new actor as Bond in that film, and was a way of introducing this new actor and re-assuring the punters that the new Bond was sound. When Roger Moore signed up again, the pre title credit scene became redundant.

It wasn't just that. It was a big middle-finger to Kevin McClory, letting him know quite clearly "We don't need your stupid Blofeld character to make a successful Bond film. You can keep him. Just look how disposable he is!"

[The*SPY*]

I had also read in Steven Jay Rubin's book that there was the idea of Bond chasing Blofeld in a boat on Lake Meade and enlisting yachts of the various casino's to "do their duty for Las Vegas" and chase Blofeld over the edge of the Hoover Dam. No kidding.

[Guy Haines]

At the time I was glad they made Blofeld's end ambiguous - I always wanted to see another Bond besides Connery and Lazenby take him on again. Pity it never really happened - I don't count the PTS of FYEO, it was just a "hook" devised because of the possibility of a new actor as Bond in that film, and was a way of introducing this new actor and re-assuring the punters that the new Bond was sound. When Roger Moore signed up again, the pre title credit scene became redundant.

It wasn't just that. It was a big middle-finger to Kevin McClory, letting him know quite clearly "We don't need your stupid Blofeld character to make a successful Bond film. You can keep him. Just look how disposable he is!"

I can understand that, given the legal complications surrounding the use of SPECTRE and Blofeld at that time. Its a pity, though. I think that, second only to a new James Bond, the return of Blofeld might be something of an event in a future Bond film. But unless the film makers felt it was legally sound to do so, I can't see it happening, not even in the re-booted Daniel Craig era. Perhaps even if there were no legal obstacles preventing it, it still wouldn't happen after all this time.

[Revelator]

As others have noted, Blofeld was originally fated to die in DAF. What saved him was Sean Connery, whose incredibly high salary reduced the film's budget and forced the producers to scale back the climax. Having Blofeld get battered in his bathosub was the cheapest way of dealing with him. I can't remember if having Blofeld die in the salt granulator was Maibaum or Mankiewicz's idea. But based on what I've heard about the scripting process, DAF would have been a much better movie if Maibaum's material had been fully followed (aside from his ludicrous and pathetic original idea of making the villain Goldfinger's twin brother). There's a great book waiting to be written on the Bond scripts, and DAF's chapter would surely be one of the juiciest sections.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I remember my brother and me watching the end of DAF when we were kids (around 1985), and getting frustrated that we didn't see Blofeld definitely die. When you're a kid and you've just watched a Bond villain taunt 007 throughout the movie, you want to see him definitely die - in a bloody way, if possible!!

However, yes, it seems they left it ambigious with a view to bringing Blofeld back in The Spy Who Loved Me. I sometimes think of Stromberg as Blofeld, knowing that was the original intention. Also Curt Juergens would have made a suitable final Blofeld.

Agreed. The first overt post-OHMSS reference to Tracy by Anya adds credibility to that theory and makes me wonder if it existed in the earlier TSWLM script drafts when SPECTRE was still the villain. Another reason I think OHMSS & TSWLM pair well as a double feature with their common features of snow skiing, primary girl appears in PTS, Bond risking all to rescue the girl, villain kidnapping the girl and wanting her for himself, and very similar primary villains. (Sidenote, both Curt Jurgens and Telly Savalas appeared in a 1967 "Man From UNCLE" film called The Karate Killers.) A SPECTRE-themed TSWLM might've brought true closure on the events of OHMSS in a way DAF, as fun as it is, never really did but alas it was not meant to be.

[solace]

At the time I was glad they made Blofeld's end ambiguous - I always wanted to see another Bond besides Connery and Lazenby take him on again. Pity it never really happened - I don't count the PTS of FYEO, it was just a "hook" devised because of the possibility of a new actor as Bond in that film, and was a way of introducing this new actor and re-assuring the punters that the new Bond was sound. When Roger Moore signed up again, the pre title credit scene became redundant.

It wasn't just that. It was a big middle-finger to Kevin McClory, letting him know quite clearly "We don't need your stupid Blofeld character to make a successful Bond film. You can keep him. Just look how disposable he is!"

its a shame mcclory ruined the whole Blofeld thing because it wasnt his character it was fleming's

[DaveBond21]

I remember my brother and me watching the end of DAF when we were kids (around 1985), and getting frustrated that we didn't see Blofeld definitely die. When you're a kid and you've just watched a Bond villain taunt 007 throughout the movie, you want to see him definitely die - in a bloody way, if possible!!

However, yes, it seems they left it ambigious with a view to bringing Blofeld back in The Spy Who Loved Me. I sometimes think of Stromberg as Blofeld, knowing that was the original intention. Also Curt Juergens would have made a suitable final Blofeld.

Agreed. The first overt post-OHMSS reference to Tracy by Anya adds credibility to that theory and makes me wonder if it existed in the earlier TSWLM script drafts when SPECTRE was still the villain. Another reason I think OHMSS & TSWLM pair well as a double feature with their common features of snow skiing, primary girl appears in PTS, Bond risking all to rescue the girl, villain kidnapping the girl and wanting her for himself, and very similar primary villains. (Sidenote, both Curt Jurgens and Telly Savalas appeared in a 1967 "Man From UNCLE" film called The Karate Killers.) A SPECTRE-themed TSWLM might've brought true closure on the events of OHMSS in a way DAF, as fun as it is, never really did but alas it was not meant to be.

It's a nice way to think about things, PKK, I agree. Even the way that Bond kills Stromberg, using multiple bullets, hints at something more personal.

[00617]

I have a feeling that the filmmakers wanted to kill Blofeld off, but could not find a way to do so, in a way that would bring a sense of closer to the whole SPECTRE storyarc.
They were probably hoping that noone would care about the character's fate. They were probably sick of the whole SPECTRE storyline at that point aswell.

[chrisno1]

Lots of interesting info here. I too also recently watched DAF and as usual found it enjoyable but not wholy satisying.
The Lake Mead ending was Maibaum's original idea; at this point I don't think they'd decided to use an oil rig to house the satelite control systems.
When Mankiewicz came on board, he devised the salt mine ending (including the "Mary Poppins" line as quoted). This would have given full closure to the Blofeld story. I understood the salt mine idea was cut for financial purposes.
This is disappointing because it sounds an excellent idea. (Note Eon eventually visited underground mines in AVTAK).
I can't say whether the producers considered Blofeld to be killed off or not at the end of DAF. It is certainly a more than ambiguous end.
Regards TSWLM, I understood it was planned to be a SPECTRE adventure, and given SPECTRE is alluded to in the original novel, this would make entire sense. McClory stuck his oar in and we ended up with Stromberg. A pity as TSWLM would have been a fitting SPECTRE episode - after all it is YOLT in almost everything but name. Also Bond's vicious execution of Stromberg has more than a sense of malice in it. A much more fitting end for Blofeld than the one he eventually received in FYEO.