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OHMSS Intro


8 replies to this topic

#1 Mr.Zukovsky

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Posted 25 November 2010 - 07:11 AM

I have a question, What is going on in the OHMSS pre-title sequence. I had never really understood what was happening. Can someone clarify this for me? Thanks.

#2 Righty007

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Posted 25 November 2010 - 07:25 AM

James Bond attempts to rescue Teresa di Vicenzo from drowning induced suicide, which becomes interrupted when Draco's goons come in and attempt to kill him. Bond disarms the men and Tracy flees the scene.

Presumably Bond had been observing the girl earlier but this is not made clear to the audience hence your confusion. It is my understanding that the two meet at the casino before the beach incident in the novel, which makes way more sense.

#3 Col. Sun

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Posted 25 November 2010 - 08:17 AM

James Bond attempts to rescue Teresa di Vicenzo from drowning induced suicide, which becomes interrupted when Draco's goons come in and attempt to kill him. Bond disarms the men and Tracy flees the scene.

Presumably Bond had been observing the girl earlier but this is not made clear to the audience hence your confusion. It is my understanding that the two meet at the casino before the beach incident in the novel, which makes way more sense.


It's not at all confusing. I understood it when I first saw the film when I was a kid.

Bond is on vacation, driving along an empty road at dawn (obviously after a night at the casinos), when a car shoots past him traveling at great speed. This obviously catches Bond's attention, and then he sees that the same car is now parked up at the beach and abandoned. Now Bond is more intrigued. He decides to have a look for the driver and gets out the telescopic sight. He sees a girl, who he does not know, wading out to sea as if to drown herself. Bond jumps into action to save her. When he reaches her in the water, she struggles with him as if determined to keep wading out into the sea. He manages to carry her back to the beach, and here he introduces himself and is about to ask who she is when the henchmen, who we later learn are keeping an eye on Tracey for her father, appear on the scene. Big fight seq (very good one). Bond beats the henchmen, but the girl, Tracey escapes in her car, leaving Bond stranded. Then the famous line, "This never happened to the other fella."

#4 Mr.Zukovsky

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Posted 25 November 2010 - 08:22 AM

Thanks, that make's more sense now. I haven't read the novel yet, Is it better than the film (storyline) wise?

Edited by Mr.Zukovsky, 25 November 2010 - 08:23 AM.


#5 sharpshooter

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Posted 25 November 2010 - 09:11 AM

I haven't read the novel yet, Is it better than the film (storyline) wise?

Hunt's OHMSS is the most faithful Fleming adaptation. What you see is pretty much what you get.

#6 pgram

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Posted 26 November 2010 - 07:27 AM

Well, I guess Mr Zukovsky's right being perplexed... The question, to me, is not what Bond or Tracy were doing, but what were the hencemen doing... Why did they attack Bond? Presumably, because they thought he was trying to hurt Tracy? If they were keeping an eye on her, they weren't actually doing a very good job, were they? One could argue that she managed to escape from their guard for a while (driving so fast; maybe in order to escape from them?) and by the time they caught up with her, they could have mistaken Bond's intentions. Only later, supposedly, when they spy on them at the hotel do they realise he 's not trying to hurt her, let Draco know and he 'invites' Bond over. It's not as clear as it could (or should) have been, but there is a plausible storyline...

The point, of course, is, who cares? It 's a brilliant beginning to an even more brilliant film. This whole blurry-intentions-thing only makes it more dreamlike and therefore enjoyable.

Edited by pgram, 26 November 2010 - 05:49 PM.


#7 Major Tallon

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Posted 26 November 2010 - 03:38 PM

It's very enjoyable, but questions remain. I've always wondered why Tracy suddenly collapses, virtually to the point of unconsciousness. I've also wondered why Draco's men menace Tracy, even holding a knife to her throat, and manhandle her while taking her off the beach. And, of course, I wonder why Bond doesn't check out the two guys after he's defeated them, and instead just apparently departs the scene, leaving them to cause him trouble again.

#8 pgram

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Posted 26 November 2010 - 06:10 PM

It's very enjoyable, but questions remain. I've always wondered why Tracy suddenly collapses, virtually to the point of unconsciousness. I've also wondered why Draco's men menace Tracy, even holding a knife to her throat, and manhandle her while taking her off the beach. And, of course, I wonder why Bond doesn't check out the two guys after he's defeated them, and instead just apparently departs the scene, leaving them to cause him trouble again.


Valid points, actually. I guess Tracy collapsed because she almost drowned. I know, it doesn't look this way, the water was up to her waist at the most, but there you go, she was supposed to almost drown. Poor directing, perhaps... No reason why Draco's men would hold a knife to her throat, but at least it does show that they were unaware that she wanted to kill herself (what's the point to hold a knife to someone who 'd like to die?), which confirms the idea that they thought Bond tried to hurt her, and that they knew she was a tough cookie that 'd escaped them before and that she 'd need some 'persuasion' to follow them. I don't think Bond should check on them again, the whole incident looked prety random to him (at that time), he didn't know he was going to meet any of them again. It was like a dream, in the early hours in the morning.

But just between you and me, we know all these happened because they looked better this way. Tracy fainted because it looked better to have Bond carry her ashore, and made her look more like a damshell in distress. The thugs were menacing to both Bond and Tracy because it looks more mysterious, suspenceful and leaves people yearning for answers. By the time we find out what was going on, it's already too late, we 're already captivated in the movie (and we don't remember exactly what 'd happened: remember, this was pre-video or DVD, audiences were not expected to watch a film 100 times).

#9 OHMSS Spion

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Posted 12 December 2010 - 08:35 AM

Hunt's OHMSS is the most faithful Fleming adaptation. What you see is pretty much what you get.


The main difference would in the chronology of the teaser. Fleming often would start his first chapter with an action scene and then flashback to what had lead up to that scene. So while the attempted drowning is in the first chapter of OHMSS, Bond and Tracy meet first at the casino (which happens to be Casino Royale in the novel), and then after the night they spend together, Tracy decides to drown herself... not due to the quality of Bond's company of course.