15 replies to this topic

[Tolkienerd]

I had no idea it stood for....Olivia?  According to this storyboard of a deleted scene!

 

[Tolkienerd]

Oh well, it turns out this wasn't new news after all

 

http://www.dailymail...-Mansfield.html

[Professor Pi]

In the Raymond Benson novelisations, M is Barbara Mawdsley.  This makes one think Pierce Brosnan's M is a different person than Daniel Craig's M.  Both just happened to be played by the same actress. 

[Vauxhall]

Reposting an old one of mine - Judi Dench's middle name is Olivia.

 

Plus, as the Mail suggests, the Mansfield almost certainly refers to Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the first real-life C (or M in Fleming's universe).

[DamnCoffee]

This is a nice little addition, shame it was cut. It would've been nice to officially know her name before she passed. 

[thecasinoroyale]

I don't think there's ever been such debate and myth about the true origin of a character's name in the Bond series than Judi Dench's M - it's great.

[Bill]

Presumably the film makers were free to contradict themselves with giving M a different name then Raymond Benson gave her.  This does not make her necessarily a different M then the character she played in the Brosnan films.  With the last two scenes in Skyfall, it appears as if we are free to make of continuity what we wish. Some of it works, and some of it does not.

[Guy Haines]

I'm surprised my local newspaper, the Mansfield Chronicle Advertiser hasn't picked up this news about the late "M". I can just picture the headline - "007's boss has Mansfield connection".

[Jonathan Cape]

I didn't think it was a random initial, but like "C" was for Cummings, I thought Flemings "M" was for Admiral Sir Miles Messervy. Both used green ink though lol

[Golddragon71]

I alsways thought the M stood for "Manager" or "Managing director" whuch was M's cover as head of Universal Exports the Firm Bond worked for

[Grard Bond]

I didn't think it was a random initial, but like "C" was for Cummings, I thought Flemings "M" was for Admiral Sir Miles Messervy. Both used green ink though lol

That is exactely what I also understood for all those years. I think you're right.

[Vauxhall]

 

I didn't think it was a random initial, but like "C" was for Cummings, I thought Flemings "M" was for Admiral Sir Miles Messervy. Both used green ink though lol

That is exactely what I also understood for all those years. I think you're right.

 

 

Fleming used the letter "M" as a reference to Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the first head of MI6 (a role which uses his other initial "C" in real life).

[Jonathan Cape]

Did Fleming admit this during an interview?

 

A further inspiration for M could have been Maxwell Knight, head of MI5, who signed his memos as "M" and whom Fleming knew well.

[archer1949]

I alsways thought the M stood for "Manager" or "Managing director" whuch was M's cover as head of Universal Exports the Firm Bond worked for

Yeah, this was pretty much my take. 

[Iceskater101]

Yeah that's what I thought. M meant the position, I mean Q means quartermaster doesn't it? That's what Q says in skyfall so it's only safe to assume that M is along the same lines.

[DLibrasnow]

What's interesting is that Ian Fleming referred to his mother as "M"

 

What's curious is the fact that the SIS chief's all have the last initial of M.

 

Messervy

Mawdsley

Mallory

 

I guess if you don't have a last initial of M your career path at SIS is rather limited.