Home » A Good Bond Car, Like A Good James Bond, Has To Suffer To Feel Real

A Good Bond Car, Like A Good James Bond, Has To Suffer To Feel Real

Bond Suffer Ts
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I’ve been a James Bond fan for as long as I can remember. It would probably be more impressive to say I started by watching the original Dr. No in the theater or playing Goldeneye on N64, but it was a rerun of the Timothy Dalton-helmed The Living Daylights on some random cable channel that first hooked me.

At the time I was probably seven or eight, so I didn’t completely grasp the concept of American-Soviet-Afghani relations, and the overall conceit of the film was a little lost on me. As was the now hilarious detail of the audience, in the end, rooting for James Bond to help a member of the Mujahideen (and likely future Taliban leader) escape prison.

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Vidframe Min Bottom

I just knew that this totally kickass dude was driving this totally kickass Aston Martin across a frozen lake with a beautiful cellist in the passenger seat. I was hooked and I still am a complete sucker for a James Bond car. Now that I’m a little older and my tastes have evolved, slightly, I’ve come to appreciate that what makes a good Bond car, like a good Bond actor, is a little bit of pathos and a little bit of suffering.

My theory was put to the test at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. this summer at their special exhibition “Bond in Motion,” which features a number of cars from the films. While there were a lot of highlights, there was one car I couldn’t help but keep going back to and I think it illustrates what differentiated the great Bond moments from the merely entertaining ones.

The Briefest Bond/Bond Car History You’ll Ever Read

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If you’re coming to this story to read about James Bond cars I’m going to assume you know a little something about the topic, but in an effort to avoid any gatekeeping I will do my best to hit the main points quickly and share a little bit of extra history you might not know.

James Bond was the creation of Ian Fleming, who served in Britain’s Naval Intelligence Division during WWII and thus had the opportunity to meet a number of impressive spies and warriors, including Gus March-Phillips (in the film The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare you can see a fictionalized version of a young Fleming meeting March-Phillips in preparation for a complicated mission to disrupt Nazi subs) and Conrad O’Brien-ffrench.

Aston Martin Db5 1

After the war, Fleming combined the traits of many of these men with his own proclivities (cars, sex, booze) to create Bond. The character, codenamed 007, is a secret agent lothario with a license to kill and a desire to bed a beautiful woman in every UN member state as fast as possible. He’s a walking libido with a Walther PPK. This is a car site, so let’s focus on the cars. In the novels, Bond always drove a Bentley and worked his way up through various models. And, in fact, in From Russia With Love, a Bentley 3 1/2 Liter Drophead Coupe does indeed briefly appear, though is never driven.

There’s an oblique reference to this in Goldfinger, when Bond asks for his trusty Bentley and Q (aka the quartermaster, aka the gadget guy) explains that the car has “had its day” and that he’s under orders from the top to give 007 an Aston Martin DB5 loaded down with gun barrels behind the turn signals and an ejector seat. Seriously! It is the original and best spy car.

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Bond has gone on to pilot a bunch of cars, ranging from the mundane (Ford Mondeo) to the comical (TukTuk), though the association will always be with Aston Martin.

A Room Full Of Bond Cars

History has been kinder to The Living Daylights and, frankly, these movies have run for so long that you have to account for a little nostalgia when it comes to favorites. No Bond movie, even Moonraker, is that bad, and no Bond car, even the underutilized BMW Z3, is bad either.

The chase above sees Welsh-born actor Timothy Dalton replacing Roger Moore as Bond. There’s nothing wrong with Moore, but his films got to be a little over the top, and the character became almost superhuman. But it’s Bond’s humanness and fallibility that ultimately make him fun to watch.

Connery, I felt, always had the tough guy part of Bond nailed. Moore always got the dry humor of Bond. Dalton does an admirable job of trying to bring Bond somewhere in between. He’s strong, but not menacing, and can make you laugh without ever telling a joke.

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I think the chase scene above perfectly captures this. The idea of a car – in this iteration of Bond, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante – completely disassembling a Czechoslovakian patrol car with a wheel-mounted laser is ridiculous but fun. The car isn’t impervious to damage, however, and even loses a tire whilst being fired upon with rocket-propelled grenades. Of course, Bond uses the disassembled wheel to cut a hole in the ice to trap another patrol car.

All the while Dalton gets off some classic Bond quips like “I’ve had a few optional extras installed” before firing off his own rockets.

Bath O Sub 1

The exhibit in D.C. has a range of cars, though it is a little more focused on cars from Moore’s films and those of Pierce Brosnan. This didn’t bother me too much as I learned that the Bath-o-Sub from Diamonds Are Forever is actually a George Barris creation which, when you look at it, makes perfect sense.

It’s also great to see movie cars up close because you can get a better sense of how they actually make all those amazing stunts happen. For instance, let’s all watch the famous “Frozen Lake Chase” showdown in Die Another Day between the Vanquish and Jaguar XKR.

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The fun of this chase is that, for once, the bad guy has a vehicle that’s almost as kitted out as Bond’s Aston Martin. Although, for some reason, the bad guy chose a convertible to be his official vehicle in an Icelandic ice base. Not a great choice!

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Seeing the Jag up close my daughter and I marveled at the giant, GAU-like Gatling gun on the back:

Die Another Day 1

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Even better, a closer look at the Vanquish revealed a three-speed transmission and a handbrake necessary to pull off all of those sweet ice-drifts:

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You can see more of the car in this Instagram reel. There were a lot of other interesting cars on display, of course, including the AMC Hornet from The Man With The Golden Gun and the Z8 from The World Is Not Enough.

Amc Matador Bond 1

There were two cars that did jump out to me, though, and that got me back to my original premise.

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Imperfection Is What Makes A Perfect James Bond

Bond Cougar Bohhams
Source: Bonhams

George Lazenby is the weirdo James Bond. For one, he’s Australian, which is a member of the Commonwealth I suppose, but not usually where Bond is drawn from. His one film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, includes SPECTRE and the evil Blofeld. There are Bond Girls and Bond Cars.

There’s also real sadness and human consequence. The main Bond Girl is Diana Rigg’s Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo. On display in the Bond exhibit is her convertible Mercury Cougar ski car, which is a weird but excellent choice. Also, did you know the movie features a song from Burt Bacharach sung by Louis Armstrong?

Spoiler alert: James Bond gets married at the end of the film! But it doesn’t end well, which is all I’ll say. This is an interesting model for Bond and the one that I think Daniel Craig fulfills so well.

If I could only take one Bond film with me to an island it would be Casino Royale. The cast is incredible, including Jeffrey Wright, Dame Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, and Eva Green as a Bond girl with a dark secret who is smart enough to see through 007’s poker face.

The film works on many levels, but I think two factors really reset the Bond franchise in a positive direction. First, Bond experiences pain. Not just the fleeting hindrance of a wound or temporary concussion. He gets his ass kicked. Second, there are few, if any, computer-generated effects in the film. Everything feels more visceral and real.

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Unlike other Bond films, his Aston Martin DBS doesn’t feature much in the way of gadgets other than an emergency kit to save his life and a place for his handgun. Also, unlike some other Bond films, the car gets absolutely wrecked. Somehow, MI6’s budget is big enough to support multiple DBS support cars so James Bond grabs another one to escape (see the film above) a bunch of bad guys in Alfa Romeos.

This is a fantastic chase and, yet again, it’s not Bond’s gadgets but his skill that are ultimately responsible for keeping him alive. Quantum of Solace is a good film, and while it may not be my favorite of the Craig-era, the opening scene is maybe the best modern Bond car chase.

Seeing the totally thrashed car in person was the highlight of the exhibit for me:

Bond Aston Trashed 1

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Just as James Bond suffering with the death of Vesper Lynd makes me care about Bond, somehow seeing an Aston Martin DBS treated like a losing $1 scratch-off lottery ticket makes me feel more invested in the world of the movie.

But that’s just me! If you love Bond stuff you can see the exhibit at Washington D.C.’s International Spy Museum for about $10 on top of your normal admission if you book in advance. If you love James Bond it’s totally worthwhile, and the rest of the museum is a must-see for a certain kind of nerd.

Full Disclosure: I reached out to the media arm to get photos and they comp’d me two passes to the exhibit.

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Ramaswamy Narayanaswamy
Ramaswamy Narayanaswamy
20 days ago

I believe Johnny English was a lot similar in many ways, but the cars that character played by Mr. Atkinson used were Aston Martins in the first and the last film (the V8 Vantage was the best in the third even with all its clumsy flaws), and the RR Phantom..which frankly was excess. He however was a LOT more clumsy and sillier..but I liked his films better than 007s.

Personally..I believe Bond should change. ONE, he can try a different car, maybe an old GMC/Chevrolet truck or even a Nissan Patrol……all of which will outlast most Land Rovers in the Field and in reality as well. TWO, he should settle down and have a MARRIED life. Men who are LIKE HIM, unfortunately are not good for a stable life…simply because of his habit. He has charm yes…but that DOES NOT mean he should try and get to be with different women..I see him as EXTREMELY sinful and unfaithful….

Arch Duke Maxyenko
Arch Duke Maxyenko
21 days ago

So, my Pinto seats (which are currently living in my basement) were reupholstered by a small shop in Northern KY, and I picked a grey leatherette vinyl with a cloth insert from fabric they had up in the racks which had been there for a while so it was a period 70’s choice, and they look great. A little after getting my seats back, we were watching The Man With The Golden Gun when the Hornet came on the screen I had to pause the movie. Turns out the fabric used in that Hornet is what I used for my Pinto seats.

Gubbin
Gubbin
21 days ago

Exhibit is through April 2025. I’ve been looking for a lure to get my brother to DC, maybe this will do it…

Col Lingus
Col Lingus
21 days ago

Bond was such a bad ass he even boinked Alex Trebek’s Mother.

What a guy…Even as a 7 year old I got the Pussy Galore joke.

After seeing Dr. No and Goldfinger in a first run at the drive in I was hooked.
The next day I took off my parents car plates and turned them upside down.
Those were the days…

My Grandmother bought me a first issue 1/64 Aston Martin from Corgi with all the secret agent mods. I remember playing with that thing for hundreds of hours.

Last edited 21 days ago by Col Lingus
Tagarito
Tagarito
22 days ago

The little extra Bond car tidbits from Adrian here are almost enough for its own article. With pics!

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
21 days ago
Reply to  Tagarito

The Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me happened because Lotus parked it outside Pinewood studios (I think). It was very pre-prod at the time. The usual stunt drivers couldn’t slide it so the Lotus test driver (don’t know their name) did all the film driving.

NAMiata
NAMiata
22 days ago

I assume this exhibit is a subset of the Petersen one of the same name? It was amazing to see so many of the great Bond vehicles in one place, compared to going to the Toyota museum in Nagoya just to see the 2000GT Convertible ( although definitely worth it!) The Bond specific DB10 was the star for me, having previously lucky enough to see one of the Bond DB5.

BTW, Adrian. Which is your favorite Bond car?

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
22 days ago
Reply to  NAMiata

The V8 Vantage in The Living Daylights (coincidentally my favourite Bind film).

Squirrelmaster
Squirrelmaster
22 days ago
Reply to  Adrian Clarke

Those both great picks. It’s a shame The Living Daylights doesn’t get as much love as it should.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago
Reply to  Squirrelmaster

I agree. Such a strong debut for Dalton and Carey Lowell remains one of my favorite Bond girls.

And the short story it’s based on is one of Fleming’s best, so spare and minimalist.

Squirrelmaster
Squirrelmaster
22 days ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

Exactly! Great cast, great acting, and a tight story that let Dalton show both the suave spy and brutal assassin parts of the character in a way that I’m not sure any other actor really has.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago
Reply to  Squirrelmaster

And of all the Bonds, Dalton really conveyed the literary character’s frequent ambivalence toward his job. He’s a pro, but at the same time he often feels it’s just pointless violence that’s corroding his soul. Dalton really captured that post modern sensibility.

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
22 days ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

Carey Lowell was in License to Kill, but I agree she’s fantastic. Kick ass and hot as hell.

”Out of gas. I haven’t heard that one in a long time”.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
21 days ago
Reply to  Adrian Clarke

Damnit you’re right! It’s clearly been way too long since I’ve watched them. As Lazenbee said…”this never happened to the other guy!”

Squirrelmaster
Squirrelmaster
22 days ago

I love Bond cars. Not just because I love Astons and Jags, but because of the absolute ridiculousness of the modifications made to some of them. It’s fun to suspend reality and just enjoy the absurdity of the world that Bond lives in.

I also like all the various Bonds, mostly because I appreciate the different spins on the character each actor brought. While not all the movies have been silver screen gems, I do hope they continue making them with new actors and new takes on the character.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago
Reply to  Squirrelmaster

What I really enjoy how Daniel Craig’s now-iconic gritty Bond isn’t what he actually wanted to do – he wanted lighter, more like Roger Moore. But Mike Myers did such an amazing job spoofing the series with Austin Powers that they knew anything even remotely like that would be compared with it, not the Bond canon.

Abdominal Snoman
Abdominal Snoman
22 days ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

I never thought about it but the Bond movies did get a lot better after that. I wish they kept making Austin Powers movies though as well.

Col Lingus
Col Lingus
21 days ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

Craig was my favorite Bond, after Connery of course.

Dodsworth
Dodsworth
22 days ago

I always want what I can’t have. I wish Felix Leiter’s Studillac could have made a film appearance. A Studebaker Starliner Coupe with a Cadillac engine. It was in one of the novels.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago
Reply to  Dodsworth

Totally agree. It was in Live and Let Die I think, which is a great entry, esp for Felix’s near end so early on in the books; I always wished movie Felix would have the hook at some point.

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
22 days ago
Reply to  Dodsworth

“Studillac” sounds more like the pet name of a 1970s blaxploitation pimpmobile.

Maymar
Maymar
22 days ago

Nothing really happens to Wet Nellie (The Spy Who Loved Me’s Esprit), and it’s still pretty great (put to better use than the Esprit in For Your Eyes Only that just gets blown up).

On the other hand, the 750il is the best car scene of the Brosnan Era and it got hucked off a building.

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
22 days ago
Reply to  Maymar

Filmed at Brent Cross shopping center in North West London.

Rollin Hand
Rollin Hand
22 days ago
Reply to  Maymar

That burnt orange Esprit Turbo though….and the 2CV chase is awesome.

I am of the opinion that — for the most part — the best Bond films hew closer to the books. There are exceptions: The Spy Who Loved Me is WAY over the top, but is huge fun.

But, breaking with most traditional views, my fave of the Moore films is For Your Eyes Only. It was far more grounded — Fleming could have come up with the story) but still has some fun action.

The 750iL chase is great (hey, that car rental guy is….!), but the tank chase in Goldeneye is just brilliant. They even trotted out the Bond fanfare for the first time in the movie when the tank comes through the wall, which was only right and proper.

I have also enjoyed how some of the continuation writers put Bond in different cars: a Saab 900 Turbo, Jensen Interceptor. Heck, Bond even had the Bentley in Never Say Never Again! It shows how the cars are tied into the character

In the end though, it always comes back to that silver DB5. As it should. Though I would get a kick out of the next Bond showing up somewhere in a white Esprit.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago
Reply to  Rollin Hand

For Your Eyes Only is my favorite Moore entry. Like you say, very real world, and it features, in a single movie, nearly every possible Bond action setup across the movies – skiing, water (surface and under), industrial, mountain climbing… Plus it contains a very rare example of Moore’s Bond killing in cold blood.

Last edited 22 days ago by Jack Trade
Tbird
Tbird
21 days ago
Reply to  Rollin Hand

Bits and pieces of For Your Eyes Only were adapted from the collection of Bond short stories sold under that name. I agree it may be Moores’ best and was a drastic departure from Moonraker and Spy.

NAMiata
NAMiata
22 days ago
Reply to  Maymar

BTW, Elon Musk ownes one of the hero Wet Nellies.

Maymar
Maymar
22 days ago
Reply to  NAMiata

Maybe that’s the suffering that’s imbued it with greatness.

Dave
Dave
22 days ago

I’ve seen that exhibit, and it’s worth the extra $10. The museum itself is fascinating. If you’re ever in DC…

Ea Gregory
Ea Gregory
22 days ago

Ian Fleming also wrote Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car which is a wonderful tie-in to this site!

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
22 days ago
Reply to  Ea Gregory

Children’s author Roald Dahl wrote You Only Live Twice.

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
22 days ago
Reply to  Adrian Clarke

The screenplay, yes. He also adapted “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” for the screen.

Mechjaz
Mechjaz
22 days ago
Reply to  Adrian Clarke

He wrote a lot of things. Switch Bitch got me through a miserable hospital stay. He was not a particularly nice man, though.

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
22 days ago
Reply to  Mechjaz

No he was a raging antisemite I think. Horrible bloke.

Ea Gregory
Ea Gregory
21 days ago
Reply to  Adrian Clarke

What a crazy juxtaposition. Can you imagine if Donald Trump never got into politics but instead, wrote bestselling children’s books? Or, Hitler…it’s THE book to buy the little ones this Christmas season: Adolf H’s Mein Grasshopper.

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
22 days ago

I actually did see “Dr No” in a theater. A drive in theater. We went in our brand new VW Bus. That big flat windshield gave a panoramic view of the screen.

I was just a kid, but even I knew the scene where Ursula Undress … er, Andress as Honeychile Ryder (just called Honey in the film) emerging from the sea was sexy significant. Of course this scene was later recreated with Halle Berry in “Die Another Day” when Jinx Johnson walks out of the surf. Who did it best? It’s a tie.

My favorite car in “Dr. No” was the blue Sunbeam Alpine Bond drives under a falling crane to escape a hearse filled with bad guys.

For years afterward, I received a James Bond paperback (Signet publisher, I think) in my Christmas stocking until I had all of Fleming’s novels.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago
Reply to  Canopysaurus

One of my favorite low-key, likely near first-ever Bond quips – “Are you looking to steal my shells?” “No, I’m just looking…”

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
22 days ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

Very droll, indeed.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago

In the books, the Bentleys are Bond’s personal cars, not HMG-issued. And b/c he’s the epitome of cool, they’re not current models – in the ’50s-set novels, he’s driving ’30s cars that he’s basically hot-rodded, including IIRC having the backseat ripped out of one to turn it into a true 2-seater.

His CIA buddy Felix Leiter drives a “Studillac”, a Studebaker with a Cadillac engine. Which Bond mocks as a car suitable for children and old people, as Felix careens it around traffic at insane speeds.

Cerberus
Cerberus
22 days ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

Been awhile, but IIRC, he had a (blower?) Bentley, then an Aston Martin DB2. The Studillac was a great one to throw in.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago
Reply to  Cerberus

I always remember that Bond having had his Bentley painted battleship gray b/c he didn’t care about your effete fancy colors. Sadly, he’d probably love our current grayscale obsession.

Tbird
Tbird
21 days ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

IIRC this is car he destroyed in the Moonraker novel. I have read all the Fleming originals.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
21 days ago
Reply to  Tbird

I enjoyed Moonraker the novel for being…completely, absolutely different than the crazy movie, which I saw as a kid. Not to mention the book’s bittersweet ending where Bond…doesn’t get the girl.

Cerberus
Cerberus
21 days ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

The Moonraker novel was a really pleasant surprise. The movie is my least favorite, but it’s nothing like the book at all. Sure, it required changing the plot a bit to reflect the current time it was made, but it didn’t have to be so damn goofy (though I understand why, for that reason, it’s some people’s favorite as I have my own list of movies I love along those lines).

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
21 days ago
Reply to  Cerberus

Thing is, if you remove the Bond-in-space segment at the end, it’s a decent story up until that point.

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
22 days ago

The Vanquish (and possibly the XK8) from Die Another Day have Explorer running gear to make them 4WD.

The driver in the chase at the beginning of Quantum of Solace is Ben Collins.

They really did corkscrew jump a Hornet.

The DB5s at the beginning of No Time To Die are all carbon bodied replicas on the structure of an M3 (E36 I think).

We gave six pre-prod Defenders to Eon for No Time To Die. They were all built at the specialist facility at Fen End.

If anyone @s me in the members Discord I will tell you another James Bond car fact that’s a bit secret and relates to my time at Land Rover.

DolanDuk
DolanDuk
22 days ago
Reply to  Adrian Clarke

When Bond swerves to avoid Vesper on the road in Casino Royale, the DBS flips and does 7 flips if I remember correctly. At the time it was the Guinness World Record for most barrel rolls ever done in a car (there was a stunt driver in the car).
They had a hell of a hard time flipping the car and actually couldn’t do it at first. So they raised the ramp and rigged some stuff and ended up setting a world record.
Here is the clip, all in a single shot with no cuts so you can enjoy it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhbYK7WzeBw

Alpine 911
Alpine 911
22 days ago
Reply to  DolanDuk

They installed a pneumatic cylinder in the floor to make it jump. Which it did

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
22 days ago
Reply to  Alpine 911

Yep. Filmed at Millbrook I think.

RataTejas
RataTejas
22 days ago

Needs more wheelie-ing and three? wheeling Kenworths from License to Kill

Cerberus
Cerberus
22 days ago
Reply to  RataTejas

That confused the hell out of me when I was a kid as I thought it was a real feature—the physics didn’t make sense and I couldn’t figure out why the tractor would need to do such a thing. Overthought the hell out of that until my father told me it was just movie BS and I felt like an idiot.

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
22 days ago

“kickass Aston Martin across a frozen lake with a beautiful cellist in the passenger seat”
But where does the cello sit?

Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke
22 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

“Why didn’t you learn the violin?”

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
22 days ago
Reply to  Adrian Clarke

Reminds me of when my son and some friends were forming a band.

“I can’t decide between drums and bass”

Checks time, 5:15 pm

I phoned the music store and promised to buy a bass if they stayed open until we got there.

MrLM002
MrLM002
22 days ago

To be fair really any bulletproof car is disposable. They’re not built to get shot at a bunch and keep being used afterwards. They’re up-armored regular cars built to prevent you from getting shot and hopefully last long enough for you to get away from the shooters to somewhere safe.

All the Bond cars are up armored, and even with a blank check and the best tech the Government has access to they’re no APC.

Not to mention tires are tires, unless they’re literally airless tires they’re gonna get shredded in any firefight. Even run-flats limit your speed to like 35 MPH maximum

Ramaswamy Narayanaswamy
Ramaswamy Narayanaswamy
20 days ago
Reply to  MrLM002

He could try to be like Fall Guy and fly a GMC off a ramp…Truly Professional Grade.

Angel "the Cobra" Martin
Angel "the Cobra" Martin
22 days ago

Fun James Bond fact time. The name was taken from an author who wrote about birds (the feathered ones, not the females) and Fleming wanted the most average name possible. Later as a joke, Flemming offered his name to James Bond if he ever found a horrible species of bird that needed a name.

DolanDuk
DolanDuk
22 days ago

The author was an ornithologist named James Bond.
In Die Another Day, they reference it in the scene where Bond (Brosnan) meets Jinx (Halle Berry). If you want to see one of the corniest scenes in a Bond movie here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DonM7tDGzEg

Angel "the Cobra" Martin
Angel "the Cobra" Martin
22 days ago
Reply to  DolanDuk

Terrible movie, terrible theme song, and terrible bad guy. The whole movie is full of plot holes and terrible writing. Thank god Craig came along and saved the day.

Nycbjr
Nycbjr
21 days ago

Agreed this was the movie that made me wonder how she had an oscar lol

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
22 days ago

A minor-key treasured possession I have is a copy of Skindiver magazine I bought in the early ’90s that did an great expose on Fleming’s Jamaican estate, its reef, and all the assorted lore that goes with it, including that great tidbit about the naturalist!

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
22 days ago

Another fun fact: Christopher Lee, who played Francisco Scaramanga – the titular Man with the Golden Gun – was Ian Fleming’s cousin.

Col Lingus
Col Lingus
21 days ago
Reply to  Canopysaurus

Is that you Cliff Clavin? /s

Do appreciate the trivia though.

RataTejas
RataTejas
21 days ago
Reply to  Canopysaurus

Scaramanga is Dooku/Dooku is Saruman/Saruman is Dracula.

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
21 days ago
Reply to  RataTejas

Now, we’re getting down to Hammer time.

Wuffles Cookie
Wuffles Cookie
21 days ago
Reply to  Canopysaurus

And also partially the inspiration for the character of Bond. While mostly known for being an actor, Lee was also a fantastic badass. During WWII he is known to have been in the RAF as an intelligence officer, and was assigned as a liaison to the SOE, but many of the details of his service remain suspiciously vague (especially about the later part of the war). The few that are known, such as being attached to the Gurkhas during Monte Cassino, working with the Italian Resistance, and spending the last few months of his service hunting down Nazi war criminals are… interesting.

RataTejas
RataTejas
21 days ago
Reply to  Wuffles Cookie

The story of him telling Jackson how someone actually behaves when stabbed from behind in the lungs is legendary.

Ben Siegel
Ben Siegel
22 days ago

I imagine the bad guy had a Jag Convertible for the same reason that Jynx had a Thunderbird and Bond had a Thunderbird in Cuba.
Blue oval product placement baby!

A Nonymous
A Nonymous
22 days ago
Reply to  Ben Siegel

I think the car in Cuba is a Ford Fairlane, not a T-bird.

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