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James Bond

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Release and Publication
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James Bond: books and films

When I was a schoolboy, in the 1960s, our English teacher used the James Bond novels as an illustration to explain what made a book a "classic" – or, more precisely, as an example of a book that would never become a classic. "No one will be reading James Bond in twenty years' time," he said.

Well, he was right, wasn't he? ... but what he failed to foresee was that fifty years later, never mind twenty, people would be flocking in ever–increasing numbers to see the films. First editions of the books change hands for thousands of pounds; so in their own way they have indeed become classics.

We start with a few questions that refer to Bond (and other characters) in general terms, without reference to any individual book or film.

In the first Bond novel, Casino Royale, a character remarks that Bond looks like (American singer, songwriter and actor) Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
Bond's rank (in the Royal Naval Reserve) Click to show or hide the answer
Make of car that Bond drove in the books Click to show or hide the answer
Name of Bond's Swiss mother (according to a Times obituary in You Only Live Twice, the penultimate novel) Click to show or hide the answer
Bond's favourite drink Click to show or hide the answer
Miss Moneypenny's first name (revealed in 2005 in The Moneypenny Diaries, written by Samantha Weinberg and officially sanctioned by the Fleming estate) Click to show or hide the answer
Villain named after an Eton school contemporary of Ian Fleming – whose son became a cricket commentator Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
CIA agent, and Bond's friend: has appeared in eleven films, up to and including No Time to Die – played by eight different actors, including Jack Lord in Dr. No and Jeffrey Wright in three films opposite Daniel Craig Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
Q stands for Click to show or hide the answer
The Bond family motto (in Latin; its English translation was used as the title of one of the films starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond) Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
Author of the first series of five Young Bond novels for children (2005–8), featuring James Bond as a teenager at Eton Click to show or hide the answer
Author of the James Bond novel Trigger Mortis (2015) Click to show or hide the answer

The first actor to play James Bond was arguably Barry Nelson, who played a US agent known as Jimmy Bond in a US TV adaptation of Casino Royale in 1954. It was part of a series entitled Climax Mystery Theater. The villain, Le Chiffre, was played by Peter Lorre.

However ... if you're asked who was the first actor to play Bond, the answer required is usually Bob Holness, who did so in a South African radio adaptation of Moonraker (the second Bond novel) in 1956.  Bob Holness is best known as the avuncular host of the teenagers' television quiz show Blockbusters, on ITV from 1983 to 1993 and on Sky One from 1994 to 1995. He died in 2012, aged 83.

Producers of the early Bond films (from Dr. No to The Man with the Golden Gun) Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer

After The Man with the Golden Gun, Saltzman stepped down as co–producer of the Bond films. Broccoli produced the next four alone, after which he was joined by his stepson Michael G. Wilson. Broccoli stepped down after Licence to Kill, and Wilson was joined by Barbara Broccoli (daughter of Albert Broccoli). The first film that Barbara Broccoli was involved with was Goldeneye (1995).

Harry Saltzman died of a heart attack in 1994, while visiting Paris. Albert Broccoli died of heart failure in 1996, at his home in Beverly Hills.

Release and Publication

This section lists the films in order of release, with the dates of publication of the books where appropriate.

The first twelve films (including the 'unofficial' version of Casino Royale) were based on Fleming's twelve novels. Others were based on his short stories; for details, see below.

You can use the following buttons to reveal the actors who played Bond in each film, and test yourself on the titles – or vice versa. Or, if you prefer, you can reveal the answers one by one as normal.

No. Film Book Notes Bond Title
1 1962 1958 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
2 1963 1957 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
3 1964 1959 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
4 1965 1961 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
5 1967 1953 'Unofficial' Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
6 1967 1964 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
7 1969 1963 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
8 1971 1956 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
9 1973 1954 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
10 1974 1965 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
11 1977 1962 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
12 1979 1955 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
13 1982 1960 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
14 1983 (1966) Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
15 1983 'Unofficial' Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
16 1985 (1960) Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
17 1987 (1962) Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
18 1989 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
19 1995 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
20 1997 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
21 1999 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
22 2002 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
23 2006 1953 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
24 2008 (1963) Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
25 2012 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
26 2015 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title
27 2021 Click to show or hide the title Click to show or hide the title

Writing

Ian Fleming wrote the Bond novels at his mountain retreat in Jamaica. He completed one in January and February each year (with one exception), from 1953 until his death in August 1964. The exception was 1960, when instead of a novel a collection of five short stories was published.

At the time of his death, Fleming had completed the first draft of a twelfth novel. This was published in April 1965, to polite but poor reviews. According to Wikipedia it was "not as polished as other Bond stories", as Fleming tended to add detail in the second draft.

Fleming had written a number of other short stories featuring Bond, besides the five that were published together in 1960. (For details, see below.) In 1966, the supply of novels having run dry, Fleming's publisher – Jonathan Cape – issued two of these stories in one book. Later editions included either or both of the other two.

The following table lists the nine Bond stories that were written by Ian Fleming, and details the parts they played in films. The titles of the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth of these have not (as yet) been used for films, and are probably too obscure to be used in any but the most specialised of quizzes!

Year Notes Title
1960 First story from the 1960 collection: provided the title of the 1985 film, which was the last one to feature Roger Moore as Bond Click to show or hide the title
1960 Story that provided the title of the 1960 collection; filmed in 1981 – Roger Moore's fifth outing as Bond Click to show or hide the title
1960 Third story from the 1960 collection: gave its title (but nothing else) to the 2008 film – the second one to feature Daniel Craig as Bond Click to show or hide the title
1960 Fourth story in the 1960 collection: the plot was used in the film of the second (providing a part for Chaim Topol) Click to show or hide the title
1960 Final story in the 1960 collection: plot elements were used in the 1989 film, and an oblique reference was made in the 2008 film (named after the third story, above) Click to show or hide the title
1962 First appeared in the Sunday Times on 4 February 1962; the second of two stories published together by Cape in 1966; filmed in 1987 – Timothy Dalton's first appearance as Bond Click to show or hide the title
1963 Commissioned by Sotheby's for the 1963 edition of their house journal; provided the auction sequence for the 1983 film of the first of two stories published by Cape in 1966 Click to show or hide the title
1963 First appeared in the New York Herald Tribune in 1963; provided character and plot elements for Daniel Craig's first two outings as Bond (2006 and 2008) Click to show or hide the title
1965 Serialised in the Daily Express in 1965; one of two stories published by Cape in 1966; provided the title, and the family background of the title character, for the 1983 film (the last but one to feature Roger Moore as Bond) Click to show or hide the title

Films: Titles

In this section, each answer is the title of a film (and, in what is still the majority of cases, a book). The years (in the first column) are those in which the film was released.

Sean Connery

Film Notes Title
1962 The first Saltzman/Brocolli Bond film Click to show or hide the title
Title character played by Joseph Wiseman
The one where the tarantula walks across Bond's chest as he lies in bed
Peter Burton plays Major Boothroyd (later referred to as Q)
1963 Desmond Llewellyn appears as Q for the first time Click to show or hide the title
1964 The title character, played in the film by Gert Frobe, is named after a Hungarian architect and furniture designer Click to show or hide the title
Bond drives an Aston Martin DB5 for the first time
1965 The one with the underwater sequences, as SPECTRE agents remove two atomic bombs from an Avro Vulcan bomber which they have sabotaged and ditched off the Bahamas Click to show or hide the title
1967 Click to show or hide the title
1971 The one with the moon buggy ride Click to show or hide the title
1983 Not an 'official' Bond film (produced by Warner Bros, not by Eon / United Artists); a remake of Thunderball Click to show or hide the title

David Niven

1967 The first Bond book Click to show or hide the title
Not an 'official' (Saltzman/Broccoli) production Click for more information

George Lazenby

1969 Bond marries – but the film ends with him cradling his murdered wife in his arms Click to show or hide the title

Roger Moore

1973 The one with the bayou boat chase Click to show or hide the title
1974 Click to show or hide the title
1977 Richard Kiel plays Jaws for the first time Click to show or hide the title
1979 Richard Kiel, as Jaws, speaks his only line: "Well ... here's to us!" Click to show or hide the title
Bernard Lee (the original M) appears for the last time
1981 Based on two stories from a 1960 short story collection of the same title – the eponymous one, and Risico Click to show or hide the title
The only one where there is no M
Bond commandeers a yellow Citroën 2CV, from Bond girl Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) after his Lotus blows itself up – as part of the strategy to return Bond to reality, after the excesses of the previous outing
1983 Based on a short story published in 1966, after Fleming's death; the plot of the film also comes partly from The Property of a Lady – another story from the same collection Click to show or hide the title
Much of the action takes place in the Indian state of Rajastan; the plot involves a stolen Fabergé egg
Robert Brown appears as M for the first time
The title character is played by Maud Adams (who also appeared in The Man with the Golden Gun and was an extra in the next film after this one)
1985 Title is from one of the stories in the same collection as above (the title of the story starts with the word From) Click to show or hide the title
The last film to feature Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny

Timothy Dalton

1987 Based on a short story of the same title, first published in 1962 in the Sunday Times colour section; the last movie with a Fleming title Click to show or hide the title
The last Bond film that John Barry worked on
1989 Bond resigns from MI6 and pursues a mission of revenge, when an old ally is badly injured by crooked drugs baron Franz Sanchez Click to show or hide the title

Pierce Brosnan

1995 Named after Ian Fleming's mountain retreat in Jamaica – where he wrote all the Bond novels in January and February each year Click to show or hide the title
Judi Dench plays M for the first time
1997 Title involves a newspaper that features in the plot Click for more information Click to show or hide the title
1999 Desmond Llewellyn appears as Q for the last time (he lost his life in a car accident, shortly before the Première) Click to show or hide the title
2002 Brosnan's last Bond film Click to show or hide the title

Daniel Craig

(No questions about these other than the order they came in and the years they were released!)

2006 Click to show or hide the title
2008   Click to show or hide the title
2012 Click to show or hide the title
2015 Click to show or hide the title
2021 Click to show or hide the title

Songs

These are commonly referred to as 'title songs' – although some of them (details below) didn't appear over the title sequence.

Dr. No (1962) had no title song, and no other significant song. (Wikipedia notes that "The music for the opening scene is a calypso version of the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice, with new lyrics to reflect the intentions of the three assassins hired by Dr. No.")

The first table below lists the films where the song had the same title as the film.

You can use the following buttons to reveal the titles and test yourself on the performers – or vice versa. Or, if you prefer, you can reveal the answers one by one.

Title Notes Performed by
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer   Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Oscar nominated Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer First time the singer appeared in the title sequence Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Written by Bono (Paul Hewson) and The Edge (Dave Evans) from U2 Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Best Song Oscar winner Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer

In the second table, the songs had different titles from the films. This time you can reveal either the title of the film, the title of the song, or the name of the singer or group.

As before, you can (if you wish!) use the following buttons to reveal the film titles, song titles or performers, and test yourself on the other column(s).

Film Notes   Song   Performed by
Click to show or hide the answer Written by Bacharach & David; Oscar nominated; a hit 6 years later for Gladys Knight & the Pips. Not a title songClick for more information Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Played over the wedding sequence. The title track was instrumental Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Lyrics by Tim Rice Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer First Bond theme to reach No. 1 in the UK charts Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer

Bond Girls

Once again, you can use the following buttons to reveal the film titles, characters' names or actors' names, and test yourself on the other column(s).

Film Notes   Character   Played By
Click to show or hide the answer The first Bond girl Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Leader of an all–female flying circus (in the film) Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
The girl who gets painted gold Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Mistress of the villain, Emilio Largo: played by a French actress but voiced by a German Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
A diamond smuggler – the first American Bond girl Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer The girl that Bond marries – a part that Brigitte Bardot turned down Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Psychic love interest Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Wife of the principal villain, and one of Bond's former lovers Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Oil heiress Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer   Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer

Villains

Blofeld

Wikipedia lists nine films, up to and including No Time to Die (2021), in which Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE, has appeared. In the first two (From Russia with Love and Thunderball) only his hands and the back of his head are seen, and in some others, for various reasons, his part is not particularly memorable. In yet another (Spectre), Blofeld goes by a different name for most of the film – see spoiler alert in the Other subsection, below. The following table lists the only ones that I've heard asked about in quizzes; Blofeld is played by a different actor in each case.

If you've been scrolling down and reading this page (rather than using links) you will hopefully have got the hang of these buttons by now!

Film Notes   Played By
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Double Oscar–winning actor Click to show or hide the answer

Other

Film Notes   Character   Played By
Click to show or hide the answer SPECTRE assassin Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer 'Mr. Big' Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer The eponymous villain Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer A mysterious figure within SPECTRE who claims a personal connection to Bond (and – spoiler alert – turns out to be none other than Ernst Stavro Blofeld) Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer

Henchmen

Film Notes   Character
Click to show or hide the answer Played by American Olympic weightlifter Harold Sakata Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Blofeld's female bodyguards Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer
Sadistic, gay killers – assumed (implied) to be Blofeld's henchmen Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer The twelve beautiful women from all over the world, being brainwashed by Blofeld under the guise of allergy or phobia treatment to spread the Virus Omega; including Joanna Lumley, Anouska Hempel, Julie Ege and Jenny Hanley Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Mr. Big's henchman, with a pincer for a hand Click to show or hide the answer
Mr. Big's other henchman Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Scaramanga's diminutive henchman Click to show or hide the answer
Played by Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Georgian fighter pilot, and Trevelyan's henchwoman Click to show or hide the answer
Played by Click to show or hide the answer

M

Years Films First Film Last Film
1962–79 11 Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
1967 1 Click to show or hide the answer (same) Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer
1983 1 Click to show or hide the answer (same) Click to show or hide the answer
1983–9 4 Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
1995–2015 8 Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
2012 to date 3 Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer

Other

Film Q   A
Click to show or hide the answer First name of the title character Click to show or hide the answer
Registration number of his car Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer M was played by Click to show or hide the answer
Bumbling British agent Nigel Small–Fawcett was played (before he was really famous) by Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Bond's nephew, Jimmy Bond Click to show or hide the answer
Baccarat expert Evelyn Tremble Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Milos Columbo (a former friend and smuggling partner of Bond's Greek contact and informant, Aris Kristatos, who assists Bond in his mission) Click to show or hide the answer
Margaret Thatcher Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Bond's sidekick Sir Godfrey Tibbett Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Agent 006 – code name Janus, real name Alex Trevelyan – who turns out to be a double agent Click to show or hide the answer
Valentin Zukovsky – a former Russian Mafia boss and Baku casino owner Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Q's assistant (nicknamed R by Bond) Click to show or hide the answer
Renard – a former KGB agent who is impervious to pain because of a bullet lodged in his brain which is killing off his senses Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Q (promoted following the death of Desmond Llewellyn) Click to show or hide the answer
Makes a cameo appearance as fencing instructor Verity – becoming the first person to appear in a Bond movie and sing the theme song Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Makes a cameo appearance as a passenger being frisked at Miami Airport Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Country that Bond saves from a coup staged by an organisation posing as environmentalists Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Appears as Q for the first time Click to show or hide the answer
Kincade – the gamekeeper of Skyfall, which is Bond's ancestral and childhood home Click to show or hide the answer
Gareth Mallory, who takes over as M after the death of Judi Dench's character Click to show or hide the answer
The new Miss Moneypenny – a failed agent who is not named until the end of the film Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer Appointed to direct and co–write, but left due to "creative differences", four months before filming was scheduled to begin Click to show or hide the answer

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23