Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 4, 1991 TAG: 9103030030
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE JOY MOCA LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Long
For many moviegoers, this famous line evokes images of glamorous locales, outrageous chases, high-tech gadgets and the unflinching British secret agent 007, considered one of the great film heroes of all time.
As a film icon, Bond has been around longer than Dirty Harry and confronted more dangerous situations than Indiana Jones. But the Bond legacy didn't attain worldwide proportions with just charisma and special effects. The beautiful women in every Bond movie also contributed to a great reverence for the film series.
The Bond girls, as they have been known affectionately for years, "were more beautiful than beautiful and sexier than sexy," said Jill St. John in a recent phone interview from her home in Aspen, Colo. The actress, who played Tiffany Case in "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), added, "I wasn't playing the girl next door or someone who really existed. Tiffany was larger than life."
Tiffany and other female characters helped mold James Bond into more than just an indestructible secret agent. He earned a reputation as every woman's dream.
Singer Carly Simon summed up the spy's suavity when she sang "Nobody Does It Better" for "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977), the 11th Bond picture. The film is one of 12 classic Bond movies included during "007 Days of 007," a week-long Bond film festival beginning tonight on cable TV channel WTBS.
Although many of the actresses in these films were unknown before starring as Bond's love interest, several went on to fame and fortune, including Ursula Andress ("Dr. No" in 1962) and Jane Seymour ("Live and Let Die" in 1973)
Despite an association with Playboy magazine (many of the women who have appeared in Bond films have also been photographed for the magazine) and the fact that the early Bond films were developed in the wake of the sexual revolution, the series was designed for a family audience.
Steven Jay Rubin points out in his book, "The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia" (Contemporary Books; $25): "Moral codes had begun to relax for movies at the time of `Dr. No,' but producers opted for a suggestive rather than revealing approach towards sex. Bond films were able to walk a fine line between adult and family entertainment."
Although star billing often meant future offers for Bond girls, some of them suffered from Hollywood's tendency to categorize actresses and actors.
Besides the gorgeous women moviegoers came to expect in every Bond film, the fans knew that the formidable villains also would be bigger than life.
Joseph Wiseman played Dr. Julius No, the forerunner of atomic age villains, in the first Bond film. "I suppose I did [set the tone for future Bond villains]," said Wiseman from Brooklyn, N.Y., during a recent phone interview. "I didn't realize it at the time. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.
"It was something I never took to. [After the Bond film] I turned down a lot of parts where the heavy was somebody out to destroy the world," he added.
On the other hand, Telly Savalas of "Kojak" fame had a great fondness for Ernst Stavro Blofeld, his character in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969).
"Here you got a guy with 16 chicks on top of a mountain, how evil can you be? You gotta be tongue-in-cheek and have a lot of fun with it," said Savalas during a recent phone interview.
While Savalas' approach was fun and games, Yaphet Kotto (Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big in "Live and Let Die") said he "was approaching it from a historic point of view because it was the first time that a black performer was allowed to be in an action film. The role opened the door to a lot of future opportunities that brothers never had," he said during a recent phone interview from his home in Morrison, Colo.
Another reason for the success of the series is, in large part, the men who played the debonair spy.
Although Connery is considered by many to be the real James Bond, he was a Scottish actor with few major credits when "Dr. No" opened in the United States.
But two years later, Bond mania hit the United States. After "Goldfinger" (1964), Connery was on his way to becoming a legend.
In his book, Rubin said Connery decided to leave the Bond series after completing "You Only Live Twice" in 1967 because he "was rapidly tiring of the long and difficult shooting schedules. The Japanese location was the last straw. Reporters were everywhere."
With Connery gone, Savalas said, the producers "used me and Diana Rigg to help give (`On Her Majesty's Secret Service') a push because they were using the new Bond for the first time."
That new Bond, George Lazenby, lasted for only one movie.
St. John, who starred in the next film, remembered: "They talked Sean into coming back for one more" in 1971 ("Diamonds Are Forever").
Next, Roger Moore filled Bond's shoes in "Live and Let Die" opposite Seymour. While Connery was a tougher, more serious agent, Moore took Bond to a new level that was lighter and more humorous. He was replaced in 1987 by Timothy Dalton, the current Bond, who brought back a more hard-edged reality.
The only other Bond manifestations were created by David Niven, in the spoof "Casino Royale," and American Barry Nelson, the first person to ever play 007, in 1954. He starred in an adaptation of "Casino Royale" on "Climax Mystery Theater," a CBS anthology series.
by CNB