I can't believe The Enid Blyton Society does not have a dedicated James Bond topic!
I'm here to remedy that - unless we already do have a thread and if so I apologise..
Do you have a fave Bond?
Who would be your top three Bond actors?
Least fave Bond actor?
Can you remember the first Bond film you watched?
What is your fave film?
Least fave film?
Have you read the books?
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane - Society Member
Do you have a fave Bond? - Can't split Sean Connery & Roger Moore
Who would be your top three Bond actors? Sean Connery - Roger Moore - Pierce Brosnan
Least fave Bond actor? David Niven
Can you remember the first Bond film you watched? Goldfinger
What is your fave film? Goldfinger
Least fave film? - The Casino Royale - Spoof starring David Niven
Have you read the books? No, but I'm going to.
Do you have a fave Bond? Sean Connery
Who would be your top three Bond actors? Sean Connery, Daniel Craig and George Lazenby
Can you remember the first Bond film you watched? No
What is your fave film? On her Majesty's Secret Service
Have you read the books? Yes, a few of them.
I've never read any James Bond novels or seen any of the films all the way through. However, I enjoyed reading the following piece of information in the above link:
“My name is Secretan… James Secretan.”
Doesn’t sound good, right?
However, that was the original name of Fleming’s famous spy. What’s worse is that the name sounds like the French “C’est crétin”, meaning “That’s stupid.”
In the end, Bond was favoured. The name originates from Fleming’s hobby of birdwatching. The real James Bond was a leading American ornithologist, author of the 'Field Guide to the Birds of the West Indies', which was written in 1947. Fleming had a copy of the book, and admitted he just took the name because he found the name quite boring.
In an April 1962 issue of The New Yorker, Fleming is quoted as saying: “I wanted him to be a blunt instrument... When I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, (James Bond) is the dullest name I ever heard."
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Anita Bensoussane wrote: ↑11 Feb 2024, 19:48
I've never read any James Bond novels or seen any of the films all the way through...
Same here.
I'll have to add James Bond to the list of things like Doctor Who, Star Wars, EastEnders, Coronation Street, etc - all very popular things that I don't recall ever watching a full episode / film of.
Unlike the others, James Bond is one that I do see me watching at some point and I'm surprised I've never yet got round to seeing any of them.
Although I haven't read any James Bond novels, I have read Ian Fleming's children's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It's much tamer than the film, with no Truly Scrumptious (the children's mother is still alive) and no Child Catcher. I once went with my son to Ripley's Believe it or Not! in Piccadilly Circus (that venue has since closed, though others are still going strong) and we saw the Toot Sweet machine there, from the film.
About nine or ten years ago I went to an exhibition ('Bond in Motion') at Covent Garden in London. There were masses of James Bond vehicles there (cars, boats, bikes, helicopters and planes), each of which had a screen next to it showing clips from the film in which it had appeared. Models and concept art were on display too. I thoroughly enjoyed the quirkiness and glamour of the designs despite not knowing much about James Bond!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Apparently Ian Flemings inspiration for James Bond came from the real life exploits of his step cousins Christopher Lee! Lee was a member of the secret service during WW2.
There is a remarkable interview with Peter Jackson in the Making of Lord of the Rings documentary. Jackson is discussing the noise and reaction Lee should make whilst being stabbed in the back. Lee apparently interrupts Jackson and tells him the exact noise and reaction a man makes, whilst being stabbed in the back………..
Do you have a fave Bond? Roger Moore
Who would be your top three Bond actors? Moore, Craig, Dalton
Can you remember the first Bond film you watched? Live and Let Die
What is your fave film? Live and Let Die
Have you read the books? Nope
For the record, the three books I read were:
From Russia with Love, Dr. No and Goldfinger.
When I lived in Vienna in the late 1980s I remember that scenes from The Living Daylights" starring Timothy Dalton as James Bond were shot on location close to where I lived in the fifth district, with Vienna filling in for Prague/Bratislava, which in those days were behind the iron curtain.
First one I ever saw on television was Dr No, although it was more of a moving background. First one I ever saw at the cinema (when I'd have only been ten) was Octopussy, and I loved it! I was clearly too young to understand the story and Cold War stuff, but the action was good enough for me! And for many years, Roger Moore was my favourite Bond because he was MY Bond. But in hindsight, while Moore appeared in some very memorable films and sequences, and you can appreciate why he played the character the way he did, Connery is far better!
And, scoff ye not, I DO like On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Lazenby takes a little bit of getting used to, but the story itself is pretty sound. And to be honest, you couldn't really imagine Connery pulling off that heart breaking moment at the end.
Do you have a fave Bond? Probably Pierce Brosnan but only because he was Bond when I was young.
I don't know how many Bond movies I've seen, probably not all of them, but I generally get them all muddled up and couldn't tell you who was in which one, with the exception of perhaps the most recent ones.
Have you read the books? Nope.
"It's the ash! It's falling!" yelled Julian, almost startling Dick out of his wits...
"Listen to its terrible groans and creaks!" yelled Julian, almost beside himself with impatience.
I love James Bond but like everything the older ones are better. I don't like them from Die Another Day onwards and have no interest in the Daniel Craig ones whatsoever. I don't see him as Bond at all.
Do you have a fave Bond? Roger Moore
Who would be your top three Bond actors? I don't think anyone could better Roger Moore really but for a different actor I think Patrick Macnee from The Avengers would have been a good Bond. A not so gentlemanly Steed!
Least fave Bond actor? When I was younger I would have said Sean Connery as I really wasn't keen on him but he's grown on me over time and I really like the first few films a lot. So I'll say Daniel Craig. He s just not 007 to me.
Can you remember the first Bond film you watched? Dr No (not when it first came out though obviously!) But I started at Dr No and watched them in order.
What is your fave film? It's a tie between On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Living Daylights. For the later ones I think Goldeneye is easily the best.
Least fave film? Without doubt Licence To Kill. It is just horrible, all James Bonds can be pretty grim but this one stepped it up several notches. It is violently nasty and gruesome, much more so than any of the others. I have only seen it once fully, back when I was about 10 and watching them all for the first time unedited. I was expecting it to be like the others and it wasn't. The shark fed corpses were horrific enough but it was nothing compared to the blown up head... I had serious nightmares with that, I have never been able to face watching it again. The admittedly impressive scene at the end with the tanker and cars is all I can stomach of this film.
Have you read the books? No, they don't appeal as books only as films.
Last edited by IceMaiden on 05 Apr 2024, 21:59, edited 1 time in total.
Society Member
I'm just an old fashioned girl with an old fashioned mind
Not sophisticated, I'm the sweet and simple kind
I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence
And A̶n̶ ̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶f̶a̶s̶h̶i̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶l̶i̶o̶n̶a̶i̶r̶e̶
Do you have a fave Bond? - Timothy Dalton
Who would be your top three Bond actors? dalton - Roger Moore - Pierce Brosnan
Least fave Bond actor? ....
Can you remember the first Bond film you watched? must be the one with Dalton
What is your fave film? ,,,,,, can't decide.. all good, Octopus maybe
Least fave film? - ....
Have you read the books? unfortunately , never.
the golden era for James Bond happened almost parallel with my golden year reading Enid Blyton,... which is the late '80s and early '90. I guess this is why I start at Timothy Dalton era.
reread 2015 - Barney Series ,The Secret of Killimooin reread Feb 2023 - The Rilloby Fair Mystery
