“Bond…James Bond.”
With those three words, one of the world’s greatest movie franchises was launched – on October 5, 1962!
The world’s great Secret Agent has stayed popular for more than five decades, with six different Actors putting on the tuxedo…but no one will ever be more iconic that the first Bond – Sean Connery…
Let’s begin the celebration with the original trailer, which introduced movie audiences to the coolest secret agent of all time:
Look at this shot: Producer Cubby Broccoli, Sean Connery, 007 Creator/Author Ian Fleming, and Producer Harry Saltzman…I wonder if they could have imagined what was ahead!
So how did Connery get cast?
According to wikipedia, Producers Broccoli and Saltzman originally sought Cary Grant for the role! However, Grant wouldn’t agree to more than one, so they held auditions and landed on the very virile Sean Connery, who had the looks And the rough edges they were looking for!
This terrific archive photo is from James Bond 007 magazine, which is full of incredible trivia about 007!
On Oct. 5 1962, “Dr. No” had its worldwide premiere at the London Pavilion. However, in those days films opened over the course of months, so it didn’t actually hit the US until six months later, in May 1963.
In the UK, “Dr. No” ended up as the fifth most popular movie of 1962. The final worldwide grows was $59.6 million worldwide.
Of course, the series also introduced an iconic opening sequence with the rifle scope, as Bond walks into frame and then shoots the audience…
Here is some trivia: “Dr. No” currently has a 96% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and is considered a great introduction of the character – as one review stated:
“Featuring plenty of the humor, action, and escapist thrills the series would become known for, Dr. No kicks off the Bond franchise in style.”
Of course, it also offered one other popular choice:
The Iconic “Bond Girls!”
That’s right, the very first Bond film offered up an iconic “Bond girl” Honey Ryder, played by sex kitten Ursula Andress.
In 2003, the scene of her emerging from the water in a bikini topped England Channel 4’s list of one hundred sexiest scenes of film history!
Oh, and did you know that her nickname was “Ursula UNDRESS?”
Andress was the first of many incredible “Bond Girls” who have starred alongside 007, here is more about this iconic sex kitten, including that notorious nickname:
There will always be arguments over who are the best “Bond Girls” – there have been many, and some clearly stood out:
You can click here to see some of my favorites:
https://johnrieber.com/2017/02/07/00-7-great-bond-girls-brains-brawn-beauty-oh-james/
I love this film series, which you can dissect by “Bond Girls”, and theme songs as well!
Adele wowed everyone with her “Skyfall” theme sone, but some have been less successful…here is a list of my best and worst 007 themes:
https://johnrieber.com/2013/11/05/rock-on-007-the-best-and-worst-james-bond-theme-songs/
There are those who even want to judge the Bonds themselves!
This documentary looks a the entire Bond phenomenon, and I weighed in on my “best” and “Worst” Bonds, which you can read here:
Congrats and happy birthday 007!
