Bond, but not Bond
John Drake
On assignmentPosts: 2,564MI6 Agent
I recently ordered the French movie 'OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions' on import DVD. Apparently it is heavily influenced by the 60's Bond films and the leading man looks a lot like a young Connery. That led to think about other films that feature a Bond type figure in them. I don't mean characters like Bourne or Bauer, but rather films where a reference is made towards the Bond franchise. So far I can think of the following.
'The Pink Panther,' remake with Clive Owen as 006.
'Hot Enough for June,' an old Ralph Thomas movie with Dirk Bogarde as an accidental spy assigned the number 008.
'Taxi 3,' Sylvester Stallone of all people plays an unnamed spy who cadges a lift in Sami Narceri's taxi to escape the bad guys following him. The opening titles are an amusing parody of Maurice Binder-style Bond openings.
Then there's ex-Bonds getting in on the act.
'Looney Tunes:The Movie,' Timothy Dalton as Damien Drake, the star of a series of spy movies with Bond-style titles.
'The Return of the Man from Uncle,' with George Lazenby briefly appearing as a suave secret agent driving an Aston Martin with the initials JB on its numberplate.
There must be others.
'The Pink Panther,' remake with Clive Owen as 006.
'Hot Enough for June,' an old Ralph Thomas movie with Dirk Bogarde as an accidental spy assigned the number 008.
'Taxi 3,' Sylvester Stallone of all people plays an unnamed spy who cadges a lift in Sami Narceri's taxi to escape the bad guys following him. The opening titles are an amusing parody of Maurice Binder-style Bond openings.
Then there's ex-Bonds getting in on the act.
'Looney Tunes:The Movie,' Timothy Dalton as Damien Drake, the star of a series of spy movies with Bond-style titles.
'The Return of the Man from Uncle,' with George Lazenby briefly appearing as a suave secret agent driving an Aston Martin with the initials JB on its numberplate.
There must be others.
Comments
I forgot 'The Cannonball Run.' {[]
Deadlier Than the Male(1967) and Some Girls Do(1969).
From what I've been able to determine,only Deadlier Than the Male is on DVD at the present time.I think it's a very good film and is an excellent example of some of the better Bond knock-offs made at the height of Bondmania--when it seemed as if every movie studio was producing material designed to ride the wave of 007's success.
Richard Johnson was one of the many British actors considered to play 007 when Dr.No was first being cast.He's quite impressive as the famous Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond--one of the literary characters Ian Fleming always said was an important influence on his own creation.As a quick aside,it's interesting that both Johnson and Connery have a shared facial resemblance, and in Deadlier Than the Male that similarity is exploited--indeed, in some scenes it's downright eerie.
The film's story is a good one, with the international terrorist Carl Peterson--a character who predates Fleming's Ernst Stavro Blofeld by several decades and is cut from the same cloth-- played to the hilt by the superb Nigel Green.Naturally Peterson's up to no good and only Hugh Drummond can stop him.The film's beauties are Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina.
Some Girls Do was filmed entirely on Spain's Costa del Sol and features the frequently bikinied Daliah Lavi,Bebe Loncar and Sydne Rome in support of Johnson's Drummond,who once again,is up against the notorious Carl Peterson.Gorgeous locales and equally gorgeous women.TCM shows this one occasionally.
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2)Warren Beatty starred in a movie called Kaliedescope in 1967.Nearly all of this was shot on location in "Swinging" London.Beatty's character is a gambler who is brought in by the authorities to defeat a criminal mastermind at the card table.Yes,this is partially inspired by Ian Fleming's Casino Royale novel.Eric Porter plays the villain of the piece, while Susannah York is the leading lady.Good looking and well-made.A bit lightweight,and very much of it's time, but fun nonetheless.Not on DVD yet--but IMO it should be.I think it's on VHS.
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3)Let's not overlook Alfred Hitchcook's North by Northwest--it's practically a James Bond movie without James Bond.:)
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4) And there's The Saint and the Fiction Makers.Originally a fully authorized Saint novel written by Fleming Lee and revised prior to publication by Simon Templar's creator Leslie Charteris,the book was soon adapted into a two-part episode of the Roger Moore ITV Saint TV series.
The story has the notorious gentleman outlaw Simon Templar assume the guise of a mysterious Ian Fleming-type writer: an internationally successful author of novels about a dashing British secret agent.The writer in question is being menaced by criminals who've taken on the appearances and attitudes of the bizarre criminals this author's James Bond-like character has defeated on the page and screen alike.These villains want the author to plan the perfect crime for them...or else.Much to Templar's delight, the endangered writer is actually a beautiful young woman.But that doesn't negate the reality of the threat facing her...
The Saint and the Fiction Makers--also known simply as The Fiction Makers-- was released to theaters in the late 1960s and is available on VHS and is on DVD as part of The Saint Collection.Among many things, it's a gentle satire of the James Bond phenomenon ironically starring the actor who would later play that very role.
In the more recent Van Helsing there are clear M and Q scenes near the start when Hugh Jackman receives his orders then is given some gadgets.
Apparently they were trying to show that as one spy was dying a death a new breed of hero was being born. I'm so glad it worked for them
1)Our Man Flint and In Like Flint.
Billionaire genius Derek Flint--who is also a playboy and international adventurer--can do anything James Bond can do;only better...at least according to these two films which were released at the height of Bondmania.James Coburn is superb as the super cool Flint, who sometimes works with the ultrasecret agency whose acronym is Z.O.W.I.E.--but only because it amuses him to do so.On DVD.
2)The Liquidator--based upon John Gardner's bestselling satirical spy thriller of the same name.Rod Taylor plays Brian Ian "Boysie" Oakes-the Englishman pressed into service by the head of MI6 and trained to become a top secret executioner-along the lines of James Bond.A comedic thriller with plenty of action and suspense.Trevor Howard plays Oakes' superior officer and Jill St.John is one of the love interests.The first film of a proposed series that didn't happen.Shirley Bassey belts out the title song as only she can.TCM shows this occasionally.
3)Where the Spies Are.David Niven plays Dr.Jason Love,an English country doctor-- and newly reactivated secret agent--in this adaptation of James Leasor's novel Passport to Oblivion.The first(and only) entry in a proposed series.TCM shows this one once in a while.
4)Hammerhead.Peter Vaughn plays the titular character-a kind of low rent Goldfinger.Vince Edwards plays the hero of the piece--an American gambler based in London named Charlie Hood who becomes an occasional employee of MI6.Based upon a series novel, and yet another try at creating a 007-like film series. And yes,TCM sometimes airs this one.
5)The Charles Vine movies
starring Tom Adams:
I_ The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World
II_ Where the Bullets Fly.
These are both lightweight programmers about a secret agent like James Bond("The name's Vine...Charles Vine.",etc.).But although these have interesting casts,each of the films suffers from very small budgets and unfortunate screenplays.In my opinion,the always excellent Adams is the best thing about them.These pop up on TV sometimes and may even be on home video.
These are frigging priceless---especially the first one, "Our Man" (it's amazing how quickly the quality breaks down, even in a two-film franchise, as the second pales by comparison IMRO). James Coburn is obviously having a blast here...love it
As for the rest...I once saw bits of the one with Sean Connery's brother, and was amazed by the sheer volume of Bond alumni cropping up...but alas, I saw precious little of it---but enough to know that it wasn't in the same ball park, quality-wise...
I appreciate the 'heads-up' on the other ones, as I'm always on the lookout for escapist fare, camp or not {[]
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
The IPCRESS File
Funeral In Berlin
Billion Dollar Brain
Spy Story
Bullet To Bejiing
Midnight In St Petersburg
Spy Story is an oddity, not starring Caine, and is difficult to find. The last two were produced in the 90s after a long gap and don't match up to the others- and for further 007 connections they co-star Jason Connery. There's an amusing bit of dialogue in Bullet between Connery and Caine about the former being the son of a famous spy from the 60s... which doesn't resolve quite how one might expect.
The above son of Sir Sean also starred in a fanciful biography of Ian Fleming entitled Spymaker: The Secret Life Of Ian Fleming which had many allusions to Bond- as did the rather better Goldeneye (no, not GE), starring Charles Dance.
The film was released in 1976, and stars Michael Petrovich as the Palmer character, here called Patrick Armstrong. In the novels, this character is nameless ("Harry Palmer" was the name picked for the film series, which Len Deighton never uses and once even flat-out contradicts) and "Patrick Armstrong" is specifically stated in the novel to be a pseudonym.
Colonel Stok is played by Derren Nesbitt rather than Oscar Homolka, and Armstrong's boss Dawlish (as in the novels; in the early Caine films his boss is Colonel Ross) by Michael Gwynn.
One of the most interesting things about the film is the lack of a screenplay credit- it merely states that it is based on the Deighton novel, and is extremely faithful to it.
Even though shot on a tiny budget the film was not a financial success and to my knowledge (someone please correct me!) is unavailable on DVD or VHS. I saw it at the time (thirty years ago, oh my Lord) and have never seen it since even on TV.
100% behind you! The soundtrack is my favourite non-Barry/Bond one, it's my favourite film in the series and my favourite Deighton book. I was delighted when it came out on DVD recently.
Just found the trailer on Youtube. I think I can see why I haven't heard of it! I'd still like to see it just out of interest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2TUaraERUg
Greetings from Spain.
About three Charles Vine movies: www.archivo007.com/vine.htm
"Spy Story" was edited VHS format in Spain. I have a copy. Bored.
Ebardo.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rnFIIkwaGHY
Clearly meant to be James Bond IMO.
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