The scripts of Richard Maibaum

osris

Does anyone think that Richard Maibaum was the best Bond screenwriter? He wrote most of the classic bond screenplays and is responsible for the marvellous one-liners of the Connery era.

Richard--W

I corresponded with Richard Miabaum, briefly, in the 1980s on the subject of screenwriting and his Bond films. He lived a mile-and-a-half away from me in Los Angeles. Peter Hunt, who lived a mile-and-a-half in the other direction, put me in touch with him. Maibaum would not discuss Licence to Kill which he was working on at the time, but we discussed the other Bond films. He had some issues and disappointments, but I think at his age he was grateful for the work and the pay.

Richard Maibaum's contribution to the series has been vastly underestimated. Creatively he was one of the three originators of the film series, together with director Terence Young and editor Peter Hunt. They worked closely to create and define James Bond as we know him cinematically. Maibaum did the writing. Absolutely he was the best Bond screenwriter. He really understood the character, knew how to convey Ian Fleming, and knew how to tell a Bond story better than anyone. The producers would always bring in other writers, usually to the detriment of the films, and Maibaum would be blamed for things he didn't write, but Maibaum's core scripts made for the strongest and the sturdiest of the Bond films.

He is sorely missed today.

davidelliott101

osris wrote:

Does anyone think that Richard Maibaum was the best Bond screenwriter? He wrote most of the classic bond screenplays and is responsible for the marvellous one-liners of the Connery era.

THE Bond scriptwriter. Nuff said.

Thunderpussy

He did write some of the best Bond stories, and as Richard--W
points out, He helped mold the screen character of Bond along with
Terence Young and editor Peter Hunt. -{

ZorinIndustries

I've noticed a trademark of Maibaum's it seems... Bond always starts his interrogation with

"Tell me... *insert rest of sentence*"

Napoleon Plural

Maibaum was rather frank about Moore's shortcomings in an interview with Starlog mag during the Battle of the Bonds, saying that they tried to go back to the old way of things with FYEO but it didn't quite work cos they didn't have Connery.

I think Maibaum did benefit from script polishers during the early days, Dr No and GF for instance. Some of those gags, not sure they were all his. Later, on things like YOLT, the gags were a bit formulaic until Tom Maccqietz (sp) came back with his OTT gags in DAF.

Ironically I think FYEO could have done with some script polishing or even input from Christopher Wood, who after all worked on TWSLM with great success and was only following his brief on MR. He did say that the romantic element of the film never really came through, not surprising though with narcissist Moore in the role, and a lot older than his main gal. Of course, originally it was written for a new, younger actor in the role.

hehadlotsofguts

ZorinIndustries wrote:

I've noticed a trademark of Maibaum's it seems... Bond always starts his interrogation with
"Tell me... *insert rest of sentence*"

"Tell me does the toppling of American missiles really compensate for having no hands?"



My favourite bit of verbal sparring.

Napoleon Plural

"Tell me... do you still sleep with a gun under your pillow..."

Provided via ouiji board.

Thunderpussy

) maybe that was, yet another homage to the past.

Richard--W

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Maibaum was rather frank about Moore's shortcomings in an interview with Starlog mag during the Battle of the Bonds, saying that they tried to go back to the old way of things with FYEO but it didn't quite work cos they didn't have Connery.

I think Maibaum did benefit from script polishers during the early days, Dr No and GF for instance. Some of those gags, not sure they were all his. Later, on things like YOLT, the gags were a bit formulaic until Tom Maccqietz (sp) came back with his OTT gags in DAF.

Ironically I think FYEO could have done with some script polishing or even input from Christopher Wood, who after all worked on TWSLM with great success and was only following his brief on MR. He did say that the romantic element of the film never really came through, not surprising though with narcissist Moore in the role, and a lot older than his main gal. Of course, originally it was written for a new, younger actor in the role.

I remember that Starlog piece. Do you recall which issue it was in? I'll have to get it.

Terence Young did bring in other writers, who are credited, to transfer Richard Maibaum's American idiom into British, but the scripts were essentially and substantially Maibaum's. Something is said about this in one of the commentaries, perhaps it was one of the banned Criterion commentaries, I can't remember.

Moore is not responsible for the deficiencies in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Barbara Bach had a limited range. She could have pulled it off under an actor's director, but Peter Hunt pulled out early on. Christopher Wood was a no-talent hack brought in by Michael Wilson. Jaws was their idea; it wasn't in the original script. Thank god Wood didn't have any input on the originating Bond films.

Richard Maibuam had strong feelings about how things went in the 1970s after OHMSS. He was very proud of that script, proud of his collaboration with Peter Hunt, and his sincerest wish was that the two of them would continue to do the Bond films together. They were good friends, and had such a respect for each other. But the producers had other ideas. Things began to go wrong when Cubby assigned his stepson Michael Wilson to oversee THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Wilson had no experience in production, no training or education in film, and was not a professional writer. Wilson brought in several writers (including Wilson himself, Wood and Manckiewicz) to rewrite Maibaum's straightforward romantic action-thriller. Very little of his original script survived the rewrites, and the resulting film wasn't as good a Bond story as the one Maibaum had provided. Maibaum kept his own counsel because the association with EON was important to him creatively and necessary to him financially. He was very proud of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY which he described as "a fine-tuned engine." Peter Hunt had a lot of input in the script Maibaum turned in. But history repeated itself. Once again Maibaum was very upset over the changes and new material Michael Wilson imposed (expanding Bibi the ice-skater into a speaking role, bringing Melina to Cortina, adding the motorcylce fight in the town plaza and the hockey fight in the rink, losing the execution of Luigi, reducing the importance of the Countess etc). Wilson shifted the emphasis into all the wrong areas and director John Glen dropped the ball completely in other areas. Bill Conti's insensitive and inappropriate jazz score didn't help. But the film turned out rather well, in my view, although I agree it could have been better. I've posted extensively about FYEO at another forum.

I made my own edit of FYEO. It's about 20 minutes leaner, tighter and more coherent with the Wilson stuff removed. I think I'll go watch it now.

superado

I just finished reading "Battle of the Bonds" by Robert Sellers and I don't know what to make of it. There are just some incredible revelations on the turn of events behind the genesis of the Thunderball screenplay and subsequent novel, including the compelling argument that Jack Whittingham, Kevin McClory's hired script-writer, was responsible for reinventing the charming and witty Bond character that was more appropriate for the medium of film, vs. that of the novel Bond who would not hold up well on screen, "as is." Since the TB novel was the most current and successful when EON obtained the rights to the Fleming library (except CR and they'd shortly learn, TB), due in part to the notoriety of the plagiarism suit between Fleming and Kevin McClory, EON initially wanted to film TB first. Supposedly, Fleming and Ivar Bryce provided a copy of the Whittingham's script to EON, evident from the use of the plot element of the Pettachi "double" that was in Whittingham's script, but not in the TB novel. Going with the adage that history is written from the side of the victors, Young particularly, as well as Maibaum have been credited with the winning interpretation of the movie Bond, but depending on how much Sellers' book is true, that "fact" is in serious question.

Richard--W

That "fact" is NOT in question. To read this book you'd think no one else but McClory and Whittingham had anything to do with creating Bond. I don't disagree with Robert Sellers' reconstruction of circumstances and events, but I sometimes disagree with his interpretation of what those documents mean. He goes too far sometimes. There are inconsistencies in his chronology of what knowledge passed on to EON at what point in time. Some of his conclusions are erroneous, and unsupported by the evidence he cites. He is extremely unfair to Ian Fleming. Intellectual property rights can be hard to sort out in a collaboration, but ask yourself, please, who created James Bond in the first place. The emotional dynamics in Fleming's novel Thunderball are consistent with the novels he wrote before and after. The film is different, and the difference validates Fleming's individuality and creative contribution to the property. There would have been no James Bond for McClory and Whittingham to play with if Fleming had not invented it and provided it. The movie script had several fingers in the pie, by which time Fleming had passed away. He was devastated by the lawsuit and by the decision, and those who knew him said the lawsuit was so stressful and disheartening it contributed to his death.

Whittingham did not invent the charming and witty character. Not all the evidence for a charming and witty character is in the lawsuit documents. The evidence for the charming and witty character is all over the pages of earlier Bond novels. To suggest there is no charm or wit in Bond in earlier novels is to misread them or not have read them at all. The best evidence for the charming and witty character was Ian Fleming himself -- he was both charming and witty. His dry wit and social graces are at the heart of the character. Sean Connery didn't know Whittingham in 1962. It would be preposterous to suggest that Sean Connery did not invest a lot of his own personality into the character. That is what actors do. Maibaum wrote a lot of personal business into the scripts that he had seen Connery do in life, including his manner of speaking. That's what script writers do. They were outside the loop of the lawsuit. Other people outside the loop of the lawsuit but who knew Terence Young and who had worked with him on earlier projects -- such as Lois Maxwell, for instance -- stated that he was a lot like James Bond in real life, and that he invested the character with his own personality and traits when they were prepping and filming Dr. No. Martine Beswick, Peter Hunt and Sean Connery seem to agree on that. Peter Hunt even said that Terence Young could have played Bond in Dr No. That's in one of his commentaries.

Sellers has written an important book, but don't accept all his conclusions at face value, please.

Napoleon Plural

I enjoy your posts a lot, Richard W, can't totally agree always. BTW the Maibaum interview was the Battle of the Bonds Starlog which showed both Connery and Moore posing as Bond on the cover, released around April 1983.

To say that the rot set in with TSWLM when Wilson came on board seems odd as the film is highly rated so he must have been good for it you'd think. You could argue that Bach, while no great actress, was good enough for the 'just getting to find out about sex' age of the boy audience, and a better actress might have made Moore more wooden and the whole Lotus stuff more unbelievable. This is comic book stuff and is meant to be.

Then again, if Wilson expanded Bibi's role in FYEO he deserves all the discredit in the world unless he got paid for in BJs by the actress herself in which case one would have to forgive him.

Can't think of many witty lines from Bond in the early novels, the first 100 pages of TB projects a different character, more Cary Grant in my view, very much the Bond of the films. He has less of the dark, melancholic, depressive, reflective vibe of the earlier books. Latterly the stories may have their dark turns, but Bond ironically is not such a dark character.

Does your FYEO fan edit have different music on it? It's the silly moments in the film that wreck it for me.

superado

Richard--W wrote:

That "fact" is NOT in question. To read this book you'd think no one else but McClory and Whittingham had anything to do with creating Bond. I don't disagree with Robert Sellers' reconstruction of circumstances and events, but I sometimes disagree with his interpretation of what those documents mean. He goes too far sometimes. There are inconsistencies in his chronology of what knowledge passed on to EON at what point in time. Some of his conclusions are erroneous, and unsupported by the evidence he cites. He is extremely unfair to Ian Fleming. Intellectual property rights can be hard to sort out in collaboration, but ask yourself, please, who created James Bond in the first place. The emotional dynamics in Fleming's novel Thunderball are consistent with the novels he wrote before and after. The film is different, and the difference validates Fleming's individuality and creative contribution to the property. There would have been no James Bond for McClory and Whittingham to play with if Fleming had not invented it and provided it. The movie script had several fingers in the pie, by which time Fleming had passed away. He was devastated by the lawsuit and by the decision, and those who knew him said the lawsuit was so stressful and disheartening it contributed to his death.

Whittingham did not invent the charming and witty character. Not all the evidence for a charming and witty character is in the lawsuit documents. The evidence for the charming and witty character is all over the pages of earlier Bond novels. To suggest there is no charm or wit in Bond in earlier novels is to misread them or not have read them at all. The best evidence for the charming and witty character was Ian Fleming himself -- he was both charming and witty. His dry wit and social graces are at the heart of the character. Sean Connery didn't know Whittingham in 1962. It would be preposterous to suggest that Sean Connery did not invest a lot of his own personality into the character. That is what actors do. Maibaum wrote a lot of personal business into the scripts that he had seen Connery do in life, including his manner of speaking. That's what script writers do. They were outside the loop of the lawsuit. Other people outside the loop of the lawsuit but who knew Terence Young and who had worked with him on earlier projects -- such as Lois Maxwell, for instance -- stated that he was a lot like James Bond in real life, and that he invested the character with his own personality and traits when they were prepping and filming Dr. No. Martine Beswick, Peter Hunt and Sean Connery seem to agree on that. Peter Hunt even said that Terence Young could have played Bond in Dr No. That's in one of his commentaries.

Sellers has written an important book, but don't accept all his conclusions at face value, please.

As a big fan of Fleming and EON, I can understand you having strong bias, especially because of your acquaintance with Maibaum and Hunt. I was just watching the bonus material on the TB blu-ray and I am both surprised and not so surprised to notice the scant mention or featuring of McClory and Whittingham. With a book like Sellers’ what can you expect? If much of what he presented is incorrect, the book would still be largely unavailable today for the court ruling (or ongoing charges) for libel, particularly from EON/Sony. I suppose with such a book, given the “evidence” collected any author would be pressed to make their conclusions and the correspondence that were reviewed for the plagiarism trial showed how Fleming and Bryce collaborated to squeeze out McClory from the TB project and also how Maibaum did indeed have access to Whittingham’s screenplay before drafting his own TB script that predated DN. Maybe Sellers was motivated to sensationalize the story to sell his book, but in fairness he did not paint a pretty picture for any of the key individuals involved, so it’s difficult to determine if he chose this or that side.

I am quite familiar with all that’s been said about Young’s contributions and on this particular message board and I’ve been an early proponent of that "fact" going back perhaps a decade. I am also aware of the testimonials from Lois Maxwell et al. about Young being the “inventor” of the cinematic Bond persona, but again, please examine these sources and the context of their perspectives on the issue.

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Can't think of many witty lines from Bond in the early novels, the first 100 pages of TB projects a different character, more Cary Grant in my view, very much the Bond of the films. He has less of the dark, melancholic, depressive, reflective vibe of the earlier books. Latterly the stories may have their dark turns, but Bond ironically is not such a dark character.

I agree there was such a marked metamorphosis in the books with TB, most particularly in the plausibility of the plot and the featured technology. As for the Bond character and his world, wit, charm and style were markedly different in the books and the films, which presented a large obstacle for Fleming when he drafted his version of the TB script. In the books, those qualities were plainly what Bond was, in his private thoughts, his attitudes, lifestyle, etc., whereas in the films these had to be translated visually. Young definitely infused his sartorial tastes and clubman lifestyle into Connery’s performance, but would it be so anathema to think that in terms of a witty, debonair Bond, Young (and Maibaum) took his cue from Whittingham’s script?

Napoleon Plural

The plot thickens; in a current magazine on the anniversary of Dr No, I think by Retro, but it's found in the movie shop on London's St Martin's Lane, the female script doctor for the film somewhat poured scored on the idea that Young always knew what he was doing regarding script matters, okay she has a bias too in terms of talking up her own contribution, but it seemed mighty plausible I must say.