James Bond in the role of a policeman?

Silhouette Man

This has long (1998) been one of my pet projects after I discussed it with a friend at school - that James Bond (on occasions) assumes the role of a policeman. The film version of Dr. No sees Bond referred to as a "stupid policeman" by No at one point, he refers to his "beat". In DAD Bond and Britain are said to be "the world's policeman". In many of the Fleming Bond novels, Bond uses a euphenism like "I work for the police/MoD/govt" etc. and on occasion he actually works with the Special Branch of Ronnie Vallance (MI5) (for e.g. in Risico). In the fils - DAF - when Bond questions Tiffany Case, she says "Hey, you sound like a cop to me!" Then there are the John Gardner continuation James Bond novels where they unfold more and more like mysteries - from NDMB onwards - see Scorpius, WLOD and (especially) Never Send Flowers where Bond and Flicka von Grusse work as two homicide detectives/cops to follow the clues leading to a serial killer. In TSWLM novel Bond was also treated as a cop by Horror and Sluggsy.

Can anyone here think of any other instances from either the novels or films?

This has the potential to make a very interesting article - something I've been working at on and off on for years.

So, what are our thoughts on PC Bond?

Can Bond ever really be a policeman - should this angle of his character be pursued in a novel or film in the future?

Or is Bond too identified as a secret agent/spy/secret intelligence officer/trouble-shooter to ever really fit the role of a policeman?

superado

As a function defined strictly by what he does most of the time in Fleming's books, Bond's role in the secret service is an investigator/agent, more so than assassin; the "00" license is more about a special sanction of the privilege of killing when it's deemed necessary...so with another word, inspector, yes, you would say that Bond's function is in line with that of what we may call a peace officer, or police man; this designation may prove too unglamorous though for most people, esp. those who see Bond as an all-around, super operative. What he does in the other books, or the movies, should be treated differently since after Fleming it was basically a chore of contextualizing Bond to whatver the current events and audiences at the time and we've seen Bond become much more than what he started as, even in the books.

James Suzuki

In the same idea, I would like to see a Bond novel which Crosses over to the mystery genre, Bond becomes a detective in the police.

Silhouette Man

xboy614 wrote:

In the same idea, I would like to see a Bond novel which Crosses over to the mystery genre, Bond becomes a detective in the police.

Let me tell you as The President of the Never Send Flowers Appreciation Society, (see the Facebook Page to join this esteemed Society!) that this is exactly what happens in Never Send Flowers (1993) - a serial killer/horror inspired James Bond continuation novel by John Gardner where Princess Diana and her two princely sons are the target for assassination at Euro Disney in Paris - check this one out!

James Suzuki

Ha, ha.....so it already exists

Silhouette Man

xboy614 wrote:

Ha, ha.....so it already exists

Yes, go check it out! It's a good read on which I'm writing a lengthy article/monograph.

James Suzuki

I always keep an eye out in hospice shops, garage sales and second hand stores, I might actually order NSF.

Silhouette Man

xboy614 wrote:

I always keep an eye out in hospice shops, garage sales and second hand stores, I might actually order NSF.

Yes, do, because its on Amazon - the new Orion November 2012 edition.