Bond films of the 50's

Charmed & Dangerous

No I haven't taken leave of my senses (just yet!) ) I know there weren't any Bond films in the fifties, (if you discount the original Casino Royale). But I was wondering what Bond films would have been like if they'd started filming just after Fleming wrote them, when he was originally contemplating a film series.

The most popular films in the early fifties were Singing ' in the Rain, The Day the Earth Stood Still and the like. How do you think Bond films would have been, if filmed at that time?

Thunderpussy

I'd say they would have been more in the film noir style, if
In the 50s.

Barbel

Seen this, C&D?

http://iansadler.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/moonraker-the-forgotten-1956-james-bond-film/

AlphaOmegaSin

I've always been amused by that fake MR Adaptation )

Barbel

If it had ever existed, I think we'd view it today much as the first CR- a curiosity, not really anything to do with the official series.

Virgil37

If made in the 50s, they would have been closer to Carol Reed's "The Third Man". Many Bond connections with that film. You have Bernard Lee, John Glen as sound editor, and later on it influenced the Prater scenes on TLD.

Sir Miles

Barbel wrote:

Seen this, C&D?

http://iansadler.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/moonraker-the-forgotten-1956-james-bond-film/

That's a great article...hadn't read that before...thanks -{

Gassy Man

The productions would have been even more sumptuous, if they were made in color. The action would not be as brutal, and Bond would have been less a cad and more an adventurer. The sex would have been even more implied. The soundtrack, ironically, would not have been much different, as the Peter Gunn theme predates Bond as a jazzy signature, though the rest would likely have been more like Dr. No's. Racism and sexism would have been more obvious, and Bond would have been played by an actor who was more traditionally handsome to audiences at the time and perhaps older -- more of a Cary Grant type.

chrisno1

That was always a fun article.

chrisisall

The first time I read it I took it so seriously... )

superado

Of all the most eligible contenders to have produced Bond in the 1950s (and who came closest to doing that), here's my quick and dirty evaluation on how they would have fared:

(1) Gregory Ratoff, who was the first to be given rights to CR was a director and producer. I’d assume he would have directed, but looking at his body of work, the only one that I recognized was Intermezzo. Not having seen it, I did read Ingrid Bergman’s autobiography and this was for her a landmark movie that introduced her to American movies and she also made a big deal about Leslie Howard being her co-star. Apart from that, it seems Ratoff’s other movies were average, so he might not have done great justice to the Bond stories.

(2) The Rank Organization was the first rights holder to MR, as we know about the spoof MR production. However, their role in British cinema seems to be an extremely significant one, representing major American studios as well as holding the market in British film distribution and cinema chains. They had the potential to throw money into MR and secure top talent behind and in front of the camera.

(3) Warwick Films. Since Cubby was still partnered with Irving Allen in the 50s, imagine what would have happened if Cubby successfully persuaded Allen to produce the Bond movies? Of course, there was the issue of the rights since Saltzman owned the options at the time…but, what if? Warwick Films already built a reputation for the action genre, specifically WWII movies (I particularly enjoyed The Cockleshell Heroes and Red Beret). EON recruited much of their founding team from Warwick, including Terence Young, Richard Maibaum, Ted Moore, Bob Simmons and Syd Cain. Like Rank, they would have also been able to hire well-known acting talents that seemed to make up half the equation for guaranteeing successful box office receipts.

(4) Then there’s the first TB project. McClory, Bryce and Fleming formed their partnership in 1958 and I believe that they had a good crack at making a high-caliber movie out of TB, and ensuing installments. Successfully hiring Hitchcock might have added to the success quotient, but IMO it could have also painted them into a financial and creative corner so early on since Hitchcock did not want to do a series. Though Bryce was their money, financing was problematic for the project, though isn’t that the case for many iconic movies like Star Wars and the Godfather?

In summary, in terms of capability, I would place the McClory, Bryce and Fleming project over Ratoff, but below that of Rank and Warwick, making those two organizations the best candidates IMO to pull off a beautifully crafted Bond film (and series) in the 1950s. Between the two, Warwick's track record for action adventure movies would edge out Rank, which, in my most objective observation, making it seem that the cinematic destiny of James Bond truly belonged to Cubby Broccoli all along. Dr. No already had a 50s feel to it, so I think a Bond movie filmed in the 50s under Warwick would look very similar, given of course that the same talents (most especially Director Terence Young, Screenwriter Richard Maibaum and Cinematographer Ted Moore) were tapped for that. The only missing element would have been Connery, though Alan Ladd would have made a great consolation price, like Bond in the reboot )

Charmed & Dangerous

Barbel wrote:

Seen this, C&D?

http://iansadler.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/moonraker-the-forgotten-1956-james-bond-film/

Thank you, Barbel, I just finished reading it - what a fascinating article! -{

I'd love to see the film, or what's left of it- I wonder if it will ever be released, perhaps as part of an Everything or Nothing-style documentary?

Charmed & Dangerous

Great points too, Superado. The article by Simon Bermuda(?) hits the nail on the head though- despite the wealth of talent available in the 50s, the way Connery portrayed Bond as a "sleek, dangerous shark" added inestimably to the character's appeal.

The sex-appeal of the sixties films, like Connery Bond and how Clint Eastwood overturned the way cowboys had been portrayed in the cinema in A Fistful of Dollars, plus John Barry's vibrant music, IMO trump any ace which a Bond of the fifties could have achieved.

Barbel

Charmed & Dangerous wrote:

Barbel wrote:

Seen this, C&D?

http://iansadler.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/moonraker-the-forgotten-1956-james-bond-film/

Thank you, Barbel, I just finished reading it - what a fascinating article! -{

I'd love to see the film, or what's left of it- I wonder if it will ever be released, perhaps as part of an Everything or Nothing-style documentary?

Read it again, C&D- it's a hoax, there's no such film!

AlphaOmegaSin

Shame its a Fake though

Charmed & Dangerous

Barbel wrote:

Read it again, C&D- it's a hoax, there's no such film!

X-( I feel so cheap.

Barbel

A very well done hoax, to be sure.

Still, it does give us a fair idea of how a 50s Bond might have developed.

Dutchfinger

I think the movies would be a lot like FRWL and DN, to some degree those movies always feel like leftovers from the late 50'ies, instead of the early 60'ies. From GF onwards it becomes pure 60'ies and it feels like a huge leap! Even though there's only one year between FRWL and GF. I guess they would more or less be a lot like the novels, written in that same decade. There would be more people with hats, more noir style, lots of thrilling action. Mr. Sandman playing on old radio sets, Bond's car would be filled up by gas attendents at the petrol station. Stuff like that :P

superado

Barbel wrote:

Charmed & Dangerous wrote:

Barbel wrote:

Seen this, C&D?

http://iansadler.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/moonraker-the-forgotten-1956-james-bond-film/

Thank you, Barbel, I just finished reading it - what a fascinating article! -{

I'd love to see the film, or what's left of it- I wonder if it will ever be released, perhaps as part of an Everything or Nothing-style documentary?

Read it again, C&D- it's a hoax, there's no such film!

A hoax yes (Simon Bermuda himself also "fessed" right here on AJB almost immediately after he posted his hoax site), but in real life the Rank Organization in 1954, at the time "one of the foremost film studio in GB," was close to signing with Jonathan Cape to film MR but creatively they were indecisive and ultimately let it lapse; there was also some dispute on percentages. This is from Anthony Lycett's Fleming bio and in it, Rank was in competition for the MR film rights with American actor, John Payne, who we might have caught on TV this Christmas Season in Miracle on 34th Street.