How would you improve Mary Goodnight?
broadshoulder
Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
How would you prefer Mary Goodnight?
The novel one is too shortlived and the film version is written as an imbecile? How would you improve her?Or does The Man with The Golden Gun not need a heroine? Or we have Andrea Anders for that?
In the novel Mary Goodnight qualifies as a Bond heroine since her appearances in the story are so brief and inconsequential. She has nothing to do with the plot, and seems to be included as an afterthought. Its nice to know that she still exists, after the building up in the previous two novels. Her eagerness to help and her bubbliness add a little brightness to the story. She is called Joyce Grenfell and she ends up tied to the railway lines.
In the film she is played by Britt Eklund. We all know Britt Eklund, Peter Sellars partner, Rod Stewarts squeeze and constantly in panto. Now she is merely working for the service station in Hong Kong. The character is asked to play the character as a dumb blonde. How such a dumb character goes so far in the secret service is beyond me. The character is an idiot getting locked in a car boot or trapped in a closet.But you know...its Britt Eklund. She does her best but after this adventure you can imagine the character moved to the canteen..
Is it Tom Mankiewiczs' thought? Does Man with the Golden Gun need a heroine? Its mainly Bond versus Scaramanga? And we have Andrea Anders?
if I had to choose I'd say Britt Eklund? Mainly because.....you know...it's Britt..
The novel one is too shortlived and the film version is written as an imbecile? How would you improve her?Or does The Man with The Golden Gun not need a heroine? Or we have Andrea Anders for that?
In the novel Mary Goodnight qualifies as a Bond heroine since her appearances in the story are so brief and inconsequential. She has nothing to do with the plot, and seems to be included as an afterthought. Its nice to know that she still exists, after the building up in the previous two novels. Her eagerness to help and her bubbliness add a little brightness to the story. She is called Joyce Grenfell and she ends up tied to the railway lines.
In the film she is played by Britt Eklund. We all know Britt Eklund, Peter Sellars partner, Rod Stewarts squeeze and constantly in panto. Now she is merely working for the service station in Hong Kong. The character is asked to play the character as a dumb blonde. How such a dumb character goes so far in the secret service is beyond me. The character is an idiot getting locked in a car boot or trapped in a closet.But you know...its Britt Eklund. She does her best but after this adventure you can imagine the character moved to the canteen..
Is it Tom Mankiewiczs' thought? Does Man with the Golden Gun need a heroine? Its mainly Bond versus Scaramanga? And we have Andrea Anders?
if I had to choose I'd say Britt Eklund? Mainly because.....you know...it's Britt..
1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
Comments
I agree with most of what you've said, she's playing a not-so-smart blonde stereotype from the 70s cinema.
At that time Ekland was one of the hottest things on 2 legs - pick your choice to compare to recent it-girls.
IMO, Ekland looks gorgeous (but admittedly is no shakespear actress) - the only thing that I would improve today is to make the bikini shorter and made of spandex material {[]
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
But not convinced Man with Golden Gun needs a heroine?
As far as I see it, none of the Bond movies had a true heroine, though LTK was about heroin
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
2. Make her more like Fleming's character in TMWTGG
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Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Actually, at first it was Eklund and she changed it to Ekland.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I also never understood why she was looked at as an imbecile or dumb. She doesn't do anything in the movie dumber than Bond does. She doesn't fall into a trunk, she is thrown in while trying to plant a homer in the car. This is no different than Connery being knocked out and thrown into a coffin in Diamonds, or knocked out by Oddjob while getting a bottle of wine in Goldfinger. I always hear that she's dumb because she bumps into the button at the end activating the laser, but earlier in the movie Bond swallows a bullet out of a woman's belly button. Bond thinks he's smart earlier on impersonating Scaramanga but ultimately nobody is fooled and he's almost killed by Nick Nack. He's taken to a martial arts school and basically only makes it out alive because 2 teenage girls save his skin. Hip comes across as equally dumb by having to drive around his niece's car pool while on the job, coming to rescue Bond, and then driving off without him for some odd reason. So if Goodnight is "dumb" I always argue that she's no different than anyone else in this movie, and really no different than Bond. She even kills a henchman in the end by being sneaky. The accident that follows is again no different than countless "accidents" Bond has throughout the films, like almost cutting the wrong wire in Goldfinger and setting off a nuclear bomb.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Thunderbird Too! Goodnight!
Moreso a writing problem of trying to humiliate her for laughs. She was naked while almost every other character was clothed.
maybe she graduated from the same academy as rosie carver.
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Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Could I borrow your copy of TMWTGG please, Cart? Just for... research purposes, you understand.
"I'll kill that woman..." "Later"
"...AND, I've the the solex, too!". That scene with Bond and Hip looking for the keys and Scaramangas car combined with the score is brilliant
Sorry, she was 90% naked while almost all of the other characters were clothed. Split hairs all you want, but please consider my overall point. She was made into a sex object for humiliation. The writing for her character was sexist and there was an absence of character development.
With characters like Tracy DiVecenzo, Pussy Galore, Aki, Tania Romonova and such in previous films, it was a conscious decision to make Mary Goodnight like this.
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Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
See I don't see Tania as a strong character at all. We see her do less as an "agent" than Goodnight. She sleeps with Bond, gives the description of a typewriter, and then spends the rest of the movie tagging along, semi unconscious begging Bond to "never leave her". Her only strong moment is killing Klebb in the end, which Goodnight had as well by killing a henchman. I don't by any means think that Goodnight was a brilliant character, but every criticism of her can be matched by any other character, male or female in the series. At least they gave Ekland some comedy moments to play, which up until this point was only reserved for Bond.
Just reading James Bond: The Legacy by John Cork and supposedly, Britt Ekland lost out on the lead female role, but was later called in for the Goodnight role, which was added later on. So it appears they decided the movie needed this extra character for what, plot development
" Cut the second act, and the girls throat "
It is not so much the stupid things that she does more so than the character being played and written as super ditsy and stupid sounding. Sometimes it is played well for comic timing but a lot of the time it is just unbearable or annoying. Although I still maintain she was a stupid character and times in the film even if you can make that argument against other Bond girls.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Have you watched it more than once?
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Sorry but how could you improve Mary Goodnight? Turn her into a Mary Sue super seventies feminist icon - saving Bonds graces as he travels around south east Asia? Wouldn't work
With Mary the screenwriters concentrated on Scaramanga and Bond. Unfortunately, she was an afterthought. Thank god for the next Bond girl...