James Bond's Longest Day

Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,484MI6 Agent
Not Connery in the film of that name, but in a movie released around the same time- Dr No, which launched a whole new spy franchise.

Now, in the scene that introduces our hero, he is playing at his gentlemen's club. It is later established in a meeting with M that it is 3 in the morning. 'When do you sleep, 007' M asks. 'Never on the company's time,' comes the reply. Okay, so assuming that he had a day in the office before, that means he got in a 9am and has been up since then.

Except, when he gets back to his flat and meets Miss Trench, it's established he is booked on the next available flight, in a couple of hours, right? So no sleep still. How long is a flight to Jamaica back then? Enough time for a kip? Except this is the jet set age, so Bond would have been excited and looked out the window, marvelling at the clouds....

Okay, just Googled it so it's 12 hour flight. In fairness enough time to get some kip, just as well, because after that he meets the bogus taxi driver, has a meeting with the ambassador, visits Strangways' office - perhaps the 3 blind assassins are passing in the background because in passing themselves off as blind, the ambled down the wrong lane and had to find their way back again in the intervening 20 hours...

Doesn't he meet Prof Dent the same day too? It seems the first time he gets any shut eye, a bloody great spider joins him in bed!

Anyway, admittedly the kip on the flight over nixes this theory, but otherwise surely this must be the longest day Bond has had on screen without a decent kip! I suppose it tells you I'm middle aged when I'm more concerned about that than the fact he doesn't have time to shag Sylvia Trench!
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

Roger Moore 1927-2017

Comments

  • Dirty PunkerDirty Punker ...Your Eyes Only, darling."Posts: 2,587MI6 Agent
    Thunderball and Live and Let Die have some instances where he has a long day but not quite as long as the one in Dr No.
    I mean, in Thunderball, after leaving the clinic he is followed by a Cadillac driver carrying a snub-nosed revolver, only to be saved by the motorcycle lady. He then goes to the office, off to the meeting, changes to a brown suit (with his missing hat), goes to the Bahamas (roughly 9 hours 30 minutes or 10 taking into account delays etc.) and goes snorkling. He then goes for a quick bite with Domino, then off to a casino/dinner. Still. A very long day.
    In Live and Let Die, he is woken up at roughly 3 in the morning (just like Dr No) after presumably shagging, meets with M, shags her again, goes to the first flight in the morning to York (roughly 8 hours), goes to New York with his short lived driver, goes to the Oh Cult shop, follows the gangsters around and goes to Harlem. In Harlem he meets Mr Big, quick fight, and then away from where the real action is. He then goes to the island, wants to have a shower but he's interrupted by a snake and a rat (metaphorically used, I mean the woman and no, it's not racist, she's a rat).
    A very long day in itself but when he meets Solitaire in her home, they shag twice and then they go fully cocked, sneaking around the island with a quick chase and by boat to somewhere where it is faster to go to New Orleans.
    Some very long days that I could think of now. Bond in Berlin and in Kamal Khan's palace in Octopussy, along with the Kentucky/Swiss section in Goldfinger are also big contenders.
    a reasonable rate of return
  • James SuzukiJames Suzuki New ZealandPosts: 2,406MI6 Agent
    I think Bond is use to being able to get a good night sleep in uncomfortable places.
    I'm sure Bond got enough hours on both those planes to get him going.
    Plus the excitement of a new mission (and the fact that he had just done it with Miss Caruso in LALD) would have given him enough energy to keep going.
    “The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
    -Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
  • ToTheRightToTheRight Posts: 314MI6 Agent
    I always felt Bond waking up to Honey's singing on the and the subsequent events led to a long day with very little food to keep 007's energy up. By the time Bond and Honey are captured, showered and sent to their rooms, it's already breakfast time. Aside from the damned coffee, I wonder what else was served. I'll have to pop in my Blu and take a closer look.
    One of the elements I love about DN and several of the early Bonds is that it often does take place in rather short time spans. Bond often goes thru a lot in just one day.
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 4,140MI6 Agent
    edited July 2017
    Bond's date with Domino the night of the carnival seems to go on for a very long time, maybe not quite a day, but he nicely escorts her because Largo cant make it, excuses himself for a minute, then has a whole lot of adventures before rejoining her. Doesn't he visit Palmyra, find Paula's body, then for some reason returns to his hotel room where Fiona Volpe is in his tub, beginning all his adventures with her, before finally returning to meet Domino at the carnival ... does she even ask where he's been?

    also in Casino Royale, the Body Worlds exhibit must be open well after midnight, considering he flew to get there after picking up a chick in a casino in another country, then the unveiling of the world's largest plane is scheduled to happen even later than that, I'm surprised the sun hasn't risen by then
  • Dirty PunkerDirty Punker ...Your Eyes Only, darling."Posts: 2,587MI6 Agent
    Bond's date with Domino the night of the carnival seems to go on for a very long time, maybe not quite a day, but he nicely escorts her because Largo cant make it, excuses himself for a minute, then has a whole lot of adventures before rejoining her. Doesn't he visit Palmyra, find Paula's body, then for some reason returns to his hotel room where Fiona Volpe is in his tub, beginning all his adventures with her, before finally returning to meet Domino at the carnival ... does she even ask where she's been?

    also in Casino Royale, the Body Worlds exhibit must be open well after midnight, considering he flew to get there after picking up a chick in a casino in another country, then the unveiling of the world's largest plane is scheduled to happen even later than that, I'm surprised the sun hasn't risen by then
    In CR, the flight from Nassau to Miami only takes about one hour.
    Let's say that he picked Solange up at 9:05 with their night ending at 9:35. Plenty of time for the Greek guy to talk to Le Chiffre and catch a flight to Miami. Bond hears that and goes after him. They catch the 10:00 flight and go to Miami at about 11:00. The exhibition should still be open so it sort of makes sense. Mind you, I haven't seen CR in a while, so I don't exactly remember the time.
    a reasonable rate of return
  • MilleniumForceMilleniumForce LondonPosts: 1,214MI6 Agent
    Even if it was the jet age, would Bond have been 'marvelling' at the clouds on the flight to Jamaica? Considering, as a spy, he presumably flies a lot, so it wouldn't be very impressive for him to justify staying awake to look at clouds.
    1.LTK 2.AVTAK 3.OP 4.FYEO 5.TND 6.LALD 7.GE 8.GF 9.TSWLM 10.SPECTRE 11.SF 12.MR 13.YOLT 14.TLD 15.CR (06) 16.TMWTGG 17.TB 18.FRWL 19.TWINE 20.OHMSS 21.DAF 22.DAD 23.QoS 24.NSNA 25.DN 26.CR (67)
  • Dirty PunkerDirty Punker ...Your Eyes Only, darling."Posts: 2,587MI6 Agent
    Even if it was the jet age, would Bond have been 'marvelling' at the clouds on the flight to Jamaica? Considering, as a spy, he presumably flies a lot, so it wouldn't be very impressive for him to justify staying awake to look at clouds.
    Well, in the books, it goes into what Bond does during a flight in nauseating detail and I think, between looking at suspicious henchmen and hanging out at the lounge, he was probably looking out his window to the clouds below.
    a reasonable rate of return
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 4,140MI6 Agent
    I always look out the window when I go travelling and I've travelled a lot
    maybe because I'm a geographer so everything I see is information, even if I've seen it before?
    Bond is trained to observe so I'm sure he too looks out the window when he travels

    that said if he was flying at night there'd be nothing to see, and he probably has a dossier he's supposed to be reading
  • Gala BrandGala Brand Posts: 1,173MI6 Agent
    Bond was known to partake of a little Benzedrine when in need of a pick-me-up, so it's not surprising he could go 24 hours or more without sleep.
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
    I think one of Bond's longest days without the opportunity for unconscious rest is in YOLT. Bond and Kissy are alerted by Tiger in the middle of the night that the US rocket launch was bumped ahead of schedule, so Bond and Kissy take off in their little boat. They enter the sea cave, dive into the water because of the poison gas and then trek up the volcano, which Bond infiltrates before sundown. By the time Bond, Kissy, Tanaka and his ninjas swim out into the sea, it's daytime again, so that's well over 24 hours.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • Dirty PunkerDirty Punker ...Your Eyes Only, darling."Posts: 2,587MI6 Agent
    Well, he wasn't moving all the time (although the mountain climb must've taken a lot out of him) as he was waiting with Blofeld for most of the final battle.
    a reasonable rate of return
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
    Well, he wasn't moving all the time (although the mountain climb must've taken a lot out of him) as he was waiting with Blofeld for most of the final battle.

    Hmmm, I don't know about that. Rowing out to sea from the Ama village to the volcano sea cave, swimming, trekking up the volcano, scaling down the SPECTRE base on suction cups, immobilizing enemy personnel, joining in the Ninja raid, then that final, frantic swim away from the exploding SPECTRE base...perhaps that respite in Blofeld's lair was the most downtime he got during that plus-24 hour period so I wouldn't say "he wasn't moving all the time," and he didn't even get to finish his cigarette! If anything, comparing this last day of the YOLT assignment with the rundown of events you spelled out above re: TB and LALD, those were a walk in the park.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • Dirty PunkerDirty Punker ...Your Eyes Only, darling."Posts: 2,587MI6 Agent
    superado wrote:
    Well, he wasn't moving all the time (although the mountain climb must've taken a lot out of him) as he was waiting with Blofeld for most of the final battle.

    Hmmm, I don't know about that. Rowing out to sea from the Ama village to the volcano sea cave, swimming, trekking up the volcano, scaling down the SPECTRE base on suction cups, immobilizing enemy personnel, joining in the Ninja raid, then that final, frantic swim away from the exploding SPECTRE base...perhaps that respite in Blofeld's lair was the most downtime he got during that plus-24 hour period so I wouldn't say "he wasn't moving all the time," and he didn't even get to finish his cigarette! If anything, comparing this last day of the YOLT assignment with the rundown of events you spelled out above re: TB and LALD, those were a walk in the park.
    I might not have much armour left to protect my opinion but I will try to protect it anyway, just for the heck of it.
    I assume he took some breaks with Kissy while climbing up the mountain, sat on the slow monorail for a bit, immobilised two guards, sat from 1:38-1:43 film time (an eternity in film land), had a small fight while having his cigarette break 1:43:50ish to 1:44:10ish (short), walked a small distance from 1:44:ish to 1:48 where he joined the ninja raid (slow, and still presumable a long period). Frantically dodging bullets he went to the alternate entrance after he dispatched a couple of henchmen, was beaten up a bit by Hans and then destroyed the capsule in space which probably lifted a huge weight off of his shoulders. He then ran and swam to safety and had a moment with Kissy.
    All things considered, I admit that it was quite a day for 007 but he still get a tiny bit of rest, at least give me that.
    The Spy Who Loved Me also had a long day but not nearly as long as this one.
    A View To A Kill (after the firetruck chase) also was a long day and the day after the wedding in LTK was also long (with the investigation etc but nothing that OO7 couldn't do).
    In TWINE, during the Body Double sequence, isn't that also quite bloody long? I mean, Casino>Shagging Elektra (a feat in itself ;))>Dodging guards and investigating>Midnight flight>Denise Richards thing>Underground fight etc.
    In DAD, after shagging Chilli Frostie, he goes for a sub-zero swim, confronts the villain, escapes, drives, surfs, Aston chase etc.
    In QoS, after Greene's party (or even before that when Bond drank OO7 Vespers, possible insomnia) he sees his friend die, drives all night for a plane, has a dog-fight-esque fight with another plane, parachutes out, goes out of the underground thing, walks a long way through the desert to a bus, goes to his hotel, meets M, sees another friend dead, has an elevator fight and presumably on the same night he meets Felix where he just barely scrapes by a SWAT-esque team.
    I think that is just about the lot.
    a reasonable rate of return
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
    Hahaha, but please remember that in the 3rd act of YOLT, Bond traveled far though without the benefit of any kind of motorized transport, not counting the monorail in Blofeld's volcano.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 4,140MI6 Agent
    a lot of these examples are just the result of writers losing track, presumably worsened by all the rewrites, and then the technical demands to actually photograph this stuff. But they're all funny to overanalyse, so keep'em coming
    ToTheRight wrote:
    I always felt Bond waking up to Honey's singing on the and the subsequent events led to a long day with very little food to keep 007's energy up. By the time Bond and Honey are captured, showered and sent to their rooms, it's already breakfast time. Aside from the damned coffee, I wonder what else was served.
    I think this is actually an example of a day that's too short. Bond wakes and meets Honey close to dawn, they sneak up the river, are captured by the tank and taken to Dr No's evil headquarters. If that's all they did they should be there by noon. But I'm pretty sure we can see its dusk when the tank torches Quarrel. So they must have done other things unseen.
    In the book they do, there's a whole subplot about a bird sanctuary and missing biologists that got left out of the film. It's more of a detective story, Bond is looking for these missing biologists, and Honey, who knows the ecology of the island, leads Bond to the nesting site of the birds, which I believe has been reduced to scorched earth. Bond now has evidence to bring the proper authorities to the island and is ready to leave when they are captured. That is what keeps them busy all day, but its left out of the film, thus dusk seems to come unexpectedly soon.
  • walther p99walther p99 NJPosts: 3,416MI6 Agent
    The last half of Tomorrow Never Die's is a particularly brutal day for Bond. First he meets Wade in the morning and HALO jumps to the Devonshire, barely escaping as the ship sinks further. surfaces and gets captured by Carver's men and brought to his tower in Saigon, escapes after a brief firefight but is then pursued throughout the city while on a stolen motorcycle. THEN has to find Wai-Lin again, stock up and go find the Stealth ship at dusk and fight on that for the entire night.
  • Dirty PunkerDirty Punker ...Your Eyes Only, darling."Posts: 2,587MI6 Agent
    The last half of Tomorrow Never Die's is a particularly brutal day for Bond. First he meets Wade in the morning and HALO jumps to the Devonshire, barely escaping as the ship sinks further. surfaces and gets captured by Carver's men and brought to his tower in Saigon, escapes after a brief firefight but is then pursued throughout the city while on a stolen motorcycle. THEN has to find Wai-Lin again, stock up and go find the Stealth ship at dusk and fight on that for the entire night.
    Not to mention looking good and cool while doing that :007).
    I mean, he didn't need to dual wield an MP5 and a P99 but he did it anyway.
    His pants must've been a bit browner after the skyscraper escape so he loses a couple of points there.
    a reasonable rate of return
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    Regarding Dr. No, we're assuming from Bond's quip that he didn't get a nap in here or there or that his day was somehow so strenuous he didn't have the strength to make it past 8 p.m.

    I'm going to be 50 this year. I did a two-week trip to China a month ago where I averaged about four hours a sleep a night. We walked, rode, or flew to multiple destinations each day, sat in on lectures, gave presentations, and moved at the relentlessly fast pace of crowded cities like Beijing and Shanghai. We rarely had down time during the day, so I didn't take naps. I returned for a week to continue a full summer teaching load and then flew off to the AP reading to score student essays. All day long, we read them and then at night went out to the bars and restaurants. Again, I averaged about four hours a sleep a night. I'm now back teaching and have managed dates and mini-vacations. A short story of mine just got published, and I'm working on another. What I'm saying is that the body can handle quite a bit when the mind and spirit are fueled. Sure, when things slow down, a lot of catch up rest may be required, but I'd imagine an alpha alpha male like Bond could trundle along with little effort given his hedonistic lifestyle. The books in particular point out that Bond gets great enthusiasm from his professional pursuits.
  • ChriscoopChriscoop Belize Posts: 10,458MI6 Agent
    This is interesting -{ he has a long day in Spectre also, sleeping in his flat after moneypenny visits, then steals the db10, drives to Italy, attends funeral, spends some time with Lucia, infiltrates Spectres meeting, escapes from hinx, then drives to Austria to meet Mr white! He could conceivably sleep between then and travelling to the klinik but if he didn't the next sleep he gets is when he nods off at the l'americain.
    Surely this is a contender?
    It was either that.....or the priesthood
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
    The last half of Tomorrow Never Die's is a particularly brutal day for Bond. First he meets Wade in the morning and HALO jumps to the Devonshire, barely escaping as the ship sinks further. surfaces and gets captured by Carver's men and brought to his tower in Saigon, escapes after a brief firefight but is then pursued throughout the city while on a stolen motorcycle. THEN has to find Wai-Lin again, stock up and go find the Stealth ship at dusk and fight on that for the entire night.
    Not to mention looking good and cool while doing that :007).
    I mean, he didn't need to dual wield an MP5 and a P99 but he did it anyway.
    His pants must've been a bit browner after the skyscraper escape so he loses a couple of points there.

    Hence, why he persuades Wai-Lin to bathe in the street after dispatching the heli...and which is why Wai-Lin picks her cuff to get away from him!
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,080Chief of Staff
    I can think of a really, really bad pun to make here, but it's beneath even me. :#
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
    As a writer, it's something you wrestle with for sure. If it happens in a piece of mine, I always try to highlight the point and make it a part of my protagonist's challenges.
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,634MI6 Agent
    As a writer, it's something you wrestle with for sure. If it happens in a piece of mine, I always try to highlight the point and make it a part of my protagonist's challenges.
    I too am always aware my characters need some sleep.
    Three points: I read somewhere that 20 mins good deep sleep can at times help a person stay awake and actively functional for 6 hours. I've tried it. It works, but not every time.
    Exercise doesn't tire a person, but invigorates them. All that sex Bond has on these long days can be very useful.
    Personally, even given Fleming's contrary evidence, I always assumed Bond tries to rest / sleep on every commercial flight he takes.
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