Ernst Stavros Blofeld
Dovy
Posts: 206MI6 Agent
It seems hard to understand why Blofeld isn't in every film after he is introduced, since his enormous wealth and ability to survive and have influence should make him an important part of every film. Otherwise all we can do is wonder what he was doing in the world when Bond is involved in other cases. Especially and even if Blofeld is building up his next extravagant base of operations somewhere else in the world. He is absent from the films for a ten year period from Diamonds are Forever until For Your Eyes Only. Is it possible he wasn't active in the world for so many years or simply that other agents were battling him and finishing him off?
Comments
He was a character created as part of a collaboration, and Fleming and his partner had a falling out, and as such they didn't have the legal rights to the character. It wasn't until SPECTRE that they'd settled the legal matter and paid to have all future rights to Blowfeld and Spectre, IIRC.
I found the whole Blofeld arc very illogical because if he had the ability to have multiple operations going on in Japan, the Caribbean and in the ocean then certainly he must have been active elsewhere after all that, and yet for 10 years we hear nothing about him, leading us to assume that other great agents working for M were going after him, yet never able to destroy him.
Funnily enough, I'd never considered this before. Putting aside the obvious reply of "it's only a movie, just run with it" - and in all fairness continuity was never a consideration in movie franchises until quite recently - you do have a point. What exactly was Blofeld doing between his bathosub 'escape' in DAF and his attempt to murder Bond with a remote control helicpoter in FYEO. He must be falling on hard times - he's only got a delicatessen to sell - and appears to be all alone other than a white cat and an easily disposed of copter pilot.
We do know other British agents have been involved chasing SPECTRE down. Jaques Bouvard had killed one prior to the opening of TB and as M remarks in DAF, "We do function in your absence, OO7". Also, M removes Bond from Operation Bedlam, but this doesn't suggest the hunt for Blofeld is over, just that Bond's operation is finished. But yes, what's happened between those two movies?
In Fleming's novels, Blofeld only features prominently in three. A SPECTRE agent is mentioned in TSWLM, so we know the noose is closing on the criminal organisation. SPECTRE suffered a lot of manpower damage in TB, so Blofeld repositioned himself on a Swiss Alp, with a smaller retinue, chiefly scientists and paid-up defectors. Defeated then, he retreats to an even enclave Japan. I think it's fair to say by YOLT, Blofeld was sifting through his final stash of money and hoping his Dr Shatterhand disguise would protect him from detection.
Ah, if only Purvis and wade could have seen the possibilities in that story...
Thanks for your insights. I just never understand the lack of continuity in popular films and series. The only hint of continuity so far in my viewing is the appearance of Quarrel Jr. in San Monique which would have been about 5-7 years after the death of his father I guess. And then we see that this enormously powerful Blofeld appears several times with extremely sophisticated locations. And yet he disappears into oblivion for 10 years along with Spectre. Amazing that when Bond sees him after killing Tracey he doesn't mention a word! What were Broccoli and Saltzman thinking? At least Blofeld should have maintained his scarred face! ;-) And we shouldn't forget about the continuity provided by the Louisiana sheriff!!
@chrisno1 I know we've discussed before that Blofeld seems to have fallen in his fortunes by the time of Diamonds are Forever. Where he once could afford to build hollowed out volcanoes and mountain aeiries, now he's squatting in someone else's apartment and misappropriating that other man's organisation. I'm not sure if the filmmakers thought that through, but it makes a nice headcanon for us viewers and is logical: those previous operations were hella expensive, and Bond and his allies demolished each one completely. I'm surprised Blofeld can get anyone to work for him again, let alone retain leftover technology like the bathosub.
Fleming did deal with that decline more logically. In OHMSS we learn all SPECTRE agents on the scene was arrested or killed at the end of Thunderball, and Bond has spent a year looking for remnants of SPECTRE and has so far found nothing. Then in YOLT, as said, Blofeld is a raving loony with an evil scheme that is of little consequence other than some wouldbe suicides, and only Irma Bunt still at his side.
Well, maybe Blofeld put SPECTRE on hold or semi-retirement and turned things over to Caramanga in The Man With the Golden Gun. ;-)
There’s a deleted scene from FYEO when EON lawyers confirmed that they still weren’t cleared to use Blofeld. The scene showed Q with Blofeld’s recovered SPECTRE ring and a computer analysis revealed that Mr. Big, Scaramanga, Stromberg, etc. all reported to Blofeld!
It wouldn't have been such a big deal for the writers to allow for some information providing continuity. Even just a minute or two in each film. Like what we see in The Spy Who Loved Me where Amasova mentions Bond's dead wife and he interrupts her. It takes all of 10 seconds reminding us of OHMSS.
Anyway as far as SPECTRE is concerned, even that gets a passing mention in The Spy Who Loved Me, a hint of continuity without indicating how the other criminals succeeded on their own if SPECTRE was still around. At least we'd get continuity by telling us that Bond was destroying the operations of these assorted SPECTRE operatives in each film.
Well we see the demise of a Blofeld in For Your Eyes Only, but apparently this wasn't the real Blofeld anyway......