Bond Clones in the '60s Spy Craze
DavidJones
BermondseyPosts: 266MI6 Agent
I've had fun digging around and finding Bond-clones from the '60s, cashing in on the popularity of Bond.
So far, I've learned about:
Charlies Hood, by James Mayor, six books, the first of which was filmed as 1968's Hammerhead,
John Craig, by James Munro, four books, played by Stanley Baker in 1972's Innocent Bystanders
Mark Hood, by James Dark (another James!), American character, ran to fourteen books
Hugo Baron, by John Michael Brett, three books
and, in film,
Charles Vine, played by Tom Adams, in Licenced to Kill, Where the Bullets Fly and Someone's Stolen Our Russian Spy.
Anyone know any more?
Surprising these didn't break copyright laws. Could this happen now? If, say, Lee Child wrote a 1960s-set spy thriller about a secret agent named Jim Bonk, with a splashy montage of a cover that looks like a Bond poster?
Comments
You could try the Nick Carter series which went to 261 books!
You can’t break copyright laws by writing or filming about a spy - otherwise James Bond wouldn’t exist!
Check out https://spyguysandgals.com/default.aspx
John Gardner also joined in the 'spy craze' long before he began writing Bond continuation novels. His character , Boysie Oakes (?) wasn't a JB clone though.
Author of 'An Ungentlemanly Act' and 'Execution of Duty'. The WW2 espionage series starring Harry Flynn.
Dig hard enough and you'll find me there.
Author of 'An Ungentlemanly Act' and 'Execution of Duty'. The WW2 espionage series starring Harry Flynn.
There was also Dr Jason Love created by James Leasor who was even asked to write a James Bond continuation novel though he declined the offer from Glidrose. One of his Jason Love novels was filmed as Where the Spies Are (1965), starring David Niven in the lead role.
Another one would be Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise, long considered the female version of James Bond. She started out as a newspaper comic strip before progressing to a series of novels and short stories. There was a film of the same name released in 1966 starring Monica Vitti though it was not terribly faithful to O'Donnell's first novel and is a bit of a curio akin to Casino Royale (1967).
Thanks, guys, there's some great recommendations here - I've been looking into them all.
The SpyGuysandGirls website has been absolute dynamite! Glued to that one. I've bought a bunch of Nick Carters and Modesty Blaise cheaply online so I'll let you know what I think. I love me some silly-and-fun spy action and from reading about them it sounds just what the agent ordered.
Wonder if I could have a go at writing a Bond-inspired character someday, as I'm a bit of an amateur writer. Could put together a montage cover with explosions and skis and a helicopter and car, and set it in '60s London etc. Probably easier said than done, though!
Excellent point! 😀
I'll look forward to reading your story if you decide to go ahead. Randall, the bloke who runs the spyguysandgals site, is a good bloke. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's a member of this forum.
Author of 'An Ungentlemanly Act' and 'Execution of Duty'. The WW2 espionage series starring Harry Flynn.
Thank you.
And yes, I've been whiling away many happy hours on that site. It's got me reading a Geoffrey Jenkins novel, which I'm on at the moment - The Unripe Gold, quite Bond-like in itself.
The next time you're there search for Frank Marker or Harry Flynn and you'll see a review of my books.
Author of 'An Ungentlemanly Act' and 'Execution of Duty'. The WW2 espionage series starring Harry Flynn.
Ah great - will do!