Broccoli without Saltzman
zooeyhall
Posts: 8MI6 Agent
Watching some of the Sean Connery films, I noticed that they were all produced by Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and then when you get to the later Roger Moore films, it only shows Broccoli as the producer. Did Broccoli and Saltzman have a split-up?
Comments
"Better make that two."
DR NO through to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. During the Bond series, they also produced CALL ME BWANA, a Bob Hope comedy (a poster for it features rather prominently in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE). Independently, Harry also produced such other films as BATTLE OF BRITAIN and the Harry Palmer series while Cubby produced CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, Ian Fleming's famous children's tale.
Cubby solo:
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME through to OCTOPUSSY. During this period he was assisted by his stepson Michael G. Wilson, who operated in various capacities (Assistant Producer, Executive Producer, and Screenwriter) as Cubby's right hand man. A lawyer, Michael had also been involved in the legal difficulties EON faced after THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. His involvement with Bond had begun much earlier, though, with a cameo appearance in GOLDFINGER while still a student, visiting Cubby and Dana (Cubby's wife, mother of Michael and Barbara) during his vacation.
Cubby and Michael:
A VIEW TO A KILL through to LICENCE TO KILL. Michael now officially credited as co-producer with Cubby. During this period, Barbara Broccoli worked in various capacities (Assistant Director, Associate Producer) basically learning the ropes in the same way Michael had earlier (he's several years older than his half-sister).
Michael and Barbara:
GOLDENEYE to date.
Cubby was too ill to actively produce GOLDENEYE, but was kept informed of progress. After his death, the next film TOMORROW NEVER DIES was dedicated to him.
This era is my second favourite. TSWLM is my favourite non-Connery Bond film, and is sixth on my list, FYEO is also in my top 10 and OP is a film that I have always treasured. MR is the only film that I consider to be a disappointment from this era.
This is my least favourite era. TLD and AVTAK are my two least favourite Bond films, while LTK is also in my bottom four. I will never forgive Cubby and Michael for this era. X-(
I really like this era, but not as much as the first two. GE is in my top 10, TWINE is a film that I think is terrific, however TND is a film that continues to disappoint me and DAD is my third least favourite Bond film. As for CR, well I like it, but I don't love it.
The last Bond film that I love (TWINE) is from the fourth era, but the last Bond film that I regard to be an absolute masterpiece (TSWLM) is from the second era. I guess I preferred it when the kids weren't officially involved.
"Better make that two."
I believe that Cubby had nothing to do with the GoldenEye team in an offical sense, he probably only offered advice on story and actors.
An interesting era for me leastways. Some of the best have been made in this era, FRWL, GF, OHMSS and even LALD to an extent. However, the others are average (DN, DAF) and others are just plain bad (TB, YOLT, TMWTGG).
Perhaps the best era overall, there isn't a film within these borders that I deeply resent or hate. TSWLM and MR are big budget spectacles that are fun to watch, and are good in their own right, FYEO and OP are great serious, cold war movies. Cubby on his own may have been the key ingredient to keeping the series alive.
An era of bittersweetness for me. AVTAK is one of the best Bond films ever made while LTK is the worst Bond film ever made. And TLD is merely average. An era that started on a high note and then crashed and burned.
Another era of bittersweetness. Brosnan is Bond obviously, but his films that he's featured in are not the best. TND and DAD are toward the bottom of the barrel for Bond films while GE is the best ever, and TWINE is up there. A good era, but tainted by those two.
For me this is the best era, with my top favorites being FRWL, TB, YOLT and OHMSS. Also DN and GF were excellent. The last three of this lot (DAF, LALD and TMWTGG) went downwards but still retained some of the old magic.
These films made the most of the Moore era. They still had a certain charm of their own, but I didn't like the almost parodical style those movies adopted and the total abandon of plausibility in favor of absurd fantasy. I enjoyed those films, of course, because they are entertaining, but compared to the classic first installments of the series they seem a pale reflection. The best of this group for me is FYEO, while TSWLM was also worthwile. On the other side, MR is the least serious 007 film of all.
I have mixed thoughts and feeling about this era. AVTAK had an interesting premise but IMHO it was boring. I liked Dalton performance a lot and I congratulate Michael G. Wilson for (together with Richard Maibaum) try to get back to the spirit of Fleming's books and the first film, something they started in the previous group of films with FYEO. But TLD, although very well acted and directed and with more real suspense than in the previous few films, had a story that lacked more appeal and clarity; and LTK was too dark and didn't have the usual glamour of the series (due in part because it was almost entirely filmed outside Great Britain). It's a pity, because Dalton deserved at least a third shot in the starring role. Regarding Cubby, production values were kept in good form.
Brosnan was a hit in the role, but the films he starred in weren't that great. My favorite of his four films is GE, with TWINE in the second spot and DAD in the bottom place. Craig films, on the other hand, are consistently better but his Bond is a mix between the 007 of the first films and a street bully deprived of the class of the character we knew so far. I think one crucial element lacking in the last films is novelty and inventiveness, because the last films rely too much on scenes and things previously seen in the 20-plus previous films.
Well, if I took a crack at it, it'd be:
1. Cubby & Harry, for obvious reasons
2. Cubby (solo), cuz I like Moonraker/Spy/OP moore than View To A Kill but TLD and LTK come close.
3. Michael & Barbara, for the sheer variety and modernity of the films.
and finally...
4. Cubby & Michael. It's not that I don't like this era. It's just that I like other films more and this is too short to compete with the other
eras.
But of course! :007)
But they were going down in quality after OHMSS, and I am guessing it was most likely Saltzman's falt, cause after he was bought out, they went back up after.
Wasn't it the case, that their partnership deteriorated so much that even before Harry left, they were already taking turns helming their last two or three "partnership" movies without the other, before TSWLM?
My understanding is Broccoli was interested in adapting the films in the late 1950s but couldn't get the rights. Saltzman did get the rights circa 1960, but with only one year, and wasn't in a position to do anything with them. So the two of them teamed up.
It seems like the history is now told from Broccoli's point of view, it being over 40 years now since their partnership split, and the kids taking over the family business and still running it today. The documentary Everything or Nothing covers a lot of this, but isn't it an official product from the Broccoli kids themselves?
so while they were partners what was the division of labour between Saltzman and Broccoli? are there other examples of films that were more one man's work than the other's? what sort of things did they argue about? was Saltzman the one who wanted Dr No to be a monkey?
After going into partnership and forming Eon, Broccoli wanted to focus on producing James Bond movies* while Saltzman wanted to be diverse and make other films as well (eg Battle Of Britain, the Harry Palmer series). This was a source of argument between them.
*Two exceptions: Call Me Bwana, a prior commitment filmed after DN, and Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, which of course was also from Ian Fleming.
As their relationship deteriorated, they decided that as a general rule (there were some exceptions, of course) one of them would go on location during shooting and the other would stay at their HQ.
Broccoli on location for OHMSS:
Saltzman on location for LALD:
Of course they did publicity photos together:
The first draft of the DN script was by Richard Maibaum and Wolf Mankowitz, who presented Cubby & Harry with a script where Dr No was a monkey. The producers hated the idea and told them to be more faithful to the novel. Mankowitz left the project and asked that his name not be credited- later, he changed his mind about that but was too late, and even later worked on CR67. He also claimed that this GF scene was his idea:
so it does seem like Broccoli really was the more dedicated Bond-fan, and Saltzman just happened to get the rights that Broccoli needed.
I always wonder about that story about the monkey-villain, what were they thinking?
There was a superhero comic in the 1940s called Captain Marvel Adventures, which at one point ran a 25 part serial called "the Monster Society of Evil", where each month there would be a different villain working for an unseen criminal mastermind named Mister Mind. In the penultimate chapter it was revealed Mister Mind was a worm with a microphone. That's the closest thing I can reference. Cool comic, not sure I'd want the first James Bond movie to have looked like that.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Oscar Wilde ? Although I think Bond was his main interest
"Call Me Bwana"
You may recall this poster. The film was a prior commitment for Saltzman & Broccoli.
and
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
Saltzman's films both before and after DN were many and varied. I listed a few above.
Count me in.