Substance abuse in Moonraker novel

Firemass · March 2013

I'm only on chapter 9 so don't spoil the rest for me!

Anyway...I just finished Bond's bridge game with Drax and was appalled by the substance abuse. Bond drank 2 bottles of champagne, did shots of vodka, spiked his own drink with amphetamines, drank coffee, and smoked cigarettes. Honestly, if I consumed all that in one evening I would probably die.

After the game Bond had to use sleeping pills before bed because he was so wired. No surprise the next morning he felt absolutely dreadful.

It also bugged me that Bond spotted Drax's method for cheating (shiner) but didn't call him out on it.
Unlike in say the Octopussy film where Bond wins by using Kamal's lucky dice. However, I was pleased to find the origin of the line "Spend the money quickly, Mr. Bond"

Thunderpussy · March 2013

I remember watching a documentary On the novel Casino Royale. The
Presenter ate the Meal Bond had before his Big Game, and Also Drank
everthing Bond had ordered.
He said He felt drunk and Couldn't see how Bond would of been Fit
to Play Le Chiffre

)
By the way Moonraker Is one of my Favourite Bond Novels,
a great read. -{

Silhouette Man · March 2013

Yes, I think several commentators have noted the alarming amount of alcohol consumed by the Bond of the books - his toleration of the liquid falling down medicine must have been very high!

AlphaOmegaSin · March 2013

Silhouette Man wrote:

Yes, I think several commentators have noted the alarming amount of alcohol consumed by the Bond of the books - his toleration of the liquid falling down medicine must have been very high!

Until he went to a Detox Clinic in Thunderball!

Peppermill · March 2013

Well, if Fleming poured (pun intended) some of himself into his portrayal of Bond it isn’t strange that he didn’t got very old.

CmdrAtticus · March 2013

When I was posted overseas I knew a few men who consumed vast amounts of alcohol like Fleming/Bond and it always astonished me how they could still seem alert and have no glazed eyes and could walk as though they'd just consumed fruit juice! I like hard liquor and enjoy savoring a few rounds, but I can personally feel the effects much quicker than those men. I read somewhere in my research that the effects are diluted by a number of factors - the size of a man and the amount of muscle is a large one, since muscle tissue contains more water than fat does, and alcohol dissolves in water and thus is diluted. Also, some men have more of a gastric or stomach enzyme (dehydrogenase) than others which metabolizes or breaks down alcohol before it enters the bloodstream. The men I knew who could drink others under the table were on the tall and very muscular side. I remember one was a Marine, the other a SEAL and one was an officer who was into rugby, running, swimming, etc.

raptors_887 · March 2013

Thunderpussy wrote:

I remember watching a documentary On the novel Casino Royale. The
Presenter ate the Meal Bond had before his Big Game, and Also Drank
everthing Bond had ordered.
He said He felt drunk and Couldn't see how Bond would of been Fit
to Play Le Chiffre )
By the way Moonraker Is one of my Favourite Bond Novels,
a great read. -{

LOL I was thinking the same thing while reading Casino Royale. Bond had about 5 different orders of drinks before the Baccarat game. You'd think he would want to keep his wits about him LOL.

James Suzuki · March 2013

I read and watch Inspector Morse, written by Colin Dexter and played by John Thaw.
Morse in both novel and TV series drinks a lot of beer, and he says on numerous occasions "I'm not drinking this because I like it, it helps me think...," or something on those lines.
Which made me think, does Bond skulling back the booze help him play better, even if he feels drunk as a skunk?

Thunderpussy wrote:

I remember watching a documentary On the novel Casino Royale. The
Presenter ate the Meal Bond had before his Big Game, and Also Drank
everthing Bond had ordered.
He said He felt drunk and Couldn't see how Bond would of been Fit
to Play Le Chiffre )
By the way Moonraker Is one of my Favourite Bond Novels,
a great read. -{

I woulld quite like to watch this doco, is it on Utube, u have a link or something?

Barbel · March 2013

Bond felt he had to appear a bit drunk to lull Drax into feeling secure enough to make big bets, but admits later he may have overdone it.

Revelator · March 2013

James Suzuki wrote:

I woulld quite like to watch this doco, is it on Utube, u have a link or something?

This was almost certainly The Real Casino Royale, hosted by Andrew Graham-Dixon. Unfortunately, though a couple films with the same name are online, they are not the same as this excellent documentary, which really should have been included on the CR DVD. I'll see about uploading it, but I'm not sure where, since it would probably get taken down pretty quickly.

Silhouette Man · March 2013

Yes, I have this one on tape. It was an excellent documentary on Casino Royale in all of its forms.

Silhouette Man · April 2013

I suppose James Bond taking benzedrine in Moonraker is Fleming's equivalent of old Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes being an opium addict who frequented opium dens in one of his short stories, no? Although, benzedrine's much less dangerous than opium/heroine.

Substance abuse in Moonraker novel

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