Recording for the Decca label from 1966 to 1971 (as far as Bond music is concerned), Shaw’s was one of the many 60s orchestras and bands which leapt on the Bondwagon to produce their own versions of John Barry’s themes, and cut their own slice of the highly popular market for all things Bond. The main difference from these other bands is that with one or two exceptions (eg, D.L. Miller’s Thunderball covers) most  ignored the cues from the films themselves and restricted thier attempts to the main title songs. Roland Shaw produced faithful and enjoyable interpretations of such deserving tracks as “Dawn Raid On Fort Knox”, “The Wedding”, and others. Some interesting curios resulted, including a track intended for use in the 1967 Casino Royale but absent from the soundtrack album, “Let The Love Come Through”- heard for only a few seconds in the film.

Themes For Secret Agents

1. The Man From UNCLE
2. Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
3. The Spy Who Came In from The Cold
4. Goldfinger
5. The IPCRESS File
6. The Saint
7. Thunderball
8. The Avengers
9. From Russia With Love
10. I Spy
11. Our Man Flint
12. James Bond Theme 

His list of Bond-related LPs began with 1966’s Themes For Secret Agents. Not all the musical content was Bond- alongside “Goldfinger” and “Thunderball” could be found music from the like of The Saint and Our Man Flint. Shaw’s interpretations were not always carbon copies- his “Ipcress File” on this album is startlingly different from Barry’s original- and rarely subtle. Give a listen to his bombastic “Thunderball” where Barry’s Wagnerian brass is taken to the nth degree.

James Bond Thrillers

1. James Bond Theme
2. Goldfinger
3. Dawn Raid On Fort Knox
4. Dr. No’s Fantasy
5. Twisting With James
6. From Russia With Love
7. The Golden Horn
8. Girl Trouble
9. Leila Dances
10. 007

It was on his next LP The James Bond Thrillers, released later that same year, that Shaw began to cover more than the title themes as well as dedicate an entire album to Bond music. From Russia With Love’s “The Golden Horn”, “Girl Trouble” and “Leila Dances” sit alongside “Dr. No’s Fantasy” and “Twisting With James” (both from Dr. No). “Dawn Raid On Fort Knox” appears here too, as well as (IMHO) the best cover of “007″ ever.

More Themes From The James Bond Thrillers

1. Thunderball
2. Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus
3. Kingston Calypso
4. Gypsy Camp
5. Arrival Of The Bomb And Countdown
6. Tania Meets Klebb
7. Into Miami
8. SPECTRE Island
9. Underneath The Mango Tree
10. Guitar Lament
11. Death Of Goldfinger

More Themes From The James Bond Thrillers, a third 1966 release, included further music from From Russia With Love (”Tania Meets Klebb”, “Guitar Lament”) alongside plenty of Goldfinger covers (”Arrival Of The Bomb and Countdown”, “Death Of Goldfinger”). Most interesting was the inclusion of “Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus”, a piece left off the U.S. release of the Goldfinger album till 2003!

The James Bond Thrillers, Vol 3

1. You Only Live Twice
2. Capsule In Space
3. Gypsy Camp
4. Teasing The Korean
5. The Wedding
6. Casino Royale
7. The Look Of Love
8. Bond Below Disco Volante
9. Thunderball
10. Jump Up
11. Chateau Fight
12. Let the Love Come Through

The following year brought Vol 3, this time containing music from You Only Live Twice and Casino Royale (1967). “Capsule In Space” and “The Wedding” were competently handled, and there were unique takes on “Teasing The Korean” (Goldfinger) and “Chateau Fight” (Thunderball). Burt Bacharach’s “Casino Royale” was enjoyable, but the vocal on “The Look Of Love” suffers from comparison with Dusty Springfield’s original. It’s on this album that “Let The Love Come Through” first appeared.

The Return Of James Bond

1. Diamonds Are Forever
2. From Russia With Love
3. Thunderball
4. You Only Live Twice
5. Casino Royale
6. 007
7. Diamonds Are Forever (Reprise)
8. Goldfinger
9. The Look Of Love
10. Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
11. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
12. James Bond Theme
13. The Avengers
14. The Saint
15. I Spy
16. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
17. Mission Impossible
18. Peter Gunn
19. The Man From UNCLE
20. The IPCRESS File
21. Wednesday’s Child
22. Our Man Flint

The Return Of James Bond, a 1971 double album, mainly re-used earlier tracks (and not exclusively Bond music) but also featured Shaw’s recordings of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and “Diamonds Are Forever”, the latter also with an intriguing Shaft-like “Reprise” alternate arrangement. By now the height of Bondmania had passed- Shaw recorded no cues from those movies.

There have been many compilations and re-packaging of Shaw’s Bond material including such titles as  James Bond In Action, dating both before and after the CD was introduced, but the listings above show the original releases. Perhaps the CD to recommend would be The World Of James Bond Adventure in its 22-track form- and one to avoid would be the poorly mastered Cinema Gala James Bond 007 compilation.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Landmark Theatres
645 S. President Street
Harbor East, Baltimore

Champagne reception begins at 7:30 p.m.
Screening program begins at 8:00 p.m.

Special Prop and Wardrobe Exhibit by David Zaritsky

Dr. No Tickets: $1,000
Includes 2 Gold Tickets for an exclusive pre-screening reception at 6:00 p.m. A portion of this purchase may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution.

License to Dine Ticket Package: $250
Includes 2 General Admission Tickets and a $50 coupon good for area restaurants. Click here for full details and a list of participating restaurants. A portion of the ticket price ($200) may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution.

General Admission Tickets: $100 per person
A portion of this purchase may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution

Tickets are limited. Please reserve your seats by November 7 by contacting The Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute at 410-516-6668, hopkinsheart@jhmi.edu .

The Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli Center for Aortic Diseases

Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli were no strangers to adventure. During their 39-year marriage, they produced the most successful film franchise in Hollywood history – the hair-raising exploits of James Bond. Cubby Broccoli received multiple international film awards for his work… and the Bond story continues.

In 1996, the Broccolis, through their charitable donation to Johns Hopkins Medicine, created The Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli Center for Aortic Diseases. Now directed by Dr. Duke Cameron, the Center was the first such unit in the country to integrate the work of multiple disciplines in the fields of aorta and heart research.

The Broccoli Center brings together leading physicians and scientists in clinical and laboratory research at the nation’s #1 hospital. This comprehensive Center provides opportunities for discovery and therapeutic advances in the field of aortic diseases, while offering the highest level of patient care available anywhere in the world. The Broccoli Family continues their legacy through the Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli Center for Aortic Diseases.

This is the fifth exclusive Bond screening for which the Broccoli family has generously donated the proceeds to The Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute.

Visit www.baltimore.org/bond for further information.

“Ain’t It Cool News” has published a brief interview with Daniel Craig, Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster and Eon Productions’ Barbara Broccoli.  They talk about Craig’s future in the role, and what fate might hold in store for Agent 007…

What follows is a partial, preliminary list of terms, phrases and utterances which have filtered their way into the lexicon of www.ajb007.co.uk over the course of the past few years, in some cases by my own guilty hand…alphabetized, itemized and appropriately lampooned for your convenience.  Hopefully it will grow over time. 

AJBers - Suggested by AJB Moderator Predator – The collective term for members of this, the greatest online Bond community in the known world.

“Babs” - Nickname/term of endearment for Barbara Broccoli, daughter of “Cubby” Broccoli.  Producer of the James Bond films; widely credited/blamed for the Craig Era/reboot.

Barry Bonds, The – Coined by AJB member Sir Hillary Bray, this term refers to the Bond films scored by brilliant composer John Barry.  Any reference to steroid-jacked former outfielders for the San Francisco Giants baseball club is purely coincidental.

“Big Tam” – Sean Connery’s nickname as a youth.

Bond-Centrist – One of the Bonditical parties.  This Bond fan is possibly (or probably) well-read, re: Fleming, and finds value in transferring a bit of the literary heritage to the Big Screen—and yet, finds enough to like in Cinematic Bond’s broader, lighter-tone outings (most of the time) to afford them a generous measure of dispensation, whilst condemning excesses on either side.  Favourite Bonds:  Any (don’t try to label me; I won’t stand for it!).  See: the ‘Your Bond Party Affiliation’ thread.

Bondian – The essence of being like, or summoning positive comparisons to, James Bond.

Bondian Chaos Theory – Coined by AJB member 7289.  The point at which The Theory of Bond Relativity collides with the Bonditical party system, automatically and instantly rendering all personal opinions about James Bond irrefutably irrelevant.

Bonditics - The world of Bond fandom, divided along party lines in a fashion similar to that of political parties.  Bonditics employs a three-party system: Flemingists, Cinematic Bond Traditionalists and Bond-Centrists.  Like pinball, this notion is For Amusement Purposes Only…

Bondiverse – The Bond universe, to include both the world of fictional superspy James Bond…and the fever-pitched hopes, dreams and disappointments of his fans.

Cinematic Bond Traditionalist - One of the Bonditical parties.  More guided by the traditions and norms established by the films themselves, as they’ve unfolded over the past 46 years.  Might not have ever read Fleming; if so, considers the books well separate from the films, and feels they should remain so.  The CBT will generally prefer the bigger-scale, ’spectacle’-style Bonds, and won’t mind a lighter tone.  Favourite Bonds:  Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan.  See: the ‘Your Bond Party Affiliation’ thread.

Codename Theory, The - Suggested by AJB member i expect u2 die –  A longstanding theory, circulating in various pockets of Bond fandom, which purports that ‘James Bond’ is merely the code name of a number of British Secret Service agents, over the past fifty years, who have taken on the identity of ‘James Bond’ and assumed the ‘007′ identification number.  Presumably, this is a means of explaining why James Bond has had different faces on film from 1962 to the present day (rather than the mere recasting of a film role—when actors lose interest, demand too much money, or simply grow too old to keep leaping off burning vehicles).

Copyright - Suggested by Predator – The reason why AJB has never allowed MGM/UA/Sony images of the Bond films to be posted on the site.

CR – Casino Royale

Craig Bashers – Suggested by Predator – The antonym of the Craig Optimist.  These Bond fans collectively wish that Daniel Craig had stuck to small independent films.

Craigger – Nickname/term of endearment for Daniel Craig.

Craig Optimist – Those who, during the production of CR, remained optimistic that Daniel Craig could be an effective James Bond.

Craig Wars – That wild, dangerous and violent time, beginning on 14th October, 2005, with the official announcement of Daniel Craig as the sixth actor to portray James Bond on film, a colossal event which split Bond fandom along distinct lines.  From simple, random border skirmishes—with a few rounds being exchanged in the dead of night—to all-out, Ardennes-style armoured combat…complete with tanks, aircraft and covert operations…this mammoth conflict had to be experienced to be appreciated.  Ask one of the veterans about it.  Chances are, they’ll merely shake their head, and drink their cocktail in silence.  As to when this conflict ended…well, that’s the question, isn’t it?  As with the Cold War, bullets are rarely fired in anger anymore…but there is a distinct unease within the quiet…

CR Contrarian’s Playground – An ultimately failed experiment; a Craig Wars-era attempt to create a safety zone for Craig/CR/reboot haters, skeptics and doubters to voice their concerns, criticisms and insults without fear of reprisal—essentially a de-militarized zone—routinely infiltrated by Craig supporters with sabotage on their minds.  One of the few (if only) threads to be locked…and then unlocked.  Still viewable to the curious, like images of the extinct dodo bird.

“Cubby” – Nickname/term of endearment for the late Albert R. Broccoli, co-founder of Eon Productions.  Quoted as saying that the James Bond films will last “until doomsday.”

DAF – Diamonds Are Forever

DAD – Die Another Day

dandified banter - Coined by AJB luminary superado to describe posts by Loeffelholz during one of their many (and colourful) Craig War border skirmishes, circa ‘05 – ‘06.

danielcraigspicturenexttoamonkey.com – Used in lieu of the actual name of the anti-Craig site(s), who used a unique brand of photographic manipulation, crass homophobia and simple-minded singularity of purpose to organize a boycott of CR…leading to the film’s worldwide gross of nearly $600 million.

DN – Doctor No

Eon – Production company founded by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli; currently run by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.  Owner of exclusive film rights to the James Bond character.  Rumoured to stand for “Everything Or Nothing,” although this has been denied by the principals.

fanboy – Any male whose admiration of some aspect of pop culture—Bond, Star Trek/Wars, comic book heroes, etc.—borders on the unhealthy, and threatens an otherwise promising social life.

fandom -  A community of fans, whose interest in something keeps them at their computer, and online, past their bedtime, waiting in cinema and book store queues, etc.

fan-girl - Suggested by AJB babe Lexi, who reminds us that not all Bond fans are male!  Besides, who says that an unhealthy interest in pop culture is gender-exclusive??

Flemingist – One of the Bonditical parties.  Those whose Bond frame of reference descends primarily from Fleming’s novels.  These Bond fans generally prefer the less comedy-driven, less outlandish (or, at least, more understated and/or ‘realistic’) plot lines…and of course, Fleming-adapted (or inspired) material.  Favourite Bonds:  Sean Connery, Daniel Craig, Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby.  See: the ‘Your Bond Party Affiliation’ thread.

(Formerly) Poor Danny - Daniel Craig, in the period after CR’s release (and obvious worldwide success).

FRWL – From Russia, With Love

FWIW – (For What It’s Worth) – Which usually isn’t very much, in the worldwide, grand scheme of things.

FYEO – For Your Eyes Only

GE – GoldenEye

Geezer Bond – James Bond, when portrayed by an actor who’s obviously too old to be leaping off buildings, etc.

GF – Goldfinger

GL – George Lazenby

Gun barrel – Suggested by by Predator – The classic, pre-title 007 introductory sequence…currently under some renovation in the Craig Era.

Hardy-smacked – The fate of a redundant thread, necessarily by the hand of the redoubtable Hardyboy, AJB Moderator and Thread Cop Extraordinaire.  Check the news articles and use the forum search tool, people!!!

IF - Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond.

IFP – Ian Fleming Publications, Ltd.  Formerly known as Glidrose.  Controlled by the Fleming estate; owns the literary rights to the James Bond character.

IMO – (In My Opinion) – One of the quickest and most common ways to assure fellow posters that you’re not presuming to have the final and infallible word on any given issue.

IMHO – (In My Humble Opinion) – IMO, with a bit of extra sugar.

IMRO – (In My Ridiculous Opinion) -  Coined by AJB member (and Craig/CR defender) highhopes, this term pre-supposes that not all Bond opinions are reliably humble.  A member using this acronym acknowledges, de facto, that his opinion is worth no more than what anyone pays to read it.

Izzy worthy - Suggested by AJB Moderator jetsetwilly.  A euphemism for a woman of quite phenomenal attractivess, as seen in the “Izabella Stuff” thread in Off Topic Chat.

JB – No, not James Bond—but you can use it that way if you like!  As AJB member (and renowned musician) Barbel reminds us, this stands for John Barry, the musical craftsman who defined Bond through music in the early days of the film series, and who continues to influence those who pick up his mantle.

JHOCHT, The Society Of - Jealous Husbands,  Outraged Chefs and Humiliated Tailors.  According to AJB contributor bigzilcho, a super-secret society—more fearsome than SPECTRE and Quantum combined— dedicated to the destruction of James Bond since time immemorial.

Kool-Aid - This refers to the decades-ago mass suicide in Guyana, by followers of cult leader Jim Jones, who served up cyanide-laced grape Kool-Aid.  ‘Kool-Aid drinkers’ are said to be blindly committed to a principle—at all costs.  

LALD – Live And Let Die

LTK – Licence To Kill

“Mickey” – Nickname/term of endearment for Michael G. Wilson, stepson of “Cubby” Broccoli, and producer of the James Bond films.

Mods – Suggested by i expect u2 die, this is short for the moderators of AJB…a.k.a., Those Who Must Be Obeyed.

Mo – Suggested by Hardyboy, this refers to AJB Babe Monique.

Moonie – Coined by Monique, this is a term of endearment for moderator Moonraker 5.

MR – Moonraker

NSNA – Suggested by Predator – Never Say Never Again, the ’separatist’ James Bond film produced by Kevin McClory in 1983 (as a result of long-festering litigation between himself and Ian Fleming, followed later by Eon Productions), starring Sean Connery in his final screen appearance as 007.

OHMSS – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

‘Old Man Steptoe’ – A comparison made by AJB member Napoleon Plural in reference to Daniel Craig, in the historic Craig Wars-era thread of the same name.

OP – Octopussy

PM – Private Message - the means of confidential communications between MI6 agents on AJB.

Poor Danny -  Daniel Craig, during the period of time immediately following his announcement as the new James Bond, throughout the production of CR (during which time the tabloids had him unable to drive a stick, obsessed with ladies’ toiletries and gay/nude scenes, losing both front teeth whilst filming, terrified of firearms, ad infinitum) and up until the film’s premiere.

Precious Classic Formula – The patented formula for James Bond films (currently evolving in the Craig Era).  Pre-CR, this generally meant that:  Bond has a PTS adventure; Bond gets briefed by M, flirts with Moneypenny and gets his gadgets from Q; Bond meets the villain of the piece in a social setting before formal and direct hostilities begin; Bond goes through a number of action set-pieces, getting laid in-between by Bond Girls both good and evil; Bond confronts the villain in the villain’s lair and ultimately triumphs.

PTS – Pre-Title Sequence – The opening sequence in any Bond film (except for DN), taking place before the credits/titles run.

Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus – Suggested by jetsetwilly.  The collective noun for AJB’s sauciest female correspondents…

QOS -  Quantum Of Solace

reboot – The controversial restarting of the Bond mythos, with CR showing a Bond who’s just received his ‘00′ status.  A seismic event, the aftershocks of which continue to shake the beds of some AJB members in the small hours of the morning.

Reviled Daniel Craig, The – A Craig Wars-era term; currently retired.  See: Poor Danny

RM – Roger Moore

Roger The Codger – Coined by AJB member Jamesbondjr –  Roger Moore, in his later Bond career.

SC – Sean Connery

scrotacular – Coined by AJB Moderator Hardyboy – uber-manly, macho-themed.  Example: the film 300.

Seannery -  Suggested by AJB member Pendragon – for those too lazy to type out Sean Connery, but not entirely comfortable with the acronym ‘SC.’

TB – Thunderball

TD – Timothy Dalton

Theory of Bond Relativity, The  - The hypothesis that every Bond film (and novel) is overrated and underrated by someone, due to the diversity of Bond fandom and the absolutely correct nature of any one Bond fan’s personal opinion…on an exclusively self-assessed basis.  

TLD – The Living Daylights

TMWTGG – The Man With The Golden Gun

TND – Tomorrow Never Dies

“Topic closed” – When used by an AJB moderator, the death knell for the thread in question.

TSWLM – The Spy Who Loved Me

TWINE – The World Is Not Enough

Van Nutter Syndrome, The – Coined by AJB member bigzilcho – Named after Rik Van Nutter, who played Felix Leiter in TB, this is said to pertain to any actor whose primary claim to fame is simply being in a Bond film.

Vocal Minority, The – Suggested by AJB member (and leader of the Cinematic Bond Traditionalist Party!) Tee Hee – A term often used to describe Craig’s (and the reboot’s) most outspoken detractors.

YOLT – You Only Live Twice 

Any thoughts or additions?  Please post here:   http://www.ajb007.co.uk/index.php?topic=31194

A man and his cigarette
© Horste Tappe/Hulton Archive – Getty Images

To celebrate the centenary year of Ian Fleming’s birth, ajb007.co.uk asked its members to contribute stories about how each of them were first introduced to the work of 007’s creator.  Here is a selection of their responses…

“My first introduction to James Bond -and more particularly Ian Fleming was my Father’s collection of Pan paperbacks -which I have since commandeered from him…The Pan paperback that first caught my attention was that of a copy of Moonraker and its amazing image of  James Bond holding a damsel in distress with a rocket in the background -the image grabbed me!…However it wasn’t Moonraker which I read first but actually Thunderball -because the Pan paperback my Father owned was a copy that had two bullet holes in the cover -which to an eight year old boy was spellbinding…Obviously reading the back covers with the picture of Fleming holding his lit cigarette in its holder  with the whisps of smoke rising kind of added to the mystique…So for me my introduction to 007 was roughly 30 years ago!” – Scaramanga1

“Being a mere 10 years old when “From Russia with Love” was released, I had little notion of who or what ‘James Bond’ was. I first saw him in a set of life size cardboard cutouts in the lobby of a Sacramento, CA resturaunt. Sean Connery with a long barrelled pistol, dressed in a tuxedo was surrounded by several girls dressed in nighties and gypsy rags…After seeing the movie some months later, and being quite impressed, I saw a paperback in the neighborhood Rexall Drug Store. The red cover was very striking…I especially liked the nice photo of the Walther PPK on the book cover.

“Taking the novel home, I began reading it and found myself disturbed by “Red” Grant who actually enjoyed killing people. It really upset me that the Russians let him loose in jail cells to kill on the full moon. I shared this with my mother who confiscated the book…Mom read the book and ultimately decided I could read the whole text…I didn’t understand a lot of FRWL on that first reading at ten years old, but have read it many times since – always finding something new to enjoy.

“When Ian Fleming died I was very sad. I recall looking at the back of my Goldfinger Soundtrack album just before the ‘last’ Bond novel, ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ was published in paperback in 1965 and thinking ‘James Bond is now dead.’ Was I wrong or what!” – 7289

“I became a Bond fan at the age of 6 after watching FRWL with my dad on TV but only began to read the books at around age 18 when I was introduced into the Fleming realm via Raymond Benson’s JB Bedside Companion.  However, if it means anything I remember first becoming conscious of Fleming from the TV plugs of the 2nd Bond film I’ve seen at the theater, MR; these commercials as I remember weren’t presented as outlandishly as the movie itself and I recall scenes of the MR shuttle in its lauch bay and the narrator saying something like, ‘from the late Ian Fleming’…it just happened to be a cool sounding and offbeat name and hearing it lent a sense of class and legitimacy to whatever concept I had of James Bond up to that point…Well, anyway, why I had a classmate named Ian began to make sense and now makes me wonder what influenced his parents to give that name?” – superado

“My first encounter with James Bond came via Nintendo’s Goldeneye 64… However, I couldn’t even tell you when I first learned of Bond’s creator Ian Fleming, or the series of novels he wrote. Not being a fan of reading, for years I wrote them off in favor of their cinematic counterparts…It wasn’t until the summer before the release of Casino Royale (2006) that I finally picked up an Ian Fleming novel. It was of course his first. I figured it would serve as a nice compliment to the upcoming film…I enjoyed the novel immensely. Since then, I have begun reading the rest of Fleming’s Bond thrillers in order. I’m glad I’ve done so as there is a bit of continuity.  So far I’ve read Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, and Moonraker…

Ian Fleming is a great writer and his Bond thrillers are quite the page-turners.  I’ve enjoyed the first three, and I look forward to finishing them all.  Ian Fleming has made a reader out of me…” – Tee Hee

January, 1964
© Express/Hulton Archive – Getty Images

“I was ten years old when I watched a video of Moonraker, which instantly started a passionate interest in James Bond. It was then in my second year of high school that I laid my hands on an Ian Fleming book for the first time. It was The Man With The Golden Gun, my local library’s only Fleming book…I read TMWTGG, and to be honest I was slightly dissappointed. While there were certain parts that I enjoyed, it didn’t live up to my expectations which were formed by the films. However, several years later when I found a cheap copy of Dr No in a local bookshop I was ready for the literary Bond of Ian Fleming. This was the proper start of my love of the Ian Fleming books. I devoured DN, and although Ian Fleming books are hard to come by in South Africa, slowly but surely I managed to get my hands on the rest of the Fleming books and read the rest of the book in order. Although it is only three years since I read DN, it feels like I have already had a lifetime’s worth of joy from the work of Mr Fleming.” – Golrush007

“I was 13 years old when I first heard about James Bond and like many people in 1964,that was because of a new motion picture with the unusual name of Goldfinger.  My parents and I saw Goldfinger during its first week in release in Arlington,Virginia(where we were living at the time).Having read the feature article published in LIFE magazine-featuring a tastefully nude and entirely golden Shirley Eaton-I wasn’t sure what to expect from the film…Little did I know that once the film began and after less than 10 minutes had elapsed, that this film would make me a James Bond fan for life.  Shortly thereafter,my family and I saw the rereleased From Russia With Love/Dr.No double bill.And this event only heightened my curiousity about this Ian Fleming fellow and his James Bond novels…So I started asking questions about those books…

“One of my favorite English teachers (a woman in her late 20s) described Fleming’s novels as comic books for adults-but she wasn’t being derisive when she said this.  Quite the contrary,by her own admission, she’d read nearly all of the Bonds then available in paperback and enjoyed them.  She said they were good stories written by a talented man–and if I liked Fleming, she said, I’d probably also like John Buchan.  Not long afterwards,I entered Ian Fleming’s inimitable universe…Overall,what impresses me most about Fleming’s writing is the way he can make even the most outlandish concepts and grotesque characters seem real-at least within the context of a particular story.  For example, if Fleming says Dr.No looks like a giant slug, and is also one of those rare individuals with a heart on the opposite side of his chest, I’m inclined to believe it.  If Hugo Drax is a red-bearded monster so evil that he even cheats at cards-that’s just fine.  It’s the conviction Fleming brings to his best work that gives his characters life.

“Of course, I learned much more about James Bond through Ian Fleming’s books than I ever could have from 007’s cinematic alter ego.  The Bond of the novels is a much darker character than the one we usually see on the screen.  He’s not an outgoing individual, nor does he have a quip for all occasions-and he smokes like a freight train.  And he’s an executioner who never takes his job lightly-the man even worries and occasionally gets scared.  Although only a few of the actors Eon have cast as James Bond really physically resemble the 007 Fleming describes (most notably in From Russia With Love and The Spy Who Loved Me), they’ve all done him justice through their different interpretations, despite the shifts in style and content of their movies.  In my opinion something of Ian Fleming’s creation always makes it to the screen, and that, I think, is because what Fleming created is simply too fascinating-too potent to ignore.” -  Willie Garvin

Early publicity shot
© Express Newspapers/Hulton Archive – Getty Images

“I had been a Bond fan for quite some time when wondering through a store I came across a box set of all the Fleming James Bond novels.  I decided to pick it up thinking that I would probably just read Casino Royale but that it would be nice to have the whole set of books to compliment my collection of movies.  I had heard that the movies followed the novels pretty closely and assumed that would spoil the reading of the books.  Needless to say I was wrong.  After reading CR I was hooked, I decided to read all the novels in order.  I would site that purchase as a turning point in my Bond fandom.  Reading CR is what transformed me from a casual Bond fan into a Bond aficionado.” – 00-Agent

“I was about 8 years old, I believe, when I accompanied my mother on a foray to a ‘garage sale.’ It was a Saturday, and I was desperately bored…I came upon a table with several boxes of paperback books…I picked up a paperback.  The title proclaimed:  MOONRAKER.  Above it, in even bigger letters, was the name IAN FLEMING…which rang a bell somewhere in the dark recesses of my earnest young mind.  Then, along the right side of the cover, was vertically written:  A JAMES BOND THRILLER…

“I took the book to my mom, tugged on her skirt and begged her to buy it for me.  It cost her one dime—ten cents, American—and, God bless her, she bought it for me…On the way home, I looked at the back cover, and there was Ian Fleming, aiming a revolver to the right, at someone out of the picture.  He looked pretty cool to me—anybody who writes James Bond stories has to be pretty cool—and I opened the book and smelled the pages.  It was musty newsprint—a smell that has always heralded great adventure to me; an escape from the humdrum.  I remain firmly convinced, to this day, that heaven will smell like old paperback books.  

“I opened the book to Chapter One, and read the first line of the book:  ‘The two thirty-eights roared simultaneously.’  And, almost 40 years later, here I am.” - Loeffelholz

“I was probably about 18 yrs old and already a long time Bond fan when I decided I really needed to read the Fleming novels…I was going to London to watch Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall and decided I needed something to read on the coach journey down. I stopped off at my local WH Smith’s and bought both Casino Royale and Live And Let Die – if I was going to do this then I was going to do it right and read them in order…I was hooked!” – Sir Miles

In his natural habitat
© Getty Images

“Being Loeffelholz’s kid brother, as one can imagine, I don’t remember a time of my life when I had no knowledge of James Bond…Some of my fondest childhood memories are of Loeffelholz and I sitting in our living room in the 70’s and watching the network television broadcasts of the Bond films. This was before the VCR, so the Bond Movie On TV was a HUGE event in our lives…

“And then much later, some time around my 7th or 8th grade of school, Loeffelholz, who at that time must of been quite tired of explaining to me the differences between cinematic and literary Bond, loaned me his old paperback copy of Casino Royale and told me to ‘Start Here.’ I did indeed. And never looked back. Over the years, I have read and love them all. I cannot tell you how Mr. Fleming and his Character have enriched my life. Endless entertainment. Endless.

“Recently Loeffelholz gave me that same dogeared copy of Casino Royale that he had loaned me in the early 80’s. As he said…the book itself still smells like adventure. This time he gave it to me to keep…here’s to 100 years Ian Fleming…” -  Another Loeffelholz

“My grandfather died when I was 8 years old, in 1966, and I inherited his books- Agatha Christie, Alistair MacLean and Ian Fleming. I read them all avidly and no surprises who was my favourite…At eight I didn’t understand everything in the books, though with re-reading (many times) as I grew older all became apparent. The only one he didn’t have was Octopussy which I picked up later…I began to buy a lot of books about Bond rather than Bond books- The James Bond Dossier, The Bond Affair, etc… riting this has reminded me that it’s been a couple of years since I last read any Fleming- time to correct that, I think…” – Barbel

“I couldn’t give an age specifically (somewhere between 9 and 14, I suspect) when I first read Fleming. As a boy I knew Fleming as the writer of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and was also aware that he was the creator of James Bond – the movies of which thrilled me and my brothers…One day my mother was cleaning out a cabinet that was stuffed with various books that she was going to get rid of, and my mom said “Here are some Ian Fleming books.” That got my attention! I piped up and said “I’ll take those!” There were four hardcover books which had my aunt’s name written in the covers (I don’t know why we had them – I suppose I should ask her but I’m afraid she’ll want them back! :p ). The books were Casino Royale, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and Octopussy…

“Birds of the West Indies?”
© Getty Images

“One summer night I was looking for a book to read and I chose Thunderball. I ended up staying up the whole night until I finished it. After that, I devoured Octopussy and The Living Daylights. It wasn’t until high school, however, and that I had a job that put money in my pocket, that I made it a quest to complete my collection of Bond novels and read them through. They were hard to come by (the eighties were dominated by John Gardner’s novels) and I often had to wait weeks for my order to arrive at the bookstore. I remember being so amazed by Fleming’s writing that two close friends began to read them to find out what I was so enthralled by…To this day, those original hardcover books (that my aunt doesn’t know that I have) rest upon my shelf.” – darenhat  

“I honestly can’t recall when I first heard Ian Fleming’s name.  From the time I was a child I used to see advertisements for James Bond movies and such, and of course they always read, ‘James Bond in Ian Fleming’s _____’ (around the time of The Spy Who Loved Me, it became ‘Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007′), so I suppose that as long as I knew of Bond I knew of Fleming…Though I’m fuzzy on when I first learned of the author, I remember clearly when I first started reading his novels.  It was the early 1980s: I was in high school, and License Renewed had just been published.  To tie in with this, Berkeley publishing brought out new paperback editions of Fleming’s Bond novels, and I toyed with the idea of reading the books.  I had recently seen Dr. No on TV and I loved it; not knowing the order of the novels, I picked up Dr. No and resolved to read them all in the order the films came out.  And in that way a Fleming reader was born.” – Hardyboy

“Like Sir Miles and Superado, I already was a lifelong Bond fan – of the movies that is. Well, that all changed after I watched The Living Daylights with new guy Timothy Dalton. You could say he was the person most responsible for inspiring me to seek out the novels. After moving from Germany to Florida in the summer of ‘88 I read my first Ian Fleming, Octopussy/The Living Daylights/Property Of A Lady. (Coronet paperback with an introduction by Anthony Burgess)…To this day these rather neglected entries in the Fleming pantheon remain sentimental favorites. (neglected by the mainstream not by us fanatics) Short stories had always been favorite past times with me and while I symphatized with Dexter Smythe, who as a Fleming villain is unique since he wasn’t an “ugly foreigner”, my admiration for the literary and original James Bond character leaped forward giant notches; due to his noble gesture of leaving the Major to devise his own way out rather then endure a shameful end.” – Alex

“I am guessing I was about 13 0r 14 years old when I read my first Fleming novels.  My parents subscribed to Life magazine so I had seen all the stories during the “Bond Mania” period in the 60’s.  I picked up my first novel which was Casino Royale (still my favorite) and fell in love with Fleming.  Read all of the books the library had and purchased the paperbacks of the others.  As I have mentioned before I believe it is the pacing of his books which I enjoyed most, they just seemed to always be moving forward.  I have never read a better fiction author.  About 10 years ago I reread all the novels in order and enjoyed them just as much…I have to thank my parents who let a young teenage boy read books that had scantily clad women on the cover.” – Barry Nelson

“Can’t remember the specific moment, but I do remember going to the coast on vacation trips with my family, and begging to stop at this little bookstore that always had tons of used paperback and hardback Flemings.  Seems I could never find what I wanted in town, always had to go to the coast for my Bond fix.

“Pussy…what? Pussy Deluxe? No…”
© Pictorial Parade/Hulton Archive – Getty Images

“I do remember DN making quite an impression with Dr. No’s obstacle course, and of course Grant in FRWL was terrifying.  As was Blofeld walking around in Japanese armor in YOLT, tossing people to his piranhas!  And the interrogation chamber…I think more than the character of Bond, I really appreciated Fleming’s amazing imagination, and the way he could blend borderline fantasy elements with plain old real life.” – blueman

“For many years I had been a casual Bond Fan, knowing only of the movies I would see them in the cinema or rent them from the video library, being quite young at the time I didn’t know tha novels exsisted and was more enthralled by the action in the movies…I knew of the novels and of Ian Fleming but had never read any of them. during this speculation process and the casting of Daniel Craig I kept hearing the phrase “Fleming’s James Bond” and, wanting to know really what people meant by “Fleming’s James Bond” I decided when I was in Borders one day to by the Penguin Classics paperback copy of Casino Royale, Live & Let Die and Moonraker…having suppassed the books aimed at teenagers by my 9th Birthday I didn’t find Fleming’s prose a challenge to read. because of that I devoured the content of the novels, creating my own image of James Bond in my head.

“I went straight to my local library and placed an order for the rest of Fleming’s Bond novels. they could only get some of them so I then went back to Boarders and bought the ones I couldn’t get hold of. my copies of CR,LALD,MR and Goldfinger are now so damaged the paperback back covers on them have fallen off…Because of reading Fleming’s novels I then became a true Bond fan, purchasing the DVD box set of movies and joining places like here so I could be part of the Bond conciousness.

“…So thank you Ian Fleming, Thank you for creating something that has taken over my life.” – solaris

Ian Lancaster Fleming, 1908 – 1964
© Marvin Koner/Corbis

“One can only be grateful for the talent that came out of the air, and to one’s capacity for hard, concentrated effort.  I am perhaps the smallest and most profitable one-man factory in the world.

“If I chose to leave England and live somewhere else like Switzerland I could be a millionaire.

“I don’t want yachts, racehorses or a Rolls-Royce.  I want my family and my friends and good health and to have a small treadmill with a temperature of 80° in the shade and the sea to come to every year for two months.

“And to be able to work there and look at the flowers and birds and fish, and somehow to give pleasure to people in the millions.  Well, you can’t ask for more.”¹ – Ian Fleming, 1908 – 1964

Special thanks to all AJB members who contributed to the “Ian Fleming Memories” thread.

     Unfortunately, it seems more questions than answers have presented themselves when venturing into this rat hole…Bits from Corgi’s line of toys leaked out complete with pictures fueling assumptions around robust offerings in this category only to be potentially dashed by the news of Corgi’s sale and purchase.  The transition around the sale could delay the premiere of these items or worse scrub them altogether.  Master Replica/Corgi’s outing in the offering of 1:1 Bond gadgets have proven an exciting initiative but fans and collectors alike panicked around the thought of “what else”?  Would there be anything else besides a golden gun, breather, and wrist dart gun?  Rest assured I believe there will be some surprises out of this group that will delight us all.

sunspel run

     Since this forum contains a significant amount of “lifestyle” collectors the discussion in this realm has been passionate, to say the least.  From Turnbull and Asser, to Brioni, to Dunhill, to finally Tom Ford…we eventually received news that indeed Tom Ford was the primary designer on QoS.  Naturally being in the marketing game I tried to chat up Natalie Rawlings, head of PR for Tom Ford, to let her know that a LOUD and influential base of suit wearers who happened to be Bond fans were eager to know specifics around what they provided to the production.  I received a VERY cordial reply back from Natalie assuring me that she would find out every lick of information and get back to me promptly.  Seconds, minutes, hours…aw hell, it was weeks before I nudged Natalie again with my request.  The deafening answer of silence and no reply reminded me of similar dead ends before Casino Royale premiered.  An acquaintance in the same industry as I mentioned that they may be maintaining MUM until closer to the film release date as per some licensee agreements.  This was the same for Lucasfilm and Paramount licensees so perhaps EON is making sure their ‘partners’ release details at the pre-designed time and through appropriate channels.  My problem is we want to find out what style of clothing he wears NOW lest we be three seasons behind in our search.  Very difficult.  For example a discussion of Bond’s black jacket(s) have been a source of frustration for our best detectives frustration but it is just a matter of time before the source of these is discovered.  However,  will we be in the dead of winter when we discover the brand of this SPRING jacket?  The only ‘wearable’ companies that have volunteered their SPECIFIC influence on the production have been Omega and Sunspel.  Even Oliver Peoples have not formally raised their hand.

airman

     So, all this discussion of who made what and when is it being provided, etc… have pushed me to return to the day of “Bond Film X On a Budget”.  That’s right folks, within two weeks time I will be releasing “Quantum of Solace on a Budget”.  This is less about an effort to acquire Bond clothing for less and more about acquiring the type of clothing from the new film because we JUST CAN’T WAIT.  This time I want it to be a community effort.  Although I will impart my search for ‘comparable clothing” as seen in the stills, if YOU have found a good representation of any articles of clothing or accessories PLEASE PM me.  I have all the confidence in the world of our “lifestyle” detectives and their ability to eventually find the RIGHT items by the RIGHT brands but in the meantime alternatives might provide us a quantum of solace.

Ian Fleming posing with a S&W Centennial © Dan Wynn

In the world of 1950’s fiction, Ian Fleming’s use of firearms in his novels was unusual. Fleming’s contemporaries identified guns by generic terms like “.38″ or “.45″ and on occasion offered more detailed descriptions such as “small automatic” or “large revolver”. Hoping to add realism to his writing, Fleming took the innovative step of actually naming the models of guns used by his characters.

Fleming initially drew upon his own considerable experience and observations, acquired during World War Two as a high level member of British Naval Intelligence. However, like many people with little more than a passing interest in firearms, Fleming’s knowledge of model numbers, caliber and cartridges was not detailed. Always the good journalist, Fleming did check the details in his work with outside sources. For his first novel Casino Royale Fleming consulted London Gunsmith Robert Churchill who corrected the spelling of “Beretta”.

Eventually, Fleming’s attention to detail drew the interest of firearms enthusiast Geoffrey Boothroyd. In a 1956 letter to Fleming, Boothroyd was critical of Bond’s favorite pistol, the .25 Beretta. Impressed by the expertise imparted in Boothroyd’s fan letter, Fleming decided to re-arm his secret agent using Boothroyd’s recommendations as guidelines. Soon after, as the Bond books gained in readership all the detail Fleming provided caused him additional criticism from armchair firearms “experts” who would often jealously characterize him as a bungler.

The following will accurately describe 007’s guns, and clarify some common misconceptions regarding the handguns used by the literary James Bond.

1. “ALL CATS ARE GREY”

James Bond begins his literary adventures on June 15, 1951 (*1), when after a long day of gambling, he leaves the Casino Royale and strolls through its gardens to the Hotel Splendide. Picking up the key to Room 45, Bond quietly walks up to the threshold of his room, unlocks the door and in one fluid motion draws a “gun” and turns on the room light. The empty room “sneers” at him. Later, when Bond slides between the harsh French sheets on his ornate bed he places his right hand on a “Colt Police Positive .38 with a sawn barrel.” He immediately falls to sleep. While Bond’s Police Positive makes its first and only appearance at the end of this first chapter in Casino Royale, this revolver sets the stage for the iconic Bond guns which follow.

What does it mean that the barrel of Bond’s Colt is “sawn”? In this case it appears that Bond wanted to make the revolver shorter and more concealable. The standard barrel on the Police Positive was either four or six inches long. Once shortened, the Police Positive is less likely to snag on a holster, pocket or other clothing during the draw. The barrel on Bond’s Colt would likely have been carefully cut just forward of the ejector rod located underneath and parallel with the barrel. The end result would give Bond’s gun a final barrel length of from two and a quarter to two and one half inches.

Having “sawn” the barrel, Bond would have also removed the front sight. Bond could consider installing a new sight. However, this would require elaborate gunsmithing, and Fleming makes no mention of any such work. Since James Bond frequently employs the point shooting technique as taught to British Commandos during World War Two (*2), the lack of a front sight would not seriously affect Bond’s work with his Colt. The point or “instinctive” shooting technique as used by the Commandos teaches that for close shooting the entire pistol is indexed on the target in the shooter’s peripheral vision, the sights were not used.

Since Fleming could have provided Bond with a factory “snub-nose” it would appear his choice to arm 007 with the “sawn” barreled Colt was intended to establish his Secret Agent as a deadly gunman, serious enough about his weapons to take the time and trouble to customize them.

2. “A WHISPER OF LOVE, A WHISPER OF HATE”

An Unaltered .25 Beretta

Of all Bond’s guns it is the infamous .25 Beretta which generates the most controversy and confusion. Much is made over Major Boothroyd’s description of the .25 Beretta as an underpowered “fancy looking” ladies gun. This criticism must have interested Fleming who personally carried a very similar FN/Browning .25 automatic during his service in World War Two*3. The .25 is the smallest of all common center fire pistol cartridges. Typically fired from small short barreled automatics, its low velocity and light weight bullet make it a ballistic “wimp”.

Bond’s favorite weapon is first mentioned in Chapter 8 of Casino Royale. Opening a dresser drawer Bond removes “a very flat .25 Beretta automatic with a skeleton grip” from under his shirts. Once in hand he performs a quick check-out, removing the clip, then the cartridge in the chamber. After the Beretta is unloaded Bond “whips” the action a few times. In later books Bond will pump the cartridges in the loaded gun out onto his bed cover. This drill is Bond’s way of making sure his sidearm is in perfect working order.

It is established in Dr. No that Bond began using the Beretta in 1941*4. Since his last “new” Beretta was acquired no later than 1953, Bond’s .25 would have been of the type which in 1937 was designated the Model 418. In Diamonds Are Forever Fleming provides a detailed description of the modifications Bond has made to his Beretta. Up to this point we know only that Bond has removed the grip panels from the frame of the Beretta. This provides the famous “skeleton” grip, so called because the frame underlying the grip panels of the Beretta has been machined out.

In Chapter 4 of Diamonds Are Forever we learn that Bond has wrapped the “skeleton grip” with tape. This it makes the grip less slippery, and holds down the grip safety on the back of the handle. The grip safety prevents the pistol from being fired unless it is firmly gripped. Disconnecting this type of safety is a modification often advocated by serious users of the similarly equipped Colt Model 1911. It is argued that in a gunfight, wounds, blood or other combat conditions could make the pistol’s handle impossible to grasp firmly enough to unlock the safety. Taping down the safety allows the weapon to be fired with less than a perfect grip.*5

.25 Beretta as modified by 007

We also learn in Diamonds Are Forever that 007 has “personally sawn the blunt foresight” from the blued barrel of the Beretta. Recalling the “sawn” barrel of the Colt Police Positive .38, we can confidently deduce that the front sights on both the Colt and the Beretta were removed to enhance the handling of a gun intended for close quarters work. Here Fleming makes a slight error, for the front sight of the Model 418 is located not at the end of the barrel, but on the top front of the slide. Depending on the vintage of Bond’s pistol the barrel extends beyond the front of the slide up to about 3/8″. While it is likely Fleming envisioned Bond sawing the Beretta’s barrel as he had done to the Colt, it is possible that the “sawn barrel” is a reference to the barrel being cut back slightly and fitted for a silencer. In any event we can be sure that the barrel on Bond’s Beretta was cut off immediately past the end of the slide.

The next modification described in Diamonds Are Forever is at best confused. Bond retracts the slide of the Beretta, inspecting the breech for any dust around the firing pin “which he spent so many hours filing to a sharp point”. A sharply pointed firing pin would not impart the solid hit required to fire the primer of a cartridge. A sharpened firing pin could instead easily pierce the cartridge primer, impaling the cartridge. On the 418 Beretta the firing pin also acts as the ejector – kicking the empty shell out of the breech. If Bond’s sharpened firing pin fired and pierced a primer – gas and flame could leak backwards into the pistol, and the firing pin would fail to eject the spent casing. The end result would at least be a jammed gun.

Perhaps Fleming accidentally “reversed” this Bond modification. On the Model 418 when the pistol is cocked, the back end of the firing pin assembly protrudes out of the rear of the slide. This was engineered to signal the shooter that the pistol is cocked and ready for action. Filing this end of the firing pin would have no adverse effect on the pistol. After a few dry martinis, a “sharp point” on the cocking indicator could make determining the status of the pistol easier. Since we are dealing with the opposite ends of the same part, Bond may have accidentally been described by Fleming as filing on the wrong end of the “firing pin”.

Bond’s Beretta in a chamois leather holster

Bond always holsters his Beretta in a light “chamois” pouch and shoulder harness which places the little automatic exactly three inches under his left armpit. Given the small overall size of the Beretta, the holster and harness seem unnecessary. Bond’s pistol could be unobtrusively carried in a coat, vest or pants pocket. No doubt, Bond’s argument for the holster would be that he did not want to reach into a pocket and accidentally grab his oxidized Ronson lighter or his gunmetal cigarette case instead of the Beretta.

The Beretta/chamois holster combination would be very flat, a very light and unobtrusive setup. So equipped Bond could endure scrutiny by the most expert eyes, and there would be no hint that he was armed. An exception to this occurs in Moonraker, when shortly after meeting 007, heroine Gala Brand “brushes” up against Bond to verify he is wearing a gun. At the time 007’s Beretta is tucked high under his left armpit under a coat. It would appear Gala’s brushing must have been more like a massage.

3. “THE DEADLY TUBE”

Beretta with Silencer

The most controversial accessory for the Beretta makes its debut in Diamonds Are Forever. Hidden at the back of Bond’s attaché case is a silencer. Being little more than hollow metal tubes containing a series of baffles, silencers are designed to dissipate and severely muffle the report of the pistol. In response to questions from Fleming regarding silencers, Geoffrey Boothroyd decried their effectiveness and doubted it was possible to attach a silencer to Bond’s Beretta without making a “custom barrel” for it. The only time Bond actually fires his Beretta with a silencer is on the Queen Elisabeth, to terminate villains Wint and Kidd.

In fact, it is a simple task to thread a factory Beretta 418 barrel for a silencer. Fleming writes that Bond’s silencer is attached by screwing it into the muzzle of the Beretta. As the barrel of the 418 Beretta is easily removed from the gun for routine cleaning, the barrel can be set up in a lathe, the bore reamed slightly larger, then threaded. Care must be taken to leave sufficient metal so that when the end of the silencer is screwed into the muzzle the connection will have a .25 hole running through it and sufficient threads to hold firmly when the gun is fired.

Silencer with a thick tube of Palmolive Shaving Cream

Fleming described Bond’s silencer as “sausage” shaped. This could mean that its ends were rounded off, and/or that there were protrusions on both ends of the silencer like the ties on a sausage link. The latter seems mostly likely the case here, since almost all silencers are constructed as plain cylinders. Fleming provided a clue to the overall size of Bond’s silencer in From Russia With Love, when Q branch conceals it in a “thick tube of Palmolive shaving crème”.

The .25 Beretta, as modified and holstered by Bond would not be any informed gunfighters first choice to carry in harms way. In Dr. No, these poor choices catch up with oo7. After a formal inquiry, Bond is formally chastised for letting the Beretta and silencer get fouled in his waistband – allowing From Russia With Love adversary Rosa Klebb to poison and nearly murder him.

Threaded muzzle of a Beretta

M subsequently confiscates the Beretta and re-arms Bond. Even though Bond rationally acknowledges his new weapons are superior to the Beretta, his resentment is deep. At the conclusion of Dr. No 007 cables M requesting sick leave, childishly advising that his new Smith & Wesson was “ineffective against flame-thrower”.

4. “WILD SURMISES”

The most frequent mistake with regard to Bond’s Beretta is to misidentify it as one of the many other models of Beretta, some not even made in the .25 caliber. The actual model of Bond’s Beretta, the 418 was introduced shortly after World War One, and except for a few inconsequential cosmetic and model number changes, was manufactured through the end of the 1950’s.

Most frequently Bond is cited as carrying a Beretta Model 950. The 950 is a post World War Two .25 automatic with distinctive features. The most prominent being a “tip up” barrel. Often mistaken for a safety, a latch on the left side of the 950’s frame releases the breech end of the barrel which wings up over the top of the slide. With the chamber so exposed, the pistol can be loaded by dropping a round directly into the barrel, then pressing it back into place. This eliminates the need to pull back the slide to chamber the first round from the magazine. Since operating the slide of a small automatic takes some strength, the “tip up” barrel allows weaker hands ( i.e. ladies), to easily load the pistol.

Beretta 950

Unlike Bond’s Beretta, the 950 has no safety – only a half cock notch on the hammer. The 950 also lacks a mechanical cartridge extractor and does not allow unfired cartridges to be cycled through the action – i.e. pumping the “bullets” on to the bed in a lonely hotel room. If this is attempted the cartridge in the chamber will stay in place and the next round in the magazine will have nowhere to go but jam against the cartridge already in the chamber.

Having a “skeleton” butt on the Model 950 also presents a problem. While the grip panels of the 950 can be removed, directly underneath them, attached to studs on the frame, are the wire springs which power the slide. Fired without the grip panels, the 950 would severely pinch the user’s hand causing enough interference with the springs to jam the pistol. Altogether these features clearly eliminate the Model 950 as Bond’s gun.

Perhaps the most notorious instance of misidentification is in the film “Dr. No”, when Bond’s Beretta is portrayed by a much larger 1934 Model and his Walther PPK by a Walther PP.

5. “OVER THE BARREL”

In Chapter 15 of Casino Royale, the last of the original Bond guns makes its debut. Kept in a holster under the dashboard of Bond’s Bentley is a “long barreled Colt Army Special .45″. Bond intends to use this pistol as a long range weapon in his chase after LeChiffre. His plan is to use the Colt on the tires of the villains’ car – at any range up to 100 yards. Unfortunately, before oo7 can use the Colt against Le Chiffre he runs over a blanket of steel spikes tossed from the villain’s Citroen and crashes the Bentley.

The Colt .45 makes another appearance in the climatic car chase in Moonraker. As in Casino Royale, before Bond can do more than unholster the Colt from under the dashboard, rolls of newsprint cut loose by the villains from a passing lorry cause Bond to again wreck his Bentley and the Colt is lost. In Goldfinger, the Colt .45 is still present, now concealed in a “hidden compartment” in Bond’s Aston Martin DB III. This time it is never used.

Long Barrelled .45 Colt

Other than having a “long barrel”, there are no detailed descriptions of this Colt. It could be assumed that it is a long barreled .45 revolver of which Colt made several types. Officially the designation “Army Special” was never a Colt model in .45 caliber. The Army Special was the model name of a medium frame .38 revolver. There were Colt handguns made in .45 caliber with “long barrels”. These were the “New Service” double action revolver and the famous “Cowboy” Colt Single Action Army .45. In addition, while it did not normally feature a “long barrel”, there is the 1911 Automatic. All of these Colt’s were used at various times by the U.S. Army. *6

The mystery is solved in the short story From a View to a Kill in which Bond finally is allowed to fire the long-barrel Colt at an enemy. Bond carries the Colt while disguised as a military motorcycle courier, and after being shot at twice by a similarly disguised Russian agent with a Luger, Bond returns fire and fells his opponent. Shortly afterwards, while trying to arrest two more Soviet agents, Bond is nearly killed because he “kept the safety catch up” on the Colt. Unable to quickly bring the gun to bear on his enemy, Bond is tackled and nearly killed.

From a View to a Kill, finally reveals the “long-barreled Colt” to be a 1911 automatic. We can rest easy in this deduction since in all the Bond novels Fleming never makes the frequent literary mistake of having a character employ a manual safety while using a revolver.*7

Bond was not the only person who found the Long Barrel Colt .45 useful. In Thunderball, Count Lippe employs this type of Colt to seek revenge against Bond.

6. “CHOICE OF WEAPONS”

Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight

In March 1956, gun enthusiast and collector Geoffrey Boothroyd puts pen to paper and writes to Ian Fleming. In addition to being a Bond fan, Boothroyd has been studying the art of gun fighting and fast draw. Boothroyd is appalled at Bond’s personal sidearm. It is very understandable that Bond’s use of the .25 Beretta would disappoint a well informed gun handler. Boothroyd’s letter prompts Fleming, who cares deeply about the authenticity of his novels, to almost immediately agree to Boothroyd’s suggestion to rearm Bond with a Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight – a streamlined, concealed hammer .38 special revolver. *8

Bond is no stranger to the short-barreled .38. He used the Colt Detective Special in Live and Let Die to shoot two of Mr. Big’s henchmen. At the beginning of Moonraker Bond trains with the Detective Special in the basement shooting range at headquarters. Unlike the well traveled .25 Beretta, the Colt Detective and the Centennial in .38 Special are effective man-stoppers.

The Smith & Wesson Centennial Model recommended by Boothroyd debuted in 1953, and was so named because that year was Smith & Wesson’s 100th Anniversary. The design of this revolver is based on turn of the century pocket revolvers which had concealed hammers, allowing them to be cleanly drawn and even fired from inside coat pockets. The older guns had weak “top break” frames and were chambered in shorter, less powerful .38 and .32 Smith & Wesson cartridges. At the urging of firearms authority Rex Applegate, Smith & Wesson updated the design to a stronger modern frame and cartridge. The resulting revolver remains very state of the art even today, with the only significant changes being due to improvements in metallurgy.

A Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum

For a long range pistol, Boothroyd suggests arming Bond with another Smith & Wesson – the .357 Magnum. When first introduced to the world in 1935 the powerful .357 was used effectively to kill virtually everything from gangsters to polar bear *9. The pre World War Two Smith & Wesson .357 was the ultimate in handguns. Originally manufactured on a “custom order” basis, each revolver was registered to its owner. The .357 was available with the widest possible range of barrel lengths from 3 1/2″ to 8 3/4″. By March 1956 when Boothroyd wrote to Fleming, the .357 Magnum was still the most powerful and deluxe revolver in Smith & Wesson’s handgun inventory, although the .44 magnum was posed to take over the “most powerful” title.

A Walther PPK

By the time Dr. No. is published the big and powerful .357 Magnum has been discarded and replaced with the Walther PPK. Bond is issued the Centennial as his man stopper instead of the magnum. Bond puts the Centennial to use in Doctor No, but after shooting one of Dr. No’s henchmen point blank and later firing ten shots at the headlights and solid rubber tyres of a flame throwing marsh buggy, oo7 is forced to surrender and drop his new revolver on a sandspit. It would seem the Smith & Wesson was abandoned after one appearance, leaving the Walther PPK as Bond’s main sidearm.

There is however evidence that Bond occasionally continued to use the Centennial. In The Spy Who Loved Me, Co-Author Vivienne Michel refers to the revolver Bond gives her to defend herself from “Horror” and “Sluggsy” as a “Smith & Wesson Police Positive ” – a gun which never existed. However, her description of it as “a short stumpy revolver” is almost identical to the “brutal stumpy revolver” description Fleming provided for the Centennial. It is generally conceded that in this narrative, Miss Michel gets a few observations wrong. For example, she places the three inch scar on oo7’s cheek on the wrong side of his face. Surely, the exact model of Bond’s revolver was not a concern to her, but by its description we can infer it was the S&W Centennial.

Ian Fleming poses with the S&W Centennial © Dan Wynn

Interestingly, The Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight which Bond tosses into the mud of Crab Key is the only “Bond gun” Fleming is ever photographed holding. Fleming posed with other firearms, his Colt Official Police from World War Two, and Geoffrey Boothroyd’s Ruger .44 Magnum. But In 1964, publicity photos appear in which Fleming is posed sniffing the barrel of a Centennial Airweight. In the 1956 dated letters to Boothroyd, Fleming stated he planned to purchase a Smith & Wesson in New York on his next visit. According to Andrew Lycett writing in the biography, Ian Fleming, the Man behind James Bond, Fleming was unable to get an export permit for a Smith & Wesson. However, it is not impossible that one of Fleming’s east coast friends could have obtained a Centennial Model for him. It is also possible the revolver in the photos could also have been supplied by Dan Wynn, the photographer.

The Walther PPK needs little description, thanks to the fame which Fleming bestowed upon it. Designed in the late 1920’s the Walther, despite being almost eighty years old, is as modern today as it was when it was introduced. Able to be safely carried with the chamber loaded, the PPK’s double action design and slide mounted safety allow for a fast first shot. As a man stopper, it cannot live up to the “brick through plate glass” legend, but it is a big improvement over that “ugly bit of metal” – the Beretta.

Geoffrey Boothroyd, in the BBC TV program, “The Guns of James Bond” *10 states that arming Bond with a Walther PPK was Fleming’s choice. No discourse exists to explain what prompted Fleming to choose the PPK for Bond. It was a pistol initially suggested by Boothroyd for enemy agents. One could reason that since Bond had a strong preference for the thin, flat .25 Beretta, the Walther’s selection was because its size and overall design were more in line with Bond’s original preferences. Others have suggested Fleming chose the PPK because of its rhythmic name.

Fleming kept things simple with the Walther and the Smith & Wesson. After the Beretta is gone, Bond never again attacks his pistols with a saw or file and a roll of tape. Fleming no longer spends words in long descriptions of firearms. The closest he gets is in Dr. No when it is stated that the extension spur on the magazine of the Walther PPK “gives a grip that should suit oo7.” The Walther is also described as having a light trigger pull”.

With respect to the caliber of Bond’s new guns, both the Walther in 7.65 m/m (.32 ACP) and the Smith & Wesson in .38 Special were as close to universal cartridges as one could get in the 1950’s and 60’s. The .38 Special was the predominant police pistol cartridge for most of the 20th century in the U.S.A. and during the same period the .32 ACP filled the same position in continental Europe. While not powerful magnums, these cartridges were not regarded with the nearly universal disdain in which the .25 is held.

7. “WE DON’T LIKE MISTAKES”

Rearmed with the Smith & Wesson and the Walther, Bond is provided a Berns Martin Triple draw holster. The Berns Martin holster is a “split front” design. A wire spring sewn into both sides of the gun pouch keeps the holster closed and the pistol in place. A fast smooth draw is accomplished by firmly grabbing the gun handle and pushing forward and down. The “triple draw” feature allows the holster to be attached to a shoulder harness or by using a belt loop on the back of the pouch the pistol can be worn on either the right or left side of the trouser belt. From its introduction in the 1930’s to the 1970’s the Berns Martin holster was considered by experts to be the fastest “quick draw” holster available.

Much has been made of Fleming’s “error” by holstering the PPK in a Berns Martin “Triple Draw”. It is often stated that this style of holster is suitable only for revolvers. That is actually not the case! Berns Martin holsters are well illustrated in Ed McGivern’s Book of Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting *11. On page
386 there is a picture of a Berns Martin Holster for the 1911 Colt Automatic. I have no doubt that this famous firm if asked in 1956 could have produced a Triple Draw holster to accommodate the PPK.

The real difficulty of using the Berns Martin design would stem from Bond wearing the holster “fitted inside” the waist band of his pants. With the Berns Martin split front design – drawing the pistol from inside Bond’s trousers would result in a pistol wrapped in shirt tail, an even worse scenario than the Beretta with its silencer. Fleming eventually solves this problem in later novels when Bond adopts an unnamed “stitched pigskin” holster for the Walther.

8. “THOUGHTS IN A DOUBLE BOURBON”

In concluding my observations on the handguns employed by James Bond, I would now like to offer some opinion.

Fleming makes good use of firearms in his novels. He describes accurately guns that figured largely in the real life history of espionage and world conflict. He employs them properly, and considering he is writing works of fiction, makes very few mistakes of any real significance. Occasionally, Bond’s accuracy, especially with the Beretta, is rather extraordinary. But Fleming’s choice of the Beretta .25 for Bond is plausible and was grounded in his personal use of a Browning .25 while serving in the Royal Navy in World War Two.

Despite negative observations by “experts” and any deficiencies real or imagined in the .25 cartridge uncounted thousands of secret agents, soldiers and civilians have used .25 Berettas, Colts, and similar pistols to defend themselves and attack enemies. There are also a few legions of dead bodies to testify to the lethality of the .25 cartridge.

The re-arming of Bond in the novel Dr. No, originally undertaken by Fleming with accuracy in mind, made famous the .25 Beretta and the Walther PPK. Fleming’s short evaluation of Bond’s weapons sparked a torrent of imitative novels and later films in which considerable time is spent, elevating the hero’s weapons into outrageously powerful magical devices, modern equivalents of Excalibur.

The controversy Fleming often engenders with his literary observations is part of the magic of his work and what makes him a most amusing master of modern fiction. Collectors and “experts” avidly debate the merits of his various devices, descriptions and scenarios. Unfortunately, Ian Fleming passed on before he was able to witness much of the controversy and interest in James Bond. He would no doubt be very amused, gratified and appalled at the interest in and longevity of his creation.

Footnote

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE “SILENCER” PICTURED WITH  JAMES BOND’S  BERETTA  IS A  NON-FUNCTIONAL REPLICA.

Article & Original Photos Copyright Bradley Steele, 2007

The Wristwatches of James Bond

Part 1 The Rolex Submariner

                                 Rolex Watches

 

Although the cinematic James Bond has worn Rolex, Seiko, and Omega watches, to many the choice of which watch Bond wears can only come form his origins. Undoubtedly, the origins of James Bond lie with Ian Fleming and Bond’s earliest incarnation in the cinema.

The Choice of Ian Fleming

No one knows exactly why Ian Fleming chose a Rolex for the wrist of James Bond. Perhaps Fleming was impressed by the fact that during World War II, British prisoners of war could write Rolex and receive a watch free of charge delivered directly to their prison camp. Perhaps it was for Rolex’s legendary toughness and dependability, or perhaps it was because Fleming wore a Rolex himself. Whatever the reason, Ian Fleming chose a Rolex for his most famous gentleman spy with a license to kill and as such should be considered the quintessential brand of James Bond watch.

But just what model of Rolex Fleming chose for his spy, he never makes quite clear. Like his clothing choices for Bond, Fleming is vague about the model of Rolex that Bond wears. One of the few references Fleming gives can be found in Chapter 16 of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service when Bond prepares to use his Rolex as a knuckle duster: “He softly retrieved his gloves from the bathroom, put on the goggles so that they rested in his hair above the forehead, tied the dark-red handkerchief tightly across his nose, schnapps into hip pocket and, finally, Gillette through the fingers of the left hand and the Rolex transferred to his right, the bracelet clasped in the palm of his hand and round the fingers so that the face of the watch lay across his middle knuckles.” When Bond was brought to the large screen however, the producers clearly had to pick their own model.

According to the book James Bond the Legacy (John Cork and Bruce Scivally, Boxtree 2002, IBSN 0-8109-3296-2), great care was taken to insure that James Bond in his first outing in Dr. No had the right look, wore the right clothes and in general had the right style. This extended even to Bond’s surroundings and accessories. Bond would not just drink champagne, it would be Dom Perignon, and “he could not just wear a watch, it needed to be a Rolex”. When Rolex declined to provide one of their watches to the production and the film’s budget did not allow for the purchase of one, Cubby Broccoli took the one off his wrist and gave it to a member of the art department for use in the film. That Rolex was a Submariner with a very large crown, no crown guards, a coin edge bezel and a black crocodile strap.

The James Bond Submariner

Many vintage Rolex collectors call all early Submariners without crown guards (shoulderless) the James Bond Submariner, while others in the watch collecting field believe that the watch Connery wore in Dr. No and the others was the Rolex Submariner model 6538. Still other collectors believe that the Submariner Connery wore was more than likely one of four models or that perhaps each of the four models made an appearance in each of the early films, they are the 6200, 6538A, thick cased 6538 and the 5510. I believe that it is impossible to nail it down to one of the four models, and I’ll get into the specifics later.

All four models share the same thick case, a large crown marked Brevet (from the French word Brevette meaning patented), a coin edge non ratcheted bezel, an acrylic crystal, a depth rating of 200m/660ft and mercedes hands. It should be noted that only the “thick cased” shoulderless Submariners had the large winding crown. Further, it should also be noted that the 6538 existed first as a thin cased model with a small crown. It became a thick cased model as the 6538A and was available alongside the 6200.

Once the thin cased versions were gone, the 6538A became the 6538 remaining the same until it and the 6200 were replaced by the 5510. Since Sean Connery as James Bond only wore the thick cased Submariner (evident by the large crown), none of the thin cased, small crown so called James Bond Submariners without crown guards will be discussed.

The Sean Connery James Bond Submariner

One of the thick cased Submariners with the large crown appeared on Connery’s wrist in Dr. No, From Russia With love, Goldfinger, and Thunderball. It is assumed that Connery also wore this watch in You Only Live Twice, but I don’t recall seeing it in that movie and to my knowledge it is not in the movie. If someone can direct me to a scene that shows otherwise, I’ll happily revise this. The best shots of this Submariner are in the pre-credit sequence of Goldfinger and in the scene in Thunderball where Bond takes the radioactive pill at the SPECTRE rendezvous point.

By analyzing close ups of the Connery Submariner, it is clear that the watch has the big crown with no crown guard, has a gilt dial with two lines of printing on the upper part of the dial below the Rolex crown and two lines of printing on the lower portion of the dial that appear to be different colors (although it is hard to tell and you may see it differently), and has mercedes hands. The bezel insert is the non-graduated version, meaning there are no extra minute markings between 0 and 15 and the bezel pearl is in the center of a silver triangle. Later versions of the Submariner had the extra minute markings between the 0 and 15 including the ones without crown guards. These observations are important because the watch has characteristics of a 6200, a 6538A, a thick cased 6538 or even a 5510 (depending on whether you discern the depth rating of Connery’s watch as white or gilt) despite what so called experts say about it being only a 6538.

To me the Connery Bond Submariner, has always had contradictory characteristics with respect to the exact model. In fact I have never seen another untouched version exactly like it. Firstly, the non-graduated bezel insert is that of the earliest thick cased, large crown Submariners, the 6200. However, on the mid 50’s version of 6200, there is only one line of printing on the lower part of the dial, the word “SUBMARINER” in gilt, because although it was rated to a depth of 200m/660ft it did not yet appear on the dial.

The late 50’s 6200, 6538A and 6538 did have the two lines of printing on the lower part of the dial (chronometer versions of the 6538A and thick cased 6538 had 4 lines) and the depth rating was printed in white while the word “SUBMARINER” was in gilt. As I said earlier with respect to the Connery Submariner, the two lines on the lower part of the dial “appear” to be different colors, but again it’s hard to tell and I’ve seen screen captures from Goldfinger on certain forums where the two lines appear the same color. On the 5510, late 50’s models had both the depth rating and the word “SUBMARINER” in the same color, gilt. To further make things murky, the late 50’s 6200, 6538A, 6538 and 5510 had graduated bezel inserts, and the triangle containing the luminous pearl was red. As I said before, the Connery Submariner has a non-graduated bezel insert and the triangle containing the pearl was silver.

So what does all that mean, probably not much. The fact of the matter is that Rolex often used up older parts even when they went to a new model. So it would be entirely possible to have 6538A with a 6200 bezel insert. Also, it’s quite possible that a 6538 or 5510 could have been serviced during its ownership by a service center having older parts which means that a 6538 or a 5510 might end up having a 6200 bezel insert.

So unless the Broccoli family, who are rumored to have the original watch, furnishes the exact model number, we may never know the exact model number of the Connery Bond Submariner. However with the wealth of parts available, it is possible to achieve the same look using the 6200, 6538A, thick cased 6538 or the 5510 Submariner because they all share the same case and big Brevet crown. But, be warned, some collectors and aficionados hate to restore or change watches and rather have an original beat up watch rather than a pristine restored one. Luckily, there is a building trend toward restoration.

Movements in the Different Models

The 6200, 6538A, 6538 and the 5510 all had different movements. The 6200 had the A296, while the 6538A and thick cased 6538 had the 1030. The movement in the 5510 was the 1530 (although some military versions had the 1520 movement).

The 1530 and 1520 movement are the same movements used in the later 5513 Submariners of Lazenby and Moore fame. The 15XX series of movements are considered among the best Rolex ever made (or purchased), so the 5510 with the old style case coupled with the newer movement make it the most wearable of the Connery Bond Submariners, however it was made in very low numbers and is considered quite rare.

The Bond Strap

In Dr. No and From Russia With Love, Connery wears his Submariner on a crocodile or perhaps alligator strap; if you look at close-ups of the strap, you’ll see striations consistent with a crocodile or alligator skin. However, by Goldfinger and later Thunderball, Connery sports his Submariner on an 18mm black cloth NATO/MOD type strap with twin grey service stripes. So, why the change? Although this is conjecture on my part, it is possible that the producers became aware of the early military Submariner that was available to the Royal and Canadian Navies. By extension, I believe the nylon strap was chosen to give the on-screen Bond a military bearing, especially to those in the know.

The early military Submariner was differently optioned than civilian Submariners and was, among other things, fitted with fixed bars between the lugs instead of spring bars to accommodate a cloth NATO/MOD type grey strap. The reasons for such straps were that they were anti-reflective, and easily cut off, if necessary. For this reason some have speculated that the Submariner that Connery wears in Goldfinger and Thunderball was an early military Submariner, however I don’t believe that is true. When you look at close-ups of Connery’s Submariner, you can clearly see that the 18mm strap is attached with spring bars between 20mm lugs as evidenced by holes in the lugs. A military Submariner would have filled lug holes.

George Lazenby, Roger Moore and the Rolex 5513 Submariner

In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, George Lazenby dons a Rolex Submariner 5513. It has been written that Lazenby wanted the part of Bond so bad that he went out and bought his own Rolex and got one of Connery’s suits from Anthony Sinclair. It’s quite possible that the watch Lazenby wore in his first outing as Bond was his own purchase. The Lazeby Submariner had crown guards, and a metal riveted bracelet.

In Roger Moore’s first and second outings as Bond, he wears a 5513 Rolex Submariner. Unlike Lazenby’s Submariner, Moore’s Rolex is seen in more detail, at least in Live and Let Die. In this instance the dial has white printing and indeces. It should be noted however that the depth rating on Moore’s Submariner is shown above the word Submariner on the lower part of the dial rather than below it. The depth also appears as 660ft=200m rather than 200m=660ft. This is important because 5513’s are available with the alternate dial printing as described. The reason for these differences had to do with the regions for which the Submariners were made and the years in which they were produced.

Moore’s Submariner also had a bezel with a saw tooth edge. The original bezel was re-cut to accommodate the watch, with a little movie magic, functioning as a saw. The hyper-intensified magnet function of the watch was shown to be activated when the watch indices turned red. Separate 5513 Submariners were re-worked by the prop department to accommodate these functions. When Moore returned in The Man With The Golden Gun he was again seen wearing a 5513, however the watch had no special function used in the movie and is easily missed. Moore began sporting Seikos in all subsequent outings as Bond probably because of a better endorsement deal on the part of Seiko.

Movements of the Rolex 5513

The movement in the 5513 Submariner is either the 1530 or 1520. Again, the type of movement is dependant on where and when they were made. The 1520 was the less expensive version having fewer jewels. As I said before, the 15XX series of movements are considered some of the best movements that Rolex ever used. For this reason, the 5513 is probably one of the best vintage Submariners for everyday wear. I still wear mine from time to time, but coupled with a black crocodile strap and Rolex buckle a la Connery.

Timothy Dalton and the Rolex 16800/168000 Submariner

When Timothy Dalton assumed the role of James Bond he was wearing a Rolex Submariner with a date function, the first Bond ever to do so and also the last Bond to date to wear a Rolex. Because of the time frame when Dalton made his Bond movies, it is likely that Dalton wore the 16800 and later perhaps the 168000 Submariner.

From what I’ve been able to acertain, the only difference between these two models is the upgrade in stainless steel from 316L to 904. Otherwise the watch is the same. The 16800/168000 was produced from the late 70’s early 80’s to about 1988. This suggests that the Submariners that Dalton wore in The Living Daylights (1987) and License to Kill (1989) were both the 16800/168000 rather than the 16610. Although the 16610 Submariner came out in 1989, the same year as License to Kill, the Bond movies, like other movies, are made in advance of the year they come out. That means that the 16800/168000 was probably used rather than the 16610 Submariner. It is possible that Rolex provided EON a copy of the newer 16610, but I think it is unlikely given Rolex’s unwillingness to cross promote it’s products.

In or about 1984, the 16800 received the white gold surrounds to the luminous markers that are seen on all modern Submariners. The 16800/168000 used the 3085 movement, was fitted with a synthetic sapphire crystal with cyclops date window, had a depth rating to 1000 feet or 300 meters and had a quick set date function. The 16800 became the 168000 in about the last nine months of the production run. This change in the numbering system served to reflect, as stated before, the upgrade of stainless steel from 316L to 904.

A Word About Books and Sources

Probably the best source of information on early Rolex Submariners that I’ve come across is the book Vintage Rolex Sports Models A Complete Visual Reference & Unauthorized History by Martin Skeet and Nick Urul (Schiffer Books, 2002, ISBN: 0-7643-1496-3).

This publication has photographs from the perspective of the watch face of the various models as they progressed in time along with profile line drawings so you can see the difference between a “thick cased” and “thin cased” shoulderless Submariner.

Another book that I highly recommend is The Best Of Time Rolex Wristwatches An Unauthorized History by James Dowling and Jefferey Hess (Schiffer Books, 1996, ISBN: 0-7643-0011-3).

It was with this book that I became aware of the military versions of the Submariner.

James Dowling also maintains a website and sells vintage Rolex’s including the James Bond Submariner. His website is available here: http://www.ukwatches.com/. You used to be able to email him directly with questions, but now I believe he does that through Timezone.

Another book that requires mentioning is the Complete Guide to watches by Cooksey Shugat, Tom Engle and Richard E. Gilbert. (Tinderbox Press, 2006, ISBN: 1-57432-507-8).

It’s an annual price guide that gives you a sense of pricing and grading and most bookstores carry it. However, it should by no means be considered a bible or the end all and be all of pricing. When I began getting the guide years ago, it made no mention of the James Bond Submariner. In recent years it began referencing the 6538 as “This style of watch worn by 007 Sean Connery”, however the picture that accompanies it is actually a drawing of what looks like a “thin cased” shoulderless Submariner with pencil hands and one line of printing on the lower part of the dial, not what Connery wore. Be careful of so called Rolex or watch experts, they are not experts in Bond and what he wore.

The two Christie’s James Bond Auction catalogs are also worth mentioning for their close-ups of the Roger Moore 5513’s. The first catalog is dated September 17, 1998 and the second is dated February 14, 2001 (Christie’s South Kensington, 85 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3LD) Lastly, a website that I highly recommend is: http://www.vintagerolexforum.com/. You can glean some very good information here as well as purchase watches in their market place.

There is one last volume that I should mention, it’s called Rolex: Collecting Modern and Vintage Wristwatches by Osvaldo Patrizzi, (January 2006, ISBN 88-900514-3-4). Although I have not yet purchased this two volume set, I do plan on purchasing it in the near future. In fact on a recent trip to Geneva, I saw it in the window of Antiquorum for sale and I wanted to buy it, the only problem was that the auction house was closed due to a bank holiday. The two volume set can be purchased through this website: http://www.antiquorum.com/. Under “Catalogues and publications” there is a pull down, click on “Antiquorum Editions” and you’ll see it.

There are of course other websites, books and magazine articles that I have used from time to time, however I have found them to be inaccurate in one way or another so I have left them out. As with anything that you intend to spend your hard earned money on, never take anyone’s word for it. Do your own research and acquaint yourself with what is and is not correct. Even auction houses are not above reproach. As the saying goes “Caveat Emptor”, let the buyer beware.

Article Copyright © 2006 Richard Dos Santos

Original Casino Royale Bookcover © Ian Fleming

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the James Bond novels, it is only right to start this series with the first of Fleming’s classics: Casino Royale, which was first published on the 13th of April 1953.

* * * *

As we all know, Ian Fleming created probably the most famous character ever. In fact I would even go as far to say that James Bond is as well known throughout the world as William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
But, despite James Bond being so popular, Ian Fleming’s books are not considered by the establishment, as being part of the “literary” cannon. Likewise neither is the work of JRR Tolkein, of The Lord Of The Rings fame. Both of these writers wrote their popular works in the 1950’s, and early 1960’s, and the fact that their work does not get the acclaim that it should, I think is a great shame, for these writers have contributed so much pleasure to countless numbers of people, throughout all subsequent generations, and will do so for many more to come.

In Ian Fleming’s lifetime, he managed to publish twelve James Bond books, the thirteenth,The Man With The Golden Gun was not quite completed and along with a fourteenth – Octopussy, and The Living Daylights was published posthumously in 1965 and1966 respectively. Kingsley Amis who wrote the next official novel Colonel Sun, is credited with finishing TMWTGG manuscript.

An American Rap band, De la Soul, sang just over a decade ago; “Three is the Magic Number”, for a James Bond fan – it is fourteen. This, what was without doubt most eagerly awaited annual event to fans in the years 1953 – 1966, has developed into a legacy, and franchise that is unbeatable. Its nearest rival, is that of George Lucas’ Star Wars, and that in my opinion has not been around long enough to really threaten.

So to start this look at the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming, we must begin with the first Novel he wrote: Casino Royale.

The way in which Fleming set about writing his first novel was quite remarkable. Due to the nervousness of his impending marriage to Lady Rothmere,(he was a bachelor until he was in his mid forties – hence the nervous approach to this union) he escaped reality and set about writing the book he had been wanting to write for some time.
He had no rough notes, or made any particular kind of preparation, for seven weeks according to John Pearson’s biography of Fleming , he would simply type between nine am and twelve noon, then around five pm he would read what he had written and put into a blue manila folder. On March the 18th, 1952, the manila folder was full, and other than the odd edit here and there, the novel was complete.

The Novel – A slight summary!

So as to not ruin the pleasure of those of you out there, that has not yet experienced the literary thrill of reading Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, I will not give too much away.

Pan Book Cover © Pan Books

007, is summoned by M to go on a mission that would ultimately ruin the embezzling Russian agent, Le Chiffre. A formidable opponent, who as part of SMERSH’s Department III: Administration and Finance, had used monies entrusted too him by SMERSH for his own gains, and having used the said monies unwisely, had been left with a considerable debt which he hoped to cover, and regain through gambling at the Casino Royale. Whilst on the case 007, is teamed up with a young lady called Vesper Lynd, he also has help from an agent called Mathis, and he is introduced to Felix Leiter, for the first time. Posing as a son of a Jamaican Millionaire, Bond arrives to observe and carry through M’s instructions. His cover is blown almost immediately, and along the way scenarios that are now common place within the Bond genre begin to appear. Obviously there is the gambling, which the plot is built around, secondly there is the style, and the inclusion of the introduction of the Vodka Martini, made to 007’s tastes. Thirdly there is a torture scene, which in terms of literary tales, has probably never been equalled. A scene that I can only say you must read yourself, and sympathise with. Plus there is a twist at the end, that differs from later Bond endings.

Reviews

On April 13th 1953, the literary phenomenon that is James Bond was let loose on the public. The reviews that Fleming received were of a critical acclaim that greatly pleased 007’s creator. Christopher Pym, of the Sunday Times stated, “The best new English thriller-writer since Ambler.” and a review from the Observer written by Maurice Richardson also gushed high praise;

“Don’t miss this. A sort of Peter Cheyney de luxe, with everything of the very best and most expensive.”

For The Listner, Fleming was considered a “supersonic John Buchan.”
The Manchester Evening News, Julian Symons said that the plot was “staggeringly implausible” however in closing its review he did say that it was “thoroughly exciting and absorbingly readable.”

The review that Fleming held in highest regard however was in The Times Literary Supplement, written by Alan Ross, it said:

“Mr Fleming has produced a book that is both exciting and extremely civilized.”

another rare Casino Royale Cover © Jonathan Cape

* * *

In my opinion

Casino Royale is a tour de force, it is a tale that reflects certain aspects of Fleming’s own world. Bond’s tastes are not dissimilar to Fleming’s own, and Gambling was something that he (Fleming) himself enjoyed. In later novels there was much more preparation and planning, whereas this is fantasy from within Fleming’s own complex mind, and as such I feel it brings the reader closer to the character that we have grown to admire and even envy, and for that we should be eternally grateful.

Bonding With Time The Wristwatches Of James Bond

Part I The Rolex Submariner – Addendum

I continue to get questions concerning part one of this article specifically related to the Connery Bond Submariner.  So I have decided to compile a list of questions along with answers.

Questions And Answers

Question – Why have you not mentioned the other model reference numbers with respect to the shoulderless James Bond Submariner?  Other websites and books refer to different reference numbers as the James Bond Submariner that you left out, why is that?

Answer – The photographic evidence shows that Sean Connery as James Bond wore a shoulderless Submariner with a big crown.  The big crown was only available on shoulderless Submariners with a thick case.  The shoulderless Submariners with the big crown only existed as the following model reference numbers: 6200, 6538A, 6538 and the 5510.

Question – I have a 6538, but it has a thin case and a small crown.  Is this the Submariner that Sean Connery wore as Bond?

Answer – No, the 6538 first existed as a thin cased Submariner with a small crown.  The photographic evidence only shows Connery wearing a Submariner with a big crown.

Question – Why are the thin cased shoulderless Submariners with the small crown also referred to by some collectors as the James Bond Submariner?

Answer – Within the watch collecting community, particularly among Italian collectors, all shoulderless early Submariners became known as the James Bond Submariner because the overall appearance of all early Submariners is similar to what Sean Connery wore as James Bond.

Question – What are the model reference numbers for the thin cased, small crowned shoulderless Submariners?

Answer – The model reference numbers for the thin cased, small crowned shoulderless Submariner are the following: 6204, 6205, 6536, 6536/1, 6538, and 5508.

Question – How do you know that the strap that Connery wore as Bond in Dr. No and From Russia With Love on his Submariner was a crocodile or alligator strap?  I heard that early Submariners were often fitted with a tropic strap.

Answer – There is a famous publicity still of Connery holding the Submariner after testing the geiger counter in Dr. No.  This still appears most recently in the James Bond Encyclopedia by John Cork and Colin Stutz (ISBN 978-0-7566-3167-3) and is a reversed image as evidenced by Sean Connery’s part being on the wrong side.   That still shows a strap with striations consistent with alligator.  The still also makes the strap look brown, however that is a function of the film because in the movie the strap is clearly black.  As for the tropic strap, tropic straps are made of rubber with little holes for breathability, which can not be seen in either the still or the movie.

Question – Why did you not talk about the other watch that Bond wears in the movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service?

Answer – The article was only about Bond and the Rolex Submariner, which is why the article was titled:

Bonding With Time
The Wristwatches Of James Bond
Part I The Rolex Submariner

I am fully aware of the other watch that Bond wears in this movie and it will be fully discussed in part II of this article.  The watch was the Rolex pre-Daytona chronograph model reference 6238.

Question – You seem to only like Rolex as the best brand of watch for Bond and the best watch brand overall, why is that?

Answer – The truth is I love all kinds of watches and my personal collection includes many different brands including Omega and specifically an Omega Seamaster bought contemporaneous with the debut of Die Another Day.  I would never hold one watch brand as better than another.  However, Rolex was chosen by Fleming as James Bond’s brand of watch.  Fleming chose Rolex, not me, so don’t shoot the messenger unless of course you are a Spartan.

That’s the end of Questions and Awnsers concerning Bonding With Time Part I, but Bonding With Time will return in:

The Wristwatches Of James Bond

Part II The Other Watches Of Bond…

Article Copyright © 2009 Richard Dos Santos