Entertainment/James Bond Films
Eon Productions
Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Saltzman started Eon in 1961, and co-produced most of the Eon films until 1975, when Broccoli became the sole producer.
Although Albert R. Broccoli died in 1996, Eon Productions is still owned by the Broccoli family. It is a subsidiary of Danjaq LLC.
James Bond
Sean Connery (1962-1967, 1971, 1983) made his debut as James Bond in Dr No. He reprised the role in a further six films (including the non-Eon Never Say Never Again).
George Lazenby (1967) was the youngest actor to play Bond, aged 30 and only starred in one film (On Her Majesty's Secret Service).
Roger Moore (1973-1985) starred in 7 films (first Live and Let Die, last A View to a Kill).
Timothy Dalton (1987-1989) starred in 2 films (1987 The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill).
Pierce Brosnam (1995-2002) starred in 4 films (first GoldenEye, last Die Another Day).
Daniel Craig (2006- now) is the current James Bond (4 films to date including Spectre).
David Niven (1967) played Bond in the non-Eon version of Casino Royale.
M
Head of the Secret Intelligence Service – also known as MI6.
In the Eon Productions series of films, M has been portrayed by four actors: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes.
A prop from the final scene of Skyfall, where M bequeaths some of her possessions to Bond following her death, revealed that her character was given the name Olivia Mansfield.
Miss Moneypenny
Secretary to M. Portrayed by Lois Maxwell (14 films), Caroline Bliss, Samantha Bond and Naomie Harris.
Although not given a first name by Ian Fleming, the character was given the name Jane in the spin-off series of books, The Moneypenny Diaries; she was subsequently named Eve in Skyfall.
Q
Head of Q Branch (or later Q Division), the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service. Q stands for ‘quartermaster’.
Q has appeared in 20 of 23 Eon Bond films.
Beginning with From Russia with Love, Desmond Llewelyn portrayed the character in every official film except Live and Let Die until his death in 1999 (17 in total).
Bill Tanner
M's Chief of Staff. He is also Bond's staunchest ally in the Service.
Appears in seven Bond films (including Spectre).
Played by Rory Kinnear in the last three films.
Felix Lieter
An operative for the CIA and Bond's friend.
First portrayed by Jack Lord (also famous for playing Steve McGarrett in Hawaii Five-O). Appeared in nine Eon Productions films.
Jeffrey Wright played Felix Lieter in two films.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Blofeld is head of the global criminal organisation SPECTRE and is commonly referred to as Number 1.
Blofeld appears in six Eon films and one non-Eon film (From Russia with Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, For Your Eyes Only, Never Say Never Again).
He was played on screen by Donald Pleasence (You Only Live Twice), Telly Savalas (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Charles Gray (Diamonds Are Forever) and Max von Sydow (Never Say Never Again). It was initially a convention of the films not to show Blofeld's face, only a close-up of him stroking his white blue-eyed Turkish Angora cat.
SPECTRE
SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond films. Led by Blofeld, SPECTRE is not aligned to any nation or political ideology.
Directors
Terence Young directed 3: Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Thunderball.
Guy Hamilton directed 4: Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun.
Lewis Gilbert directed 3: You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
John Glen directed 5: For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights and License to Kill.
Martin Campbell directed 2: GoldenEye and Casino Royale.
Sam Mendes directed 2: Skyfall and Spectre.
Others:
Peter R Hunt: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Roger Spottiswoode: Tomorrow Never Dies.
Michael Apted: The World Is Not Enough.
Lee Tamahori: Die Another Day.
Marc Forster: Quantum of Solace.
Music
John Barry composed the soundtracks for 11 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1987, and also arranged and performed the James Bond Theme to Dr. No
David Arnold composed the music for Casino Royale (2006) and four other James Bond films
Don Black's first film work was the lyrics for the theme of Thunderball. His association with the Bond series continued over several decades, with Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun, in collaboration with John Barry, and Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough, in collaboration with David Arnold
Shirley Bassey sang the theme tunes for Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, and Moonraker
There are six musical themes in the James Bond series whose song titles do not refer to the film's title – Dr. No, We Have All the Time in the World from On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Nobody Does It Better from The Spy Who Loved Me, All Time High from Octopussy, You Know My Name from Casino Royale, and Another Way to Die from Quantum of Solace
The Films
Dr. No (1962)
To play the lead role of Bond, Sean Connery was not Broccoli or Fleming's first choice, but he was selected after Patrick McGoohan had turned down the role.
Dr. Julius No is played by Joseph Wiseman. He is a member of SPECTRE and plans to disrupt the Project Mercury space launch from Cape Canaveral with his atomic-powered radio beam.
Honey Ryder is played by Ursula Andress (singing voice by Diana Coupland).
Sylvia Trench is played by Eunice Gayson. She first meets Bond from across a Chemin de Fer table at the London club Le Cercle.
Quote: Bond introduces himself as “"Bond ... James Bond" to Sylvia Trench in a scene in a nghtclub early in the film.
Soundtrack was written by Monty Norman.
From Russia with Love (1963)
James Bond is sent to assist in the defection of Soviet consulate clerk Tatiana Romanova in Turkey, where SPECTRE plans to avenge Bond's killing of Dr. No.
Rosa Klebb is Chief Operations Officer for SPECTRE. She attempts to kill Bond with both a gun and her poisoned toe-spike.
First Bond film in the series with John Barry as the primary soundtrack composer. The theme song was composed by Lionel Bart and sung by Matt Monro.
Goldfinger (1964)
Bond investigates gold smuggling by Auric Goldfinger and eventually uncovering Goldfinger's plans to attack the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox.
Pussy Galore, Goldfinger's personal pilot, is played by Honor Blackman.
Auric Goldfinger is played by Gert Fröbe.
Jill Masterton is played by Shirley Eaton. She is completely painted in gold paint and dies from ‘skin suffocation’.
Oddjob, Goldfinger's Korean manservant, is played by Harold Sakata, an Olympic silver medalist weightlifter. Has a razor-edged bowler hat.
Q supplies Bond with a modified Aston Martin DB5 - revolving licence plates, spinner hubcaps that doubled as tyre slashers, passenger ejector seat, rear bulletproof shield, forward machine guns concealed behind the headlights and rearward defenses including smoke and oil slick sprayers.
Title song performed by Shirley Bassey.
Oscar win: Best Effects, Sound Effects (Norman Wanstall).
Thunderball (1965)
Bond's mission is to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, which holds the world ransom for £100 million in diamonds, in exchange for not destroying an unspecified major city. The search leads Bond to the Bahamas.
Emilio Largo is played by Adolfo Celi. SPECTRE’s Number Two.
Dominique ‘Domino’ Derval is played by Claudine Auger. Largo's mistress.
Title song performed by Tom Jones.
Oscar win: Best Effects, Special Visual Effects (John Stears)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Bond is dispatched to Japan after American and Soviet manned spacecraft disappear mysteriously in orbit.
Bond is assisted by Japanese SIS agent, who is placed by Kissy Suzuki after her death.
Blofeld is played by Donald Pleasence.
Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay.
This is the only film in which Bond does not drive a car.
Title song performed by Nancy Sinatra.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected George Lazenby to play the part of James Bond.
Bond faces Blofeld (Telly Savalas), who is planning to sterilise the world's food supply through a group of brainwashed ‘angels of death’ unless his demands are met for an international amnesty.
The Angels of Death are twelve beautiful women from all over the world being brainwashed by Blofeld under the guise of allergy or phobia treatment in order to spread the Virus Omega. Actresses included Juie Ege, Joanna Lumley, Jenny Hanley and Anouska Hempel.
James Bond gets married at the end of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but his wife dies soon afterwards. Her name was Contessa Teresa 'Tracy' Di Vicenzo Bond, and she was played by Diana Rigg.
Directed by Peter Hunt.
We Have All the Time in the World performed by Louis Armstrong.
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Seventh and final film to star Sean Connery as James Bond.
Bond is tasked with investigating a major diamond smuggling ring which begins in Africa and runs through Holland and the UK to the United States. Disguised as professional smuggler and murderer Peter Franks Bond travels to Amsterdam to meet contact Tiffany Case, played by Jill St. John.
Blofeld is played by Charles Gray.
Plenty O’Toole is played by Lana Wood.
Title song performed by Shirley Bassey.
Live and Let Die (1973)
First film starring Roger Moore as James Bond.
Investigating the murder of three MI6 agents, Bond discovers the victims were all separately investigating the operations of Dr. Kananga, the dictator of a small Caribbean island, San Monique. He also establishes that Kananga also acts as Mr. Big, a gangster and heroin producer.
Dr. Kananga and Mr. Big are played by Yaphet Kotto.
Solitaire, Kananga's psychic, is played by Jane Seymour.
Score written by George Martin.
Theme song performed by Paul McCartney and Wings.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Bond is sent after the Solex Agitator, a device that can harness the power of the sun and solve the energy crisis, while facing the assassin Francisco Scaramanga, the ‘Man with the Golden Gun’.
At the start of the film a golden bullet with James Bond's code ‘007’ etched into its surface is received by MI6.
Francisco Scaramanga is played by Christopher Lee. He has a third nipple.
Mary Goodnight, Bond’s aaaistant, is played by Britt Ekland.
Andrea Anders, Scaramanga's mistress, is played by Maud Adams.
Theme tune performed by Lulu and composed by John Barry.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Bond is tasked with investigating the disappearance of British and Soviet ballistic missile submarines and the subsequent offer to sell a submarine tracking system.
Anya Amasova is played by Barbara Bach. Agent Triple X, a Soviet KGB agent.
Karl Stromberg is played by Curd Jürgens. The main villain, a megalomaniac planning to trigger World War III and destroy the world.
Jaws is played by Richard Kiel. Has gigantism and a set of metal teeth. Also appears in Moonraker.
Bond drives a Lotus Esprit that can convert into a submarine.
Bond escapes from a ski chase using a Union Jack parachute.
Theme song is Nobody Does it Better, by Carly Simon.
Moonraker (1979)
A Drax Industries Moonraker space shuttle on loan is hijacked and Bond is ordered to investigate. Drax plans to destroy all human life by launching fifty globes containing nerve gas into the Earth's atmosphere.
Holly Goodhead is played by Lois Chiles. A CIA agent and astronaut who joins Bond and flies with him to Drax's space station.
Hugo Drax is played by Michael Lonsdale.
Theme song is performed by Shirley Bassey.
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Bond is sent to retrieve a stolen ATAC (Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator) system that could be misused for controlling British military submarines.
Melina Havelock is played by Carole Bouquet. The daughter of marine archaeologists who are murdered while tracking down the ATAC's whereabouts.
Aristotle Kristatos is played by Julian Glover. A smuggler planning to sell the ATAC to the KGB.
Milos Columbo is played by Topol. Named after Gioacchino Colombo, the Ferrari engine designer.
Bibi Dahl is played by Lynn-Holly Johnson, who was an ice skater before turning to acting.
Title song was sung by Sheena Easton, who holds the distinction of being the first title song artist to appear on screen in a Bond film.
Octopussy (1983)
Bond is assigned the task of following a general who is stealing jewels and relics from the Soviet government. This leads him to a wealthy Afghan prince, Kamal Khan, and his associate, Octopussy. Bond uncovers a plot to force disarmament in Europe with the use of a nuclear weapon.
Octopussy is played by Maud Adams.
Kamal Khan is played by Louis Jourdan.
General Orlov is played by Steven Berkoff.
Vijay is played by Vijay Amritraj.
At the start of the film British agent 009 is found dead at the British embassy in East Berlin, dressed as a circus clown and carrying a fake Fabergé egg.
George MacDonald Fraser wrote the screenplay.
The score was composed by John Barry, with the lyrics by Tim Rice. The opening theme, All Time High, is sung by Rita Coolidge.
A View to a Kill (1985)
Seventh and final film to star Roger Moore as James Bond.
Bond investigates millionaire industrialist Max Zorin, who is planning to corner the world market in microchips by destroying Silicon Valley.
Max Zorin is played by Christopher Walken.
May Day, Zorin's lover and chief henchwoman, is played by Grace Jones. She also possesses superhuman strength.
Sir Geoffrey Tibbett is played by Patrick Macnee.
Pola Ivanova is played by Fiona Fullerton.
Dolph Lundgren has a minor role as Venz.
The role of Zorin was originally offered to David Bowie, then to Sting.
Theme song performed by Duran Duran.
The Living Daylights (1987)
First film to star Timothy Dalton as James Bond
Bond aids the defection of KGB officer General Georgi Koskov, by wounding a female KGB sniper, Kara Milovy, a cellist. During his debriefing Koskov alleges KGB's old policy of Smert Spionam, meaning ‘Death to Spies’, has been revived.
Kara Milovy is played by Maryam d'Abo.
General Georgi Koskov is played by Jeroen Krabbé.
Kamran Shah, a leader in the Afghan Mujahideen, is played by Art Malik.
Nadim Sawalha has a cameo as a police chief in Tangiers.
Bond drives an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Theme tune performed by A-ha.
Last film to use the title of an Ian Fleming story until Casino Royale (2006).
License to Kill (1989)
Second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as James Bond.
Bond is suspended from MI6 as he pursues drugs lord Franz Sanchez, who has attacked his CIA friend Felix Leiter and murdered Felix's wife during their honeymoon. Bond’s license to kill is revoked and he becomes a rogue agent.
Franz Sanchez is played by Robert Davi.
Pam Bouvier, an ex-Army pilot and CIA informant, is played by Carey Lowell.
Theme tune performed by Gladys Knight.
GoldenEye (1995)
First film to star Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.
Bond and Alec Trevelyan (agent 006) infiltrate an illicit Soviet chemical weapons facility and plant explosive charges. Trevelyan fakes his own death and establishes the Janus crime syndicate. GoldenEye is a satellite weapon.
First film with M played by Judi Dench.
Alec Trevelyan is played by Sean Bean.
Natalya Simonova is played by Izabella Scorupco. The only survivor and eyewitness of the attack of GoldenEye on its own control centre, she helps Bond in his mission.
Xenia Onatopp is played by Famke Janssen. Trevelyan's henchwoman, she enjoys torturing her enemies between her thighs.
Russian gangster Valentin Zukovsky is played by Robbie Coltrane. Also appears in The World is not Enough. Minnie Driver plays a Russian night-club singer.
The scenes on the satellite dish were shot at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
Bond drives a BMW Z3. First of three films to feature BMWs.
Theme song was written by Bono and The Edge, and was performed by Tina Turner.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Investigating the sinking of a British warship in Chinese waters, Bond uncovers a link to media mogul Elliot Carver which suggests that Carver had purchased a GPS encoder on the black market.
Elliot Carver, a psychopathic media mogul who plans to provoke global war in order to boost sales and ratings of his news divisions, is played by Jonathan Pryce.
Colonel Wai Lin, a skilled Chinese spy and Bond's ally, is played by Michelle Yeoh.
Paris Carver, a former girlfriend of Bond who is now Carver's wife, is played by Teri Hatcher.
Julian Fellowes plays the Minister of Defence.
First James Bond film made after the death of producer Albert R. Broccoli.
The only Pierce Brosnan Bond film not to open at number one at the box office, as it opened the same day as Titanic.
The role of Elliot Carver was initially offered to Anthony Hopkins.
Theme song performed by Sheryl Crow.
The World is Not Enough (1999)
The plot revolves around the assassination of billionaire Sir Robert King by the terrorist Renard, and Bond's subsequent assignment to protect King's daughter Elektra, who had previously been held for ransom by Renard. Bond unravels a scheme to increase petroleum prices by triggering a nuclear meltdown in the waters of Istanbul.
Elektra King is played by Sophie Marceau.
Renard is played by Robert Carlyle.
Christmas Jones, a nuclear physicist assisting Bond in his mission, is played by Denise Richards.
R, Q's assistant and successor, is played by John Cleese.
Bullion, a bodyguard, is played by Goldie.
Theme song performed by Garbage.
Die Another Day (2002)
Fourth and final film to star Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.
Bond infiltrates a North Korean military base, where Colonel Tan-Sun Moon is illegally trading weapons for African conflict diamonds. At his ice palace in Iceland Graves unveils a new orbital mirror satellite, ‘Icarus’, which is able to focus solar energy on a small area and provide year-round sunshine for crop development.
Jinx Johnson, an NSA agent, is played by Halle Berry.
Gustav Graves, a British entrepreneur, is played by Toby Stephens.
Miranda Frost, a double agent, is played by Rosamund Pike.
Q is played by John Cleese.
Theme tune performed by Madonna.
Casino Royale (2006)
First film to star Daniel Craig as James Bond.
A reboot of the series, with Bond winning his 00 status in the pre-credits sequence.
Le Chiffre sets up a high-stakes Texas hold 'em tournament at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. Hoping that a defeat would force Le Chiffre to aid the British government in exchange for protection from his creditors, MI6 enters Bond into the tournament.
Vesper Lynd, an agent for HM Treasury assigned to supervise Bond and finance him in the poker game, is played by Eva Green.
Le Chiffre, a banker who services many of the world's terrorists, is played by Mads Mikkelsen.
Casino Royale includes a cameo by Richard Branson (seen being frisked at Miami airport). The cameo was cut out of the in-flight versions shown on British Airways' in-flight entertainment systems.
The title song You Know My Name is performed by Chris Cornell.
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Bond seeks revenge for the death of his lover, Vesper Lynd, and is assisted by Camille Montes, who is plotting revenge for the murder of her family. The trail leads them to wealthy businessman Dominic Greene, a member of the Quantum organization, who intends to stage a coup d'état in Bolivia to seize control of the water supply.
Camille Montes is played by Olga Kurylenko.
Dominic Greene is played by Mathieu Amalric.
MI6 Agent Strawberry Fields, who works at the British consulate in Bolivia, is played by Gemma Arterton.
Directed by Marc Forster.
Jack White and Alicia Keys collaborated on Another Way to Die, the first Bond music duet.
Skyfall (2012)
Bond investigates an attack on MI6; the attack is part of a plot by former MI6 operative Raoul Silva to humiliate, discredit and kill M as revenge against her for betraying him.
Raoul Silva is played by Javier Bardem.
Gareth Mallory, Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, who assumes the role of M at the end of the film, is played by Ralph Fiennes.
Q is played by Ben Whishaw.
Directed by Sam Mendes.
Theme song performed by Adele.
Oscar wins: Best Original Song (Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth) and Best Sound Editing (Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers).
Spectre (2015)
Spectre will be the twenty-fourth James Bond film produced by Eon Productions. It will be directed by Sam Mendes and will feature Daniel Craig as James Bond and Christoph Waltz as Franz Oberhauser. Spectre is scheduled to be released in November 2015.
Theme song composed by Noel Gallagher.
Casino Royale (1967)
Produced by Colombia Pictures. The parody film stars David Niven as the ‘original’ Bond, Sir James Bond 007. Forced out of retirement to investigate the deaths and disappearances of international spies, he soon battles the mysterious Dr. Noah and SMERSH.
Evelyn Tremble was played by Peter Sellers.
Vesper Lynd was played by Ursula Andress.
Le Chiffre was played by Orson Welles.
Dr. Noah is played by Woody Allen.
Score composed by Burt Bacharach.
Never Say Never Again (1983)
Remake of the 1965 film Thunderball. It stars Sean Connery and was released theatrically by Warner Bros. The film is considered an unofficial James Bond film because it is not part of the Bond film franchise from EON Productions and United Artists. The film was produced by an independent production company, one of whose members was Kevin McClory, one of the original writers of the Thunderball storyline. McClory retained the filming rights of the novel following a long legal battle dating from the 1960s.
Blofeld is played by Max von Sydow.
Domino is played by Kim Basinger.
Bond at the Academy Awards
To date Bond films have had 30 Academy Award nominations with 4 wins:
Goldfinger (1964): Best Effects, Sound Effects (Norman Wanstall).
Thunderball (1965): Best Effects, Special Visual Effects (John Stears).
SkyFall (2012): Best Sound Editing (Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers) and Best Original Song (Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth).
