As a Bond fan, you’d have to be living in a cave the past few months to miss the news that this is Ian Fleming’s centenary year.
Ian Fleming was born on May 28, 1908 and would have been 100 years old today. Fleming was many things, both negative and positive. Like most humans, he [...]

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Via Cinema Retro, here’s a link to the BBC radio production of Dr. No. This is a dramatization of the novel (not the different film; although this is one Bond film that sticks pretty close to the source). Bond is played by none other than Die Another Day’s Gustav Graves: Toby Stephens.

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Nice writeup in the gray lady today on the Fleming exhibit in the Imperial War museum.
Of his Bond plots, Fleming, ever prosaic about his talent, said, “I extracted them from my wartime memories, dolled them up, attached a hero and a villain, and there was the book.” For M, Bond’s irascible, domineering secret service [...]

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Here’s a nice little article in The Telegraph talking about the Ian Fleming novels, and giving an approximate current value of each first edition (in pounds sterling). Interesting reference for the collector.

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The LA Times is reporting that Leonardo DiCaprio has become a producer of the original screenplay “Fleming,” an Ian Fleming biopic.
The article is unclear as to whether he intends to star, although other news sources picking up the story are assuming so. After DiCaprio’s Scorcese trilogy: Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Departed, [...]

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Come back and tell us how you did.

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FelixLeiter.com has a nice birthday tribute today to Rik Van Nutter. He was born May 1, 1929 and passed away three years ago. Van Nutter is the only actor to play Felix Leiter who strongly resembled Fleming’s physical description. He wasn’t a good actor, but he wasn’t a damn ham either, putting him way ahead [...]

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The Bond Code: The Dark World of Ian Fleming and James Bond, by Philip Gardiner
New Page Books, 2007. 255 pages including index and glossary.
The Bond Code by Philip Gardiner is equal parts maddening and fascinating. If you have a strong interest in the subject matter—Ian Fleming’s occult interests and how such interests made their way [...]

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Fleming’s villains and allies were father figures; Marc-Ange Draco, M, Blofeld, Goldfinger; all about 20 years older than Bond and imposing. Perhaps because Roger Moore grew so much older in the role, that tradition fell away; it was not a part of Dalton’s films, nor of Brosnan’s.
Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves is typical of the [...]

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The first lead Bond girl turns 72 today.
Andress remains at the top of many Bond girl lists, a fan favorite, a critical favorite, and an icon. Yet, she’s not much of an actress.
Andress was married to John Derek from 1957 to 1966. Derek holds some kind of corner on marrying statuesque blonde models and helping [...]

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