"Take it away, 007"
- jmcgrfx
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
How another great British literary hero may help revive James Bond on film...
Part Two
Article by James P. McCabe
‘Bond… by Fleming’
What I would like to do is make the point that while the 007 of the movies may have nowhere else to go at the moment, I remain a fan of Ian Fleming’s writing, and I think it’s possible that Bond’s future may lie in taking a closer look at the original novels…
Here is an example of Mr. Fleming’s writing. This is an excerpt from Moonraker, published in 1955, the third book in the series. The story, Bond’s mission, takes place entirely in England; a stark contrast to the vibrant, colorful American and Jamaican locales for the previous ‘Live and Let Die’.
This is entirely my own opinion, but it seems to me that Fleming wrote Moonraker to voice his objections, which are considerable, to having a space program located on British soil…
In this scene, it’s Monday morning at the office, and 007 sits in his office, it might as well be a cubicle, faced by a mountain of paperwork he needs to get through; he finds himself reflecting glumly on his future prospects with the Service and, consequently, his own mortality: as far as I know, the only time in the entire series of novels, as written by Fleming, that Bond’s death is actually discussed…
He had a small but comfortable flat off the Kings Road, an elderly Scottish housekeeper--a treasure called May--and a 1930 4½-litre Bentley coupé, supercharged, which he kept expertly tuned so that he could do a hundred when he wanted to.
On these things he spent all his money and it was his ambition to have as little as possible in his banking account when he was killed, as, when he was depressed, he knew he would be, before the statutory age of forty-five.
Eight years to go before he was automatically taken off the 00 list and given a staff job at Headquarters. At least eight tough assignments. Probably sixteen. Perhaps twenty-four. Too many.
As it turned out, Fleming wrote ten more Bond adventures after Moonraker. How closely did he bear out his own predictions? The 13th and final book, The Man with the Golden Gun*, is so different from its (extremely popular) cinematic adaptation that most Bond fans are probably hardly aware of it at all at this point…suffice to say that following the climactic shootout with Scaramanga, Bond declines a knighthood, and, despite the fact that he is headed for a lengthy convalescence, seems to be having thoughts about returning to the challenge of active duty… and that’s as far as Fleming himself took the character.
*A 14th book (which I have not read), a collection of four short stories, all featuring James Bond, was published in 1966, following Fleming’s death in 1964.
It’s been said that actor Cary Grant was considered for the cinematic role of Bond; and that, just as importantly, Alfred Hitchcock’s highly successful 1959 film North by Northwest (which starred Mr. Grant) was the type of big screen action adventure that the producers wanted to emulate for their 007 series.
The reason I mention that is because I find Fleming’s writing to be remarkable not only for its big screen potential, which we’ve seen but also for the at times unbearably tense, psychologically claustrophobic ‘Bond’s point of view’ sequences that bring considerable depth to the novels: a depth that has perhaps still yet to be realized in the films…
What I’d like to do at this point is imagine ourselves to be in the King’s Road area of central London, where Bond’s flat is. The Chelsea area has a fashionable, trendy vibe, which suits the suave, modern James Bond. We could take the Tube (London's metro system) to travel 4 or 5 miles, around 20-30 minutes, and we’d find ourselves in the Marylebone area of London, known for its more traditional, upscale residential feel…
It is here that we find the Baker Street home of England’s other great literary character, who has often found himself the object of adaptation by the film and television industries; and it is by studying how well Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation has fared so far that I thought we might cast some light on the cinematic future of 007.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the 60 original Sherlock Holmes stories and books between 1887 and 1927, over a forty-year span.
There have been over 250 films and television adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories.
‘Sherlock Holmes’ (1916) was the first full-length feature film adaptation, starring American actor William Gillette, who also starred in the original stage play that the film was based on. The stage play, also written by Gillette, dates back to 1899; Gillette had played the role of Holmes 1,300 times on stage before it was made into a "moving picture" … and we’re only up to 1916!
A third Sherlock Holmes movie with current Holmes and Watson Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law is reportedly in development, with director Dexter Fletcher and a 2025 release…
So even though the adventures of Sherlock Holmes have been appearing in other forms since within two years of the character’s first appearance in print: there seems to be no reason to think the audience will lose interest in him anytime soon…
Sherlock Holmes was a TV series of adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. It was produced by Granada Television and originally broadcast by ITV in the United Kingdom in 1984–1994. The series starred Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke (in the Adventures series) and later, Edward Hardwicke, as Dr. Watson. The program was made up of 36 fifty minute standard length episodes (airing in a one-hour timeslot), and five feature-length specials.
In this way we have the important development of the essential lead character being portrayed by the same actor in over forty of the sixty original stories that Doyle created. Brett's intense and brilliant portrayal of Holmes is considered by many to be the definitive version of the character.
The series is widely acclaimed for its high production values, including an authentic and detailed recreation of Victorian London with period sets, costumes, and props, along with breathtaking cinematography and richly scored music. The series is celebrated for its exceptional faithfulness to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories and the high quality of acting by Brett and his co-stars.
The intention of the series was to cover all the Holmes adventures in as accurate a way as possible.
Is it possible that this same dedicated approach might work for a rejuvenated James Bond?
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