On the last day of October 2020, the sad news of the Sean Connery death, the titan of Hollywood, spread throughout the world. In memory of the remarkable Scottish actor, we offer a series of articles on the film franchise – the landmark saga about Agent 007 – that brought fame to Connery.

The story goes back to 1953, when the writer Ian Fleming released his novel “Casino Royale”. This book gave rise to a whole series of novels about the adventures of James Bond, an agent of British Secret intelligence. In total, Fleming has released 12 novels and two storybooks of James Bond. Having watched only two film adaptations of his novels, Fleming passed away in 1964. After the writer death, other authors continued to work on the franchise development. The film rights to Fleming’s novels were bought out in 1961 by Harry Salzman and Albert Broccoli, Hollywood producers who immediately got down to work on the adaptation of the novels.

Dr. No (1962)

Who is the lead actor?

At the age of 32, Sean Connery was hired by the producers to perform the lead role of Agent Bond.

Where do the main actions of the motion picture take place?

According to the plot of the literary source, James Bond went to perform a service assignment in Jamaica, where the movie was filmed. It is noteworthy that Jamaica declared its independence from Great Britain on August 6, 1962, 2 months before the film’s premiere.

Who is the antagonist in the film?

Dr. Julius No played by actor Joseph Wiseman is the antagonist. The son of a German and a Chinese woman, Julius fled Hong Kong with mafia money and built a base for himself on Crab Key Island off the coast of Jamaica. From his headquarters, the villain is able to change the trajectory of American missiles. In addition, he is the creator of SPECTRE, a terrorist organization that will interfere with James Bond’s plans for a long time.

Who is 007’s girlfriend?

From the very first film, James Bond demonstrates his great sexual appetite – at the beginning of the film, the main character meets Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gason) with whom he quickly finds a common language; being in Jamaica, Agent Bond meets Miss Taro, who later turned out to be an accomplice of the villains; arriving on the island of Crab Key, James meets a beautiful woman collecting seashells for sale. So, Honey Ryder, played by Ursula Andress, a Swiss actress, becomes the main lover of a secret agent in this film. Thus, the character played by Ursula (the actress is already 84 years old) is considered to be “the first Bond girl”. Famed for her role as Honey Ryder, Ursula was also famous for her love affairs with famous actors – at various times she dated James Dean and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

What car does Agent 007 drive?

Although James Bond drives a Chevrolet Bel Air upon his arrival in Jamaica, he will soon be driving a blue Sunbeam Alpine, his own car. According to some rumors – since the film’s budget was very limited – this car was rented from one of the local residents.

Who is the performer of the main song?

As such, the song is absent from this film. Known as “The James Bond Theme,” the credits feature a composition co-written by Monty Norman and John Barry. Slightly modified and refined, it sounds in almost all the films in the franchise.

From Russia with Love (1963)

Who is the lead actor?

In the second film, Sean Connery returned to the role of James Bond again. In total, he will star in six films about Agent 007.

Where do the main actions of the motion picture take place?

The main events of the film take place in Istanbul as well as on the Orient Express train. Numerous mosques and the Bosphorus appear on the screen. In addition, one of the scenes was filmed in the Hagia Sophia temple.

Who is the antagonist in the film?

This time Agent 007 is confronted by several villains at once – Ernst Stavro Blofeld with his white cat, the Czechoslovak chess player Kronsteen and Rosa Klebb, a defector from the USSR. While the grandmaster devises an ingenious plan to obtain “Lektor,” the Soviet cipher machine, Klebb tries to turn this criminal scheme into reality.

Who is 007’s girlfriend?

Although James Bond has a date with Sylvia Trench at the beginning of the film, he soon turns his attention to Tatiana Romanova, a Russian girl serving at the Soviet consulate in Istanbul. Unwittingly becoming part of the criminal plan of Kronsteen and Klebb, Tatyana still has a good time with James.

What car does Agent 007 drive?

James drives in a luxurious retro Bentley 3.5 Liter from the 1930s.

Who is the performer of the main song?

The “From Russia with Love” composition performed by the English singer Matt Monro sounds at the end of the picture. It is noteworthy that a year after the premiere of From Russia with Love movie, Matt Monroe was a participant from the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest where he took second place.

Goldfinger (1964)

Who is the lead actor?

The leading role is again played by Sean Connery. Having started to go bald at the age of 20, the actor did not use wigs in the first two films of the franchise. However, while filming the “Goldfinger” movie, Connery opted for artificial hair.

Where do the main actions of the motion picture take place?

In the “Goldfinger” movie, James Bond travels to America. The main action begins in Miami, where Agent 007 intersects with the main villain. Then the main character finds himself at Fort Knox in Kentucky and flies over the United States in an airplane.

Who is the antagonist in the film?

Auric Goldfinger, a billionaire obsessed with gold, is a villain who opposes Bond. Auric is hatching a daring plan to infiltrate Fort Knox, where US gold reserves are stored. However, Goldfinger wishes not to steal all the gold bars, but to detonate the atomic bomb in the room where they are stored. Once radioactive, the US gold reserve will be useless – eventually Goldfinger’s gold will become priceless.

Who is 007’s girlfriend?

At the beginning of the film, Bond meets the masseuse Dink with whom he spends time in Miami. Then he has some fun with a girl named Jill. However, the pilot Pussy Galore, Goldfinger’s accomplice whom the agent was able to win over to his side, becomes the protagonist’s beloved one. Honor Blackman, the actress who played the role of Pussy Galore, unfortunately became a hostage of this role. It is noteworthy that both Connery and Blackman passed away in 2020.

What car does Agent 007 drive?

In this film, Bond gets behind the wheel of a luxurious Aston Martin DB5, equipped with sophisticated – by the standards of the 1960s – gadgets. Debuted in the “Goldfinger” film, this vehicle will appear in several more films under the franchise.

Who is the performer of the main song?

According to the tradition that began in the previous film (“From Russia with Love”), the name of the main musical theme and the title under which the film was released coincide. One of the best in the film franchise, the song “Goldfinger” is performed by Shirley Bassey, a wonderful singer.

Thunderball (1965)

Who is the lead actor?

Sean Connery plays James Bond for the fourth time. It is noteworthy that the main character no longer smokes in the frame.

Where do the main actions of the motion picture take place?

In the new film, James Bond embarks on a mission to the Bahamas – so, most of the filming took place here.

Who is the antagonist in the film?

Agent 007 once again confronts representatives of SPECTRE, a terrorist organization. Although Blofeld and his cat sometimes appear in the frame, it is Emilio Largo (Number Two), who stole two atomic bombs and blackmails the US and British governments, who now confronts the main character. Agent 007 has to find out the location of the bombs and save the world once again. The villainess Fiona Volpe (played by the Italian Luciana Paluzzi) – with whom Bond also spends some time in bed – is the main villain’s assistant.

Who is 007’s girlfriend?

In addition to the worker of the Shrublands resort Patricia and the criminal Fiona Volpe, Domino Derval, the mistress of the villain Emilio Largo, becomes the lover of agent 007. Bond lured Domino to his side to join forces in the confrontation with Number Two. Claudine Auger, the Parisian who played Domino, passed away in 2019. It is noteworthy that, to live up to his name, Domino wears black and white outfits throughout the film.

What car does Agent 007 drive?

The Aston Martin DB5 used in the “Goldfinger” movie reappears in the new film once again.

Who is the performer of the main song?

During the credits, the composition “Thunderball” with the vocals of the great Tom Jones sounds against the background of silhouettes of naked bathers. According to legend, while recording the highest note, the singer lost consciousness.

You Only Live Twice (1967)

Who is the lead actor?

Returning to the immortal film franchise for the fifth time, Sean Connery received a royalty of $ 1 million – unheard of in the 1960s. However, after the release of this motion picture, Agent 007 was re-cast.

Where do the main actions of the motion picture take place?

In search of the base of the spaceship abductors, James Bond goes to the Land of the Rising Sun. Almost all the shooting was carried out in Japan, since it is here that the volcano is located, which the main character used to create his headquarters. At the moment, there is Kirishima-Kinkovan National Park on the island of Kyushu.

Who is the antagonist in the film?

Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who appeared in the previous two films, became the main villain who opposes James Bond. Although previously we were only shown a hand with a cat, now we can see the villain in its entirety. Seeking to provoke a terrible conflict between the United States and the USSR, Blofeld steals spaceships.

Who is 007’s girlfriend?

Bond continues to enjoy great success with women. At the beginning of the film, he spends time with Aki, a Japanese beauty. However, Aki is killed by an assassin. Not long grieving over the death of the girl, Bond turns his attention to Kissy Suzuki, who played the role of his fake wife, so that the protagonist could get to Blofeld’s base. Although the roles of Aki and Kissi Suzuki were played by Japanese actresses, they were re-dubbed for the release of the film in English.

What car does Agent 007 drive?

In “You Only Live Twice,” the protagonist barely drives a car on his own. Aki acts as his chauffeur in almost all scenes of the film. Toyota 2000GT, a Japanese car, was taken as the agent’s main vehicle. However, it turned out to be too small for Sean Connery, who is over 6 feet tall. Therefore, in the end, it was decided to use a convertible.

Who is the performer of the main song?

Nancy Sinatra is the performer of the song “You Only Live Twice”. It is noteworthy that Robbie Williams used a sample of this composition to record his 1998 song “Millennium”. A video was filmed for the single, which is a paraphrase of the plot of films about Agent 007.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Who is the lead actor?

After five movies was released under the film franchise, the re-casting was carried out for the first time – instead of Sean Connery, the main character was played by George Lazenby, a male model from Australia. Although this is the first film in George’s acting career, he did a pretty good job of performing Agent 007. However, in the next film, Sean Connery will return to the role of James Bond again.

Where do the main actions of the motion picture take place?

The plot of the new film takes place in Portugal, where Bond meets the Draco family. Having saved Teresa di Vicenzo’s life, Agent 007 meets with her father, who invites him to marry Teresa to get information on how to get close to Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is being tracked by the main character. Following his cunning plan, Bond learned that his enemy had dug in the Alps and then he himself went to Switzerland.

Who is the antagonist in the film?

Blofeld, the main villain in the film, hatches a new insidious plan to create a virus that will render the planet barren. “Angels of Death”, the girls who visited Blofeld’s headquarters and are now ready to spray the virus in all corners of the world, are assisting the main villain.

Who is 007’s girlfriend?

Although Bond had a good time with the girls whom Blofeld appointed as his “Angels of Death”, he falls in love with Teresa di Vicenzo and even marries her. Diana Rigg, the actress who played Teresa, has become famous again to young people for her role as the insidious old lady Olenna Tyrell from the “Game of Thrones”, cult TV series. Unfortunately, Diana Rigg passed away on September 10, 2020.

What car does Agent 007 drive?

Although Bond barely drives a car in this movie, he does end up driving an Aston Martin DBS several times. For both this Gran Turismo car and actor George Lazenby, this film was the only one under the franchise.

Who is the performer of the main song?

“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” is the first film under the franchise – with the exception of Dr.  No – in which only the instrumental composition of the same name by John Barry without a vocal part is played.

Casino Royal

This story about the James Bond films would not be complete if we do not mention two more films that are adaptations of “Casino Royale”, the very first novel by Ian Fleming. A 1-hour television movie about the adventures of James Bond starring Barry Nelson was shown on the CBS American television channel in 1954. Using a heavily rewritten original storyline, the film tells the story of James Bond as an American agent.

The next attempt to adapt the novel “Casino Royale” took place 10 years later. John Houston, the director who was trying to make a new film, could not agree with Sean Connery who was not satisfied with the proposed fee. Then Houston changed the format of the movie, turning it into a parody comedy with a high degree of absurdity. In addition, he invited Peter Sellers, Orson Welles, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Woody Allen, the real titans of cinema, to take part in the filming. It is noteworthy that Ursula Andress, the very first Bond girl from “Dr. No”, performed of one of the roles in the film. Of course, both of these movies are not included in the official series of films about Agent 007.

So, it’s time to finish our story about Agent 007’s films. Now, half a century later, the first movies of the franchise look very naive and clumsy. So, are they worth watching? Of course, YES! All these films show how the entertainment film industry developed, as well as how filmmakers learned to shoot action, put on tricks, and come up with unexpected moves. Give retro cinema another chance and spend some exciting evenings with James Bond to see how cinema and the world in general have changed. Stay tuned for fun facts about other films under this immortal film franchise!