(hb; 1964: illustrated by John Burningham)
From the inside flap:
"'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' went the great car's exhaust pipes, and the big green Paragon Panther roared to life. The Pott family knew that their car was no ordinary car. The twins, Jeremy and Jemima, had noticed that right off. Her license plate read GEN 11, and that could be read genii by knowing people.
"There was something magical about her, too. The Potts found that out soon enough. The great car could be an airplane or a boat when she had a mind to. So the Potts took a sea voyage from their English home and, by chance, found a gangster's hidden cave across the Channel in France.
"It was the cave that really got the adventurous Pott family into trouble. It belonged to a mob of gangsters - Joe the Monster, Man-Mountain Fink, Soapy Sam, and Blood-Money Banks.
"Could the famous inventor Commander Caractacus Pott, his wife Mimsie, and the twins escape the clutches of Joe the Monster and his mob? Their only hope, their only ally, was
"CHITTY-CHITTY-BANG-BANG
"and she was just a car - or was she?"
Review:
Warm, clever, informative, unique fun-blast of a kid's book. Classic, memorable, worth owning.
The resulting film was released stateside on December 18, 1968.
Dick Van Dyke played Caractacus Potts. Sally Ann Howes played Truly Scrumptious. Lionel Jeffries played Grandpa Potts. Gert Fröbe played Baron Bomburst. Benny Hill played "Toymaker". Heather Ripley played Jemima Potts. Adrian Hall played Jeremy Potts. Desmond Llewelyn played George Coggins.
Ken Hughes directed the film, from a script he co-penned with Roald Dahl and Richard Maibaum.
Showing posts with label Richard Maibaum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard Maibaum. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Octopussy and The Living Daylights, by Ian Fleming
(pb; 1966, 1967, 2002: story anthology -- fourteenth/final book in the original 007/James Bond series)
Review, overall:
Decent four-story anthology, best read as side-pieces to Fleming's more plot-substantial novels. It's a gotta-read for Bond fans, of course.
Review, story by story:
"Octopussy" - An alcoholic retired military man and sea-life enthusiast, Major Dexter Smythe, is confronted by a past misdeed when James Bond comes to visit him in the Caribbean. Solid, predictable entry -- light on action, heavy on corruption and karmic justice.
"The Property of a Lady" - In a Sotheby's auction room, during a Faberge egg bidding, Bond tries to flush out a high-ranking Russian agent. Another solid Bond tale, fascinating, with an exciting and quiet finish.
"The Living Daylights" - Bond, protecting a fellow agent (Agent 272) crossing into West Berlin from East Berlin, takes on a KGB sniper he'd rather not shoot. Great story, accentuating Bond's sense of humanity and decency, as well as his disillusionment with his "double-00" status. Memorable, classic.
"007 in New York" - Overly-chatty tale about Bond warning another agent about her cohabitation with an enemy agent. Bond's mission reads like an afterthought, given Bond's lengthier travelogue-style memories about New York in the past, an ex-lover (Solange) and his frustration in trying to order a breakfast consisting of properly-prepared brown eggs (which are curiously hard to find). Mercifully brief bit of fluff, this.
#
Octopussy became a film in 1983. It has little to do with its source story, aside from its title. The Faberge egg plot stems another Bond story, "The Property of a Lady".
Roger Moore played James Bond. Maud Adams played Octopussy. Louis Jordan played Kamal Khan. Steven Berkoff played General Orlov. Robert Brown played M. Desmond Llwelyn played Q. Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny.
John Glen directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum, George MacDonald Fraser and Michael G. Wilson.
#
The Living Daylights was released in 1987. The movie expands on its source story (see above review).
Timothy Dalton played James Bond. Maryam d'Abo played Kara Milovy. Jeroen Krabbe played General Georgi Koskov. Joe Don Baker played Brad Whitaker. Desmond Llewlyn played Q. Robert Brown played M. Caroline Bliss played Miss Moneypenny. John Terry played Felix Leiter.
John Glen directed, from a script penned by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson.
Review, overall:
Decent four-story anthology, best read as side-pieces to Fleming's more plot-substantial novels. It's a gotta-read for Bond fans, of course.
Review, story by story:
"Octopussy" - An alcoholic retired military man and sea-life enthusiast, Major Dexter Smythe, is confronted by a past misdeed when James Bond comes to visit him in the Caribbean. Solid, predictable entry -- light on action, heavy on corruption and karmic justice.
"The Property of a Lady" - In a Sotheby's auction room, during a Faberge egg bidding, Bond tries to flush out a high-ranking Russian agent. Another solid Bond tale, fascinating, with an exciting and quiet finish.
"The Living Daylights" - Bond, protecting a fellow agent (Agent 272) crossing into West Berlin from East Berlin, takes on a KGB sniper he'd rather not shoot. Great story, accentuating Bond's sense of humanity and decency, as well as his disillusionment with his "double-00" status. Memorable, classic.
"007 in New York" - Overly-chatty tale about Bond warning another agent about her cohabitation with an enemy agent. Bond's mission reads like an afterthought, given Bond's lengthier travelogue-style memories about New York in the past, an ex-lover (Solange) and his frustration in trying to order a breakfast consisting of properly-prepared brown eggs (which are curiously hard to find). Mercifully brief bit of fluff, this.
#
Octopussy became a film in 1983. It has little to do with its source story, aside from its title. The Faberge egg plot stems another Bond story, "The Property of a Lady".
Roger Moore played James Bond. Maud Adams played Octopussy. Louis Jordan played Kamal Khan. Steven Berkoff played General Orlov. Robert Brown played M. Desmond Llwelyn played Q. Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny.
John Glen directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum, George MacDonald Fraser and Michael G. Wilson.
#
The Living Daylights was released in 1987. The movie expands on its source story (see above review).
Timothy Dalton played James Bond. Maryam d'Abo played Kara Milovy. Jeroen Krabbe played General Georgi Koskov. Joe Don Baker played Brad Whitaker. Desmond Llewlyn played Q. Robert Brown played M. Caroline Bliss played Miss Moneypenny. John Terry played Felix Leiter.
John Glen directed, from a script penned by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, by Ian Fleming
(pb; 1963: eleventh book in the original 007/James Bond series)
From the back cover:
“The superlative thriller that pits James Bond once more against SPECTRE’s archfiend Blofeld, architect of the nefarious scheme to destroy the free world… the thriller in which 007 falls in love with the lovely Tracy, daughter of Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Union Corse…”
Review:
A year after the fireworks of Thunderball, Bond is still – unsuccessfully – hunting Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who masterminded the aforementioned missile hijacking-and-blackmail plot. Blofeld has completely disappeared (as has SPECTRE), it seems. But then a lead is unearthed…
Posing as Hilary Bray, a specialist who traces clients’ ancestries, he infiltrates Blofeld’s (who’s had plastic surgery) mountainous retreat. Bond is surrounded by a gaggle of rich, young girls who are undergoing “treatment” for various “allergies” – as well as Fräulein Irma Bunt, a woman who’s more thug than nurse.
This mission is not the only thing on Bond’s mind. He’s also in love with Tracy di Vicenzo, wild daughter of a gregarious gangster-revolutionary – and possibly the perfect woman for Bond.
It’s typical 007 stuff, though the pacing and focus is different (the love story is as important as the action, which is downplayed), the characters (especially Bond) have matured a bit, and the ending, similar to that of From Russia With Love, is one of the most shocking Fleming has penned.
One of my favorite 007 novels – and movies – in the series. Check them out.
[Side-note: Sharp-eyed readers will spot the phrase “the world is not enough,” which later became the title of a James Bond film, and references to Irma La Douce and Ursula Andress, who starred in Dr. No.]
Followed by You Only Live Twice.
•
On Her Majesty's Secret Service was released stateside as a film on December 18, 1969. Peter R. Hunt directed the film, from a screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Simon Raven (who provided additional dialogue to the script).
George Lazenby played Bond. Diana Rigg played Tracy di Vicenzo. Telly Savalas played Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Gabriele Ferzetti played Marc-Ange Draco. Ilse Steppat played Irma Bunt.
From the back cover:
“The superlative thriller that pits James Bond once more against SPECTRE’s archfiend Blofeld, architect of the nefarious scheme to destroy the free world… the thriller in which 007 falls in love with the lovely Tracy, daughter of Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Union Corse…”
Review:
A year after the fireworks of Thunderball, Bond is still – unsuccessfully – hunting Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who masterminded the aforementioned missile hijacking-and-blackmail plot. Blofeld has completely disappeared (as has SPECTRE), it seems. But then a lead is unearthed…
Posing as Hilary Bray, a specialist who traces clients’ ancestries, he infiltrates Blofeld’s (who’s had plastic surgery) mountainous retreat. Bond is surrounded by a gaggle of rich, young girls who are undergoing “treatment” for various “allergies” – as well as Fräulein Irma Bunt, a woman who’s more thug than nurse.
This mission is not the only thing on Bond’s mind. He’s also in love with Tracy di Vicenzo, wild daughter of a gregarious gangster-revolutionary – and possibly the perfect woman for Bond.
It’s typical 007 stuff, though the pacing and focus is different (the love story is as important as the action, which is downplayed), the characters (especially Bond) have matured a bit, and the ending, similar to that of From Russia With Love, is one of the most shocking Fleming has penned.
One of my favorite 007 novels – and movies – in the series. Check them out.
[Side-note: Sharp-eyed readers will spot the phrase “the world is not enough,” which later became the title of a James Bond film, and references to Irma La Douce and Ursula Andress, who starred in Dr. No.]
Followed by You Only Live Twice.
•
On Her Majesty's Secret Service was released stateside as a film on December 18, 1969. Peter R. Hunt directed the film, from a screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Simon Raven (who provided additional dialogue to the script).
George Lazenby played Bond. Diana Rigg played Tracy di Vicenzo. Telly Savalas played Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Gabriele Ferzetti played Marc-Ange Draco. Ilse Steppat played Irma Bunt.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Thunderball, by Ian Fleming
(pb; 1961: ninth book in the original 007/James Bond series)
Review:
A new terrorist group, SPECTRE – acronym for “The Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion” – headed by Ernesto Stavro Blofeld (who directly battles Bond in two later novels, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice), has two atomic bombs and is threatening to use them on the United States and England… that is, of course, unless the two superpowers pay mad cash.
M, vexed, unofficially sends Bond to Nassau, in the Bahamas, to investigate the area as a possible stash spot for the bombs. There, Bond sniffs out (and later matches wits with) Emilio Largo (aka, SPECTRE associate “No. 2”), an urbane “treasure hunter” who means to make good on SPECTRE’s bomb threats, if necessary.
Bond also meets, and aligns with, Largo’s bored mistress, Domino – born Dominetta Petacchi – whose calid temper and cool intelligence makes her Bond’s compeer, in the ways of survival.
Felix Leiter, Bond’s friend and ex-Pinkerton detective, is back in action, too. Leiter has been reinstated in the CIA (serving as Bond’s American counterpart).
Ninth in the series, following the anthology For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball has a meant-to-be-funny but maladroit set-up in the first forty pages (Bond goes to Shrublands, an English health clinic, to detox from all his boozing and smoking, and ends up pissing off a SPECTRE hitter, Count Lippe). After that, it’s all systems go, and what a “go” it is!
There’s not a whole lot that’s new here, but it is a fun read – Fleming’s Bond novels are always a pleasure to peruse – and Fleming employs some effective foreshadowing – SPECTRE, replacing SMERSH; Blofeld – for future Bond tales.
Followed by The Spy Who Loved Me.
Thunderball was released stateside as a film on December 29, 1965.
Sean Connery played Bond. Claudine Auger played Dominique “Domino” Derval – the altered version of Dominetta Petacchi. Adolfo Celi played Emilio Largo/SPECTRE #2. Rik Van Nutter played Felix Leiter. Guy Doleman played Count Lippe.
Bernard Lee played M. Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny. Desmond Llewelyn played Q.
Terence Young directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins.
Review:
A new terrorist group, SPECTRE – acronym for “The Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion” – headed by Ernesto Stavro Blofeld (who directly battles Bond in two later novels, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice), has two atomic bombs and is threatening to use them on the United States and England… that is, of course, unless the two superpowers pay mad cash.
M, vexed, unofficially sends Bond to Nassau, in the Bahamas, to investigate the area as a possible stash spot for the bombs. There, Bond sniffs out (and later matches wits with) Emilio Largo (aka, SPECTRE associate “No. 2”), an urbane “treasure hunter” who means to make good on SPECTRE’s bomb threats, if necessary.
Bond also meets, and aligns with, Largo’s bored mistress, Domino – born Dominetta Petacchi – whose calid temper and cool intelligence makes her Bond’s compeer, in the ways of survival.
Felix Leiter, Bond’s friend and ex-Pinkerton detective, is back in action, too. Leiter has been reinstated in the CIA (serving as Bond’s American counterpart).
Ninth in the series, following the anthology For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball has a meant-to-be-funny but maladroit set-up in the first forty pages (Bond goes to Shrublands, an English health clinic, to detox from all his boozing and smoking, and ends up pissing off a SPECTRE hitter, Count Lippe). After that, it’s all systems go, and what a “go” it is!
There’s not a whole lot that’s new here, but it is a fun read – Fleming’s Bond novels are always a pleasure to peruse – and Fleming employs some effective foreshadowing – SPECTRE, replacing SMERSH; Blofeld – for future Bond tales.
Followed by The Spy Who Loved Me.
Thunderball was released stateside as a film on December 29, 1965.
Sean Connery played Bond. Claudine Auger played Dominique “Domino” Derval – the altered version of Dominetta Petacchi. Adolfo Celi played Emilio Largo/SPECTRE #2. Rik Van Nutter played Felix Leiter. Guy Doleman played Count Lippe.
Bernard Lee played M. Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny. Desmond Llewelyn played Q.
Terence Young directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Goldfinger, by Ian Fleming
(pb; 1959: seventh book in the original 007/James Bond series) Review
Bond battles Auric Goldfinger, a wealthy gold bullion collector and SMERSH agent. Bond first encounters Goldfinger when he busts the polite but petty millionaire as a card cheat, fleecing millions from Junius Du Pont (a Bond acquaintance from Casino Royale). Not long after that – coincidentally – Bond finds himself investigating Goldfinger again, this time because Goldfinger's bullion fever (illicitly indulged in) threatens to break the Bank of England while funding the Russian Secret Service known as SMERSH.
Goldfinger is Bond by the numbers. It's still hard to put down, because Fleming's lean, action-minded prose keeps the humor-spiced plot percolating at a decent pace. However, Goldfinger is a bland bad guy, when compared to past Bond villains, and Pussy Galore – a lesbian flirtatious cat burglar – is an unlikely romantic match for Bond, given her sexual predilections. Not only that, but there's not much build-up between Bond and Galore, who doesn't appear until midway through the novel. In his dealings with Galore, Bond is not the gentleman/take-things-slowly Bond of the previous six books─this is Bond's cinematic/slutty version.
These nits aside, there are other saving graces in Goldfinger, other than Fleming's able writing. One of the graces is Oddjob, Goldfinger's razor-edged bowler-throwing Korean assassin-handy man, who's quite a character, despite his ape-like speech: the scenes where Bond baits the stoical Oddjob are priceless. There's also Fleming's constant referencing of past Bond adventures – most, if not all, of the books are well represented here.
Felix Leiter, the CIA-agent-turned-Pinkerton who appeared in Casino Royale, Live And Let Die, and Diamonds Are Forever, is also back.
While Goldfinger is not one of the better Bond novels, it's still a fun read.
Followed by For Your Eyes Only.
#
The film version of Goldfinger was released stateside on January 9, 1965. Guy Hamilton directed, from a script by Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn.
Sean Connery played Bond. Honor Blackman played Pussy Galore. Gert Fröbe played Goldfinger. Harold Sakata, billed as Harold Sakata {Tosh Togo}, played Oddjob. Cec Linder played Felix Leiter.
Bernard Lee played 'M.' Lois Maxwell played Moneypenny. Desmond Llwellyn played 'Q.'
Burt Kwouk played Mr. Ling. Bill Nagy played Midnight. Martin Benson played Solo.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Doctor No, by Ian Fleming
(pb; 1958: sixth book in the original 007/James Bond series)
From the back cover:
“Doctor No, a sinister recluse with mechanical pincers for hands and sadistic fascination with pain, holds James Bond firm in his steely grasp. Bond and Honey Rider, his beautiful and vulnerable Girl Friday, have been captured trespassing on Doctor No’s secluded Caribbean island. Intent on protecting his clandestine operations from the British secret service, Doctor No sees an opportunity to dispose of an enemy and further his diabolical research. Soon, Bond and Rider are fighting for their lives in a murderous of Doctor No’s choosing...”
Review:
When Strangways (an agent of her Majesty’s Secret Service, seen in Live and Let Die) and his female assistant (Mary Trueblood) disappear, Bond returns to Jamaica to investigate why. It’s been three months since the events of From Russia with Love, and this is meant to be a routine investigation, as Strangways is known to be a womanizer.
Bond quickly realizes that mission is far from routine. A mysterious, rarely-seen man named Doctor No owns Crab Key, a nearby island where several people have disappeared; even Quarrel, a Jamaican boatman and Bond ally who also appeared in Live and Let Die, is terrified at the thought of going there.
Not only that, somebody – Doctor No? – has made two low-key attempts on Bond’s life since his arrival in Jamaica, and Bond is being shadowed by Chigro (Chinese-Negro) spies, who may or may not work for Doctor No.
With Quarrel, Bond goes to Crab Key, encounters Honeychile Rider, and that’s when the trouble really starts.
Like the five preceding books in the Bond series, Doctor No is exciting, fast-paced and hard to put down. Doctor No is the perfect megalomaniacal villain, whose cold charm masks murderous, vengeful intentions.
Honeychile Rider isn’t book-smart like many of Bond’s previous women, as she’s lived in the jungle all of her life, but she is practical and courageous – the perfect foil for Bond, given the nature of this adventure.
Another winning entry in the Bond series, followed by Goldfinger.
Doctor No, the first James Bond film, was released stateside on May 8, 1963.
Sean Connery played James Bond. Ursula Andress played Honeychile "Honey" Rider. Joseph Wiseman played Doctor Julius No. Jack Lord played Felix Leiter (whose character is not in the book version). John Kitzmiller played Quarrel.
Terence Young directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood and Berkely Mather.
From the back cover:
“Doctor No, a sinister recluse with mechanical pincers for hands and sadistic fascination with pain, holds James Bond firm in his steely grasp. Bond and Honey Rider, his beautiful and vulnerable Girl Friday, have been captured trespassing on Doctor No’s secluded Caribbean island. Intent on protecting his clandestine operations from the British secret service, Doctor No sees an opportunity to dispose of an enemy and further his diabolical research. Soon, Bond and Rider are fighting for their lives in a murderous of Doctor No’s choosing...”
Review:
When Strangways (an agent of her Majesty’s Secret Service, seen in Live and Let Die) and his female assistant (Mary Trueblood) disappear, Bond returns to Jamaica to investigate why. It’s been three months since the events of From Russia with Love, and this is meant to be a routine investigation, as Strangways is known to be a womanizer.
Bond quickly realizes that mission is far from routine. A mysterious, rarely-seen man named Doctor No owns Crab Key, a nearby island where several people have disappeared; even Quarrel, a Jamaican boatman and Bond ally who also appeared in Live and Let Die, is terrified at the thought of going there.
Not only that, somebody – Doctor No? – has made two low-key attempts on Bond’s life since his arrival in Jamaica, and Bond is being shadowed by Chigro (Chinese-Negro) spies, who may or may not work for Doctor No.
With Quarrel, Bond goes to Crab Key, encounters Honeychile Rider, and that’s when the trouble really starts.
Like the five preceding books in the Bond series, Doctor No is exciting, fast-paced and hard to put down. Doctor No is the perfect megalomaniacal villain, whose cold charm masks murderous, vengeful intentions.
Honeychile Rider isn’t book-smart like many of Bond’s previous women, as she’s lived in the jungle all of her life, but she is practical and courageous – the perfect foil for Bond, given the nature of this adventure.
Another winning entry in the Bond series, followed by Goldfinger.
Doctor No, the first James Bond film, was released stateside on May 8, 1963.
Sean Connery played James Bond. Ursula Andress played Honeychile "Honey" Rider. Joseph Wiseman played Doctor Julius No. Jack Lord played Felix Leiter (whose character is not in the book version). John Kitzmiller played Quarrel.
Terence Young directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood and Berkely Mather.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Diamonds Are Forever, by Ian Fleming
(pb; 1956: fourth book in the original 007/James Bond series)
From the back cover:
“Meet Tiffany Case, a cold, gorgeous, hard-boiled blonde; the kind of girl you could get into a lot of trouble with – if you wanted. She stands between James Bond and the leaders of a diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa via London to the States. Bond uses her to infiltrate the gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the hunted. 007 is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter, the ice maiden herself...”
Review:
Bond goes up against American gangsters – this time, it’s the Spang brothers, Seraffimo and Jack. Bond’s femme fatale is Tiffany Case, who was gang raped at a young age and has hardened accordingly. Lesser villains include Shady Tree (a cruel midget), Wint (a huge thug who sucks his thumb) and Kidd (a pretty boy thug).
There’s less police work and more savagery in the fourth Bond outing. Bond finds himself in some odd situations – being in America and all – but, true to series-form, he has help: the aforementioned Tiffany Case, and Felix Leiter. Leiter, now a Pinkerton detective, has left the CIA. He also has a right steel hook and a noticeable limp – reminders of Leiter’s wounds, received in the second Bond novel, Live And Let Die.
The Spang brothers have their quirks, too. Serrafimo is an Old West afficionado who owns a refurbished ghost town, Spectreville. Jack, also called Rufus B. Saye, and who might be “ABC,” the mysterious leader of the gang, is barely seen, but his cold-blooded nature is distinctive.
One of the things I love about the Bond novels is how Fleming mentions, in passing, certain events from past novels, without slowing the plot or action of the current novel. It gives a stronger sense of continuity to an already well-written series.
Diamonds Are Forever is less intense than its predecessors, but it’s still exciting.
This became a film in 1971. Sean Connery played Bond. Jill St. John played Case. Norman Burton played Leiter.
Seraffimo and Jack Spang were nixed in the film version. The villain of the film version is Ernst Stavro Blofeld (played by Charles Gray), whose character was last seen in the previous Bond film, 1969's On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In On Her Majesty’s... Blofeld was played by Telly Savalas.
Guy Hamilton directed Diamonds Are Forever, from a script by Richard Maibaum.
Diamonds Are Forever, the book, is followed by From Russia With Love.
From the back cover:
“Meet Tiffany Case, a cold, gorgeous, hard-boiled blonde; the kind of girl you could get into a lot of trouble with – if you wanted. She stands between James Bond and the leaders of a diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa via London to the States. Bond uses her to infiltrate the gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the hunted. 007 is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter, the ice maiden herself...”
Review:
Bond goes up against American gangsters – this time, it’s the Spang brothers, Seraffimo and Jack. Bond’s femme fatale is Tiffany Case, who was gang raped at a young age and has hardened accordingly. Lesser villains include Shady Tree (a cruel midget), Wint (a huge thug who sucks his thumb) and Kidd (a pretty boy thug).
There’s less police work and more savagery in the fourth Bond outing. Bond finds himself in some odd situations – being in America and all – but, true to series-form, he has help: the aforementioned Tiffany Case, and Felix Leiter. Leiter, now a Pinkerton detective, has left the CIA. He also has a right steel hook and a noticeable limp – reminders of Leiter’s wounds, received in the second Bond novel, Live And Let Die.
The Spang brothers have their quirks, too. Serrafimo is an Old West afficionado who owns a refurbished ghost town, Spectreville. Jack, also called Rufus B. Saye, and who might be “ABC,” the mysterious leader of the gang, is barely seen, but his cold-blooded nature is distinctive.
One of the things I love about the Bond novels is how Fleming mentions, in passing, certain events from past novels, without slowing the plot or action of the current novel. It gives a stronger sense of continuity to an already well-written series.
Diamonds Are Forever is less intense than its predecessors, but it’s still exciting.
This became a film in 1971. Sean Connery played Bond. Jill St. John played Case. Norman Burton played Leiter.
Seraffimo and Jack Spang were nixed in the film version. The villain of the film version is Ernst Stavro Blofeld (played by Charles Gray), whose character was last seen in the previous Bond film, 1969's On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In On Her Majesty’s... Blofeld was played by Telly Savalas.
Guy Hamilton directed Diamonds Are Forever, from a script by Richard Maibaum.
Diamonds Are Forever, the book, is followed by From Russia With Love.
From Russia With Love, by Ian Fleming
(pb; 1957: fifth book in the original 007/James Bond series)
From the back cover:
“Every major foreign government organization has a file on British secret agent James Bond. Now, Russia’s lethal SMERSH organization has targeted him for elimination. SMERSH has the perfect bait in the irresistable Tatiana Romanova, who lures 007 to Istanbul promising the top-secret Spektor cypher machine. But when Bond walks willingly into the trap, a game of cross and double-cross ensues, with Bond as both the stakes and the prize...”
Review:
It’s been a year since the events of Diamonds Are Forever. Bond is bored with office work and slightly depressed, living “the soft life.” Tiffany Case, his lover from the previous novel, has recently left him for another man.
That’s the least of Bond’s problems. The Russians have put a hit out on him, a hit that would not only end his life, but publicly embarrass the British Secret Service. Enter Donovan “Red” Grant, aka, the “Moon Killer,” a serial-killer-turned-SMERSH-assassin, who’s set to fulfill that fatal contract.
There is also Tatiana Romanova, whose allegiances are questionable...
This has always been one of my favorite Bond novels: it has lots of action (compared to the earlier novels), tons of plot twists (many of them born of well-established character quirks), perverse characters (even for a Bond novel) and an ending that absolutely electrifies.
The plot set-up is different, also (a refreshing change). The first quarter of the novel shows the Russians – military politicians, Grant, Rosa Krebs (a SMERSH torturer with sapphic leanings) and Tatiana – gearing up for Bond’s violent, public death trip. Then the action kicks in, when Bond goes to Turkey to meet Tatiana, where Kerim “Darko” Bey, an outgoing gipsy and Head of the Turkish Secret Service, helps Bond with his mission: transporting Tatiana and the Spektor machine to France, via the Orient Express.
(Side-notes: Rene Mathis, a French government agent in Casino Royale, makes an appearance in From Russia... as the Head of the Deuxieme, the French equivalent of the CIA... Espionage gadgetry, a hallmark of the Bond films, is also in evidence, employed mostly by the Russians.)
Exotic, clever, action-packed and romantic, this is one of the best Bond novels, up there with Live And Let Die.
Followed by Doctor No.
From Russia With Love was released stateside as a film on May 27, 1964.
Sean Connery played Bond. Daniela Bianchi played Tatiana. Robert Shaw played Donald “Red” Grant. Lotte Lenya played Rosa Klebb.
Bernard Lee played M. Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny.
Terence Young directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum, which was adapted from the novel by Johanna Harwood.
From the back cover:
“Every major foreign government organization has a file on British secret agent James Bond. Now, Russia’s lethal SMERSH organization has targeted him for elimination. SMERSH has the perfect bait in the irresistable Tatiana Romanova, who lures 007 to Istanbul promising the top-secret Spektor cypher machine. But when Bond walks willingly into the trap, a game of cross and double-cross ensues, with Bond as both the stakes and the prize...”
Review:
It’s been a year since the events of Diamonds Are Forever. Bond is bored with office work and slightly depressed, living “the soft life.” Tiffany Case, his lover from the previous novel, has recently left him for another man.
That’s the least of Bond’s problems. The Russians have put a hit out on him, a hit that would not only end his life, but publicly embarrass the British Secret Service. Enter Donovan “Red” Grant, aka, the “Moon Killer,” a serial-killer-turned-SMERSH-assassin, who’s set to fulfill that fatal contract.
There is also Tatiana Romanova, whose allegiances are questionable...
This has always been one of my favorite Bond novels: it has lots of action (compared to the earlier novels), tons of plot twists (many of them born of well-established character quirks), perverse characters (even for a Bond novel) and an ending that absolutely electrifies.
The plot set-up is different, also (a refreshing change). The first quarter of the novel shows the Russians – military politicians, Grant, Rosa Krebs (a SMERSH torturer with sapphic leanings) and Tatiana – gearing up for Bond’s violent, public death trip. Then the action kicks in, when Bond goes to Turkey to meet Tatiana, where Kerim “Darko” Bey, an outgoing gipsy and Head of the Turkish Secret Service, helps Bond with his mission: transporting Tatiana and the Spektor machine to France, via the Orient Express.
(Side-notes: Rene Mathis, a French government agent in Casino Royale, makes an appearance in From Russia... as the Head of the Deuxieme, the French equivalent of the CIA... Espionage gadgetry, a hallmark of the Bond films, is also in evidence, employed mostly by the Russians.)
Exotic, clever, action-packed and romantic, this is one of the best Bond novels, up there with Live And Let Die.
Followed by Doctor No.
From Russia With Love was released stateside as a film on May 27, 1964.
Sean Connery played Bond. Daniela Bianchi played Tatiana. Robert Shaw played Donald “Red” Grant. Lotte Lenya played Rosa Klebb.
Bernard Lee played M. Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny.
Terence Young directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum, which was adapted from the novel by Johanna Harwood.
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