Just before Christmas I received a review copy of All About Bond, with contributions by a variety of people such as Godfrey Smith, who worked with Ian Fleming at the Sunday Times, Goldfinger actress Honor Blackman and GQ Editor Dylan Jones.
However, the main attraction of the book are the photos by Terry O’Neill, a photographer who made his name during the 1960s by immortalising the styles and celebrities of the era. These comprise of a selection of black and white a colour plates showing the actors behind the scenes on a number of the Bond films that are often quite candid, as well as publicity shots of Bond actors and Bond girls.
Particularly fascinating are the shots of Sean Connery fooling around on set between takes; just imagine the same kind of shots of Daniel Craig in these days of obsessive media control. Also included are a couple of photos of George Lazenby modelling clothes, Roger Moore being measured for a suit, Bond girls in various states of dress, and several shots of Aston Martins.
It is also curious to see stills from the 1967 spoof of Casino Royale with David Niven, which seems rather out of place; in fact there is an entire section devoted to it, which for me at least, is far too much.
While I haven’t read all the entries, I was interested too see the photos of George Lazenby relaxing poolside with Jill St John, who was to star with Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever. However, the caption accompanying one of the photos is way off the mark; it says that Lazenby ddated St John “during filming of Lazenby’s aborted second appearance as 007” and that he had been signed for seven Bond films.
As we know, he never signed and so didn’t start work on a second James Bond film.
While All About Bond is unlikely to have broad appeal, hardcore Bond collectors are sure to add it to their collections and it would be ideal make an ideal coffee table book for fans.
You can order All About Bond from Amazon by clicking the links below:
