Author Profile: Q-branch staff

The cast of SPECTRE : Monica Bellucci

March 4th, 2015 by

Monica Bellucci says she was surprised to be approached by Sam Mendes, initially assuming her role in SPECTRE would be to replace Judi Dench. “Why do you call me? I’m 50 years old… what am I going to do in James Bond?” she demanded of the director. Photo: “Monica Bellucci, Women’s World Awards 2000” by Manfred Werner licensed […]

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A profile of Bernard Lee, the original M

March 8th, 2013 by

With Ralph Fiennes introduced as the new M at the end of Skyfall following in the long-serving footsteps of Dame Judi Dench, we take a look at the career of the first actor to play the MI6 boss, Bernard Lee. Bernard Lee was a respected English actor who starred in over seventy different movies during his […]

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Ursula Andress: 50 years of 007 on the big screen

October 17th, 2012 by

When Ursula Andress first appeared in Dr No, emerging from the Caribbean dressed in a white bikini, she not only got the pulses of millions racing, but also set the standard by which every following Bond girl would be judged. Cast as Honey Ryder, she helped launch what would eventually become one of the world’s […]

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Jack Lord: 50 years of 007 on the big screen

October 15th, 2012 by

Although James Bond’s CIA buddy Felix Leiter has been played by a number of actors, Jack Lord’s portrayal of Leiter in Dr No probably remains the most memorable. Although he was approached to reprise his role as Felix Leiter in Goldfinger, he pulled out when agreements between the financial terms of his contract and the […]

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Terence Young: 50 years of 007 on the big screen

October 14th, 2012 by

Although Ian Fleming will be forever credited with the creation of James Bond, director Terence Young was responsible in many ways for the evolution of the smooth suave agent that people would later fall in love with. Young’s appreciation for tailored suits, fine wines and beautiful women was remarkably similar to that of Bond and […]

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Sunbeam Alpine: the first screen Bond car

October 9th, 2012 by

The Bond legend wouldn’t be the same without the cars but while the best known of these is the Aston Martin DB5 that first appeared in Goldfinger, Bond’s very first car was the Sunbeam Alpine from Dr No.  1962 Sunbeam Alpine series II roader (1592cc, top speed 160 km/h) In retrospect, the producers of Bond […]

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Bringing Dr No to the big screen

October 5th, 2012 by

Although Ian Fleming tried and failed to bring his creation to the big screen, it took the combined efforts of a Canadian and Italian American to bring the first James Bond film to the big screen. This article takes a look at how Dr No came to be made. Interest in bringing Dr No to […]

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Cubby Broccoli: 50 years of 007 on the big screen

October 3rd, 2012 by

Earlier this week we took a look at the life of Harry Saltzman, who was one of the principal driving forces behind putting James Bond on the big screen. In this article we look at his partner, Cubby Broccoli, with whom he formed Eon Productions and Danjaq. Albert “Cubby” Broccoli was born on Long Island […]

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Harry Saltzman: 50 years of 007 on the big screen

October 1st, 2012 by

While Ian Fleming had seen the big screen potential for James Bond early on, his efforts to make a 007 film were ultimately thwarted, despite putting in considerable time and effort into the project. In this article to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Dr No this week we take a look at the life […]

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Little Nellie – the Wallis WA-116 autogyro

August 14th, 2012 by

A look at Little Nellie from You Only Live Twice. After identifying the area in Japan where the Ning-Po was unloaded in You Only Live Twice (1967), James Bond plans on scouting the mountainous area by air and tells Tiger Tanaka, head of the Japanese secret service, to “contact M. Tell him to send Little […]

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The Citroën 2CV from For Your Eyes Only

July 12th, 2012 by

When James Bond arrives in Spain on the tail of Cuban hitman Hector Gonzales in For Your Eyes Only, he sees him killed in front of him, shot with an arrow. Making his escape from the scene he runs into the assassin, Melina Havelock, who turns out to be the daughter of Sir Timothy Havelock, a marine biologist working for the British who had been murdered by Gonzales, triggering Bond’s investigation.

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Roger Moore: from The Saint to Sir Roger

May 9th, 2012 by

As part of our celebrations of 50 years of James Bond on the big screen we takes a look at the longest serving actor to play the role, Roger Moore.

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No well dressed man should be without one: the Thunderball Jetpack

March 29th, 2012 by

The world loves Bond but it can be argued that we love his gadgets slightly more. Over the years, movie goers have been thrilled by dozens of impressive gadgets and there are very few of these that are as memorable or as well loved as the Bell-Textron Jet pack. The Bell-Textron Jet pack – or […]

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The life of Sean Connery

March 20th, 2012 by

As part of our celebrations of 50 years of James Bond movies we takes a look at the original James Bond, Sean Connery. Sean Connery’s relationship with the James Bond franchise is a curiously appealing one. Most critics would argue convincingly that Sean Connery’s success and acceptance by the public would have been impossible without […]

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How the James Bond films have reinvented themselves over time

February 17th, 2012 by

When Pierce Brosnan was dropped from the role of James Bond the producers took a big risk in moving away from the established 007 formula and rather than keep the existing timeline of the Bond franchise, they followed the Batman movies to revisit Bond’s early years, long before he had become the smooth secret agent with a licence to kill with a taste for tuxedoes and Martinis.

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50 Years of James Bond Movies

January 1st, 2012 by

In the last 50 years, 22 official James Bond movies have made their debut on the big screen. If there is one thing the world has come to accept, it is that James Bond will always return—mostly with a blast and girl in arm. The following is a look at all of the past Bond movies and the tiny little details that made each one of them special.

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Albert Finney

December 20th, 2011 by

Albert Finney was confirmed for Skyfall in the November press conference, although his role has not yet been announced. Here we take a look at his life.

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Ralph Fiennes

December 16th, 2011 by

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes was linked to Skyfall months before it got under way, much like Javier Bardem. It was finally confirmed at the press conference in November that Fiennes had been signed in an unspecified role; however there is much discussion that Fiennes could mark the return of Ernst Stavro Blofeld to the James Bond films.

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Javier Bardem

December 11th, 2011 by

Javier Bardem, the Skyfall villain

Javier Bardem was confirmed as the as yet unnamed Skyfall villain at the press conference in November. Here we take a look at his life.

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Bérénice Marlohe

December 3rd, 2011 by

Bérénice Marlohe at Skyfall press conference

Bérénice Marlohe is a French actress and model who shot to international fame when it was announced that she had been won the supporting role of Bond Girl in Skyfall.

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