Professor James Chapman joins The 007 Files to separate Bond history from myth.
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Professor James Chapman, author of Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films, joins The 007 Files to discuss Bond, film history and the stories that cling to 007.
He starts with his own path into Bond: the films he saw first, what they meant at the time, and how that early interest later became serious work on the series. From there, the conversation turns to the way Bond history is told, retold and sometimes bent out of shape.
One example is the old claim that Dr No was once going to feature the villain as a monkey. It is one of those details that keeps circulating because it sounds too odd to disappear. Chapman explains why the archives matter. Without the drafts, memos and correspondence, a good story can start to look like fact.
The episode also looks at Harry Saltzman’s influence, the early shape of cinematic Bond, and how easily the first film could have taken a very different path.
Where to find us
Professor James Chapman
https://amzn.to/4xnYFH0
Bill Koenig
https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com
Javi Trujillo
https://bsky.app/profile/javitru.bsky.social or https://www.instagram.com/thebondisnotenough
David Leigh
https://www.thejamesbonddossier.com
Recorded in the UK, USA and Spain on 8th June 2026.
