Sean Connery

Sunspel’s Thunderball swimming trunks

May 15th, 2013 by

January 2014 Note: The swimming shorts identified as being in Thunderball discussed in this article later turned out to be no such thing, despite appearing in the Designing 007 exhibition. In two of the three Daniel Craig Bond movies James Bond has appeared in brief scenes clad in nothing but swim shorts, but going back to […]

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Impact of the Thunderball plagiarism case

April 10th, 2013 by

Just a few days prior to the publication of Thunderball Ian Fleming received the shock news that Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham sought an injunction preventing publication. McClory had read an advance copy of the novel in March 1961 and was infuriated to see that Fleming had based the story on a screenplay written by […]

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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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Goldfinger

March 13th, 2012 by

James Bond is sent to investigate the smuggling operation of gold magnate Auric Goldfinger. After first encountering him in Miami, Bond arranges a “chance” meeting at Goldfinger’s golf club, where they play a high stakes round for a gold bar during which Goldfinger and his henchman cheat. Trailing the millionaire to Switzerland in his Aston […]

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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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MI6 Declassified #8 – Goldfinger

January 11th, 2011 by

Whenever polls are conducted to find the best ever James Bond film, Goldfinger always rises to the top of the public’s selection. In this issue, MI6 Declassified lifts the lid on the recipe that defined a genre and demystifies some of the alchemy that turned Sean Connery’s third outing as 007 in to 24ct cinematic […]

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From Russia With Love poster pistol sells for £277,250 [MI6]

November 30th, 2010 by

MI6 has a story about a pistol used on the poster artwork with Sean Connery was recently sold at auction for ten times its estimate: A pistol held by Sean Connery as James Bond in a poster to promote the 1963 film From Russia With Love has sold at auction for £277,250 ($436,828 USD). And […]

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From Russia With Love (1963)

October 2nd, 2010 by

From Russia With Love

At the start of From Russia With Love (1963) an assassin pulls a length of wire from his watch and silently approaches James Bond from behind. Looping the wire around Bond’s neck, the assassin pulls it tight and holds it there until Bond gasps his last breath. From Russia With Love is the second James […]

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Dr No

October 2nd, 2010 by

Following the disappearance of the head of the local secret service station in Jamaica and his assistant, M send James Bond to investigate. Bond quickly teams up with the CIA’s Felix Leiter and with the help of the CIA man and his local hand, Quarrel, Bond follows up a series of leads. His investigations point […]

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