The James Bond Bedside Companion

by Benson, Raymond

  In December, while Fleming was on holiday with Anne in the Swiss Alps, two men became involved with James Bond who would be responsible for the most successful film series of all time. Harry Saltzman, a Canadian producer who had just left his company, Woodfall Films, had taken an interest in the James Bond novels. In a dramatic coup, he secured a six-month option on all of the existing and future Fleming titles except for CASINO ROYALE, which had been sold to Gregory Ratoff in 1955 (and which his widow had sold to Charles K. Feldman). Little did he know that another producer, Albert R. Broccoli, had also become interested in the Fleming novels. This London-based New Yorker had been co-producer of Warwick Films, and had attempted to gain interest in the Bonds from Columbia Pictures as early as 1957. Broccoli did not meet Saltzman, however, until a few months later.

  Ian Fleming experimented with the structure of his tenth James Bond book that January and February of 1961. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME was certainly an oddity in the series in that the story was told from the point of view of a female character. James Bond did not enter the tale until two-thirds into the book. The original manuscript was 113 pages, and few revisions were made. Being the shortest Bond novel, it is only fifteen chapters long.

  On March 17, Life magazine published an article featuring a list of John F. Kennedy's favorite books.

  In ninth place was FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE by Ian Fleming. This literally made Bond in America overnight. From then on, Fleming was "in," and sales improved almost immediately. What was so striking about Life's list of books was that the other nine books were mostly biographies of political leaders and sophisticated nonfiction. Fleming's book was the only one of its type on the list. It was good public relations for Kennedy as well—it showed that even a President can enjoy a little "sex, sadism, and snobbery."

  That same month, Kevin McClory read an advance copy of THUNDERBALL. He found that Fleming had made no acknowledgement to him or Jack Whittingham for what was essentially a work of joint authorship. THUNDERBALL contained the plot that was created over the last two years. McClory and Whittingham immediately petitioned the high court for an injunction to hold up publication of the book, which was set for April. At the hearing on March 25, evidence was given that 32,000 copies of THUNDERBALL had already been shipped to booksellers, and a hefty amount of money had already been spent on advance publicity. The judge ruled that the book could be published, but that it in no way affected or slanted in either Fleming's or McClory's and Whittingham's favor the result of the trial. Unfortunately, it was two years before the case was resolved.

  Regardless of legal problems, THUNDERBALL was certainly a success. Perhaps the publicity of the hearing helped sales. The book had another colorful Richard Chopping jacket featuring a skeletal hand and wrist with a knife sticking through the bones and into two playing cards. The London Times said, "Mr. Fleming's special magic lies in his power to impart sophistication to his mighty nonsense." Viking Press published THUNDERBALL in the United States, and it sold better than any of its predecessors. Anthony Boucher wrote: "As usual, Ian Fleming has less story to tell in 90,000 words than Buchan managed in 40,000; but THUNDERBALL is still an enjoyably extravagant adventure." L. G. Offord said the book was "just about as wild as ever, with a walloping climax."

  The stress and tension from the snowballing of James Bond became too much for Fleming. On April 12, during a Sunday Times Tuesday conference, he had a major heart attack. That afternoon he was admitted to London Clinic, where he remained for a month. He was told by his doctor that he must cut down on his smoking and drinking and get plenty of rest. But how could the creator of James Bond exist without living life to the fullest? It simply wasn't possible. Fleming chose to disregard his doctors' orders after he left the clinic, confiding to his friends that he didn't intend to spend his life not being able to enjoy it.

  While he was in the hospital, Fleming wrote a children's book called CHITTY-CHITTY-BANG-BANG about the adventures of an eccentric family who owned a magical car. The car was able to fly, sail, and catch crooks. It's entirely schoolboy fantasy stuff, but heightened by Fleming's knack for detail. It must have been good therapy for him to write the book. His own philosophy of life was planted in the words of Commander Pott, the father of the fictional household: "Never say 'no' to adventures. Always say 'yes,' otherwise you'll lead a very dull life."

  That May, while Fleming was recuperating in France with Anne, Harry Saltzman's six-month option on the novels was about up. It was then that Saltzman was introduced, through the writer Wolf Mankowitz, to Albert R. Broccoli. Saltzman had the option, and Broccoli had the connections. They decided to form a partnership and created Eon Productions Ltd. "Cubby" Broccoli, as he is called by almost everyone who knows him, first offered the Bond film package to Columbia Pictures, who turned him down. Broccoli had several connections at United Artists, and on June 21, he and Saltzman met with UA executives to discuss the package. The London UA head, David Picker, a fan of the novels, highly recommended buying the package. Broccoli and Saltzman signed that very day for a six-picture deal. THUNDERBALL, surprisingly, was chosen as the first film.

  Broccoli hired Richard Maibaum, a screenwriter with whom he had worked a few times before, to adapt the book, despite the fact that more than one screenplay by a group of writers existed already. Maibaum's first draft of the Thunderball screenplay followed the novel fairly closely, except that Blofeld's initial meeting with SPECTRE to discuss Plan Omega preceded the Shrublands sequence. When the screenplay was submitted to United Artists, it was rejected because the title was in litigation at the time. Broccoli and Saltzman had failed to secure the rights to the book because of McClory's injunction.

  Therefore, DOCTOR NO was chosen as an alternate, and United Artists agreed to finance the film for $900,000. Maibaum immediately began working on the script, with the help of several other writers. Terence Young, another acquaintance of Broccoli from the Warwick days, was chosen to direct. That August, a talent search began for the actor who would play James Bond.

  By October, the producers had their leading man. Sean Connery, a rugged, darkly handsome Scottish actor was chosen from over a thousand possibilities. He was signed to a picture-a-year deal until 1967. Connery didn't really match Fleming's description of James Bond. Bond wasn't necessarily Scottish, although Fleming made him so in his subsequent novels, and Connery lacked the "long, thin scar" on his right cheek and the "cold blue eyes." But he was quickly molded into a particular image that audiences seemed to like. Sean Connery's portrayal of James Bond became a cinematic landmark. One way in which he made the character his own was by giving Bond a sense of humor. Connery was responsible for many of the one-liners and asides which made the film Bond a more sardonic and wittier character than Fleming's secret agent.

  The film world held a curious, but somehow alienating, fascination for Fleming. He didn't particularly care to become involved with the proceedings. The people weren't his sort. But he was excited by the fact that films were being made from his books. Although his first reaction to Sean Connery's casting was negative, once he saw how the actor looked in character, he changed his mind. Fleming gladly posed for publicity shots on the sets and with the actors. He enjoyed camping up his own image, but preferred to leave the filmmaking to Eon Productions.

  Interestingly, in August of 1961 Fleming sent a "critique" of Hitchcock's North by Northwest to Ivan Bryce. He liked the film enormously but complained about the fact that the "master of suspense" tended to throw away the plot by adding touches of comedy. Preferring to "keep jokes at a minimum," Fleming hoped that the future James Bond films would be told with a "straight face" and a "desperate sense of urgency." He added that the kind of film he had in mind was Clouzot's The Wages of Fear. (Perhaps this is indicative of what he might have thought of the United Artists Bond films had he lived to see more than the first two.)

  Early in 1962, Dr. No began production with locations in Jamaica, and Ian Fleming sat down at Goldeneye to write ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE.
>
  The first time Fleming visited the set of Dr. No, Terence Young was in the middle of shooting the scene in which Honeychile Rider (Ursula Andress) was coming out of the water onto the beach where Bond was hiding. Young's shot was ruined by four people walking down the beach towards the area. Young screamed and waved for them to lie down. The four men hit the sand and the remainder of the scene was shot. Half an hour later, Young remembered the men on the beach and sent someone to look for them. The men turned out to be Fleming, Noel Coward, Stephen Spender, the poet, and Peter Quennell, the author and critic.

  ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE is one of Fleming's best novels. Originally titled THE BELLES OF HELL, it was 196 pages long. The original manuscript contained several sections that were added later in England, including the technical descriptions of biological warfare and heraldry. For expertise on heraldry, Fleming contacted the Rouge Dragon at the College of Arms, Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees. The Comte de la Lanne-Mirrlees researched the Bond family and created a special coat of arms for the character. To express his appreciation, Fleming dedicated the book to "Sable Basilisk Pursuivant" (the clever reference to a basilisk, a type of dragon, avoided giving the Comte unwanted publicity).

  A slightly revised version of James Bond's coat of arms, based on the original coat of arms designed at Fleming's request by the Rouge Dragon at the College of Arms for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. (Illustration by James Goodner.)

  On February 4, 1962, the Sunday Times published in the first issue of the new color supplement a James Bond short story by Fleming entitled "The Living Daylights." The Daily Express, which had been serializing the novels and held the rights to the comic strip, was incensed about this, but Fleming managed to smooth things over once he got back to England.

  THE SPY WHO LOVED ME was published in April, with a lovely Richard Chopping jacket picturing a Wilkinson dagger, red carnation, burnt paper and a burnt matchstick. On the title page, Fleming added a co-author under his own name: Vivienne Michel, the heroine of the story. In a preface to the American edition, Fleming stated that he found the manuscript on his desk at his office one day, spruced it up, and submitted it for publication. But he didn't pull anyone's leg. The world knew it was Ian Fleming's novel. The author was expecting mixed reviews for this one, and got them. In fact, Fleming was quite distressed at several violent attacks (one on television) for what some critics called the "pornographic" episodes of the heroine's early life before Bond enters the story. As a result, the book was banned in some countries, including the paperback edition in England for a few years. The Times called it a "morbid version of 'Beauty and the Beast,'" and The Listener described it as being "as silly as it is unpleasant." More women seemed to like it, however. Esther Howard in Spectator found it "surprising," adding that she liked "the Daphne du Maurier touch" and preferred it that way, but doubted that real fans would. Because of the poor reception of the book in England, Fleming stipulated to Eon Productions and Glidrose that only the title of this particular novel could be used by the film makers when the time came to bring THE SPY WHO LOVED ME to the screen. In America, reviewers were cool toward the book as well. Anthony Boucher wrote that the "author has reached an unprecedented low." This was the last Bond novel to be published by Viking Press. Fleming switched to New American Library and NAL immediately began a mass paperback campaign to promote the books, all with uniformly designed covers.

  Ian Fleming camping up the Bond image. (Photo by Loomis Dean, Life Magazine, © Copyright 1966 by Time, Inc.)

  That summer, with his health fluctuating between good and bad, Fleming decided he would send Bond to Japan for his next novel. The author was anxious to be reunited with his friend Richard Hughes, the Sunday Times representative in the Far East. Fleming had met the Australian in 1959 during the THRILLING CITIES tour. For twelve days, Fleming was guided through Japan by Hughes and Torao "Tiger" Saito, the editor-in-chief of a distinguished annual called "This is Japan," published by the Asahi Shirnbun. Fleming was to show his gratitude to the two men by creating in their images the characters of "Dikko" Henderson and Tiger Tanaka.

  Fleming received considerable exposure in American magazines that summer. The short story, "The Living Daylights," was published in the June issue of Argosy under the title "Berlin Escape." The August 10 issue of Life featured an article on Fleming. The photographs, taken by Loomis Dean, showed the author camping it up as he posed with guns, playing cards, and a Bentley. Other American magazines, especially men's publications, began featuring Bond serializations. DOCTOR NO was published in Stag magazine with the inappropriate title, "Nude Girl of Nightmare Key."

  A couple of years later, Stag published THE SPY WHO LOVED ME as "Motel Nymph"! Playboy, though, did a much classier job with serializations of all the remaining Bond novels beginning with ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. The appearances of Fleming's work in Playboy did much to perpetuate the Bond/Playboy image in the early days of the author's fame in America.

  Around this time, Fleming's portrait was painted by his friend Amherst Villiers, whom he had known since the thirties. Villiers had designed superchargers (James Bond had an Amherst Villiers supercharger in his Bentley), and had taken up painting as a hobby. Fleming bought the portrait, and it was used as a frontispiece in a limited edition of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE.

  On October 7, Dr. No premiered in London, and was a resounding success. Sean Connery was immediately accepted by the public as James Bond, and Ian Fleming seemed to like it as well. His words were, "Those who've read the book are likely to be disappointed, but those who haven't will find it a wonderful movie." Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman began planning the next film.

  In January and February of 1963, Fleming wrote YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE at Goldeneye. The original manuscript was 170 pages long, and was the least revised of the novels. The book ended with another cliffhanger: James Bond has amnesia and is lost somewhere in Russia after leaving Japan.

  In April, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE was published. There was a limited edition of 250 copies, each numbered and signed by the author. The regular edition featured yet another Richard Chopping painting on the jacket, which showed an artist's hand completing a design of Bond's coat of arms (complete with the Bond family motto, "The World is Not Enough"). Reviews were ecstatic. The Times called it "perfectly up to snuff, well-gimmicked, well-thrilled, well-jacketed." New American Library published the book a few months later, and it topped the New York Times best seller list for over six months. R. M. Stem called it "Solid Fleming. . . Mr. Fleming is a story teller of formidable skill."

  In May, Dr. No was released in the United States. Bosley Crowther in the New York Times thoroughly recommended the film, and it looked as though Eon Productions, in winning the American audience, truly had a successful investment. The second film, From Russia With Love, was almost complete, and Fleming had visited the set in Istanbul. He went mostly to see his friend Nazim Kalkavan again, but also because he was curious about what they were doing to his favorite book. From Russia With Love premiered in October in England, again to very favorable reviews. Ian and Anne Fleming threw a party for the cast and crew, but the author felt too ill to enjoy himself properly. He finally went upstairs to his room while the party continued.

  In November, a James Bond short story entitled "The Property of a Lady" was published in a book called The Ivory Hammer: The Year at Sotheby's. Sotheby's specially commissioned Fleming to do a story concerning an auction. It later appeared in Playboy magazine. Jonathan Cape finally published THRILLING CITIES that November as well, with a surrealistic painting of Monte Carlo by Paul Davis on its jacket. The book received mixed reviews in both England and America (the American edition was published by NAL).

  On November 19, the THUNDERBALL court case finally began. Not only was Fleming being sued by McClory for plagiarism and false attribution of authorship (Whittingham had dropped out as plaintiff due to financial difficulties), but Ivar Bryce was accused of injuring McClory as a false partner in Xanadu Pr
oductions. It was an extremely complicated case and the details are still controversial today. The attorneys for Bryce and Fleming felt that they had a case, as did their friend, Ernest Cuneo. In an affidavit on file in London, Fleming stated that Cuneo had "scribbled off" the basis of a suggested plot for the film. This draft was dated May 28, 1959 and Cuneo assigned all rights in the document to Bryce for the sum of one dollar. Fleming acknowledged this original source in the published copies of THUNDERBALL—the book is dedicated to Ernest Cuneo, "Muse." But it was soon apparent that McClory had a strong case, and Jack Whittingham's testimony would be in his favor. Additionally, a letter dated November 14, 1963, from Fleming's solicitors admitted that the THUNDERBALL novel did reproduce a substantial part of the copyrighted material from the scripts in question.

  During the three weeks of the trial, Ian Fleming was not well, although he was in the courtroom every day. His friend Bryce was worried about him, afraid that the stress could possibly cause another heart attack. After days of wrestling with this worry and with the ultimate realization of how weak their case actually was, Bryce decided to throw in the towel rather than watch his friend endure the days to come. After consulting with his counsel and with Fleming, Bryce asked for a settlement McClory was to put forth his demands. In December, the case was settled out of court. McClory would have "no further interest" in Fleming's novel, but publishers were to add the line "This story is based on a screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and the Author" to the title page in subsequent editions. McClory was assigned the copyright to the "The Film Scripts" and the film rights to the THUNDERBALL novel for a consideration paid to Fleming. In addition, Jack Whittingham received a sum of money, and Ivar Bryce paid McClory damages as well as the court costs for all participants. John Pearson claimed that the total cost for the case was estimated at £80,000. (Whittingham afterwards issued a writ against Fleming, but this action died when Fleming himself passed away a few months later.)