Maibaum and Hopkins have needlessly complicated SPECTRE's plot to hijack two atomic bombs. In the novel, SPECTRE hires a NATO pilot named Petacchi to crash-land the Vulcan near the Bahamas. In the film, SPECTRE hires a man named Angelo to first undergo plastic surgery in order to impersonatethe pilot of the Vulcan, who is named Derval. In the novel, Petacchi is Domino's brother. In the film, it is the original pilot, Derval, who is Domino's brother. Derval is murdered early in the film by Angelo, and from then on, the hijack operation takes the same course it does in the novel. It is unnecessary to introduce this additional plot device, and it isn't all that clear what's going on during the shifting around of bodies at Shrublands Health Spa, where the dead Derval is ultimately deposited. As a result, the first half hour of Thunderball is confusing.
One well-written scene takes place at the casino in Nassau where Bond challenges Emilio Largo to a game of chemin de fer. This is one of the more successful sequences in the novel as well, and the film manages to capture the scene intact. Although the scene isn't as tense as it should have been, the dialogue works very well. The scene that follows in the Café Martinique is also quite good. This is when Domino begins to become enchanted by Bond, and lets him know she would like to get away from Largo. It's one of the more romantic scenes in any of the Bond films.
The scriptwriters have also created a new character for the film. She is Fiona Volpe, a beautiful SPECTRE agent who first seduces Bond, then attempts to kill him. She is basically a variation of the Miss Taro character from Dr. No, and there would be more variations on this character in subsequent films. Fiona, however, is the most successful of all these female villains. The scene in which Bond is taken captive after their lovemaking in his hotel room contains the film's only remnants of Fleming's James Bond character. When he realizes he has not won Fiona to his side with his amorous assets, he tells her with spite, "You don't think I enjoyed what we did this evening, do you? What I did tonight was for Queen and country!" This statement causes Fiona to fume. It's an effective scene.
The film also adds a spectacular foot chase through the famous Junkanoo Parade which takes place in Nassau every year. The parade was staged for filming, since it was the wrong season for the actual event. It's one of the film's more exciting sequences, and the subsequent action at the Kiss Kiss Club is also interesting. Bond hides there from the SPECTRE agents by mixing with some dancers. Fiona, however, finds him and cuts in. Though it smacks of the pre-credits sequence in Goldfinger, the death of Fiona is a highlight of the film. Bond sees that one of the SPECTRE men is aiming a gun at him from behind the band. He whirls Fiona around to receive the bullet, after which he sets her in a chair at a crowded table. "Can my wife sit here?" he asks innocently. "She's just dead."
Adolfo Celi as Emilio Largo, addressing a group of SPECTRE frogmen in Thunderball. (Photo by Loomis Dean, Life Magazine. © Copyright 1965 by Time, Inc.)
The remainder of the film basically follows the novel, except that Bond and Leiter do not tail the Disco Volante in a submarine. Instead, Bond disposes of a SPECTRE agent and impersonates the man in order to infiltrate the Disco (which is the same thing he did to gain entrance to Dr. No's laboratory in that film). But Bond is discovered, and Largo's men manage to trap him in a cave. Thanks to a homing pill provided by Q Branch, Leiter is able to track Bond down. Bond then joins the NATO team of paratroopers who attack the SPECTRE diving force. The ending is a little different, too. In the novel, Largo meets his death underwater during the big baffle. In the film, Largo escapes the baffle and boards the Disco Volante for a getaway. Bond pursues him and a final climactic fight (which doesn't quite work) occurs on the boat. It is here that Domino shoots Largo in the back with a spear gun, just as Largo is aiming a pistol at Bond. (Shades of the Klebb/RomanovalBond final scene in From Russia With Love.)
The script does contain some of the series' best one-liners. Bond is equipped with more funny asides than he is with Q's weaponry—and many of them are just as deadly! Some of the better ones: Q, explaining the new equipment to Bond, commands, "I want you to keep this flare on you day and night." Bond says, "I resent that remark." Later, as Largo is showing Bond around his home, Palmyra, Bond picks up a rifle. "Lady's gun, isn't it?" Bond asks. "Oh, do you know a lot about guns?" Largo asks. "No," Bond replies, "but I know a little bit about women."
DIRECTION
With the return of the original Bond director, Terence Young, Thunderball lacks the exceptionally fast pace that Goldfinger had. It is most damaging in this case, for if anything, Thunderball needs to move faster. Young blames this on other problems!
To my mind all that underwater stuff was anti–James Bond, because it was slow motion. People swim slowly and you couldn't have them going very fast; we undercranked some of the shots and they looked ridiculous—the water was wobbling around so much it suddenly became stupid.
(From "The Terence Young Interview," by Richard Schenkman, Bondage 10)
Young also disagreed with the direction in which the producers wanted Thunderball to go, although he reluctantly admitted it was probably commercially viable to load it with gadgetry.
I thought if we were going to make this underwater stuff we've got to put in, like I said (one of my old lines in the picture) "lie's wearing everything including the Kitchen Sink" I really meant that I thought if we're going to go with this, let's do it properly, and they did. They piled in as much as they could, and that's why I said after Thunderball, "I think you don't want a director anymore, you want an MIT graduate to handle all the machines."
(Bondage, Ibid.)
Thunderball does recapture the more realistic style of the earlier films in relation to action scenes. All of the fight sequences are tough (the pre-credits fight between Bond and the widow is terrific) and the violence is hard-edged. The instance in which a SPECTRE agent is thrown into Largo's shark pool is particularly graphic, even though we don't really see him being eaten alive. But the scene is one of the bloodier sequences in any Bond film.
The "Disco Volante" in Thunderball. (Photo by Loomis Dean, Life Magazine. © Copyright 1965 by Time, Inc.)
Young's staging of the Junkanoo Parade is masterful. The director instructed his several assistant directors to weave in and out of the parade, with strict orders not to stop the procession. Peter Hunt's editing again takes center stage here, as many different shots are composed to create the big chase.
There are still continuity problems in Thunderball. The most obvious mistake is during the big underwater battle, when Bond's blue face mask is pulled off by Largo. Bond reaches down and pulls a black mask off of a dead SPECTRE frogman. In the very next shot, Bond is wearing the blue mask again. Young and Hunt both attribute this to the furious shooting schedules of the Bond films. The important thing, they feel, is to keep the action moving and not give the audience time to ask questions until they're on the way home from the theater.
Thunderball was Young's last Bond film. It's too bad, for Young is the man who originated the style of the series and attempted to keep some semblance of Ian Fleming's original concepts intact. Young told Bondage magazine that he would be willing to return to the series, if asked, only to direct the last film.
ACTORS AND CHARACTERS
Sean Connery gives another confident performance as James Bond, but his character is minimized by the production. Aside from a few moments of real drama (such as the scene with Fiona), Connery is not given much of a chance to display the James Bond qualifies of the early films. The script has given him some terrific one-liners, and these he delivers with a subtlety that works very well. His toying with Emilio Largo while lunching with the villain at Palmyra is especially amusing.
Claudine Auger, a former Miss France, makes her film debut as the spoiled Italian beauty, Domino Vitali. The script unfortunately does not make use of the character as well as it could have. Miss Auger is well cast, and displays the "rich bitch" qualifies of the character effectively (until charmed by Bond), but she isn't given the chance to explor
e the role fully. Domino is one of Fleming's more successful female characters, but the film script reduces her to just another cardboard Bond-girl. The actress is attractive, and adequate to the film's demands.
Noted Brazilian actor and director Adolfo Celi portrays the rugged SPECTRE villain, Emilio Largo. Celi is well cast also, although his voice is dubbed. The actor faces the same problem that Miss Auger does, i.e., the script does not do justice to Fleming's character. Celi does manage to create a menacing villain nonetheless, wearing a black eyepatch that adds a great deal to Largo's screen presence. The white hair, the black patch, and Celi's thin lips create a truly powerful image. His best scene occurs during the chemin de fer sequence, when he begins to suspect Bond of being an enemy agent. Accusing the Englishman of putting the evil eye on his cards, Largo returns the gesture by making the old Italian curse sign of outstretched second and fifth fingers. The rising anger in Largo is portrayed vividly in Celi's eye and shoulders.
Luciana Paluzzi portrays Fiona Volpe, the redheaded SPECTRE beauty. Miss Paluzzi is quite good, and for once, we believe the actress when she throws Bond's sexual prowess back into his face. She is a most effective femme fatale, and her character is one of the most successful elements in the film. Paluzzi possesses the good looks and catlike sexual aggressiveness necessary to make the role credible.
Felix Leiter is portrayed by yet a third actor, Rik Van Nutter. This is by far the most successful casting of the CIA agent to date. Nutter is lean, blond, and boyish. The script, however, does not give the character any real depth. Leiter comes off as Bond's sidekick—he is always there to say, "Gee whiz, James, do you think that's the right thing to do?" or something to that effect. He doesn't seem to have any independence. And the filmmakers still resist featuring Leiter with a hook and a wooden leg. Therefore, despite the good casting, Nutter suffers in a mediocre role.
The film's Obligatory Sacrificial Lamb is Martine Beswick as Paula. This is Miss Beswick's second James Bond film, for she appeared in From Russia With Love as one of the gypsy girls who fights for the love of Vavra's son. Paula is the Secret Service's agent in the Bahamas, and appears to be around only to aid Bond and look attractive. Her character, created for the film, never does anything particularly useful, and she basically serves as just another Bond beauty included to provide glamour. Paula is kidnapped by Fiona's hoodlums, and swallows a cyanide pill to avoid torture. Another Bond-girl in the film (this one's loaded with them) is Molly Peters as Patricia Fearing. Patricia, a nurse at the Shrublands Health Spa, is a character right out of the novel. Her role is relatively small, but serves the function of providing Bond with female attention for the first two reels. Miss Peters displays the good looks necessary for the part.
Count Lippe is a disappointment in the film. The novel creates an interesting character who, because of his eccentricities, first gives Bond suspicions that something wicked is afoot. Lippe's actions in the film are taken practically verbatim from the novel, but somehow the casting of Guy Doleman (who hasn't much screen presence) does not fit the bill. More successful, however, are the casting of Philip Locke and Michael Brennan as two of Largo's slimy henchmen, Vargas and Janni.
Blofeld is again hidden from the camera in this film. His voice, however, is dubbed by Joseph Wiseman, who played Dr. No in the first film. Still petting that silly white cat, Blofeld sits up in an isolated booth overlooking the SPECTRE conference room. Venetian blinds discreetly cover the actor's face, whoever it may be. Wiseman's "voice of doom" cannot help but evoke snickers from the audience—he sounds so sinister that it's a wonder his own men trust him. (Who'd want to be in SPECTRE anyway? One foul-up and you either get kicked with a poisoned shoe, electrocuted in your own chair, or blown up on the highway!)
Bernard Lee has a wonderful moment as M. Bond is late for an important meeting of the entire Secret Service staff. When he finally arrives, M begins the meeting by giving 007 a dirty look and saying, "Now that we're all here . . ."And later, during his private briefing, Bond shows M the photograph of Domino and her brother. "You think she's worth going after?" M inquires. Bond blinks and replies, "Well, I wouldn't put it quite that way, sir."
Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn respectively give their usual flirtatious and authoritative performances, although it's becoming obvious that the filmmakers are running out of fresh ideas for these traditional scenes.
OTHER ASPECTS
The film is stunning visually. Ted Moore's cinematography captures the beauty of the locations, and gives the film the most open and colorful look yet. Ivan Tors Underwater Studios, Ltd., was hired to film the underwater scenes. Underwater cameraman Lamar Boren does a splendid job, especially during the hijack operation. This is the film's most striking scene, in which SPECTRE frogmen extract the two atomic bombs from the sunken Vulcan and load them onto their underwater "chariot." Other underwater scenes include Bond's reconaissance of the Disco Volante's hull, his discovery of the Vulcan, and the final, climactic battle between the NATO paratroopers and the SPECTRE team. This last scene drags a bit (due to the slow movements in the water) and does not build to a higher level of excitement. This is an unfortunate problem in submarine filming.
Ken Adam is designing again, but because the film is heavy on outdoor locations, Adam's duties are restricted to a few interiors and the many gadgets that flood the film. Among these items are Bond's jet-pack; a Geiger counter camera and wristwatch (the only gadgets inspired by the novel); a four-minute "breather" which Bond uses twice in the film; jet-propelled scuba tanks that look as if they weigh a ton (they come equipped with CO2 guns and a smoke screen sprayer); a motorcycle able to fire rockets; and the film's pride and joy, Largo's Disco Volante. The yacht cost two hundred thousand pounds to build, and all of its features are real. The Disco can eject its rear outer shell, allowing a smaller hydrofoil to emerge for a fast getaway. Though it took the production crew at least six times to get it right, the scene in which this happens is thrilling.
John Stears won the series' second Academy Award for his work in Thunderball. Though the term "visual effects" implies spaceships and the like, Stears' work consists of the many incendiary action scenes (such as the execution of Count Lippe with the rocket-firing motorcycle), Bond's flight with a jet-pack, and other similar passages which fall properly under the visual effects heading.
Maurice Binder returns as main title designer with Thunderball, after having designed the titles for Dr. No and the gun-barrel logo. Binder would design the main titles for all the subsequent Bonds, traditionally featuring a vivid montage of silhouetted nudes and psychedelic patterns.
John Barry's score for Thunderball is low-key and basically serious in atmosphere. His "underwater" music is particularly effective in evoking a ghostly, other-worldly ambience. Barry also brings back his "007" theme for the Junkanoo chase and the climactic frogman battle.
Another fine tune, "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," was specially arranged and recorded for the soundtrack album, but only appears in the film in a lesser arrangement. The main title theme, sung with bravura by Tom Jones, is unusually unmelodic. But its real problem is Don Black's inane lyrics. Black would pen two more Bond song lyrics; neither of them are particularly memorable. The instrumental versions of the Thunderball tune, on the contrary, are lush and quite nice.
Thunderball, all things considered, is another turning point. With the emphasis now going to bigger sets, bigger locations, and bigger budgets, the Bonds became exercises in film technology. The public ate it up.
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)
PRODUCTION
While Thunderball was in the making, plans were dropped to film On Her Majesty's Secret Service as the next Bond film because it was felt that the plots were too similar (they aren't). Instead, You Only Live Twice was chosen, probably because it was a recent bestselling title. It also provided the filmmakers an opportunity to travel to Japan, the most exotic location yet for a Bond film.
With the huge financial success of Thunderball behind them,
Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman received a three-million-pound budget from United Artists to film the fifth James Bond epic. And an epic it is, for You Only Live Twice is an even bigger production than its predecessor, and the most spectacular of all the films—it is a visual achievement that few action/ adventure films have surpassed. Why it wasn't nominated for an Academy Award in art direction is a mystery. The film may have had a smaller budget than the later Bond films of the seventies, but it remains the most visually impressive. Unfortunately, this aspect, along with John Barry's memorable score, are among the few redeemable elements of the film.
You Only Live Twice marks the first film in which the producers totally discarded Fleming's story. As John Brosnan says, "The title was the same but the plot had been changed to protect the box office." It's a shame this was done, for You Only Live Twice is one of Fleming's most interesting books. You will recall that in the novel Bond seeks revenge for the murder of his wife, Tracy, and finally finds Ernst Stavro Blofeld in an isolated castle in Japan. There, he strangles Blofeld with his bare hands. Since the producers decided to reverse the order of the stories by filming On Her Majesty's Secret Service after You Only Live Twice, this important segment of the James Bond Saga is lost.
Another problem with the film is that Sean Connery's boredom with the role of Bond is obvious. Connery was released from his picture-a-year contract and was signed to do You Only Live Twice as a one-picture deal. The producers hoped he would do the same for a subsequent film. But Connery began to make it very clear that this would be the last James Bond film he would make. One can hardly blame him. The character of Bond, especially in this film, had become a superficial caricature. Very little of the Ian Fleming creation can be seen on the screen.
The James Bond Bedside Companion Page 39
