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50th Anniversary of the James Bond film series

By: FSWL team
Published:
2012-10-05
James Bond 50th anniversary
On October 5, 2012, it will be 50 years since James Bond first appeared in a cinema. Dr. No, starring Sean Connery, premiered at the London Pavilion, Piccadilly Circus in London on October 5, 1962.

Over the last 50 years, 23 James Bond films have been made by Eon Productions based on Ian Fleming's fictional character created in 1953 when his first 007 novel, Casino Royale, was published.

Six films starring Sean Connery as James Bond: Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Connery made a seventh Bond film, Never Say Never Again (1983), for another production company, so it is not counted among the "official" EON series.

One film starring George Lazenby, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).

Seven films starring Roger Moore as 007: Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and A View to a Kill (1985).

Two film adventures starring Timothy Dalton, The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989).

Four Bond films with Pierce Brosnan; GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).

The last three films in the series stars Daniel Craig as James Bond; Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008) and Skyfall (2012).

DR. NO Production notes (Source: MGM / Eon Productions)
• 6 Jul 1961: Eon Productions, the company behind the 007 series, was founded by producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
• 7 Sep 1961: Richard Maibaum and Wolf Mankowitz submitted the first draft screenplay
• 3 Nov 1961: Sean Connery was announced as the first actor to play James Bond
• 21 Dec 1961: Four actresses tested with Sean Connery for the role of Miss Taro. The role went to Zena Marshall
• 1 Jan 1962: Crew of Dr. No issued with the draft schedule for the first 007 movie
• 16 Jan 1962: Terence Young started shooting the first 007 cinematic adventure
• 21 Feb 1962: Terence Young shot the scene in which Bond and Honey hide in the river using reeds as snorkels
• 28 Feb 1962: Terence Young shot the scene in Bond’s flat
• 5 Mar 1962: Shooting was completed on the first scene in which 007 says, “Bond. James Bond”
• 7 Mar 1962: Scenes were shot in Miss Taro's apartment including Bond killing Dent
• 14 Mar 1962: Terence Young shot scene in which Bond & Honey meet Dr. No at his apartment/lair
• 22 Mar 1962: Terence Young shot scene in which Bond receives a Geiger counter from London
• 26 Mar 1962: Terence Young shot scenes with Dr. No, Bond and Honey in the reactor room
• 3 Apr 1962: Principal photography completed with the scene of Bond and the tarantula
• 10 Apr 1962: Danjaq S.A. signed an agreement giving United Artists Corporation the right to distribute DR. NO

Editor's note:
One other Bond film has been produced, Casino Royale (1967) starring David Niven as James Bond, which was a parody of the serious Bond films, and therefore not included in the above list. In addition to that film, there was an even earlier version of Casino Royale broadcast on live US television in October, 1954, starring Barry Nelson as Bond.

US box-office statistics for the James Bond film series produced by Eon Productions according to Box Office Mojo (not adjusted for inflation):

Rank
Title
Studio
Gross / # of Theaters
Opening/Theaters
Date


1
Quantum of Solace
Sony
168,368,427 / 3,501
67,528,882 / 3,451
11/14/08


2
Casino Royale
Sony
167,445,960 / 3,443
40,833,156 / 3,434
11/17/06


3
Die Another Day
MGM
160,942,139 / 3,377
47,072,040 / 3,314
11/22/02


4
The World Is Not Enough
MGM
126,943,684 / 3,163
35,519,007 / 3,163
11/19/99


5
Tomorrow Never Dies
MGM
125,304,276 / 2,807
25,143,007 / 2,807
12/19/97


6
GoldenEye
MGM
106,429,941 / 2,667
26,205,007 / 2,667
11/17/95


7
Moonraker
MGM
70,308,099 / -
7,108,344 / 788
6/29/79


8
Octopussy
MGM
67,893,619 / 1,339
8,902,564 / 1,311
6/10/83


9
Thunderball
UA
63,595,658 / -
N/A / -
12/21/65


10
Never Say Never Again
WB
55,432,841 / 1,560
10,958,157 / 1,550
10/7/83


11
For Your Eyes Only
MGM
54,812,802 / -
6,834,967 / 952
6/26/81


12
The Living Daylights
UA
51,185,897 / 1,728
11,051,284 / 1,728
7/31/87


13
Goldfinger
UA
51,081,062 / -
N/A / -
12/22/64


14
A View to a kill
MGM
50,327,960 / 1,588
10,687,114 / 1,583
5/24/85


15
The Spy Who Loved Me
UA
46,838,673 / -
n/a / 200
7/13/77


16
Diamonds Are Forever
UA
43,819,547 / -
N/A / -
12/17/71


17
You Only Live Twice
UA
43,084,787 / -
N/A / -
6/13/67


18
Live and Let Die
UA
35,377,836 / -
N/A / -
6/27/73


19
License to Kill
UA
34,667,015 / 1,587
8,774,776 / 1,575
7/14/89


20
From Russia with Love
UA
24,796,765 / -
N/A / -
4/8/64


21
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
UA
22,774,493 / -
N/A / -
12/18/69


22
The Man with the Golden Gun
UA
20,972,000 / -
N/A / -
12/18/74


23
Dr. No
UA
16,067,035 / -
N/A / -
5/8/63



Total gross for the James Bond film series in USA not adjusted for inflation: 1,608,470,516 USD

Other Ian Fleming and James Bond related books published in 2012 and featured on FSWL:
>007 - The James Bond Archives by Paul Duncan (November)
>A Brief Guide to James Bond by Nigel Cawthorne (September)
>All About Bond by Terry O'Neill (October 1)
>American edition of Bond on Bond by Roger Moore (October 16)
>Swedish edition of Bond on Bond by Roger Moore (October)
>Bond on Set: Filming Skyfall by Greg Williams (October)
>Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan by Mark O'Connell (September 3)
>Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again by Frank Cottrell Boyce (March 13)
>For Your Ears Only: The Voice of the Stars by Nikki van der Zyl (October)
>Ian Fleming: The Bibliography by Jon Gilbert (October)
>Ian Fleming and SOE's Operation POSTMASTER by Brian Gordon Lett (September 20)
>James Bond: Amazing and Extraordinary Facts by Michael Paterson (April 27)
>James Bond 50 Years of Movie Posters by Dennis Gassner (September 3)
>James Bond is Real by Mike L. Sparks (March 19)
>James Bond, le Dossier secret: De Ian Fleming à Daniel Craig by Kevin Collette (October 25)
>James Bond Unmasked by Bill Desowitz (May 9)
>LIFE 50 Years of James Bond: On the Run with 007, from Dr. No to Skyfall (November 13)
>My Life as Indiana Jones, James Bond, Superman & Other Action Heroes by Vic Armstrong (May)
>My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey through Hollywood by Robert Crane (May)
>The First Lady of Bond: My Autobiography by Eunice Gayson (September 12)
>The James Bond Omnibus Volume 003 by Ian Fleming (March 23)
>The James Bond Omnibus Volume 004 by Ian Fleming (November 6)
>The Music of James Bond by Jon Burlingame (October 25)

In 2012, Ian Fleming's 14 original James Bond novels are re-published by Vintage Classics, John Gardner's 16 James Bond novels are re-published by Orion Books, and Charlie Higson's five Young Bond novels are re-published by Penguin Books. All of the new editions are featured on From Sweden with Love:

>Blood Fever by Charlie Higson (first published in 2006) - Paperback, April 5
>By Royal Command by Charlie Higson (first published in 2008) - Paperback, April 5
>Brokenclaw by John Gardner (first published in 1990) - Paperback, July 5
>Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (first published in 1953) - Paperback, September 6
>Cold by John Gardner (first published in 1996) - Paperback, November 8
>Death is Forever by John Gardner (first published in 1992) - Paperback, August 2
>Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming (first published in 1956) - Paperback, September 6
>Doctor No by Ian Fleming (first published in 1958) - Paperback, September 6
>Double or Die by Charlie Higson (first published in 2007) - Paperback, April 5
>For Your Eyes Only by Ian Fleming (first published in 1960) - Paperback, September 6
>For Special Services by John Gardner (first published in 1982) - Paperback, February 2
>From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming (first published in 1957) - Paperback, September 6
>GoldenEye by John Gardner (first published in 1996) - Paperback, November 8
>Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (first published in 1959) - Paperback, September 6
>Hurricane Gold by Charlie Higson (first published in 2007) - Paperback, April 5
>Icebreaker by John Gardner (first published in 1983) - Paperback, May 10
>Licence Renewed by John Gardner (first published in 1981) - Paperback, February 2
>Licence to Kill by John Gardner (first published in 1990) - Paperback, August 2
>Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming (first published in 1954) - Paperback, September 6
>Moonraker by Ian Fleming (first published in 1955) - Paperback, September 6
>Never Send Flowers by John Gardner (first published in 1993) - Paperback, November 8
>No Deals, Mr. Bond by John Gardner (first published in 1987) - Paperback, July 5
>Nobody lives forever by John Gardner (first published in 1986) - Paperback, May 10
>Octopussy & The Living Daylights by Ian Fleming (first published in 1966) - Paperback, Sept. 6
>On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (first published in 1963) - Paperback, Sept. 6
>Role Of Honour by John Gardner (first published in 1984) - Paperback, May 10
>Scorpius by John Gardner (first published in 1988) - Paperback, August 2
>Seafire by John Gardner (first published in 1994) - Paperback, November 8
>Silverfin by Charlie Higson (first published in 2005) - Paperback, April 5
>The Man From Barbarossa by John Gardner (first published in 1991) - Paperback, August 2
>The Man With The Golden Gun by Ian Fleming (first published in 1965) - Paperback, Sept. 6
>The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming (first published in 1962) - Paperback, September 6
>Thunderball by Ian Fleming (first published in 1961) - Paperback, September 6
>Win, Lose Or Die by John Gardner (first published in 1989) - Paperback, August 2
>You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming (first published in 1964) - Paperback, September 6

Photo above:
One of the Swedish film posters for Dr. No (1962) from Anders Frejdh's private collection.

More information about the James Bond phenomenon on the official website:
www.007.com

Tags:

#50th_film_anniversary
#anniversaries
#dr_no
#eunice_gayson
#james_bond_day
#news
#sean_connery
#terence_young

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