It’s been six full decades since Sean Connery looked up from a handful of cards and announced, “The name’s Bond, James Bond.” All this time later, and despite hearing that catch phrase being repeated in oh, so many variations, we’re still hanging onto every word.
The James Bond franchise has been one of the most important, and certainly among the longest, in film history. Back when it started, Eon Productions (originally helmed by producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Satlzman) were releasing a new Bond movie every year; more recently, we’re lucky if we get the next one every couple of years. Nonetheless, Eon and the James Bond character have remained preternaturally consistent, reliably turning out new adventures, and ever creating new fans from one generation to the next. The times change; the world changes; 007 does not.
These days he feels like a throwback to a forgotten type of action movie.
The James Bond franchise has been one of the most important, and certainly among the longest, in film history. Back when it started, Eon Productions (originally helmed by producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Satlzman) were releasing a new Bond movie every year; more recently, we’re lucky if we get the next one every couple of years. Nonetheless, Eon and the James Bond character have remained preternaturally consistent, reliably turning out new adventures, and ever creating new fans from one generation to the next. The times change; the world changes; 007 does not.
These days he feels like a throwback to a forgotten type of action movie.
- 11/8/2022
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
It’s a Cold War thriller in the steamy tropics! The Reds are making their move in Malaya and four vibrant people are caught in the crosshairs: rich rubber planter William Holden, revolutionary strategist Tetsuro Tanba, peaceful teacher and activist Capucine, and adventurous Governor’s daughter Susannah York. Director Lewis Gilbert keeps a rickety script on its feet drama-wise and superb cinematography (Freddie Young) and impressive music (Riz Ortolani) do the rest. The show ended up being most noted for a nude swimming scene scooped in the pages of Playboy.
The 7th Dawn
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1964 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date January 4, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: William Holden, Susannah York, Capucine, Tetsuro Tanba, Michael Goodliffe, Allan Cuthbertson, Sydney Tafler, Maurice Denham.
Cinematography: Frederick Young
Production Designer: John Stoll
Art Director: Herbert Smith
Film Editor: John Shirley
Original Music: Riz Ortolani
Associate Producer: John Dark
Written for the...
The 7th Dawn
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1964 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date January 4, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: William Holden, Susannah York, Capucine, Tetsuro Tanba, Michael Goodliffe, Allan Cuthbertson, Sydney Tafler, Maurice Denham.
Cinematography: Frederick Young
Production Designer: John Stoll
Art Director: Herbert Smith
Film Editor: John Shirley
Original Music: Riz Ortolani
Associate Producer: John Dark
Written for the...
- 1/1/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
There will be a rare big screen showing of the 1967 spoof version of the James Bond film "Casino Royale" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The screening is Thursday, August 17 at 1:30 Pm. The film features an all-star cast including Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Woody Allen, William Holden to name just a few. The film's legacy as a debacle in terms of a production that went out of control is well documented and was covered in-depth in Cinema Retro issue #6. Producer Charles K. Feldman employed numerous directors who worked on the movie simultaneously, but never together. The movie went over-schedule and over-budget but still did big business at cinemas. Even those who loathe the movie concede it boasts superb production values, a great musical score by Burt Bacharach and at least a few genuinely inspired moments of comedy. "Casino" may be a mess- but it's a grand,...
- 8/15/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Casino Royale
Directed by John Huston, Val Guest and co.
Written by Wolf Mankowitz, John Law and co.
U.S.A., 1967
With the mad success of the James Bond films as produced by partners Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and (Canadian) Harry Saltzman, which had run from 1962’s Dr. No to 1965 Thunderball, it was only natural for the Hollywood system to create a great number of other spy genre pictures. After all, like it or not, copycats make for good business, oftentimes regardless of the quality of the films themselves. Without the shadow of a doubt, the most curious imitator of them all, one that has earned, for both right and wrong reasons, a cult status throughout the decades, was the brainchild of producer Charles K. Feldman. Determined to cash in on the 007 craze, Feldman did not just make a copycat of Bond, he tried to make a Bond film, albeit one...
Directed by John Huston, Val Guest and co.
Written by Wolf Mankowitz, John Law and co.
U.S.A., 1967
With the mad success of the James Bond films as produced by partners Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and (Canadian) Harry Saltzman, which had run from 1962’s Dr. No to 1965 Thunderball, it was only natural for the Hollywood system to create a great number of other spy genre pictures. After all, like it or not, copycats make for good business, oftentimes regardless of the quality of the films themselves. Without the shadow of a doubt, the most curious imitator of them all, one that has earned, for both right and wrong reasons, a cult status throughout the decades, was the brainchild of producer Charles K. Feldman. Determined to cash in on the 007 craze, Feldman did not just make a copycat of Bond, he tried to make a Bond film, albeit one...
- 11/5/2015
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Olivia de Havilland picture U.S. labor history-making 'Gone with the Wind' star and two-time Best Actress winner Olivia de Havilland turns 99 (This Olivia de Havilland article is currently being revised and expanded.) Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland, the only surviving major Gone with the Wind cast member and oldest surviving Oscar winner, is turning 99 years old today, July 1.[1] Also known for her widely publicized feud with sister Joan Fontaine and for her eight movies with Errol Flynn, de Havilland should be remembered as well for having made Hollywood labor history. This particular history has nothing to do with de Havilland's films, her two Oscars, Gone with the Wind, Joan Fontaine, or Errol Flynn. Instead, history was made as a result of a legal fight: after winning a lawsuit against Warner Bros. in the mid-'40s, Olivia de Havilland put an end to treacherous...
- 7/2/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
By Lee Pfeiffer
Although he was regarded as a comedy genius, the sad truth is that Peter Sellers was more often than not misused in big screen comedies. After making it big on British TV and in feature films in the late 1950s, Sellers became an international sensation with his acclaimed work in big studio feature films such as "Lolita", "Dr. Strangelove", "The World of Henry Orient" and the first entries in the "Pink Panther" series. Through the mid-Sixties, he did impressive work in films like "After the Fox", "The Wrong Box" and "What's New Pussycat?" If the films weren't classics, at least they presented some of Sellers' off-the-wall ability to deliver innovative characters and comedic situations. By the late Sixties, however, his own personal demons began to get the better of him. Sellers was the epitome of the classic clown: laughing on the outside but crying on the inside.
Although he was regarded as a comedy genius, the sad truth is that Peter Sellers was more often than not misused in big screen comedies. After making it big on British TV and in feature films in the late 1950s, Sellers became an international sensation with his acclaimed work in big studio feature films such as "Lolita", "Dr. Strangelove", "The World of Henry Orient" and the first entries in the "Pink Panther" series. Through the mid-Sixties, he did impressive work in films like "After the Fox", "The Wrong Box" and "What's New Pussycat?" If the films weren't classics, at least they presented some of Sellers' off-the-wall ability to deliver innovative characters and comedic situations. By the late Sixties, however, his own personal demons began to get the better of him. Sellers was the epitome of the classic clown: laughing on the outside but crying on the inside.
- 3/8/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Everyone knows Woody Allen. At least, everyone thinks they know Woody Allen. His plumage is easily identifiable: horn-rimmed glasses, baggy suit, wispy hair, kvetching demeanor, ironic sense of humor, acute fear of death. As is his habitat: New York City, though recently he has flown as far afield as London, Barcelona, and Paris. His likes are well known: Bergman, Dostoevsky, New Orleans jazz. So too his dislikes: spiders, cars, nature, Wagner records, the entire city of Los Angeles. Whether or not these traits represent the true Allen, who’s to say? It is impossible to tell, with Allen, where cinema ends and life begins, an obfuscation he readily encourages. In the late nineteen-seventies, disillusioned with the comedic success he’d found making such films as Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), and Annie Hall (1977), he turned for darker territory with Stardust Memories (1980), a film in which, none too surprisingly, he plays a...
- 1/24/2015
- by Graham Daseler
- The Moving Arts Journal
Casino Royale
Directed by John Huston, Val Guest and co.
Written by Wolf Mankowitz, John Law and co.
U.S.A., 1967
With the mad success of the James Bond films as produced by partners Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and (Canadian) Harry Saltzman, which had run from 1962’s Dr. No to 1965 Thunderball, it was only natural for the Hollywood system to create a great number of other spy genre pictures. After all, like it or not, copycats make for good business, oftentimes regardless of the quality of the films themselves. Without the shadow of a doubt, the most curious imitator of them all, one that has earned, for both right and wrong reasons, a cult status throughout the decades, was the brainchild of producer Charles K. Feldman. Determined to cash in on the 007 craze, Feldman did not just make a copycat of Bond, he tried to make a Bond film, albeit one...
Directed by John Huston, Val Guest and co.
Written by Wolf Mankowitz, John Law and co.
U.S.A., 1967
With the mad success of the James Bond films as produced by partners Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and (Canadian) Harry Saltzman, which had run from 1962’s Dr. No to 1965 Thunderball, it was only natural for the Hollywood system to create a great number of other spy genre pictures. After all, like it or not, copycats make for good business, oftentimes regardless of the quality of the films themselves. Without the shadow of a doubt, the most curious imitator of them all, one that has earned, for both right and wrong reasons, a cult status throughout the decades, was the brainchild of producer Charles K. Feldman. Determined to cash in on the 007 craze, Feldman did not just make a copycat of Bond, he tried to make a Bond film, albeit one...
- 11/10/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress Olivia de Havilland vs. Warner Bros. Pt.2 "From the age of 18 when I began my career as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream," Olivia de Havilland would tell entertainment journalist Robert Osborne, "I always wanted to play difficult roles in films with significant themes. With the exception of that first Shakespearean film, no equivalent opportunities were given me at Warner Bros." (Actually, In This Our Life, for one, does have "significant themes." It also features black characters, not caricatures, something uncommon at that time.) De Havilland added that "absolutely no one in the industry thought I would win the case. When I at last succeeded, lots of flowers and telegrams began to arrive, which, of course, made me very happy." [Olivia de Havilland at 2008 Bette Davis tribute.] Following de Havilland’s legal victory, Warner Bros. made sure its remaining contract player Ida Lupino received top billing when the Curtis Bernhardt-directed 1943 drama Devotion,...
- 6/6/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Legendary TV cowboy James Arness has died, aged 88.
The actor played Marshall Matt Dillon in beloved TV western series Gunsmoke.
The Minnesota-born World War Two hero was the older brother of actor Peter Graves, who encouraged Arness to seek out a career in showbusiness after he was discharged from the army with leg and foot injuries sustained in battle.
He became an announcer at a Minneapolis radio station and later found fame in Hollywood after following a friend out to Los Angeles to find work in the movies.
He was studying theatre when he was cast as Loretta Young's brother in 1947 film The Farmer's Daughter.
His first wife, actress Virginia Chapman, encouraged him to take his acting more seriously after he received glowing reviews for his performance in his debut and he became a staple villain in films like The Thing from Another World (1951).
Arness' career really took off when he was discovered by John Wayne's agent Charles K. Feldman, and the two TV and movie cowboys became firm friends. Arness starred alongside Wayne, his mentor, in a series of 1950s films and it was the acting legend who recommended his pal for the role of Dillon in Gunsmoke, which became America's longest-running dramatic series.
When the show was cancelled in 1975, Arness joined the cast of TV miniseries How The West Was Won and then turned leading man again in cop drama McClain's Law in the early 1980s.
He retired from showbusiness in the mid-1990s, after appearing in the final Gunsmoke TV movie.
He and his first wife had three kids together - one daughter, Jenny Lee, committed suicide in 1975. Arness divorced Chapman in 1960. He wed Janet Surtrees in 1978.
Among his many accolades, Arness was appointed an honorary United States Marshall in recognition of his unique contribution to "the image and traditions of the U.S. Marshall's Service". He was also inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1981.
He also received the Bronze Star; the Purple Heart, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his army service during World War Two.
Flowers will be placed on the actor's Hollywood Walk of Fame star on Friday afternoon.
The actor played Marshall Matt Dillon in beloved TV western series Gunsmoke.
The Minnesota-born World War Two hero was the older brother of actor Peter Graves, who encouraged Arness to seek out a career in showbusiness after he was discharged from the army with leg and foot injuries sustained in battle.
He became an announcer at a Minneapolis radio station and later found fame in Hollywood after following a friend out to Los Angeles to find work in the movies.
He was studying theatre when he was cast as Loretta Young's brother in 1947 film The Farmer's Daughter.
His first wife, actress Virginia Chapman, encouraged him to take his acting more seriously after he received glowing reviews for his performance in his debut and he became a staple villain in films like The Thing from Another World (1951).
Arness' career really took off when he was discovered by John Wayne's agent Charles K. Feldman, and the two TV and movie cowboys became firm friends. Arness starred alongside Wayne, his mentor, in a series of 1950s films and it was the acting legend who recommended his pal for the role of Dillon in Gunsmoke, which became America's longest-running dramatic series.
When the show was cancelled in 1975, Arness joined the cast of TV miniseries How The West Was Won and then turned leading man again in cop drama McClain's Law in the early 1980s.
He retired from showbusiness in the mid-1990s, after appearing in the final Gunsmoke TV movie.
He and his first wife had three kids together - one daughter, Jenny Lee, committed suicide in 1975. Arness divorced Chapman in 1960. He wed Janet Surtrees in 1978.
Among his many accolades, Arness was appointed an honorary United States Marshall in recognition of his unique contribution to "the image and traditions of the U.S. Marshall's Service". He was also inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1981.
He also received the Bronze Star; the Purple Heart, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his army service during World War Two.
Flowers will be placed on the actor's Hollywood Walk of Fame star on Friday afternoon.
- 6/3/2011
- WENN
The late Gene Siskel had a famous litmus test for star-studded movies: Is the film more interesting than a documentary of its actors having lunch together would be? It's safe to assume that a filmed nosh shared by the cast of 1967's Casino Royale—David Niven, Peter Sellers, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, William Holden, Jean-Paul Belmondo, John Huston, and Deborah Kerr, just for starters—would be one of the most fascinating documentaries ever made, especially since Welles and Sellers likely couldn't have had lunch together without a fistfight breaking out. It'd certainly be more interesting than the film. For his deliriously excessive James Bond spoof, producer Charles K. Feldman bought a gaudy abundance of high-priced stars and some of the world's most expensive sets, but he couldn't buy quality, laughs, or cohesion. The product of five credited directors, three credited screenwriters, and a vast army of script doctors, Casino Royale.
- 10/29/2008
- by Nathan Rabin
- avclub.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.