‘Official’ Bond
Just wanted to provide a possible clarification for Silas Mariano, who said The Times made an “inaccurate” count of 19 Bond films (Letters, Nov. 24).
They may be counted this way when considering that the films “Casino Royale” and “Never Say Never Again” are not viewed as “official” Bond films -- regardless of who played James Bond -- because they were not produced by MGM/UA and Eon (neither held film rights to either project.) MGM/UA and Eon are considered the “official” Bond filmmakers because they produced the first full-length feature -- in this case, Sean Connery’s “Dr. No.”
And don’t forget, there was also a production of “Casino Royale” made for American television starring Barry Nelson as Jimmy Bond, American card shark, in 1954 for the CBS television series “Climax.” Since this was not feature-length and had a considerably different take on Bond, it is also excluded from an “official” status.
Cristopher
Hennessey-DeRose
La Canada
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Cristopher Hennessey-DeRose is the author of “Martinis, Girls, and Guns: The World of James Bond in Film and Print.”
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