Bond, Jimmy Bond

I suppose that you know by now of my interest in history.  Film history is only one area of research for me.  My wife and I have been studying all sorts of history.  We even had our honeymoon in Gettysburg, PA.

A film series as popular and successful as James Bond had to have a history.  Everyone knows that Ian Fleming (1908 - 1964) wrote the stories about the British super secret agent known as 007.  It is fun to dig a little further.

Fleming wrote 13 novels and two story collections about James Bond.  According to Wikipedia, there have been 22 Bond films released, with a 23rd in the works for release next year.  They also state that the total box office take (so far) has been over $4.8 BILLION.  I'd call that successful.

The very first Bond novel was Casino Royale, written in 1952.  It is also the very first story used for a screen appearance of Bond, but here is where history gets to be fun.  In 1954, Casino Royale was presented on live television, making it Number One of the complete set.  I saw it for the first time this week.

Fleming reportedly sold the story rights for $1,000.  The story was then Americanized.  James Bond became Jimmy Bond, played by Barry Nelson (1917 - 2007), and he was an American spy.  He receives additional help from Clarence Leiter (name changed from Felix Leiter) who was a British spy.  In the later movies and the books, Leiter is American.  You can read my post about Leiter here.

The first Leiter was played by Michael Pate (1920 - 2008), and they spelled his character's name wrong in the credits, as Clarence Letter!  We also see the wonderful Peter Lorre (1904 - 1964) as Le Chiffre, our ruthless villain.  Nelson only took the role as Bond so he could have a chance to work with Lorre.

The female lead was played by Linda Christian (b. 1923).  She gets to kiss Bond, but there is no other hanky-panky.  It was only a one hour program!  She was good in the role as a double agent who lets emotion get involved in her character.  Well done for 1954 television.

Le Chiffre's henchmen were played by Gene Roth (1903 - 1976) who has 267 acting credits, and Kurt Katch (1896 - 1958) with 88 titles.  I suppose I have two more Bit Actor names for research!  These guys and the unidentified third bad guy were nasty!

The special edition set shown in the Amazon link above includes the 1966 spy spoof, Casino Royale, and also the 1954 TV presentation.  It is well worth owning.  It also has an interview with director Val Guest (1911 - 2006) who tells about the confusion of making the psychedelic movie.

In 1954 we had a lot of teleplays presented, and they included some big stars from Hollywood.  "Casino Royale" was one presentation of a series called "Climax!" which aired from 1954 to 1958.  The only problem is that video tape wasn't perfected yet.  Shows were either filmed for later editing and then broadcast, or they were presented live.  Most live shows were recorded on kinescope.  It is a rather crude process where a film camera is aimed at a television monitor.  The results are usually contrasty and have dark halos around some subjects.

The kinescope of this teleplay was lost until 1981 when Jim Shoenberger found it in his collection.  It was labeled "Casino Royale," but he thought it was the 1966 film.  When he saw it was black and white film, he looked more carefully.  Lucky for us this piece of history was re-discovered.

The copy has been released and is worth watching.  The story moves quickly, and it has the telltale signs of being a kinescope, but I enjoyed seeing it.  It is typical of teleplays in the 1950s.  You can tell that the sets are small and whenever you have something live on TV, someone will drop a line or fumble a word.  That's what makes it all so special.

Barry Nelson

I don't believe that Barry Nelson (1917 - 2007) was ever much more than a Bit Actor, at least on film.  He was a well respected actor on Broadway and television, and no one would deny that he had great talent.

He has 86 titles listed on IMDb.  His first film was Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) starring William Powell (1892 - 1984) and Myrna Loy (1905 - 1993), and you know how much I like the Thin Man series.  He has a starring role the next year in A Yank on the Burma Road. 

Also in 1942 we find him working with Lew Ayres (1908 - 1996) and Lionel Barrymore in Dr. Kildare's Victory, and then with Abbott and Costello in Rio Rita.  The war years brought some war movies.  Bataan and A Guy Named Joe in 1943, and Winged Victory in 1944.  Winged Victory has a great cast and is something I will look for.

Barry starts early on television in 1948.  He is in several teleplays on "The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre" and "The Ford Theatre Hour."  Do you think spelling it 'Theatre' adds some class to the small screen?  I believe those years were the start of the best part of Nelson's career. 

In 1954 he is cast as the first James Bond to hit the screen.  "Climax!" aired an hour long version of Casino Royale, written by Ian Fleming (1908 - 1964) just two years earlier.  That role has enshrined Barry Nelson in the trivia question world.

The 1950s and 1960s see him in all sorts of television roles, including "Zane Grey Theater," "The United States Steel Hour," "Twilight Zone," "Kraft Suspense Theatre," several with Alfred Hitchcock, and of course "Love, American Style."

In 1970 he is an airline pilot in the blockbuster disaster movie, Airport, with Dean Martin (1917 - 1995) and Burt Lancaster (1913 - 1994).  And in 1974 he works with Carol Burnett (b. 1933) and Walter Matthau (1920 - 2000) in Pete 'n' Tillie. 

In the 1970s to 1990 he is in everything on TV (again), from "Greatest Heroes of the Bible" to "Battlestar Galactica."  He would be right at home doing roles on "Dallas," "Magnum, P.I.," and "Murder, She Wrote."

Barry's last film was The Shining in 1980.  Anyone who can hold their own with Jack Nicholson is OK with me, and worthy to be mentioned as a great Bit Actor.