Tuesday, September 26, 2023

A James Bond "movie" I'd never heard of before

 

I wasn't aware that, according to Wikipedia:


To promote the film ["You Only Live Twice"], United Artists Television produced a one-hour colour television programme titled Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond, which first aired on 2 June 1967 in the United States on NBC. Bond regulars Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn appeared, playing respectively Miss Moneypenny and Q. Kate O'Mara appears as Miss Moneypenny's assistant. The programme shows clips from You Only Live Twice and the then four existing Bond films, and contained a storyline of Moneypenny trying to establish the identity of Bond's bride.


The James Bond Wiki notes:


The feature stars Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn in character as Miss Moneypenny and Q respectively as well as Kate O'Mara as Miss Moneypenny's unnamed assistant. They all reflect on James Bond's previous adventures in Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger and Thunderball through the use of archival footage. In addition they speculate on Bond's current and future assignments, showing preview clips of You Only Live Twice.

A subplot is included about a woman (who is never directly shown, akin to Ernst Stavro Blofeld) who is obsessed with becoming Bond's next lover. She is seen holding a Pan paperback copy of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, possibly as a teaser to the audience that it would be the next novel to be adapted into a film (which it was).


Fortunately for us, the entire TV special is available on YouTube.  Enjoy!




It's a bit dated, of course, compared to modern high-tech gee-whiz Bond movies, but I still enjoyed it - and it stars Sean Connery, who as far as I'm concerned is still the best of the actors who played Bond.

Peter


4 comments:

drjim said...

Sean Connery IS James Bond!

Anonymous said...

Sean Connery WAS James Bond.

Old NFO said...

Wow, I haven't seen that since I was a kid in high school!

markm said...

As far as I'm concerned, they should have ended the film franchise when Connery refused to film any more. In the decades since then, I've maybe watched 3 substitute Bonds - and only one of those films all the way through.