January 3, 2014

UNPRODUCED IAN FLEMING FILM

The rare screenplay for an unproduced movie based on Ian Fleming's Diamond Smugglers was sold at auction this fall. The movie project, which included contributions by Kingsley Amis (Colonel Sun), had remained obscure and lost to the public for decades, until author Jeremy Duns (Dead Drop, Paul Dark series) spotted a reference in The Letters of Kingsley Amis about a Fleming script. Duns immersed himself in detective work and uncovered the story in a 2010 article for The Sunday Times. With the auction sale of the original script in recent news, Duns posted a complete "director's cut" of his findings on his blog here


Ian Fleming's The Diamond Smugglers was published in 1957 and featured a non-fiction account of the International Diamond Security Organization's efforts to stop the illegal traffic of gems leaving South Africa. Fleming dealt with the same topic in his 1956 James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever. Jeremy Duns' article makes for fascinating reading and is highly recommended to Spy Vibers and fans of Fleming and film history. Jeremy Duns blog here. Ian Fleming Publications here


Recent Spy Vibe posts: Sherlock ExhibitFu Manchu history panelAndy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar ManStriped Light NudeBuckminster FullerDylan at NewportJane and SergeThe Goldfinger VariationsMod Tales InterviewPete Seeger nominated for Grammy,Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic ArtModern Architecture LPJulius ShulmanShane Glines Batman, The Prisoner and Captain ScarletDiego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning CartoonsAssassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie NewmarErno GoldfingerHitchcock tribute.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming LettersErno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel CowardWhispering Jack SmithHawaiian GuitarJoe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming CatalogJon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive