BOND MUSEUM OPENS TODAY

Congratulations from Spy Vibe to Peter Nelson on the opening of his Keswick Bond Museum!

As reported on the Commander Bond Network, the Keswick Bond Museum opened today. Collector/curator Peter Nelson has been an avid 007 fan since reading the Fleming novels as a kid. News & Star has posted an interview with Nelson to talk about James Bond, the collection, and the launch of the museum. You can see a list of some of the museum's highlights here.

REFLECTING ON ARABESQUE & PETER STONE

BACKSTORY: CHARADE
Charade (1963) A woman’s husband is killed, drawing her into a web of mysterious characters and intrigue. Director/Stanley Donen, Writer/Peter Stone, Cinematographer/Charles Lang, Music/Henry Mancini, Titles/Maurice Binder, Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, James Coburn, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy.


Often called one of the best Hitchcock films that Hitchcock never made, Charade is a masterful mix of murder, spies, and romance. Bruce Eder describes the film as a unique thriller with a female lead amidst the male fantasy-dominated surge of spy thrillers in the early-to-mid 1960s.

The stars literally aligned to bring Peter Stone’s first screenplay, Charade, to the screen. The script was written with Cary Grant in mind, and Stone hoped to land Donen because he knew the director would give the story its essential Parisian flavor. After a brief snag in turn-around, the project came together to become the classic it is today. As Peter Stone and Stanley Donen mention in their commentary on the Criterion DVD, the cast and crew were able to blend mystery and suspense with humor -a mixture that many imitators failed at because they often let their films stray too far into exaggeration. Charade is a greatly satisfying film that succeeds, I believe because, beyond the style, plot twists, and witty dialog, are characters that evoke empathy by their sincerity to the emotional arc of the story. The dangers and the romantic chemistry feel real. Hepburn and Grant carry the range of the script perfectly. Writer Peter Stone remarks that old movie performances often seem like dated products of their time, but that the cast of Charade brought vulnerability that is timeless- a quality that adds to the film’s longevity.


ARABESQUE
Arabesque (1966) A university professor is asked to translate a cipher, drawing him into a web of international intrigue. Director/Stanley Donen, Writer/Peter Stone, Cinematographer/Christopher Challis, Music/Henry Mancini, Titles/Maurice Binder, Cast: Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel.


Writer Peter Stone and director Stanley Donen teamed once again to create Arabesque. Hoping to capture lightning in a bottle twice, Arabesque brought together a similar alchemy of intrigue, style, humor, European locations, and stars. The film reunited some key artists that gave Charade its intoxicating allure. Donen and Stone were joined by composer Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther) and title designer Maurice Binder (James Bond series). Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck replaced Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in the feature roles.


The film is highly visual. Like The Ipcress File, there is a clear effort to push the photography in interesting ways. To echo the plot/character twists and the overall theme of duplicity, many scenes are filmed as reflections- in water, windows, TV screens, on metal, in fish tanks, through chandeliers, and most often- in mirrors. When characters were not photographed in reflection, they were often shot in frames within frames. Though some viewers may feel the approach is too heavy-handed, the photographer in me loved it. Christopher Challis (A Dandy in Aspic, Kaleidoscope, A Shot in the Dark) won the BAFTA award for Best Cinematography.


Another element to the film’s highly stylized look is the costume design by Christian Dior. Sophia Loren is absolutely ravishing, and one can understand why Peter Sellers (and generations of men around the world) had a crush on her! She plays a wonderful, albeit cartoony, woman of mystery, who generates much of the plot twists as her allegiances flip again and again, much as Cary Grant’s character did in Charade.


The baddie Beshraavi, played by Alan Badel, is equally cartoony (and almost a Peter Sellers homage with his thick-framed glasses and accent). Peter Stone loved to give his characters quirks. One of the very fun elements of Arabesque is Beshraavi’s erotic relationship with Loren as a foot fetishist- played out wonderfully in a scene where he presents her with a new collection of shoes to try on. Donen wisely ran these scenes fairly straight, giving the film playful nods to sexuality and style without falling into parody or slapstick.


Where the film fails to live up to Charade is, surprisingly, with its stars and with its script. Except for one memorable scene inside the zoo and aquarium, there is little sense of true danger or suspense in the story. Loren and Peck run through a number of well-choreographed and stylish escapes- including one on horseback from machine gun-toting baddies in a red helicopter! But there is ultimately not enough peril, or romantic chemistry, to sustain empathy from the viewer.


Stone had worked with Gregory Peck in Mirage, but it is clear that Cary Grant’s rhythm was stuck in the writer’s ear during Arabesque. Indeed, it appears that the role was meant for Grant. I’ve read that Gregory Peck would smile when he found the humor awkward and would say to the director, “Remember, I’m no Cary Grant.” Unfortunately, Peck could not deliver his scenes with the kind of sincerity, wit, or vulnerability that I think would have elevated the film greatly. Peck’s performance seems forced at times. Although the film never strays as far as exaggeration, Arabesque does lean toward style over substance. That said, however, I really enjoyed the film for its photography, costumes, the playful sexuality between Loren and Badel- for its Spy Vibe!

MIRAGE
Mirage (1965) A man with amnesia struggles to learn his identity and to escape a web of murder and intrigue. Director/Edward Dmytryk, Writer/Peter Stone, Cinematographer/Joseph MacDonald, Music/Quincy Jones, Cast: Gregory Peck, Diane Baker, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy.


Peter Stone’s Mirage, released one year before Arabesque, played often on NYC area stations when I was growing up in the 70s. It's a much less stylish film, but it has a memorable tone of mystery. In the film Peck has amnesia and suffers from a reoccurring flashback of a man falling from a window in a high-rise office building. Like Charade and Arabesque, the dialog is still fairly snappy, but Peck handles the more serious tone of the film well. In one scene, Peck hires Walter Matthau as a private detective. It’s Mattau’s first case (he looks to be a bargain basement choice as a gumshoe), and the two share a fun moment of dialog that celebrates his inadequacies and the spy craze of the times:

Peck: Wouldn’t it be hilarious if you did know what you’re doing?
Matthau: Yeah. Then how come I don’t know what to do next?
Peck: Well, pretend you’re James Bond. He always knows.
Matthau: Hey, maybe we ought to get something to eat. I’m dying for a peanut butter sandwich.
Peck: Forget James Bond.


Peter Stone and Gregory Peck's thrillers, Arabesque and Mirage -both long overdue for DVD release- were included in the Gregory Peck boxset (released fall/2008). See the Spy Vibe website to hear Nicola Conte's "Arabesque."

STERANKO SPYMAN on MISTER 8

STERANKO SPYMAN on MISTER 8

The C.O.B.R.A.S. coverage of costumes continues on MISTER 8, where agent Armstrong Sabian is offering up some fantastic pieces about spy-related comics. Today's post is about an early Steranko project called Spyman. Steranko went on to do weird and wonderful spy comics- so stay tuned to MISTER 8 to find out more!

BOND Blu-ray SALES- ENDED

BOND Blu-ray SALES- *ENDED

Intercepted by the Commander Bond Network:

For a limited time, Amazon has slashed the prices on the recently released set of James Bond titles. These include: Goldfinger, Moonraker and The World Is Not Enough and Never Say Never Again (sorry, no Quantum of Solace!). Links are from Bond Network to Amazon- you can also search titles on Amazon to get the sale price.

Each of these four titles have been discounted 57% from their $34.99 list prices and can be picked up now at $14.99 each.

For 007 fans that prefer to pick up their Bond discs in the store, Target is offering the Bond Blu-rays at $14.99 this week. *Sale still seen in-store on 4/4/09.

The Years of Loving Dangerously

Fellow C.O.B.R.A.S. blog, Permission to Kill, has intercepted an interesting Times article about espionage and sex in the Cold War. Honey traps, like the secret filming of Bond and Tatiana in From Russia With Love, were a common strategy to corrupt and manipulate agents and information. Times brief:

The Years of Loving Dangerously
They were communist agents trained — and surgically enhanced — to seduce the West’s Moneypennys and Bonds. Lauren St John finds out what went on between the sheets behind the iron curtain. Times link here.

TOP GEAR (AND BOTTOMS, TOO)

All of the Spy Vibe articles about costumes and fashion, including new videos, have been collected on the Article page of the Spy Vibe website, Mods To Moongirls.

BOND BOOKS THIS WEEK

BOND BOOKS THIS WEEK
After a new wave of Bond Blu-ray discs last week, the 007 season continues with a number of books due for release on April 1st. From Amazon:


Sean Connery: Neither Shaken nor Stirred by Andrew Yule
From humble beginnings as a milkman and coffin-polisher to one of the world’s biggest box-office names, Sean Connery is one of Hollywood’s all-time greatest success stories. The star of nearly 80 films, Connery is perhaps still best known for his seven performances as James Bond. Indeed, for many movie fans Connery’s 007 is unsurpassed to this day. But how did this working-class Scot come to embody the quintessentially English agent? This definitive biography reveals Connery’s early successes and failures—both personal and professional—and looks at the little-known life behind the cameras. Frank and thorough, this is a complete look at the film world’s classic charismatic hard man.


Daniel Craig: The Illustrated Biography by Tina Ogle
Daniel Craig: The Illustrated Biography looks at the life of this notoriously private actor, including his film and TV appearances, his two-year marriage to Scottish actress Fiona Loudon and his long-standing relationships with actress Heike Makatsch and film producer Satsuki Mitchell. He landed the role of Angelina Jolies lover in the 2001 movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; establishing his Hollywood credentials. Daniel became to sixth official screen Bond in Casino Royale. Daniel will next appear, Licensed to Kill as 007, in the November 2008 release Quantum of Solace. Daniel has other movie roles slated for 2009, including I Lucifer, before beginning work on the as yet untitled Bond 23.


Ian Fleming by Andrew Lycett
Updated to include new information on the Bond phenomenon, the definitive biography of author Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond 007, also includes information about Fleming's career in naval intelligence where he masterminded many top-secret operations. With Daniel Craig earning critical acclaim as the spy and signed for several Bond movies, both the character and his creator remain subjects of enduring popularity. Boasting an extraordinary cast of characters, this is biography at its best—part history, part gossip, and part an informed reassessment of one of this century's most celebrated yet mysterious personalities.

WINNER! CINEMA RETRO GIVE-AWAY

WINNER! CINEMA RETRO GIVE-AWAY
Thanks to everyone who entered the Cinema Retro Contest. Congratulations to Dave Hardy- winner in the random drawing!

Stay tuned for new contests and prizes on Spy Vibe.

MAX VESTERHALT INTERVIEW

MAX VESTERHALT INTERVIEW

This news in from agent Wesley Britton: When you think of Bond girls, the name Max Vesterhalt might not jump to mind. However, she not only appeared in Roger Moore’s 1981 For Your Eyes Only, she was originally intended to be one of its stars.

On the next edition of the online radio show, “Dave White Presents,” Max tells her story, of how a poster of her promoting Greek tourism brought her to the attention of Cubby Broccoli, what went on during the filming of the casino scene, and what she thought of Roger Moore and director John Glen. She discusses a new website currently being constructed about “Bond Girls of Color.” In addition, “Dave White Presents” will debut some of Max’s newly recorded jazz tunes not yet heard anywhere else! The program, including interviews with other guests, will first air this Tuesday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time, 10:30 EST over WWW.KSAV.org

On April 1, the show will become available for 24/7 access here.

ROGER LANGLEY: OUR MAN IN ENGLAND

GUEST SET LISTS
Spy Vibe continues its series on Spy TV/film production design and the influence of Art and design movements, Playboy, Hugh Hefner, adventure story conventions, and the Space Race.

Guest Set Lists: Lee Pfeiffer, Jeremy Duns, Armstrong Sabian, Steve Bissette, Roger Langley, Matthew Bradford, Wesley Britton, David Foster, Matt Kindt.

Spy Vibe's Set For Adventure here, Set Countdown #10, #9, #8 ,#7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1.

ROGER LANGLEY: OUR MAN IN ENGLAND
Spy Vibe continues to celebrate great spy production design with a Guest Set List from author and Six of One/Prisoner Appreciation Society's "number one," Roger Langley! Roger Langley is author of the biography “Patrick McGoohan: Danger Man or Prisoner?” which is available from Amazon, major booksellers, and direct from the publisher. Roger also has currently a book of fiction “The Prisoner Trilogy” available here. Radio interviews with Roger can be heard at www.patrickmcgoohan.org.uk and he, along with his wife Karen - who he met in Portmeirion, the Prisoner filming location - assists with the appreciation society based around the series, called Six of One, which you can join online. Six of One’s annual convention takes place in Portmeirion over the weekend of 27-29 March 2009 (next is 16-18 April, 2010). More information at Roger’s convention site. *links fixed 3/30 -Jason

***

1. The Quiller Memorandum (1966) - only full CinemaScope viewing properly presents this stylish film, benefiting from John Barry’s underlying score. This is especially so with the scene set inside the enormous stadium built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympics. Quiller is a sharp-looking sixties’ movie, using Berlin to good effect. The city is bustling and clean cut by day, with sinister events at night, literally revealing its dark Neo-Nazi element. George Segal is perfect in the lead. His style in the movie is mirrored on TV by Richard Bradford as McGill, in the series “Man in a Suitcase”. Add in Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger and George Sanders, to make up a cast as good as the beautifully filmed surroundings and locations.


2. The Ipcress File (1965) - this groundbreaking movie has plenty of London locations: St. James's Park, Marble Arch, Whitehall, Westminster, Royal Albert Hall, Scotland Yard, Trafalgar Square, to name just some of them. A few have appearances in common with TV’s “The Prisoner”, including the underground car park (along with Guy Doleman as the spy boss in the film, who was also No. 2 ‘in the Village’). A strong cast is assembled with Michael Caine excellent in the lead, Nigel Green, Sue Lloyd and Gordon Jackson.


3. From Russia With Love (1963) - the train sequences on the Orient Express, take us from Istanbul to Venice. Robert Shaw is aboard as the menacing Red Grant. The moving setting provides tight and restricted surroundings, offering a backdrop - along with exterior views through carriage windows - for some excellent, action-packed scenes. As with Quiller, mentioned above, the ‘Cold War’ atmosphere is conveyed well. Shaw is perfect as the trained, icy assassin, enjoying curt exchanges with James Bond (Sean Connery).


4. The Deadly Affair (1966) - the cast of James Mason, Simone Signoret, Maximillian Schell, Harry Andrews, Kenneth Haigh and others bring class to this yet one more ‘Cold War’ drama. The film received several BAFTA nominations and the cast is top notch. London places again make up the ‘set’ and there are Chelsea and Clapham locations, as well as central St. James’s Park. The spy genre seems to allow any slowness of plot to build up suspense and everyday locations provide realism, as well as allowing us to identify with the characters, as we also recognize familiar streets and buildings.


5. The Tamarind Seed (1974) - this underrated movie - again with a John Barry score - holds attention until the very end, in order to find out whether Omar Sharif is a double agent. Shooting took place in Barbados and also Paris, but the London locations provide the perfect background for anonymous characters and the promise of action in far more exotic locations. In one scene, the camera is pointed at a tiger in a cage in the park and as the animal walks round it neatly reveals Julie Andrews and Anthony Quayle. The following airport scenes are exciting and throughout the film the contrast of the big cities with the tropical island provide excellent visual contrasts. Sylvia Syms, Oskar Homolka (his last film) and Bryan Marshall make up a strong cast and Les Crawford, a KGB agent, was always Roger Moore’s double in the days of TV’s “The Saint”.

A heartfelt Thank You to Roger for sharing his list. Roger is currently in Portmeirion, where The Prisoner was filmed. Check out his websites for more information about how to join him on a tour in the future.

Spy Vibers, what are your most memorable sets from Spy Film/Tv?

NEW BOND MUSEUM

NEW BOND MUSEUM
The fabulous Toyota GT2000 from the film You Only Live Twice remains one of the rarest of 60s sports cars. I've read that as few as 351 regular production cars were made, and only a couple of convertibles were produced for the 007 film. They are nearly impossible to find- especially if one is looking for one of the few in existence outfitted for the film with custom 007 gadgets and panels. Visitors to Keswick's James Bond Museum will see this rare bird- and more- when the museum makes its grand opening on April 5th. Other items on display include numerous Aston Martins, the Lotus/sub from The Spy Who Loved Me, and the Jet Pack from Thunderball. The exhibit list will take your breath away (and possibly cause drooling). Until we can actually see the original vehicles at the museum, I suggest we curb our cravings with Corgi's scale model below. Check the Commander Bond Network for full museum coverage.

FASHION BONUS

As The C.O.B.R.A.S. continue our coverage of costumes and costumed Spy heroes, I've tracked down some additional treasures for Spy Vibe's Nehru-Mania, including Nehru Jacket patterns for those 1960s families with an eye for homemade fashion on a budget (even junior is hip to the Nehru bag!), and a great ad for mod target hats inspired by Mrs Peel of The Avengers. See the Spy Vibe Costume page, Mods To Moongirls, for related articles and video.

JAMES BOND MEETS PLAYBOY

JAMES BOND MEETS PLAYBOY
In celebration of this week's release of Goldfinger on Blu-ray, I thought it would be fun to go back five years before the film's debut and look at Playboy's first review of Ian Fleming. The magazine has had a long affair with 007 (they both began publishing in 1953). Here's a scan from their first meeting in print from the Oct 1959 issue (click for larger image):