Gone with the Wind

BOF will be off the air until further notice. This service disruption brought to you by Irene. Bradley (down and) out.

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“Time, Flowing Like a River…”

While we’re at it, let’s go ahead and tackle this whole age thing head on. (All ages approximate due to duration of shooting schedules, interims between production and release dates, et cetera.) Connery’s age when he first played Bond: 32 Connery’s age when he quit the first time: 37 Connery’s age when he quit the [...]

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Octogenarians Rule!

So here I am with this honking big Bond post today, and it’s Madame BOF who informs ME that it’s Sean Connery’s birthday. Way to go, Word-Man! He’s 81, which makes him the same age as Clint and my Mom. Make of that what you will…but the first one to make with an “Octo-Mom” joke [...]

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School of Hard Knox, Part II

Continuing our look at Goldfinger on page and screen. One of Fleming’s hoods, Jack Strap, represents the Spangled Mob of Las Vegas, Bond’s foes in Diamonds Are Forever, although the reference to that fact is curiously oblique; one might expect that if Strap had indeed “inherited from the late lamented brothers Spang,” both killed by [...]

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School of Hard Knox, Part I

What I’ve Been Watching: Goldfinger (1964). Who’s Responsible: Guy Hamilton (director), Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn (screenwriters), Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, and Gert Frobe (stars). Why I Watched It: Research. Seen It Before? Many times. Likelihood of Seeing It Again (1-10): 10. Likelihood the Guys Will Rib Me for Watching It (1-10): 1. Totally Subjective [...]

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Interlude 8/20/11

If anyone’s wondering, I have neither died nor fallen off the face of the earth, and am still hoping to write a rave review of Captain America one of these days, but in the meantime I’ve been taking a breather while working on my next Bond post.  Devoted to Goldfinger, which I am not alone [...]

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Just Say No

In the interests of full disclosure, I’ll state at the outset that Ian Fleming’s Doctor No has always been my favorite James Bond book. I believe it was the first one my father gave me to read as a youth, and while I might not have known it at the time, the fact that it [...]

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Down with the Count

Here at BOF, we extend the warmest of birthday greetings to Maria Towers, who has been a good friend of this site, and to mark the occasion, Madame BOF and I welcomed the excuse for our umpteenth viewing of Count Dracula (1970). Directed by the prolific Spaniard Jesús (aka Jess) Franco, this is our favorite, [...]

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Seal of Approval

What I’ve Been Watching: The Seventh Seal (1957). Who’s Responsible: Ingmar Bergman (writer-director), Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, and Bengt Ekerot (stars). Why I Watched It: Remedial viewing for Madame BOF. Seen It Before? Many times. Likelihood of Seeing It Again (1-10): 10. Likelihood the Guys Will Rib Me for Watching It (1-10): 1. Totally [...]

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Back in the U.S.S.R.

What I’ve Been Watching: From Russia with Love (1963). Who’s Responsible: Terence Young (director), Richard Maibaum and Johanna Harwood (screenwriters), Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, and Pedro Armendariz (stars). Why I Watched It: Research. Seen It Before? Many times, including a theatrical re-release with Dr. No in my youth. Likelihood of Seeing It Again (1-10): 10. [...]

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