007 Strikes Like “Thunderball!”
In my yearlong look at every James Bond 007 film – in order – we are now at the fourth film in the series – the film that was originally intended to be the first!
From First To Fourth! “Thunderball’s” Rocky Legal Road!
I don’t want to get too deep “in the weeds” here, but this is the one Bond film that had a Producer on it who was never involved in another official one!
Here’s what I found online about the fact that “Thunderball” was originally intended to be the film that would introduce the world to 007.
“Thunderball was intended to be the first James Bond film, this never came to fruition because of a series of controversies with rights. Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman began work on the James Bond film franchise in the early 1960s, and though they wanted Thunderball to be the first film, they couldn’t move forward because of a legal dispute between author Ian Fleming and his former collaborators, who claimed that Fleming stole the idea for Thunderball from a screenplay the trio had wrote. Fearing backlash from these collaborators, Broccoli and Saltzman held off on Thunderball until the dispute had settled, which apparently, didn’t occur until 1965.”
To put it simply, apparently Fleming made an agreement with Producer Kevin McClory to develop Bond movies in the late 50’s after the books became popular – and the story of “Thunderball” ultimately had elements of McClory’s creative input and story, so he retained rights to produce the film once the matter was settled – and by then there had already been three smash hit films with Bond!
Whew! With all that said, let’s dive into what will be the longest 007 film yet with the biggest set pieces ever!
As you can see from the posters, there is a swagger and confidence in the advertising for the film – coming off “Goldfinger’s” record-breaking box office – which resulted in “Thunderball” being 22 minutes longer than the previous film!
Here is the original trailer, and it includes all of the hallmark touches of what Bond has become:
The trailer shows off lots of exotic women in the film, plus glamorous locations and underwater action sequences that were huge!
The film opens as James Bond attends a funeral – and afterwards, is waiting for the grieving widow at her British country estate – where Bond greets her by sending her flying over a table! Turns out “she” is in fact the “supposed” deceased person, so Bond finishes the job – and he gets away in what will be the wildest Bond stunt yet!
007 actually “flies away” using a jetpack! This is the first time such a device was used in a movie!
That leads to Bond taking a vacation at a country spa – and look who else is there:
Bonds gets embroiled in a cat’n’mouse game with another guest and it almost kills him – so he gets a massage from Molly Peters that leads to the first ever nude “Bond Girl”:
While we have seen women clearly nude under covers or obscured by something, that is clearly Peters’ nude figure pressed against the glass of the sauna….and she’s not the only beautiful woman at the spa:
Luciana Paluzzi stars as Fiona Volpe, a SPECTRE operative who I sleeping with a Pilot scheduled to be part of a military test flight. Until we find out she replaces him with an Agent who was there getting a face job to look identical to the original Pilot!
The reason? The pilot will be on a plane that has two atomic weapons onboard, and now they are in the hands of SPECTRE.
It’s up to Bond to find the missing plane before a ransom must be paid to keep SPECTRE from blowing up a city!
Bond realizes the Pilot’s sister lives in the Bahamas, so he heads there and we meet this film’s “Bond Girl” Claudia Auger, who will also showcase her empowered nature when she discovers her Brother has been murdered!
Fiona Volpe is tasked with seducing Bond, and when he is out doing late night scuba spying, she picks him up on the darkened road and drives 100 mph down the dark road….
“You fly here often?” Bond quips!
Later, when he finds her in a bathtub she asks him “would you mind giving me something to put on?” and he hands her slippers!
Here’s an interesting exchange, after her goons show up to take him away – he looks at her dismissively and says:
“Don’t flatter yourself what I did tonight was for king and country you don’t think I got any enjoyment from it, do you?”
“That’s right – the great James Bond” – she gives it right back to him how women all fall for him – but she says it with contempt…this all leads to a nice set piece: Bond escapes from the car into a huge street parade – he is finally trapped on an outdoor dance floor – he grabs Fiona and spins her around right as one of the goons fires his gun – Bond spreads his fingers and blood seeps out of her dress…he “dances” her to a table, puts her in a chair and quips to the couple sitting there:
“Do you mind if my date sits this one out…she’s just dead!”
That terrific sequence sets up the climactic finale that involves massive underwater battles, a shark-infested pool – and Bond saving the day as always!
The innovative use of underwater cinematography in “Thunderball” set a new standard for action and adventure films, showcasing these extensive action sequences beneath the waves.
Now, some terrific “Thunderball” trivia, which I found on the great website IMDB.com:
“Thunderball’s” Ground-breaking Jetpack!
The jetpack used in the opening scenes was so new that it was actually flown by engineer Bill Suiter. He was one of only two people in the world qualified to fly it”
Sean Connery’s Shark Tank!
The Bond bad guy has a pool filled with sharks – and when one of his guards disappoints him he throws him in and then the metal cover slides across, leaving him to be devoured!
When Bond later fights a guard they both go into the pool, the cover slides across, and Bond encounters real sharks as well!
Connery was supposed to be protected by clear plastic panels shielding him from sharks in close-up shots.
However, as IMDB notes:
“the panels only extended about three feet in height and sharks could swim over them. As a result, in some scenes (notably during the pool fight at Largo’s mansion), Connery got much closer to the real sharks than he wanted. Director Terence Young said in an interview that scenes used in this movie where Bond reacts in fright at the approach of a shark were miscues, in which Connery was reacting with genuine terror as a shark approached unobstructed by plastic shielding!”
Meet All The Double-O’s!
“Thunderball” was the only Bond movie where we get a glimpse of all “00” Agents in one shot. They are summoned to M’s briefing, and 007 is the last to join in. He sits down in the only available chair, the seventh from the left. Only one of the other 00s is revealed, however, as they are filmed from behind.
A New Opening Tradition Is Born!
As all 007 fans know, each movie opens with Bond strolling across the screen before turning and firing a bullet at the screen.
Sean Connery performed the gun-barrel sequence for the first time in this opening, because of the new Panavision process used in the movie. Beginning with “Thunderball”, the sequence would forever be performed by the actor playing Bond in the movie!
Another Blofeld Cameo!
Once again, we see SPECTRE meeting to talk through all of their murders and blackmail schemes around the world, presenting these ideas to Blofeld, who once again we only see by way of the white cat he cradles in his lap.
An Epic “Battle Under The Sea!”
The budget for this movie was more than the combined budgets of the first three Bond movies – and you could see it int he massive underwater battles with dozens of scuba divers involved!
“Thunderball” was a massive commercial success, grossing over $141 million worldwide, and to go back to the Kevin McClory legal issue, the Producer did retain rights to the “Thunderball” story which led him to make a rogue 007 film years later – which I will review as part of this series!
Tom Jones contributed another outstanding theme song, one of the best, signaling that performing the opening title track was a fast trip to the top of the music charts!
Overall, “Thunderball” made everything bigger: more action sequences, more Bond quips, more beautiful women, and more gadgets…too much of a good thing?
NO, but perhaps a few minutes less would have propelled the film forward just a bit faster…this is noticeably bigger, bolder and ultimately a bit more bloated than the previous installments.
We now have M, Miss Moneypenny and Q part of every story, and Sean Connery having fun with all of the girls and gadgets – a very entertaining film that propelled the series forward even if it could have been a few minutes shorter.
It was never going to be easy to top the record-breaking success of “Goldfinger” – a film where it all came together – see my review here:
“Goldfinger” was the third in the Bond series – I also looked at the sophomore effort from 007:
“From Russia With Love” gave James Bond a worthy adversary – the incredible Robert Shaw!
See why this is a terrific entry in the series by clicking on my review here:
The story of 007 got its start with this one first entry, chosen instead of the legally entailed “Thunderball”:
Click here to see my review of “the birth of Bond!”
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I will be reviewing all of the 007 films this year, and next up is “You Only Live Twice!”
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Categories: Action Films, Art, British Cinema, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
Hi John, it’s great to see Thunderball featured here. I like all the Sean Connery and Roger Moore James Bond films.
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Robbie, I am reviewing each film in the order of release – I’m interesting in re-visiting the various Bonds and decades the films were made to see how the series evolved – for good and bad! Thanks as always for sharing!
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I really enjoyed this post, John. I had no idea that Thunderball was originally supposed to be the first 007 film.
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I loved Thunderball. Great film. I recently read somewhere that we’re now going to have a female Bond? Of course I suspect she’ll be stronger and fitter than all the baddies. Hmm… not quite realistic. I say bring back Daniel Craig, lol.
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They are being very coy about next steps…since Bond died in the last one the assumption is 008 moves up, and she was introduced in the last film so we will see…I also read that they could start the series over and set it win the late 50’s when the books were written, more retro…who knows bu the female idea sounds better..always have 008 ready to take over!
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such a classic that I haven’t seen in ages, but now you’ve inspired me to see it again. I love the ‘slippers’ move.
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Yes, that’s a funny line! I’m trying to point out certain trends in the character and the things that become constants in every film, like him driving Q crazy when he tinkers with the gadgets!
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Thunderball was epic…..a great follow to Goldfinger….chuq
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Yes they were firing on all cylinders and a very big budget as well ensured lots of exotic locations….
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I still think Connery was the best Bond. chuq
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I grew up on him and agree – so this series of reviews is designed to see how the character changed based on who portrayed him! Thanks for the comment1
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Then there is Craig….a very passable Bond…..I read every book by Fleming and Connery was just the best….you are welcome and thanx for giving me the chance to reflect. chuq
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For those who don’t know, a “thunderball” is the cloud created by a nuclear explosion.
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Thanks for sharing that! I never looked it up but sonidering the lot it makes sense!
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I was 13 when I saw this at the cinema, and didn’t think it was that great. I decided not to bother with Bond films again. However, as a 17 year old in 1969, I had a girlfriend who wanted to see ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, so I ended up watching George Lazenby as Bond. Move on a few years, and a different girlfriend wanted to see Roger Moore as Bond, so I had to see ‘Live and Let Die’ and ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’ at cinemas. ilked her a lot, so tolerated the films. :)
Best wishes, Pete.
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*Typo. I liked her a lot*
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