Who doesn’t know the name: Bond, James Bond. He’s saved the world 23 times, seduced dozens of babes and disposed of even more villainous henchman. This year’s entry, Skyfall, marks the 50th anniversary of the first Bond appearance, Dr. No. That’s a lot of shaken martinis, cool gadgets and cheesy action sequences. Here’s a timeline of Bond through the years.
British author Ian Fleming first started writing about 007 in 1952, when he published Casino Royale. In total, he wrote 14 books and nine short stories featuring the secret agent. He died in 1964, having lived to see the first two Bond films.
The Beginning
50 Years of James Bond
Sean Connery
1962-1967,1971
The original, “classic” James Bond is a suave man of elegance, a charming yet dangerous player who oozes class while fighting off danger. Connery is considered the best Bond, portraying him in Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever.
George Lazenby
1969
A lethal goofball who somehow manages to crack jokes in the face of danger, Moore’s Bond is quite comedic. Despite clownish antics like fighting in space, his movies Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and A View to a Kill are all tremendously entertaining.
Roger Moore 1973-1985
The Actors
George Lazenby portrayed a physically stronger and more aggressive Bond. However, critical reaction to his performance in his one Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, was so bad that he quit and Connery returned for one last movie.
Timothy Dalton
1987-1989
Dalton’s 007 is more serious and hard-edged, ruthlessly taking out the villains. Despite only appearing in two features, The Living Daylights and License to Kill, Dalton is credited with being the most similar to the novel version of the character—a cold-blooded killer
Emulating Dalton and Moore, Brosnan combined rugged capability with comic relief. Brosnan’s stunts were more extreme and the gadgets more high-tech. He stars in four Bond films: Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
In an attempt to stay relevant to modern audiences, Craig’s Bond is more realistic and serious, being more physically imposing and less prone to verbal quips. Craig stars in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall.
Pierce Brosnan
1995-2002
Daniel Craig
Special Features/ Bond classics
In addition to silly plots, Moore had the craziest villains. In Moonraker, snobby Sir Hugo Drax plans on killing off the planet with a deadly virus while taking a select few into space. Nazi test-tube baby Max Zorin (played perfectly by Christopher Walken) in A View to a Kill is willing to kill his own henchmen to achieve his dream of starting an earthquake in Silicon Valley in order to gain a monopoly on the microchip industry.
Known for their beauty and absurd names, Bond girls serve as both eye candy for the viewers as well as love interests for 007. Most of the time, the women in the films are merely damsels in distress, screaming and running around while Bond saves them from peril. However, some, like Xenia Onnatop from Goldeneye are vicious and dangerous opponents of Bond himself. Other notable Bond girls include include Pussy Galore from Goldfinger and Honey Ryder from Dr. No.
Moore's Loutus in The Spy Who Loved Me also doubles as a submarine.
The latest installment, Skyfall is the highest grossing Bond flick of all time.
