Maxwell Smart, the Spy Who Amused Me

 During the 1960's spy craze, I was an impressionable teenager who dreamt of having cloak-and-dagger type adventures in the style of my hero, James Bond 007, the debonair secret agent with a license to kill as portrayed by Sean Connery.  And so, I became exactly like James Bond!  Well, would you believe, more like Maxwell Smart?  That's right!  In reality, I always wound up goofing up in the manner of another equally famous secret agent: Maxwell Smart, agent 86 of CONTROL.

While most actors work at trying to be as versatile as possible in order to tackle a wide variety of roles, others get stereotyped and become identified with a single character throughout their entire careers. 

But far from such a condition being harmful, in some cases it becomes a blessing in more ways than one. 

Case in point, actor Don Adams, who will forever be remembered as Maxwell Smart from the 1960s TV show GET SMART!

Adams became so identified with Agent 86 that he couldn't break the connection and was seriously hindered in his attempts to pursue other roles during his career. He ended playing basically the same character, under different names all throughout his on-screen life. 

However, while most other actors from those bygone days have become nearly forgotten, Don Adams is still recognized even by today's younger generation as one of the greatest comedy characters of all time, along with such staples as Herman Munster, Samantha Stevens, Gilligan, Morticia Addams, Agent 99, Inspector Clouseau, Pee Wee Herman, Frank Drebin, Mr. Bean and a choice few others like them. 

Thusly, even if Maxwell Smart was his only memorable role, Don Adams forever will remain as one of the most recognizable and beloved icons to come out of TV's golden era of comedy shows.

Today we remember him on the date he left this mortal world and passed over to join CONTROL's branch in Heaven, always ready to fight the evil plottings of KAOS, that nefarious crime outfit of badness.

You can be sure that, throughout the ages, we shall always hear Agent 86's immortal words:

"SORRY ABOUT THAT, CHIEF!"

SEAN CONNERY'S 90th BIRTHDAY!

 As Sir Sean Connery reaches the 90 year mark, I'd like to post my 20 favorite Connery non-Bond films. 

                                     

                                  

                                  

                               

                                    

And of course, he's still the best James Bond ever!

 

HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY, SIR SEAN CONNERY!

MY TEN MOST-WATCHED FILMS

I've seen quite a lot of films during my 69 years of life but just a chosen few have been revisited by me over and over again for different reasons.  This here is a list of the first 10 films I know I have seen more than a 100 times, although there are more than 50 in my complete most-watched checklist. The question people may ask about this is: why watch a film over and over again when you've already seen it and know every scene by heart? Isn't once enough?
If you have your own MOST-WATCHED FILMS tally, then you know the answer!

And without any further explanation, here we go:

THUNDERBALL (1965)

BULLITT (1968)

GOLDFINGER (1964)

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)

CASABLANCA (1943)

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975)

THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963)

WAY OUT WEST (1937)

THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)

CHARADE (1963)

I'll post 10 more in a later chapter.

JAMES BOND'S NEW TRAILER!

The new James Bond movie will be released on April 8th, 2020 but the first trailer is already out!
I used to enjoy the Connery and Moore James Bond films because those guys were always super cool, no matter the circumstances.  On the other hand, Daniel Craig is anything but cool. He's super intense. He's angry. He's dark. He's troubled. He has issues.
                                        And I'm glad after this one, he'll be gone!

Here's the first official 007 trailer:

And here are my two favorite Bonds:

 Sean Connery

and Roger Moore.

So far, the best Bonds ever!

A CONNERY CELEBRATION!

Sean Connery was born August 25, 1930 in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, in Scotland.

He shot to world fame when he was signed to portray Secret Agent James Bond 007 in the first official James Bond movie adventure, DR. NO (1962).

He had an illustrious career up until 2003 when he retired after completing THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, which remains his last film appearance.

To date, he is the only screen James Bond who's received an Academy Award (for 1987's THE UNTOUCHABLES). 

I first saw him in Walt Disney's DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE (1959) but I became one of his numerous loyal fans when I saw him in his debut as Bond.

 I still think he's the best James Bond ever, in spite of the many illustrious actors who have portrayed Ian Fleming's character over the long series of films.

                                       

He's raked in 94 film credits in IMDb, many of which are true classics, like THE HILL, THE ANDERSON TAPES, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, THE WIND AND THE LION, THE NAME OF THE ROSE, THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, OUTLAND, HIGHLANDER, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, and FINDING FORRESTER.

                                         

THUNDERBALL (1965), is my favorite Bond adventure.

                                                           Long Live Sir Sean Connery!