Goodbye, Pussy Galore...

Today we lost one of my favorite James Bond leading ladies.
Honor Blackman passed away at age 94. I still remember the first time I saw her, back in 1965, when GOLDFINGER opened in my hometown. Her first scene with Sean Connery featured this by now classic exchange:
-Bond: Who are you?
-Pussy: My name is Pussy Galore.
-Bond: [looks away and smiles] I must be dreaming.

Honor Blackman was also the star on THE AVENGERS TV show, playing Cathy Gale with Patrick Macnee (1922-2015) as John Steed. She was replaced by Diana Rigg when she signed to play Pussy Galore in GOLDFINGER.

After GOLDFINGER, she starred in many other features, including another one with Sean Connery : SHALAKO (1968).

Other credits include:

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

LIFE AT THE TOP

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY and many TV series.

Full list here:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000303/

But in spite of her many credits, I guess she'll be forever remembered as Pussy Galore, which is pretty good, actually!

 

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!

 

SEAN CONNERY'S 88TH BIRTHDAY!

From WIKIPEDIA, the free encyclopedia:

Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930) is a retired Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (one of them being a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award) and three Golden Globes (including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award).

Connery was the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. In 1988, Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables. His film career also includes such films as Marnie, The Name of the Rose, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Hunt for Red October, Finding Forrester, Highlander, Murder on the Orient Express, The Man Who Would be King, The Wind and The Lion, Outland, The Hill, and The Rock.

Connery has been polled as "The Greatest Living Scot" and "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure". In 1989, he was proclaimed "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine, and in 1999, he was voted "Sexiest Man of the Century". Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to Film Drama.

Sean Connery IS James Bond

Back in 1962, the first James Bond film adventure, DR. NO. was released and the world of movie action thrillers has never been the same since. The suave and dashing secret agent was portrayed by a relatively unknown Scottish actor named Sean Connery, whose film credits up until then were rather lusterless, his best-known work being a Walt Disney fantasy titled Darby O'Gill and the Little People.
But master agent James Bond, the gentleman spy with a license to kill, catapulted Connery into worldwide fame and made him one of the movies top rated actors.
Several other performers have stepped into the role with varying degrees of success but for me, not one of them has been able to replicate the charm, toughness, and command of presence that Connery brought to the role.  He made the part his very own and his face, with the raised eyebrow, sardonic smile and the Walter PPK in his hand, became for me the iconic image of James Bond 007.
The excitement of watching his image on the posters, which repeatedly claimed that "Sean Connery IS James Bond", for each following adventures has never been equaled with any of the other JB incarnations.
Listen to the line: "Bond...James Bond", uttered by Connery on his first appearance at the Chemin-de-fer table in Dr. No, and compare it to the same words spoken by any of the other Bonds.

Not quite the same, eh?
Other 007 incarnations may enjoy the benefit of HD technology, better stunts, more thrills, breakneck pacing and an inordinate use of CGIs to enhance the action but to me, admittedly an older generation baby-boomer, Sir Sean Connery will always be the one true, original James Bond, secret agent 007...forever!