Monday 6 May 2013

Five great unfilmed scenes from the James Bond books

Before drafting the screenplay for Skyfall, screenwriters Robert Wade and Neal Purvis turned to the pages of Ian Fleming for ideas and inspiration, focusing on two adventures in particular, You Only Live Twice and The Man with the Golden Gun. Indeed, the writers routinely returned to Fleming, because, as Robert Wade said of the writing of The World Is Not Enough (1999), “You might find something that everyone else has missed.”

Many of the films, certainly since Licence to Kill (1989), have used original story lines, but as Wade and Purvis have indicated, the Bond books continue to be mined for plot details, characters and general inspiration. In the case of Licence to Kill, episodes and characters were taken from the novel, Live and Let Die (although I've argued in a previous post that the film's structure has similarities, perhaps coincidentally, to The Man with the Golden Gun). Further examples from other films are discussed by David Leigh in his articles on 'Ian Fleming recycled' (click here and here), but to my mind, there are episodes in Fleming's stories that inexplicably have so far remained untouched by the film-makers. So, for any Bond screenwriter who is struggling for a few ideas, here's my list, in no particular order, of the top five great unfilmed scenes.

1. The entire short story of 'Octopussy'. Inexcusably left out from the screenplay of the 1983 film, except for a passing reference, Fleming's short story is a taut, masterfully written tale of robbery, deception and murder in the aftermath of the Second World War, and the long reach of justice. The settings – the Austrian Alps and Jamaica – are wonderfully cinematic, the plot thrilling, and the final event – poisoning by scorpion fish, then drowning by octopus – utterly Bondian. Bond's role is peripheral, though is personally motivated, and surely provides perfect material for Daniel Craig's interpretation. Wasted in the film of Octopussy, this is a story that deserves to be filmed.




2. Bond's fight with a giant squid in Dr No. Ok, I can see why this wasn't filmed for the 1962 film. Perhaps having contemplated the options of a stunt man in a rubber suit or Ray Harryhausen-style animation, the episode, which marks the culmination of Bond's attempt to survive Dr No's deadly assault course, was wisely dropped, but surely today's CGI would make the scene as credible as, say, the kraken is in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Mind you, perhaps in fifty years time, even a photo-realistic squid will look as convincing as the creature from the black lagoon.

3. Blofeld's Garden of Death from You Only Live Twice. Bond enters the macabre grounds of Blofeld's castle to risk an encounter with deadly plants, venomous snakes, and steaming fumaroles, a landscape designed to attract visitors wishing to commit suicide. And if that wasn't enough, Blofeld's filled the lakes with piranhas and sharks. There is a hint of the garden in the film version of the novel when Blofeld drops Helga Brandt into a pool of piranhas, but its inspiration is so much richer and terrifying. Another missed opportunity by the film-makers, and one that must be due a revisit. And while we're about it, let's sit Bond on top of a geyser.

4. The short story of 'From a View to a Kill'. This was almost entirely jettisoned from Roger Moore's swansong as Bond in 1985. As far as I can tell, the only aspect to survive was the Paris location. But like the story of 'Octopussy', there is much in 'From a View to a Kill' that is likely to entertain cinema-goers: two thrilling motorbike chases, Bond's discovery of an underground hideout, an audacious Soviet operation to intercept and kill dispatch riders carrying secret documents, and a moment of peril for Bond averted by the keen shooting skills of his female accomplice. What an exciting pre-credits sequence that would make.

5. Death by fish in 'The Hildebrand Rarity'. As well as taking material from the novel Live and Let Die, the film Licence to Kill also looked to the short story, 'The Hildebrand Rarity', for inspiration, using one of its main characters, boorish tycoon Milton Krest. His death in the film – by decompression chamber – is suitably Bondian, but for that extra Fleming touch, it is worth remembering how Krest meets his end in the original story: in a case of poetic justice, a specimen of the spiny fish, the Hildebrand Rarity itself, is inserted into his mouth, causing him to choke rather horribly.

This list represents something of a wish list for me, but it highlights the fact that material from the pages of Ian Fleming is not completely exhausted. The suggestions aren't just snippets and odd ideas, but lengthy episodes and even complete stories. There is plenty more of Ian Fleming to see on the big screen yet.

References:

MI6 Confidential, 2013 Bonding with Britain, MI6 Confidential 19, 18-21
Owen, A, 2004 Story and Character: Interviews with British Screenwriters, Bloomsbury

4 comments:

  1. Yes, great suggestions.

    May I add the Bridge game scene at Blades from Moonraker. Classic Fleming.

    For Your Eyes Only was also not used as it was written, which is a nice short story.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. Yes, I agree, I'd like to see the bridge game. Re. FYEO, I think Fleming's short stories represent some of his best writing, and more should be made of them. Incidentally, I think it would have been good to use the sort of personal motive described in FYEO in Licence to Kill. Much better than Bond going rogue.

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  2. Bond trying to kill M from The Man With the Golden Gun

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    1. Great suggestion. That scene would make a brilliant pre-titles sequence.

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