October 5, 1962: Dr. No, the first James Bond film, is released.
With twenty-two films out (and a twenty-third set for release this October), the series was the first film series to gross over a billion dollars; it was the highest-grossing series ever until surpassed by Harry Potter in 2011, but it retains the top position adjusted for inflation. And it turns fifty years old today.
FUN FACTS.
- Six actors have played the iconic character - Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.
- Of them, Lazenby starred in the least (perhaps for good reason, but the quality of his performance is still disputed among fans).
- Sean Connery wore a toupee in all of his films.
- Actors who were offered or considered for the role include Michael Caine, Richard Burton, Cary Grant, Adam West (Adam West), Michael Gambon, James Brolin, Clint Eastwood, and Mel Gibson.
- Ranulph Fiennes was rejected for having “hands too big and a face like a farmer”; Patrick McGoohan declined the role for “moral reasons” (i.e. he thought Bond was too promiscuous).
- Author Ian Fleming was initially doubtful about Sean Connery playing the role, calling him “an overgrown stunt-man”.
- Roger Moore was the oldest actor to play Bond, at fifty-seven.
- George Lazenby was chosen for the role after producer Cubby Broccoli and director/editor Peter Hunt saw him in a chocolate bar commercial.
- Each film has featured at least two “Bond girls”. A View to a Kill had the most, with six.
- The famous gun barrel sequence has been a part of every Bond film, but the Bond in this sequence was played by a stuntman until Thunderball.
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was also based on an Ian Fleming novel, and it was also produced by a James Bond producer.
- Steven Spielberg was informed in the 1970s by Cubby Broccoli that he was not experienced enough to direct a Bond film.
- Goldfinger was the first Bond film to win an Oscar.
- Adjusted for inflation, the highest-grossing Bond film is Thunderball.