Two Novels and a Cubby….Day 96 of Bond 365

Live and Let Die was Ian Fleming’s second novel published by UK publisher Jonathan Cape in 1954. Set in London, the US and Jamaica, Fleming introduced Mr. Big, who was associated with SMERSH. He was smuggling old gold coins, which led to Bond involvement with the US, however the real story lay with the East-West relationship and the Cold War

Released the following year, Moonraker was the third novel from Fleming. In the book, Bond has to stop Sir Hugo Drax who wants to destroy London with a nuclear rocket. The story was set in the UK and dealt with the theme of an internal threat, which seemed to anticipate many years in advance of the situations that the UK would face in this contemporary environment of terrorism.

The Live and Let Die novel was adapted to film in 1973 and was the eighth Eon Productions and the first outing for Roger Moore as James Bond. The Moonraker novel was drastically changed to include a space station storyline and it became the eleventh film. Roger Moore starred in this Bond film as well.

Albert R. Boccoli

Born this day in 1909

Albert Broccoli was born in Queens New York and was the youngest child of two. In the early 1950s, he moved to London and worked with Irving Allen. They formed Warwick Films and this association allowed Broccoli to meet and work with individuals that he would later select to work with on the Eon Productions Bond films.

Broccoli and Harry Saltzman became co-producers (Saltzman would not sell his rights to make Bond films) on the James Bond films, which started with Dr. No in 1962. While Broccoli became more committed to the Bond series, Saltzman was interested in pursuing other projects, which eventually led to their split.

In 1981, Roger Moore presented Broccoli with an Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

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