Thursday, April 30, 2015

Art Director Maxsted and Actor Pravda Feature…Day 120 of Bond 365



Jack Maxsted and Tony Masters (l-r) on That Lucky Touch (1975) set
Jack Maxsted
Born this day in 1916
Art Direction for Diamonds Are Forever

There was very little I could find about Jack Maxsted and unfortunately, he did not have a bio profile on IMDB. His career spanned four decades, starting in 1939 with Inquest and concluded with Arabian Adventure in 1979. Maxsted worked on a number of high profile movies that included Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Battle of Britain (1969), Papillon (1973), and The Deep (1977). He won an Academy Award in 1972 for Best Art Direction – Set Direction for his work on Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), shared with John Box, Ernest Archer, Gil Parrondo, and Vernon Dixon.

George Pravda
Passed away this day in 1985
Kutze in Thunderball

Born Jiri Pravda in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1918, Pravda has an interesting story. He used false papers in order to leave the Soviet bloc after the conclusion of World War II. He was able to obtain a letter of introduction, which led Pravda to settle in London in 1956. He performed on stage as well as television and film. Looking through his filmography, he appeared in several spy oriented vehicles. And, as I have come across with a few other individuals spotlighted in Bond 365, Pravda acted in Doctor Who franchise as well as the Eon Productions franchise.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and m

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The Sexy Scandinavian Girl…..Day 119 of Bond 365




Julie Ege
Passed away this day in 2008
The Scandinavian Girl in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

She was born Julie Dzuli in Sandnes, Norway in late 1943. Graced with beauty, she participated in the Miss Norway and Miss Universe pageants during the 1960s and she was a Penthouse Pet. She got her acting start in a Norwegian film titled Jennings at Sea (1967). That same year, Ege moved to England to improve her English.

In 1969, she was cast as Helen, or The Scandinavian Girl in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and later appeared in a couple of Hammer Films: Creatures the World Forgot (1971) and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974).

After Ege retired from acting, she earned a degree in nursing and took it up as a profession in Oslo. Perhaps her interest was the result of having had breast cancer in the mid 1980s, for which she was successfully treated. Unfortunately, she succumbed to lung cancer in 2008.

Bond trivia: According to IMDB, Ege is the only Norwegian to play a Bond girl.


© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Beddoes and Crampton Make Second Appearance….Day 118 of Bond 365


It’s a bit light today given that both individuals have been featured in Bond 365. Both were artists in their own way: Ivor Beddoes a sketch artist who worked on several popular films such as Star Wars and Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. I admire his talent and vision – it’s a skill I wish I possessed.

The other artist, Gerry Crampton, was an artist of stunts. Yes, I sincerely believe there is artistry to stunts – from choreography to execution. Again, there is the need for vision, expertise and attention to detail, especially since one’s life is on the line. I don’t know if starting at 30 years old is late, but he managed to jam 83 stunt credits in a forty-year span. He was still working at the age of 77 as a stunt coordinator!

Ivor Beddoes, BFI photo
The Bond family and story would not be the same without Beddoes and Crampton and many other lesser-known individuals who worked on film or twenty. Thanks to all those people, in front of and behind the camera, for making Bond experience that much more exciting and memorable.

Gerry Crampton, 1956
Ivor Beddoes
Born this day in 1909
Sketch Artist for Diamonds Are Forever

Back on March 14, I did a lengthy entry on Ivor Beddoes to mark his passing in 1981.

Gerry Crampton
Born this day in 1930
Stunts for Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me, A View to a Kill

And, back on Day 24, I spotlighted Gerry Crampton’s passing in 2009.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Empire First Look at Spectre…Day 117 of Bond 365


Since I haven’t any Bond in history today, I’m turning to the April issue Empire, which has Daniel Craig on the cover. It is touted as the magazine’s first look at the new movie, Spectre.

The 12-page was written in January when shooting was just beginning at Pinewood Studios and in Austria. Chris Hewitt, along with additional reporting Phil de Semlyen, discuss watching Craig on set as he fights bad guys.

The spread has some side articles that include a spotlight on both Lea Seydoux (Madeleine Swann) and Monica Bellucci (Lucia Sciarra). In addition, there’s a few info graphics in which we can can meet the Spectre team of past Bond films, a dissection of the ultimate henchman, and a flowchart in which you can determine which Bond you are (I got David Niven). I did find it interesting that Bob Holness, from the 1956 South African radio version of Moonraker, was a Bond option. Even James Bond the ornithologist is an option!  

Within the article, we get to hear from David Bautista (Drax of Guardians of the Galaxy), who has been a long time Bond fan. He reveals the two questions he asked Sam Mendes about Mr. Hinx, the role Bautista took for this film.

The writers include a brief summary about Kevin McClory and the disposition of SPECTRE and why we are now seeing it resurface after such a very long time. It remains to be seen if the Quantum organization that Mr. White represented will fold nicely within the Spectre group or not.

Lastly, there is a fluff sidepiece on “Spying by Numbers” that recaps the double-o agents that have been referred to in Bond films prior to Spectre. And of course, there are several large photos throughout the article. 

Is it worth ten-dollar price tag because it is an import to the US? I would say yes, especially if you like following Bond alums: a few pages further in is a juicy interview with Mads Mikkelsen (Le Chiffre from Casino Royale) as he discusses his NBC television series, Hannibal.


© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.


Sunday, April 26, 2015

Take a Gamble on Domino and Company…Day 116 of Bond 365



Harold Jack Bloom
Born this day in 1924
Additional Story Material for You Only Live Twice

Harold Jack Bloom was a screenwriter for the small screen for a majority of his career. He wrote for Climax! the same CBS series that televised the first TV James Bond as well as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Emergency!

Bloom was hired to work on the You Only Live Twice script when Richard Maibaum was unavailable. Ultimately, Bloom’s script wasn’t used, but his ideas were incorporated into Roald Dahl’s script, hence his “additional story material” credit.


Claudine Auger
Born this day in 1941
Domino in Thunderball

The role of Domino was originally going to go to an Italian actress, however Kevin McClory asked Claudine Auger to audition for the role when their paths cross when Auger was on holiday in Nassau. She got the part and it was rewritten to better suit Auger. While she did take English lessons, ultimately her voice was dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl who had often dubbed other Bond women.

Auger’s career took off in Europe; she did do a Playboy spread shortly after playing Domino, but little else came her in the U.S. market. She did work with some of the Bond alums: Ursula Andress in Anyone Can Play, Barbara Bach and Barbara Bouchet in Black Belly of the Tarantula, and Terence Young in Triple Cross and The Killing Game.

Ivana Milicevic
Born this day in 1974
Valenka in Casino Royale

Her family emigrated to the U.S. from Sarajevo, Bosnia, and Ivana Milicevic grew up in Michigan. During high school, she worked as a model, however after she graduated, she move Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Interestingly, she did stand-up and her routine centered on her experiences on being a model.

She made one-shot guest appearances on several television series and got a break in 2006 with her role as Julia on Love Monkey. The same year, she got a meaty role as Mila Yurgorsky in Running Scared and of course as Valenka in Casino Royale.

More recently, she can be seen on Banshee as Carrie Hopewell / Anastasia.

Henry Rowland
Passed away this day in 1984
Dr. Tynan in Diamonds Are Forever

While Henry Rowland, born Wolfram Von Bock, had almost 200 acting credits throughout his career, there was not much written about him. Looking over his credits, he acted in quite a few westerns and war genre films and television shows. Rowland is probably best known for his collaboration with Russ Meyer in three of his films: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Supervixens and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens.

Bessie Love
Passed away this day in 1986
American Guest in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Bessie Love enjoyed a lengthy acting career that started during the silent era. She was originally from Texas, but the family moved to Hollywood where her cowboy father became a chiropractor. The family needed money, so her mother sent Love to Biograph Studios. Legendary director D.W. Griffith saw her and put her in several of his films. She became a popular actress and did well in the 1920s. She was even nominated for an Academy Award for her role in The Broadway Melody (1929).

While Love appeared to be able to make the transition from silent to sound films, her IMDB profiles states that her career was over by the early 1930s. She moved to England during the mid 30s. During World War II, she worked for the Red Cross and entertained the troops. By the early 50s, she was cast in acting roles once again, mostly small guest appearances. Her last role was in the 1983 film The Hunger in which she played Lillybelle. She had about 150 credits.


© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Knox is Back and How to Become a Secret Agent, Part 1…..Day 115 of Bond 365




Alexander Knox
Passed away this day in 1995
American President in You Only Live Twice

Alexander Knox is making a second appearance on Bond 365. He was featured back on January 16 to celebrate his birthday. Check out January 16 for an entry on Knox.





How to Become a Secret Agent, Part 1

Recently, I went into a Dollar Tree store where lots of discontinued weird and wacky items are collected and become the last chance to go home with a consumer before ending up in a dumpster and ultimately some landfill. Occasionally, some item will jump out as something worth picking up and then featuring it here - lucky you!

Grafix is a global toy company that apparently makes (or made) a line of Secret Spy Agent Kit. I picked up four different kits at the store and figured today was a good time to spotlight the “Invisible Pen Decoder Kit”.



The kit is bare bones, which is not a surprise since this is geared for young kids probably under the age of 10. There’s a dubious noir styled agent in the upper left hand corner of the box holding a secret folder. The message on the cover is typed and some aspects of the message are revealed. However since this kit comes with a pen, unless you can print like a typewriter, you’ll be handwriting your secret message.


The kit came with an instruction sheet, the dual invisible and decoder pen, and a spy pad. I did have to chuckle that the instruction sheet lists itself on the “kit includes” list. 

The three-step instruction oddly enough doesn’t tell you which end of the pen is the invisible ink and which end is the decoder. Perhaps it is meant to be inherent, so I’m sure the omission of that small detail would not stop a tot or a wannabe spy agent.

Writing out a famous Bond quote, I quickly witnessed that an agent is not going to want to write anything secret with this pen. I could see exactly what I wrote without issue.




I swiped the decoder pen tip over my visible message and the ink popped from off-white to a dark blue color so the words stood out from the page.





I think any youngster, young or old, will enjoy the novelty of the kit. And who knows, it might just inspire the next Bondian secret agent!

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Friday, April 24, 2015

The Long and Short of Blake and North….Day 114 of Bond 365


My weekend is well-earned this week. There has been several projects at my work that then putting in another two to three hours in the evening has been a struggle. Yet, here is Friday evening and after a long week, it is good to settle in for the evening. The prospect of rain is in the air; I hope we get some since SoCal is woefully hurting for water. While waiting for the rain, today in Bond history there are two actors spotlighted below. Larry J Blake had a lengthly acting career that spanned over forty years. In contract, Virginia North's career was quit short: four years with only a handful of appearances. 

Larry J Blake
Born this day in 1914
Water Balloon Gamer Barker-Operator in Diamonds Are Forever

Larry Blake got his start in acting as Chief FBI Agent Wheeler in Secret Agent X-9 in 1937 after he signed a contract with Universal Studios. The same year, he was given a feature role in The Road Back. He had steady work however he joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres. However, he was rotated out and was treated for alcoholism. When he returned to acting, he helped start an A.A. group for people working in the pictures.

Blake was able to pick up with his career after World War II. In the 1950s, he would become known for his art in Sunset Boulevard and High Noon. He was also working in television and he found plenty of work in the various genres that were popular at the time. His last role was in the Malcolm McDowell Time After Time (1979) after which he had to retire due to emphysema. By his retirement, he had over 250 acting credits to his name.

Virginia North
Born this day in 1946
Olympe in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Her father was in the U.S. Army so in Virginia North’s formative years, she lived in Europe and Asia where her father was posted. She began working with a London agency where she began modeling swimwear. In 1967, she was cast in her first role in the Bulldog Drummond film Deadlier Than the Male. Then she was cast in Yul Brynner’s The Long Duel the same year.

After a two-year hiatus, North was Robert Number Nine in her second Bulldog Drummond film Some Girls Do. And of course, she was cast as Olympe in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Also the same year, she made a guest appearance on the television show Department S (1969).

In 1971, she returned to the big screen as Vulnavia, opposite Vincent Price in the dark comedy/horror film The Abominable Dr. Phibes. While I have not seen the movie, apparently her skills as a model came in handy as she was supposed to remain impassive and distant. It was her only role that year and it turned out to be her last as in 1974, she married Gordon White, one of the richest men at that time in the UK.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Bert Bates, the Invisible Artist….Day 113 of Bond 365




Bert Bates
Passed away this day in 1976
Film Editing for Diamonds Are Forever and Live and Let Die

Bert Bates, who also went by A. S. Bates, started editing back in 1931 with the film Many Waters (UK) and spanned through 1973. He worked with Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed and edited more than sixty films throughout his career as a film editor. His work on the two Bond films was at the end of his illustrious career with many high profile movies.

I have done a bit of digital editing on Final Cut Pro, but I have also done some film editing. It is an exacting, meticulous process. In a New York Times article written by Mark Harris, he referred to film editing as an “invisible art.” It is like lettering comics; if done right, it’s presence blends in resulting in an audiences’ experience that is not jarred by poor visuals (the letters). The same is true for editing, especially since editing impacts the visual telling of the story through a series of cohesive sequences. When editing digitally, a cut of the “film” can be undone, however just think what working on physical film would have involved. It’s kind of like measuring twice (maybe three or four times) before cutting. Thinking in those terms and applying to Bates, whose entire career was working with film was a tremendous accomplishment to his ability to work with myriad of directing styles and visions over forty years!

Here’s a look at the opening sequence of Battle of Britain, one of the films that Bates edited in the 1960s. By the way, you might notice some of the names, including a number of Bond alums!



© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Over the Hump....Day 112 of Bond 365

Happy Wednesday one and all and welcome back to Spyfi & Superspies. I feel like I've packed a five-day work week into three days and I still have two more days to go..

In my research, I haven't found a Bond alum or event for April 22, which leads me to a "free day" with regards to covering something with links to Bond.

My first post, which if you happened to stop here at the right moment, then you might have noticed that I was continuing my Toby Stephens theme from yesterday by providing links to all of his BBC 4 radio broadcasts of the various James Bond stories. I meticulously built my page with five glorious Youtube links as I listened to James and Tracy meet in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Stephens was doing a splendid job voicing Bond and I found it fun to listen to the story unfold. However, I hit a snag, a big snag -- sadly, all five Youtube links failed to appear on my published post! I tried to figure out the problem and in the end, I whimpered as I had to delete the post.

New books for my collection
Round two on this evening's post, which is lackluster in comparison to my first effort. Instead, I'm going to dazzle you with my tale of going to two bookstores this past weekend and scoring a couple of books.

The first was at Barnes & Noble and I came across William Boyd's Solo (2013) for the bargain bin price of less than $6.00! Yep, not even two years on the shelf and it dropped drastically from the original $26.99 price. I have heard good and bad about the currently released James Bond novel, so I am anxious to read it and give my assessment in an upcoming post.

My second book was found at Bookmans, a treasure trove of used books here in Orange, California. Now, if you know your James Bond writers, then you will recognize John Gardner's name. He wrote 16 Bond novels from 1981 through 1996. The Secret Generations (1985) is not about our British secret agent, but I was drawn to this novel because it involves a story set prior to World War I through 1935. I'm a huge history buff of the 1910s and 1920s, so I was instantly enamored. Anyway, the book sleeve describes a sweeping epic story with the chaotic tension fueled European theatre as an appropriate backdrop to this espionage novel. I'm looking forward to reading it, so again, I'll share my assessment in a later post.

Well, that's it from me this evening. I'll be back tomorrow with historical facts in Bond 365. Hope to see you then!


© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Did You Know That Toby Stephens Has Played James Bond? … Day 111 of Bond 365




Toby Stephens, more than a Bond villain....
Toby Stephens
Born this day in 1969
Gustav Graves in Die Another Day
Gustav Graves (voice) in 007 Legends

Unlike several other Bond alums I have come across so far, Toby Stephens attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and got his start in acting by working as a stagehand at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Orlando (1992) was Stephen’s first screen appearance and he has gone on to act on television and on the big screen. In addition to his screen performances, he spends quite a bit of time in performing theatre productions.

....he's James Bond on radio
Besides starring as Gustav Graves in the Bond film Die Another Day as well as voicing his character in the video game 007 Legends, Stephens has been involved in some other Bond related events. For instance, during the centenary celebration of Ian Fleming’s birthday, Stephens performed as James Bond in the BBC Radio 4 production of Dr. No. This was not the first radio dramatization; in 1956, Bob Holness lent his voice as James Bond for Moonraker. Later in 2008, Stephens was part the benefit “The Story of James Bond, A Tribute to Ian Fleming” organized by Fleming’s niece, Lucy Fleming and held at the London Palladium. Several stars read from the Fleming novels and Stephens read the James Bond parts.

There were a couple of parts worth mentioning from Stephens filmography on IMDB. Stephens starred as Kim Philby in the mini-series Cambridge Spies (2003), probably one of the biggest spy/espionage events in 20th century England. And interestingly, he starred in Noel Coward’s Private Lives as Elyot Chase in 2014. I wonder if any references were made to Ian Fleming, since Coward and Fleming were friends and neighbors on the tropical island of Jamaica.

Post Script: I happened across this article in Radio Times from 2014 about Stephens reprising his role as James Bond for On Her Majesty's Secret Service. This is Stephens fourth outing portraying Bond on radio. Pretty cool! 

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Cabot, Powell, and Faulks….Day 110 of Bond 365



Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot
Born this day in 1904
Saxby in Diamonds Are Forever

He was born Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac in Carlsbad, New Mexico. He went to school at the University of the South in Tennessee and eventually wound up in Hollywood to be cast in several bit parts. Looking very much a leading man, he is probably best remembered as John Driscoll, the man who rescued Fay Wray’s Ann Darrow from King Kong (1933).

Around the same time that Cabot was auditioning for roles, his path crossed Marion Morrison, who most people will know as John Wayne. They both tested for the leading role in John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939), however The Ringo Kid role went to Wayne. There were no hard feelings and the two men would star in 11 movies together.

Unfortunately, Cabot just never quite became an A-Lister celebrity. He died in 1972 of cancer.

Penguin release
Sebastian Faulks
Born this day in 1953
Author of Devil May Care

One Bond selection process I am curious about is how the Ian Fleming Estate reaches a decision on what author they commission to write a James Bond novel. I can understand the selection of Kingsley Amis, but I’m not sure about William Boyd and Sebastian Faulks. I have not read Solo nor Devil May Care as yet, so I’m basing my query on the pedigree of each author’s prior work.

Faulks was asked to write a novel commemorating the centenary of Fleming’s birth. Up to that point, Fauks had just finished researching and writing Human Traces, a story tracing the evolution of psychiatry in the 20th century. In Geraldine Bedell’s article “The Many Selves of Sebastian” (The Observer dated 16 March 2008), Faulks provides some insight: “I’d just finished Human Traces and it seemed ridiculous. You’ve just spent five years in a Victorian lunatic asylum and then you go on to James Bond. But I think their hope is they’ll get two markets. The more I think about it, the more I think it was clever of them, because the mismatch is intriguing.”

Sebastian Faulks
Writing in the same style as Fleming, Faulks set his story in 1967, which follows on the Fleming last novel, The Man with the Golden Gun. He omitted from consideration the stories from other continuation writers as well as all the films; his focus was entirely on continuing the characterization established by Fleming.

His approach to Devil May Care was successful, landing on the bestseller list quickly. It became one of the fastest selling novels and was received well by the critics. Although Faulks had stated he enjoyed writing the book, he decided that one book was enough. In 2009, Faulks received the British Book Awards Popular Fiction Award for Devil May Care. 

Nosher Powell, with gun
Nosher Powell
Passed away this day in 2013
Stuntman for From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Casino Royale (1967), You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (1990)

Nosher Powell joins the small group of Bond alums who, in addition to acting and stunt work, was also engaged in a sport at a professional level. Powel had been a heavyweight boxing champion, winning a majority of fights during his boxing career. He was also the sparring partner to several boxers including Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali.

Powell worked on 13 Eon Productions films as well as two non-Eon films, which is quite a few, especially given the dangers and physical toll of working on that many Bond films. It’s quite an impressive testament to his abilities!

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Locke, Stale Bubble Gum and Moonraker Cards



Happy Sunday evening! Today in Bond history, Philip Locke who played Vargas in Thunderball passed away this day 2004. You may remember I did a blog post last month since Locke celebrated his birthday on March 29. Since that entry was fairly close to today’s entry, pulled out a recent acquisition to share.

This year at Wondercon, there were several vendors selling curios of yesteryear, including Hotwheel cars, movie posters and yes, collector’s cards. So, I bring you a vintage package of Moonraker cards unopened (front and back):




I am curious what the sticker cost was originally and I even tried to pry off the recent sticker to no avail. Oh well....

The top card was the maniacal villain of the film, Drax:



Sadly, the bubble gum has seen better days. My test subject (my boyfriend) said the gum tasted awful and it was almost as hard as a rock. I tried breaking one of the pieces, which snapped when I did so:



The package came with ten cards (I had two duplicates), a sticker card, and of course the decaying bubble gum:



The backsides of most of my cards were of a mystery image or two. It looked like there were a couple of images, based on the border colors, red and yellow. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough to go on to make out exactly what the images were.



And here are some close-up shots of the two cards that did have narratives on the back.





And, ta-da, the sticker of Mr. James Bond himself (Sir Roger Moore):



I hope you enjoyed the reveal as much as I did!

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.


Saturday, April 18, 2015

What Bond locale was originally known as Hog Island? ….Day 108 of Bond 365




Huntington Hartford, right (Wiki)
Huntington Hartford
Born this day in 1911
Paradise Island Sequence in Thunderball and Casino Royale (2006)

I thought I was on the wrong page when looking up Huntington Hartford, however he was the owner of Paradise Island. Originally named Hog Island, Hartford bought the island located in the Bahamas in 1959. It was his hope to turn into a Monte Carlo of the west and featured a re-assembled cloister from a 14th century French monastery.

The island was used in two Bond films: Thunderball and more recently in Casino Royale. From the pictures I found on the Internet, it looks to be a very beautiful place. It’s a small island yet manages to have both modern – Atlantis resort – and almost untouched beaches.

14th century French cloister on Paradise Island

Paradise Island, aerial

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.