For Americans, Bond has not always been sophisticated

16-Nov-2006 • Bond News

He's the man in the tuxedo who always orders gourmet meals and his martini "shaken, not stirred."

After 20 previous Bond films, we find it hard to imagine a 007 who is not absurdly urbane and sophisticated - reports Chron.

The new Casino Royale, in which a younger Bond is only beginning his Double O career, features a secret agent learning how to live in style.

Yet when Dr. No, the first Bond movie, hit U.S. theaters in 1962, it was feared American movie goers would reject 007 as too dandified. American audiences were used to bourbon-drinking tough guys with loud ties. They were heroes who ate whatever burger or rare steak was at hand, and they were more likely to be called Jimmy than James.

When Casino Royale (retitled You Asked for It) was released in paperback in the United States, the cover called 007 "Jimmy Bond." 007 also was Jimmy in a 1954 CBS-TV adaptation of Casino Royale that made the secret agent an American.

Thankfully, Americans, like the rest of the world, took to Bond's sophistication. Each new film increasingly exaggerated Bond's knowledge of the finer things in life.

Bond's sophistication comes straight from Ian Fleming's books. In Chapter 8 of Casino Royale, after ordering a gourmet meal, Bond explains to his "date," Vesper Lynd: "You must forgive me. I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink. It comes partly from being a bachelor, but mostly from a habit of taking a lot of trouble over details. It's very persnickety and old-maidish really, but when I'm working I generally have to eat my meals alone and it makes them more interesting when one takes trouble."

And his persnicketiness wasn't limited to food. In Chapter 7 of Casino Royale, Bond orders "a dry martini in a deep champagne goblet. Three measures of Gordons (gin), half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice cold, then add a large, thin slice of lemon peel."

It is a scene that is repeated nearly word for word in the new film. But beware, Bond film purists. In one of the new film's few jokes, it does a twisted take on the famous line: "Shaken, not stirred."

Thanks to `Brokenclaw` for the alert.