Review of James Bond symposium at Hofstra University

13-Nov-2007 • Event

Who knew that James Bond, the suave British secret agent with a license to kill, had so many ties to Long Island - asks Raymond J. Keating for Newsday.

The world of Bond, James Bond, was dissected at a Hofstra University conference last week. Assorted experts addressed all things Bondian.

The life and novels of Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, were explored, including the differences between the literary Bond and the film Bond.

I've been a fan of the 007 movies, but I never picked up Fleming's novels until this conference hit my radar screen. After reading the first four books, which were published between 1953 and 1956, I found a more complex Bond than what's usually on the big screen. While hard-nosed, he also was vulnerable and loyal.

Joseph Allegretti, a professor of business and religious studies at Siena College, correctly pointed out during the conference that Fleming's first novel, "Casino Royale," was really a character study of Bond.

In addition, these early novels were far more rooted in the Cold War politics and political incorrectness of the time than the depoliticized Bond who showed up later on the silver screen.

Raymond Benson, an American writer who penned official James Bond novels to keep the series going, noted that spy fiction had been around a long time but Fleming created the "fantasy spy genre."

Interestingly, Fleming in turn had to give some credit to President John F. Kennedy, according to Benson. The Bond novels hadn't sold too well in the United States until JFK listed the Bond books as among his favorites. Then sales took off.

Even beyond hosting this two-day symposium, however, Long Island is a bit of a Bond hot spot. A good number of the presenters were local.

William S. Kanas, a Westbury lawyer, made the case that the Bond girls are far more ... ahem ... developed characters than is normally assumed. Clive Young, an entertainment journalist from Rockville Centre, spoke about and provided clips from some amusing Bond fan films. And Hofstra business professor Bruce Charnov gave the real-life history behind the Little Nellie aircraft (actually a Wallis Autogyro) flown by Bond in "You Only Live Twice."

Most striking, an actor who played one of the great Bond villains grew up on Long Island, and even graduated from the now-defunct Seton Hall Catholic High School (currently the Patchogue campus for St. Joseph's College) and Hofstra. Robert Davi played the drug warlord Franz Sanchez in "License to Kill" (he also just directed a new non-Bond film called "The Dukes").

At the conference, Davi offered engaging stories about how he got into acting, and how the Bond part fell into his lap. One night a writer and a producer of Bond films separately saw Davi on television, and later both agreed that he should be the next Bond villain - before Davi even knew about it.

With another story, Davi illustrated the long and deep cultural attraction of James Bond. He is a good friend of one-time action-movie star and now California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. After Schwarzenegger's mother saw Davi in "License to Kill," she started complaining to Arnold that he'd never done a Bond film.

Of course, when thinking about Bond villains and Long Island, a columnist might be tempted to make some comparisons to local political leaders or activists. How about the greed of Goldfinger compared to politicians seeking ever more money to spend through higher taxes? Or, does Hugo Drax's plan to eradicate humans from the face of the Earth say something about the green movement's annoyance with more people building new homes and businesses?

Where is our James Bond, springing into action to stop such villainy? Well, at least, we have the books and movies to enjoy. And for now SMERSH hasn't taken over the Suffolk County Legislature.