A Saintly View of 007?
How did the creator of one iconic British hero look on the creation of another? Plus more Bond family farewells and podcast scheduling changes.
He’s an iconic British adventure hero, appearing in a succession of movies over multiple decades, the subject of original novels, comics, and more, and portrayed on screen by Roger Moore. - Who else could I be talking about but the one and only Simon Templar?
As part of my regular #BondOnTheCover social media posts* earlier this week I posted a picture of the cover of the March 1966 issue of The Saint Magazine, which promised that inside its pages it would reveal what the creator of The Saint, Leslie Charteris thought about 007.
Like several other folks who commented I wanted to read what exactly Mr. Charteris had to say on the subject. My first thought was to try and find a copy of the magazine to purchase, but the places that had it listed (such as Abe Books) were sold out. But during my searches, I also found several forums and posts where the article was mentioned, but not the full text.
So it was off to the Leslie Charteris and The Saint forum on Facebook to ask if anyone had a copy. That request proved to be the catalyst for a lively exchange of comments, during which Wayne Keil kindly provided a link to the full article for me to read.
So what did Leslie Charteris think of Ian Felming’s creation?
The resulting article was entitled “The Bond Phenomenon” and according to Mr. Charteris’ foreword was originally commissioned by the American magazine Diplomat and that Mr. Charteris reprinted in The Saint Magazine.
‘so that all the other English-speaking readers who are patient enough to listen to me may have the same opportunity of hearing my views on a subject which I have hitherto thought it more discreet to evade. ‘
He then goes on to say …
knowing that anything less than fulsome praise could be twisted or selectively misquoted to make me sound snide, petty or jealous, (the regrettable delight of a great many interviewers) I have always steadfastly declined to answer on the grounds that "I don't think an author ought to discuss his competitors." This of course was strictly a weasel out.
Well, the one thing you can say that Charteris doesn’t do is engage in fulsome praise. And I don’t think I’m misquoting him here with these observations:
On Fleming:
Fleming (is) a sloppy writer of English and an ignoramus about a number of subjects, in some of which he tried to present himself as an authority.
I feel that most of those new-found readers should have been disappointed when they discovered that Fleming's literary style was neither as suspenseful nor as sexy as the technique of the film photographers,
This is to me the quintessence of Fleming's contribution to the literature of escape. Instead of using his talents to try in some small way to stem a murky and joyless tide, he dove deep into it. And he shut the escape hatch.
On the character of Bond:
I cannot with honesty rate James Bond as anything but a tiresome slob.
He is not likeable as a personality …. He is not clever, he makes the most amateurish mistakes and falls into the oldest and most obvious traps. Finally, he has no sense of humor.
I have more than once called Simon Templar "a man born out of his time," whereas James Bond is unmistakably and rigidly a man of his time.
The Saint was a deliberate attempt to create a hero in the antique heroic sense: James Bond is the calculated contemporary non-hero,
As a fan and an avid reader of both characters, I find Charteris’ take more than a little disingenuous and perhaps indicative of that snide, petty, jealousy he forewarned us of. But don’t take my word for it, I’d suggest that you read the full article HERE. It's a short read at just under 2,500 words.
Alan
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* #BondOnTheCover posts can be found every two days on Twitter/X in the @Bondlexicon feed, on Instagram or Tumblr at @jamesbondlexicon, or on BluSky or Threads on my @alanjporter feed.
Bond Briefing
A massive thank you to our first few rounds of subscribers. The reception and uptake of folks registering to receive this newsletter exceeded any expectations we had. It was a very humbling start seeing the names roll in as folks signed on.
Bond Sighting
It’s been years since I’ve seen a run of Fleming’s original Bond novels in a mainstream bog-box bookstore here in the US, so I was delighted this weekend to spot this endcap display just as you walked in the door of my local Barnes & Noble.
Bond People
Unfortunately, we lost a couple more members of the Bond family since the last edition of the newsletter was published. While both appeared on-screen they may not be names you are familiar with, but both played an integral part in the story of 007 on the big screen.
Michael Culver (1938-2024)
British actor Michael Culver was probably best known for his role as Admiral Needa in the Star Wars franchise, but his extensive movie and TV career also included a couple of uncredited appearances in the world of the cinematic Bond too.
He appeared in From Russia With Love as the man in the punt passing behind Bond and Sylvia Trench while they enjoy themselves on the riverside, and perhaps more noticeable he played the co-pilot of the hijacked Vulcan bomber in Thunderball.
Michael Culver passed away at the age of 85 on February 27th, 2024
Michel Julienne
Michael Jullienne was the son of legendary stuntman Remy Jullienne and along with his brother Dominique ran the family stunt business after the death of their father. Michel was also an accomplished stunt performer and coordinator in his own right. He performed on several Bond movies as part of his family business and is perhaps best remembered for flying Renault ‘touch and go’ stunt in A View To A Kill
Bond Chronology
An extract from our current in-progress project. - A detailed chronology of the James Bond phenomenon from creation until today, one month at a time.
January 1953
Ian Fleming starts writing The Undertaker's Wind at Goldeneye, later changing the title to Live and Let Die
Bond Blatherings
We should have recorded the next episode of James Bond vs Spy Movies for the On Her Majesty’s Secret Podcast network a couple of days before this newsletter dropped, but unfortunately due to a last-minute scheduling change on my part, we have had to push the recording out to next month. So it will be a bit of a longer wait to see how From Russia With Love will stack up against Charade.
We should however be on-target to get the next Rogue Agents episode recorded this week when we’ll be looking back at the original movie trailers for The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, and For Your Eyes Only.
Bond for Sale
Looking for a few James Bond book ideas? - How about checking out our dedicated 007 on-line bookstore? -
Of course, there is always our own James Bond Lexicon which you can order from Bookshop.org just by clicking HERE or on the cover below.
If you would like a personalized, signed copy we still have a few copies of both the James Bond Lexicon and James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007 in stock. Just drop us a note at alan@jamesbondlexicon.com and we can get that fixed for you. (Sorry US only at the moment due to shipping costs)
Where to Find Us Online
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See you next time
Alan J. Porter & Gillian J. Porter
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