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I might be in a minority that have no issue with the DN score. I like that it's a bit different, and the fact that it's perhaps a bit dated sort of gives it the appropriate early-60's vibe. However, a John Barry score would probably have only benefited the film, I think. His FRWL score is brilliant, and I think a similar sound would have given DN something extra – and as a result, would have made the film more appealing to those who struggle with the existing score.
DN always has the baggage of still feeling closer to the 1950s and the score plays a large part in that perception. It's not distracting, just undistinctive. I think primarily to the climax of the tarantula scene Norman synchs the music to Bond's stamping of it with his shoe. The part preceding was nicely suspenseful.
Underneath the Mango Tree must've been the number one song on the island at the time, everybody is singing or playing it. Jamaica Jump Up is also catchy. The funny thing is I still recall Norman's score better than I can anything Thomas Newman did over 2 films and even some of David Arnold's.
I find some of the score very dated. The score during the fight between Bond and Jones is weak. I actually like "Three Blind Mice" and "Jump Up". In fact I would like to see some more vocal songs in the future. But that might just be me.
I don't dock DN for it's score but I think it could have been stronger.
Connery has hung up the PPK in 1966 and the search for a new Bond is launched. Quoting from the source above, "Producers Broccoli and Saltzman discussed casting Moore as Bond in TMWTGG. The film was to have begun production soon after YOLT was completed, with Cambodia as a key locale. When political violence erupted in the country, the producers shelved the idea of making the film. Moore's commitment to "The Saint" prevented him from assuming the role when they decided to make OHMSS a year later."
BUT what if they were able to make this come true. What if Broccoli and Saltzman had cast Moore in TMWTGG after YOTL? Would his portrayal of 007 been accepted better then Lazenby considering he was a more established star? Or would anyone following up Connery be looked at in a lesser light? Would TMWTGG be a good starting vehicle for a new Bond? Would Moore portrayed Bond from 1968 to 1985?
What say you Mi6?
What if Roger Moore had starred in a 1968 version of TMWTGG?
I first heard about those two stories in I think it was the book The Bond Files. Not to say those authors weren't credible, just why hadn't I heard this from earlier Bond film scholars like Steven Jay Rubin, Raymond Benson or as a feature in one of the fan club magazines? Has anybody quizzed Maibaum or MGW about these? We fans of the time would've eaten that up, or like The Killing Zone and Per Fine Ounce, was the history so well kept it didn't pop up until years later?
I had always thought that after its many delays that OHMSS was a given for production after YOLT. Add to that, when was Moore actually available? I realize Saint episodes were being shown into '69, but that he was transitioning into films like Crossplot and already tied up.
Furthermore, would Eon have really gone right back to an Asian locale right after YOLT had featured all Asian locations?
As far as the question goes, Moore obviously would've been more accepted than Lazenby, but the Connery shadow would still linger.
That all being said I think it's interesting to think about this. I am not sure if the producers would return to an Asian filming location after YOLT. I also wonder why the producers always saw TMWTGG taking place in Asia? The novel is in Jamaica.
I think a star might have had a better go then an unknown in the role after Connery. I also think the content of TMWTGG would be a better first vehicle for a Bond. Having OHMSS be the first for a new Bond was audacious. This was a safer route.
I'm very interested in this too...would they go to another Asian locale?
Also, for years I've heard that Cubby and Harry didn't want to do OHMSS right after TB because it was "TB on skis." I've never understood that comparison.
Cork's Bond cred is probably higher than anyone else's on earth. Cork produced all of the documentaries on the Bond DVDs/Blu-Rays, has written extensively about Fleming, and at one point was even writing scripts for EON. If he says something happened, it happened.
The key point is that "Broccoli and Saltzman discussed casting Moore"--nothing got beyond discussion stage, and if it had, Moore would have been unavailable.
I don't know if the producers would head back to Asia for the very next adventure. I think it's interesting to think of Roger starring in TMWTGG in 1968. I think it would have been a much better vehicle for a debut. I always felt OHMSS would have been better with a returning Bond it would have added to the poignancy.
Yes, and you have to wonder just how successful Moore's run would've been had he started in '68. Both the general public's opinion of the Lazenby "fiasco" and having Connery return in a more comedic film really helped pave the way for Moore's acceptance.
Agreed. Imagine if Dalton's first film was LTK. It would've been way too jarring coming after AVTAK!
Would Moore had been saddled with all the nods to previous Connery Bond adventures? If Moore Bond introduced like he was in LALD. Some tropes but no ordering martini's shaken not stirred, no tux and no hat thrown on the rack.
One of the most fascinating "what if?" of the franchise, in my opinion, alongside a third Dalton movie or a TLD starring Brosnan. Doubly fascinating since, beyond what the saga could have become from such installment, I wonder what this movie could have looked like in itself.
In the same way that YOLT only used characters from Fleming's eponymous novel, I doubt that a hypothetical adaptation of TWTGG at that time would have been particularly faithful. Still, I suppose that the narrative itself would no doubt have remained the same (a duel between two assassins), without any mention of the Solex, since this subplot was created in the face of the energy crisis. Seeing Bond infiltrate his enemy's organization also seems likely to me, and could have been interesting.
For the tone of the movie, between the previous installment and his future first appearance in 1973, I think it could also have been the opportunity to see a more serious Moore than in the film that we finally got in 1974. Something close to his performance in LALD in short, but with a context akin to the one of YOLT, from the cinematography to the humor. A missed opportunity, in my opinion. Sadly, as some have noted, it is unlikely that Moore would have been available at that time.
I'm curious why EON always seemed to think TMWTGG only worked in an Asian setting. First thinking of Cambodia and then setting the film in Hong Kong and Thailand.
I think Moore directly after Connery might have had a better chance for success. We know that Moore was fine with doing the role and wouldn't have pulled a George. We know audiences on both sides of the pond knew him. But if they did TMWTGG in 1968, when would they do OHMSS?
It is interesting to ponder!
How many times was SPECTRE scheduled to return at the script stage, but ultimately canceled? I'm thinking of TSWLM of course but also OP. Any others?
Which raises the question of how different the vision of a TMWTGG in 1968 would have been from the film we finally had, in terms of plot. I wonder how far the discussions had gone at the time and whether the plot had been the subject of some of them.
I have read the novel again today and I continue to think that a more or less faithful adaptation could have worked in this context, whether by excluding the opening with a brainwashed Bond or by relocating the story in Asia. While reading, I was trying to imagine such an adaptation and strangely I was more able to see George Lazenby in such a film, especially if it was his first appearance as Bond. But I'm sure that a younger Roger Moore could have done the job.
Regarding OHMSS, I have no doubt that the novel would have been more or less quickly adapted down the line as it seemed to enjoy a certain notoriety at the time. The fact that it was at one time considered as the fourth film of the series shows that it wasn't so much see as the culmination of a struggle between Bond and SPECTRE, as it may have seemed at the end, than as a more or less independent adventure. Thus, it could have been Moore or Lazenby's second installment if TMWTGG was at this point the first.
I asked myself the question! Since SPECTRE was not present in all the YOLT scripts either and Goldfinger happened without mentioning the organization, whereas it was present in the two previous films, we can assume that an adaptation of TMWTGG would have been just independent from the world of SPECTRE.
We know that TMWTGG would be less taxing as an acting vehicle and might provide the new Bond with enough good material to work with. Maybe they would have done OHMSS next. I know many on the boards clamour for Moore in OHMSS but I don't think his style would work with Hunt.
But say you Mi6? What if Salma Hayek was cast as Jinx for DAD?
I think Hayek would have been believable as an agent, but I'm not convinced she would've been better than Berry in that respect. I wonder if Hayek's Jinx would've remained NSA (certainly possible -- an American agent with Mexican blood) or they would've changed that because of her nationality.
Jo' mama!
I enjoy Salma has an actress and think she could have been an interesting choice. I enjoyed her and Pierce in After the Sunset and think their chemistry might have been a step above what we saw between Brosnan and Berry.
I hadn't heard she was up for Christmas Jones. I don't see the fit there with that role. I think she was more suited to Jinx. I can see her walking up the beach and getting just as much as a reaction as Halle did.
Yeah, wouldn't have been too bad...
+1000 :)