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"Number 10's making ugly noises"
Studying politics at university, I was always interested at how Number 10/British Prime Minister is referred to in the series. There are numerous quotes littered throughout the series that highlight Number 10's satisfaction (or more often than not, dissatisfaction) at the events in a Bond film. As such, I thought an interesting way to categorise the films would be picking which Prime Minister presided over the best sequence of James Bond films. There are 9 different era's to represent 9 different prime ministers (Skyfall will see bond serve his 10th Prime Minister in David Cameron). I have listed below the eras below with the name of the prime minister and the years they were in office with the films made when they were in power.
UPDATE: Special thanks to St_George for his additional information regarding specific dates.
Harold Macmillan
(Jan 10 1957 - Oct 18 1963)
Dr. No (*release date: Oct 5 1962)
From Russia With Love (*Oct 11 1963)
Alec Douglas-Home
(Oct 18 1963 - Oct 16 1964)
Goldfinger (*Sep 17 1964)
Harold Wilson
(Oct 16 1964 - June 19 1970)
(Mar 4 1974 - Apr 5 1976)
Thunderball (*Dec 9 1965)
You Only Live Twice (*Jun 12 1967)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (*Dec 18 1969)
The Man With The Golden Gun (*Dec 19 1974)
Edward Heath
(Jun 19 1970 - Mar 4 1974)
Diamonds are Forever (*Dec 14 1971)
Live and Let Die (*Jun 27 1973)
James Callaghan
(Apr 5 1976 - May 4 1979)
The Spy Who Loved Me (*July 7 1977)
Margaret Thatcher
(May 4 1979 - Nov 28 1990)
Moonraker (*Jun 26 1979)
For Your Eyes Only (*Jun 24 1981)
Octopussy (*Jun 6 1983)
A View To A Kill (*May 22 1985)
The Living Daylights (*Jun 29 1987)
Licence To Kill (*Jun 13 1989)
John Major
(Nov 28 1990 - May 2 1997)
GoldenEye (*Nov 17 1995)
Tony Blair
(May 2 1997 - Jun 27 2007)
Tomorrow Never Dies (*Dec 12 1997)
The World Is Not Enough (*Nov 8 1999)
Die Another Day (*Nov 18 2002)
Casino Royale (*Nov 14 2006)
Gordon Brown
(June 27 2007 - May 11 2010)
Quantum of Solace (*Oct 29 2008
UPDATE: Special thanks to St_George for his additional information regarding specific dates.
Harold Macmillan
(Jan 10 1957 - Oct 18 1963)
Dr. No (*release date: Oct 5 1962)
From Russia With Love (*Oct 11 1963)
Alec Douglas-Home
(Oct 18 1963 - Oct 16 1964)
Goldfinger (*Sep 17 1964)
Harold Wilson
(Oct 16 1964 - June 19 1970)
(Mar 4 1974 - Apr 5 1976)
Thunderball (*Dec 9 1965)
You Only Live Twice (*Jun 12 1967)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (*Dec 18 1969)
The Man With The Golden Gun (*Dec 19 1974)
Edward Heath
(Jun 19 1970 - Mar 4 1974)
Diamonds are Forever (*Dec 14 1971)
Live and Let Die (*Jun 27 1973)
James Callaghan
(Apr 5 1976 - May 4 1979)
The Spy Who Loved Me (*July 7 1977)
Margaret Thatcher
(May 4 1979 - Nov 28 1990)
Moonraker (*Jun 26 1979)
For Your Eyes Only (*Jun 24 1981)
Octopussy (*Jun 6 1983)
A View To A Kill (*May 22 1985)
The Living Daylights (*Jun 29 1987)
Licence To Kill (*Jun 13 1989)
John Major
(Nov 28 1990 - May 2 1997)
GoldenEye (*Nov 17 1995)
Tony Blair
(May 2 1997 - Jun 27 2007)
Tomorrow Never Dies (*Dec 12 1997)
The World Is Not Enough (*Nov 8 1999)
Die Another Day (*Nov 18 2002)
Casino Royale (*Nov 14 2006)
Gordon Brown
(June 27 2007 - May 11 2010)
Quantum of Solace (*Oct 29 2008
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Comments
No. 10 is usually kindly referred to as "the PM" isn't he/she? Rather like a grumpy aunt or uncle weighing in.
Are you a political scientist or did you take politics only as a course?
As much as I don't like her, Thatcher had the best run.
What a baron period it was after Thatcher the snatcher, no Bond film for how many years?
89 until 95? Ouch! That was bad.
Oh the shame!
Harold Wilson opened the sound stage at Pinewood I know that much. Ever the populist, he regularly tried to leach off the success of the series by inviting Connery to Number 10.
They are never mentioned by name....FYEO is the only film to go overboard and feature a PM (Thatcher). Freddie Gray mentions her having his gut for garters. Various mentions of number 10 in several films (TB, OHMSS etc) and in TSWLM or MR (can't remember which) the PM instructs M to get Bond on the case via telephone
Harold Macmillan (Jan 10 1957 - Oct 18 1963)
Dr. No (*release date: Oct 5 1962)
From Russia With Love (*Oct 11 1963)
Alec Douglas-Home (Oct 18 1963 - Oct 16 1964)
Goldfinger (*Sep 17 1964)
Harold Wilson (Oct 16 1964 - June 19 1970)
Thunderball (*Dec 9 1965)
You Only Live Twice (*Jun 12 1967)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (*Dec 18 1969)
(Mar 4 1974 - Apr 5 1976)
The Man With The Golden Gun (*Dec 19 1974)
Edward Heath (Jun 19 1970 - Mar 4 1974)
Diamonds are Forever (*Dec 14 1971)
Live and Let Die (*Jun 27 1973)
James Callaghan (Apr 5 1976 - May 4 1979)
The Spy Who Loved Me (*July 7 1977)
Margaret Thatcher (May 4 1979 - Nov 28 1990)
Moonraker (*Jun 26 1979)
For Your Eyes Only (*Jun 24 1981)
Octopussy (*Jun 6 1983)
A View To A Kill (*May 22 1985)
The Living Daylights (*Jun 29 1987)
Licence To Kill (*Jun 13 1989)
John Major (Nov 28 1990 - May 2 1997)
GoldenEye (*Nov 17 1995)
Tony Blair (May 2 1997 - Jun 27 2007)
Tomorrow Never Dies (*Dec 12 1997)
The World Is Not Enough (*Nov 8 1999)
Die Another Day (*Nov 18 2002)
Casino Royale (*Nov 14 2006)
Gordon Brown (June 27 2007 - May 11 2010)
Quantum of Solace (*Oct 29 2008)
I Must admit, I was a bit, if you excuse the pun, liberal with the dates and gave the film to the PM who was the PM during filming. I realised TMWTGG and MR...didn't about TND though! Thank you for this, I shall re-edit my original post if that is ok?
Imo, I think it comes down to a battle between Wilson and Thatcher...hate to say it because I despise the woman but have to say Thatcher had the best run of films :'(
Ah, well, in that case, your original list was arguably just as correct as mine. :)
As for my own 'PM pick', it'd probably be Wilson's '60s stint,as that one contains both OHMSS and Twice (two Bond flicks I rate highly) and the side's only let down by TB, which isn't too shabby, all told. Otherwise, I'd have to pick Callaghan's era at the end of the red telephone as his period oversaw Spy entirely (which, clearly, is just awesome) and much of the making of MR, which is something of a must with me, for right or wrong... ;)
Interesting order...the top 3 seem to be most consistent. Where would you rate Heath, just out of curiosity?
"The name's Major. John Major."
"Pay attention 007. We've turned your trademark pipe into a dart-gun. Be careful when you tap it out." (Wilson, obviously)
"Come now, Blair, I know you enjoy working with Felix Leiter, but you ARE actually a British agent!"
"Moody. Scottish. Stay away from Kevin McClory, Mr Brown!"
Harold Macmillan might have made a decent 'M', but the only PM I could consider to be suave enough to play 007 (within the lifetime of the books and films), would probably be Anthony Eden. True, he didn't exactly show 'grace under pressure' when it came to the foremost crisis of his premiership, but even the great Sir Rog is scared of heights, in real life.
I give you:
Anthony Eden as Ian Fleming's 007 in: From Suez With Love.
When Tomorrow Never Dies was being filmed Tony Blair was on the election trail and happened to be at the same airport at the same time as the Bond production during the Q and remote controlled BMW hanger scene, he even got to meet Pierce, lucky bugger!
Does it say something about John Major as a prime minister? I remember even tory voters telling me he was a useless prime minister.
This is why I always wonder why they never used The Property of a Lady as a movie title. Maybe for Bond 24? Might as well do it as the Queen is still alive.
Well I'd wager than John Major was the last honest and decent prime minister we ever had (Edwina Curry affair aside) and certainly much better than Blair and Brown.
And yes, I'd really like to see The Property of A Lady as a title for a Craig Bond film too, though perhaps it's felt that it is a little dull.
Yes, my thoughts as well. It would have fitted in with the personal side of the film story much better. As it was, the "Quantum of Solace" term was wasted - probably as the film was already written when the title was added to it.
Does Fleming reference the Profumo affair in the opening paragraph of "The Property of A Lady" ?
I am no big fan of Blair and Brown, but that does not change the fact that John Major was pretty much beige. Like Anthony Burgess said (and he voted tory all his life, save once): he was mediocrity's monument. Was he honest? Maybe. But what has he done in his tenure?
The Property of a Lady is maybe a little dull, but only marginally so. I always imagined a villain saying something like this to Bond: "I am my own master Mister Bond. But you are nothing more than the property of a lady".
On The Property of A Lady - I like its simplicity, but you make it sound a bit like Dr. No's disparaging comment at James Bond: "You are just a stupid policeman whose luck has run out."