Great passages & quotes from the Fleming novels...

CommanderRoss

While waiting for my date last night I'd brought with me FYEO. This one gave me a chuckle:
'The commissionaire opened the door and the light from the street turned her eyes into stars. She examined his face with certain seriousness. She said:"All men are pigs, but some are lesser pigs then others. All right. I will meet you. But not for dinner. What I may tell you is not for public places."'

And of course then she gives instructions on their meeting. For me it feels like this is a lovely reference to 'Animal Farm'.
Colombo is pretty well cast too, but of course, he's not the villain.

Dragonpol

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Just the description of his villains. You need someone with the right physique and the right acting skills to be convincing.

Perhaps only 'Red' Grant, Colonel Rosa Klebb, Auric Goldfinger and Irma Bunt were properly cast in the Bond films, then.

To be honest some were impossible to cast faithfully. Dr. No for instance. I think Joseph Wiseman made a miraculous job playing the character.

Yes, but as O.F. Snelling noted in his book on the Bonds novels, he made him a character imbued with 1960s modernity rather than a new version of Dr Fu Manchu.

And I'm sure Fleming approved. Julius No, from a physical standpoint, is one of Fleming's most memorable characters, and I am amazed how closely Wiseman resembled him in the film. It was a stroke of casting brilliance and a dam' fine job of acting.

But getting back to Fleming, as far as I am concerned no writer in history can touch him when it comes to describing a human being. His literary portraits are flabbergasting. They belong in the Louvre.

On Fleming's descriptions of his character - he is indeed the Master of this. Few, if any, other authors in literature go in for so much detail and exactitude in their descriptions.

Dragonpol

CommanderRoss wrote:

While waiting for my date last night I'd brought with me FYEO. This one gave me a chuckle:
'The commissionaire opened the door and the light from the street turned her eyes into stars. She examined his face with certain seriousness. She said:"All men are pigs, but some are lesser pigs then others. All right. I will meet you. But not for dinner. What I may tell you is not for public places."'

And of course then she gives instructions on their meeting. For me it feels like this is a lovely reference to 'Animal Farm'.
Colombo is pretty well cast too, but of course, he's not the villain.

Yes, it does indeed seem to be a George Orwell reference. thanks for highlighting this. I hope your date went well.

Dragonpol

timmer wrote:

I've always got a good chuckle out of how energetically Fleming described how hideous looking both Klebb and Bunt were.
Tiger dutifully mentions Bunt being too ugly to live, virtually every time he mentions her. That was a sure tip to we the "dear reader" that Tiger was indeed describing Bunt.
The description of Klebb's epic ugliness goes on for paragraphs, and then he dresses her up in a party dress, which terrifies Tatiana, causing her to run screaming from the room. :))
He wasn't too flattering to the pathetic Maria Freudenstein either.
In Fleming's world, inner-ugly often manifests on the outside too.
It's this sort of eccentricty of writing that gives Fleming's stories much of their charm.
He has fun with his writing. Damn the lit snobs.

Damn the lit snobs? My sentiments exactly! You can string 'em all up as far as I'm concerned!

CommanderRoss

No complaints. She had little time, so we just had dinner together, but we'll meet again on thursday. She's a lovely girl, American. If Fleming would've seen her he'd have approved ;-)

Dragonpol

CommanderRoss wrote:

No complaints. She had little time, so we just had dinner together, but we'll meet again on thursday. She's a lovely girl, American. If Fleming would've seen her he'd have approved ;-)

Good. I'm glad it went well for you, @CommanderRoss!

Perilagu_Khan

timmer wrote:

I've always got a good chuckle out of how energetically Fleming described how hideous looking both Klebb and Bunt were.
Tiger dutifully mentions Bunt being too ugly to live, virtually every time he mentions her. That was a sure tip to we the "dear reader" that Tiger was indeed describing Bunt.
The description of Klebb's epic ugliness goes on for paragraphs, and then he dresses her up in a party dress, which terrifies Tatiana, causing her to run screaming from the room. :))
He wasn't too flattering to the pathetic Maria Freudenstein either.
In Fleming's world, inner-ugly often manifests on the outside too.
It's this sort of eccentricty of writing that gives Fleming's stories much of their charm.
He has fun with his writing. Damn the lit snobs.

The description of Klebb is perhaps his greatest. I'll post it if I get the chance.

Perilagu_Khan

CommanderRoss wrote:

While waiting for my date last night I'd brought with me FYEO. This one gave me a chuckle:
'The commissionaire opened the door and the light from the street turned her eyes into stars. She examined his face with certain seriousness. She said:"All men are pigs, but some are lesser pigs then others. All right. I will meet you. But not for dinner. What I may tell you is not for public places."'

And of course then she gives instructions on their meeting. For me it feels like this is a lovely reference to 'Animal Farm'.
Colombo is pretty well cast too, but of course, he's not the villain.

Absolutely. Topol was perfect. And the initial meeting between Bond and Colombo is one of the greatest sequences in all of Bond, IMO.

Dragonpol

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

CommanderRoss wrote:

While waiting for my date last night I'd brought with me FYEO. This one gave me a chuckle:
'The commissionaire opened the door and the light from the street turned her eyes into stars. She examined his face with certain seriousness. She said:"All men are pigs, but some are lesser pigs then others. All right. I will meet you. But not for dinner. What I may tell you is not for public places."'

And of course then she gives instructions on their meeting. For me it feels like this is a lovely reference to 'Animal Farm'.
Colombo is pretty well cast too, but of course, he's not the villain.

Absolutely. Topol was perfect. And the initial meeting between Bond and Colombo is one of the greatest sequences in all of Bond, IMO.

Indeed. I too love all about FYEO. Moore's finest Bond film by a long way.

Ludovico

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Just the description of his villains. You need someone with the right physique and the right acting skills to be convincing.

Perhaps only 'Red' Grant, Colonel Rosa Klebb, Auric Goldfinger and Irma Bunt were properly cast in the Bond films, then.

To be honest some were impossible to cast faithfully. Dr. No for instance. I think Joseph Wiseman made a miraculous job playing the character.

Yes, but as O.F. Snelling noted in his book on the Bonds novels, he made him a character imbued with 1960s modernity rather than a new version of Dr Fu Manchu.

And I'm sure Fleming approved. Julius No, from a physical standpoint, is one of Fleming's most memorable characters, and I am amazed how closely Wiseman resembled him in the film. It was a stroke of casting brilliance and a dam' fine job of acting.

But getting back to Fleming, as far as I am concerned no writer in history can touch him when it comes to describing a human being. His literary portraits are flabbergasting. They belong in the Louvre.

Agreed. And this is so challenging to turn them on the big screen using actors made of flesh and blood. I think they got it right with CR and SF, in fact I think Silva was physically at least the most Flemingesque Bond villain not invented by Fleming. When I think of suggesting an actor as a Bond villain, the first thing I ask myself is: can he look monstrous and repulsive?

Ludovico

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

timmer wrote:

I've always got a good chuckle out of how energetically Fleming described how hideous looking both Klebb and Bunt were.
Tiger dutifully mentions Bunt being too ugly to live, virtually every time he mentions her. That was a sure tip to we the "dear reader" that Tiger was indeed describing Bunt.
The description of Klebb's epic ugliness goes on for paragraphs, and then he dresses her up in a party dress, which terrifies Tatiana, causing her to run screaming from the room. :))
He wasn't too flattering to the pathetic Maria Freudenstein either.
In Fleming's world, inner-ugly often manifests on the outside too.
It's this sort of eccentricty of writing that gives Fleming's stories much of their charm.
He has fun with his writing. Damn the lit snobs.

The description of Klebb is perhaps his greatest. I'll post it if I get the chance.

And the "seduction" scene is terrifying, something else I'd love to see in the movies, but it would be again very difficult to pull convincingly.

Dragonpol

Ludovico wrote:

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

timmer wrote:

I've always got a good chuckle out of how energetically Fleming described how hideous looking both Klebb and Bunt were.
Tiger dutifully mentions Bunt being too ugly to live, virtually every time he mentions her. That was a sure tip to we the "dear reader" that Tiger was indeed describing Bunt.
The description of Klebb's epic ugliness goes on for paragraphs, and then he dresses her up in a party dress, which terrifies Tatiana, causing her to run screaming from the room. :))
He wasn't too flattering to the pathetic Maria Freudenstein either.
In Fleming's world, inner-ugly often manifests on the outside too.
It's this sort of eccentricty of writing that gives Fleming's stories much of their charm.
He has fun with his writing. Damn the lit snobs.

The description of Klebb is perhaps his greatest. I'll post it if I get the chance.

And the "seduction" scene is terrifying, something else I'd love to see in the movies, but it would be again very difficult to pull convincingly.

Especially in this day and age, where lesbianism is seen as cool by many - it's no longer a taboo as it was when Fleming was writing.

Perilagu_Khan

Dragonpol wrote:

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Just the description of his villains. You need someone with the right physique and the right acting skills to be convincing.

Perhaps only 'Red' Grant, Colonel Rosa Klebb, Auric Goldfinger and Irma Bunt were properly cast in the Bond films, then.

To be honest some were impossible to cast faithfully. Dr. No for instance. I think Joseph Wiseman made a miraculous job playing the character.

Yes, but as O.F. Snelling noted in his book on the Bonds novels, he made him a character imbued with 1960s modernity rather than a new version of Dr Fu Manchu.

And I'm sure Fleming approved. Julius No, from a physical standpoint, is one of Fleming's most memorable characters, and I am amazed how closely Wiseman resembled him in the film. It was a stroke of casting brilliance and a dam' fine job of acting.

But getting back to Fleming, as far as I am concerned no writer in history can touch him when it comes to describing a human being. His literary portraits are flabbergasting. They belong in the Louvre.

On Fleming's descriptions of his character - he is indeed the Master of this. Few, if any, other authors in literature go in for so much detail and exactitude in their descriptions.

But it is Fleming's creativity that is so amazing. Many of Fleming's characters are larger than life, not just in terms of personality, but in appearance as well. His characters appear almost outrageous--monumental in terms of pulchritude or ugliness. And the descriptions themselves rise almost to the level of high poetry.

Ludovico wrote:

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Just the description of his villains. You need someone with the right physique and the right acting skills to be convincing.

Perhaps only 'Red' Grant, Colonel Rosa Klebb, Auric Goldfinger and Irma Bunt were properly cast in the Bond films, then.

To be honest some were impossible to cast faithfully. Dr. No for instance. I think Joseph Wiseman made a miraculous job playing the character.

Yes, but as O.F. Snelling noted in his book on the Bonds novels, he made him a character imbued with 1960s modernity rather than a new version of Dr Fu Manchu.

And I'm sure Fleming approved. Julius No, from a physical standpoint, is one of Fleming's most memorable characters, and I am amazed how closely Wiseman resembled him in the film. It was a stroke of casting brilliance and a dam' fine job of acting.

But getting back to Fleming, as far as I am concerned no writer in history can touch him when it comes to describing a human being. His literary portraits are flabbergasting. They belong in the Louvre.

Agreed. And this is so challenging to turn them on the big screen using actors made of flesh and blood. I think they got it right with CR and SF, in fact I think Silva was physically at least the most Flemingesque Bond villain not invented by Fleming. When I think of suggesting an actor as a Bond villain, the first thing I ask myself is: can he look monstrous and repulsive?

Good point on Silva. Hadn't really thought about it, but you're right.

Also, I think Frobe was very well cast as Auric.

Perilagu_Khan

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

timmer wrote:

I've always got a good chuckle out of how energetically Fleming described how hideous looking both Klebb and Bunt were.
Tiger dutifully mentions Bunt being too ugly to live, virtually every time he mentions her. That was a sure tip to we the "dear reader" that Tiger was indeed describing Bunt.
The description of Klebb's epic ugliness goes on for paragraphs, and then he dresses her up in a party dress, which terrifies Tatiana, causing her to run screaming from the room. :))
He wasn't too flattering to the pathetic Maria Freudenstein either.
In Fleming's world, inner-ugly often manifests on the outside too.
It's this sort of eccentricty of writing that gives Fleming's stories much of their charm.
He has fun with his writing. Damn the lit snobs.

The description of Klebb is perhaps his greatest. I'll post it if I get the chance.

And the "seduction" scene is terrifying, something else I'd love to see in the movies, but it would be again very difficult to pull convincingly.

Especially in this day and age, where lesbianism is seen as cool by many - it's no longer a taboo as it was when Fleming was writing.

This scene was hinted at in the film, but never fully fleshed out--so to speak. I'm sure they pushed it as far as they were able in 1963. Nowadays a full-on lezzie scene would scarcely raise an eyebrown, unless it were portrayed in a negative light in which case the PC Hutus would be breathing down Micolli's neck and baying for their scalp.

Dragonpol

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

timmer wrote:

I've always got a good chuckle out of how energetically Fleming described how hideous looking both Klebb and Bunt were.
Tiger dutifully mentions Bunt being too ugly to live, virtually every time he mentions her. That was a sure tip to we the "dear reader" that Tiger was indeed describing Bunt.
The description of Klebb's epic ugliness goes on for paragraphs, and then he dresses her up in a party dress, which terrifies Tatiana, causing her to run screaming from the room. :))
He wasn't too flattering to the pathetic Maria Freudenstein either.
In Fleming's world, inner-ugly often manifests on the outside too.
It's this sort of eccentricty of writing that gives Fleming's stories much of their charm.
He has fun with his writing. Damn the lit snobs.

The description of Klebb is perhaps his greatest. I'll post it if I get the chance.

And the "seduction" scene is terrifying, something else I'd love to see in the movies, but it would be again very difficult to pull convincingly.

Especially in this day and age, where lesbianism is seen as cool by many - it's no longer a taboo as it was when Fleming was writing.

This scene was hinted at in the film, but never fully fleshed out--so to speak. I'm sure they pushed it as far as they were able in 1963. Nowadays a full-on lezzie scene would scarcely raise an eyebrown, unless it were portrayed in a negative light in which case the PC Hutus would be breathing down Micolli's neck and baying for their scalp.

Yes, that's kind of what I was getting at in my last post there.

Ludovico

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Dragonpol wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

timmer wrote:

I've always got a good chuckle out of how energetically Fleming described how hideous looking both Klebb and Bunt were.
Tiger dutifully mentions Bunt being too ugly to live, virtually every time he mentions her. That was a sure tip to we the "dear reader" that Tiger was indeed describing Bunt.
The description of Klebb's epic ugliness goes on for paragraphs, and then he dresses her up in a party dress, which terrifies Tatiana, causing her to run screaming from the room. :))
He wasn't too flattering to the pathetic Maria Freudenstein either.
In Fleming's world, inner-ugly often manifests on the outside too.
It's this sort of eccentricty of writing that gives Fleming's stories much of their charm.
He has fun with his writing. Damn the lit snobs.

The description of Klebb is perhaps his greatest. I'll post it if I get the chance.

And the "seduction" scene is terrifying, something else I'd love to see in the movies, but it would be again very difficult to pull convincingly.

Especially in this day and age, where lesbianism is seen as cool by many - it's no longer a taboo as it was when Fleming was writing.

This scene was hinted at in the film, but never fully fleshed out--so to speak. I'm sure they pushed it as far as they were able in 1963. Nowadays a full-on lezzie scene would scarcely raise an eyebrown, unless it were portrayed in a negative light in which case the PC Hutus would be breathing down Micolli's neck and baying for their scalp.

There is always a way, if done properly. I don't mean going Deliverance, but it wouldn't be the first time a gay person is pictured as malevolent. Heck, Judi Dench played an evil lesbian in Notes on a Scandal and nobody complained. Although it was only hinted that she was.

JWESTBROOK

Currently reading Goldfinger for the first time, this deserved a highlight:

"- the tiny acorn of coincidence that soared into the mighty oak whose branches darkened the sky."

007InVT

JWESTBROOK wrote:

Currently reading Goldfinger for the first time, this deserved a highlight:

"- the tiny acorn of coincidence that soared into the mighty oak whose branches darkened the sky."

Ah yes, I remember that one. Good pick.

Dragonpol

JWESTBROOK wrote:

Currently reading Goldfinger for the first time, this deserved a highlight:

"- the tiny acorn of coincidence that soared into the mighty oak whose branches darkened the sky."

Now that's one I've forgotten about, but then I last read it years ago.

StirredNotShaken

There's always going to be those two immortal lines...

"The bitch is dead."

And

"We have all the time in the world."

Collectively, probably the 12 most famous words the man ever wrote.

007InVT

Great quotes from 'You Only Live Twice':

"Speak of next year and the devil laughs"

"No self respecting man could go through the day without his battery of four-letter words to cope with the roughage of life and let off steam"

"In public, I am prepared to hiss and bow with the best of them. But, by God, when we're not alone the password is Freddie Uncle Charlie Kate or I'll be putting my head under a pile driver before you get me onto the first tee"

"Dulce et decorum est...and all that jazz"

"A reasonable number of fleas is good for a dog. Otherwise the dog forgets he is a dog"

"I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time" (Fleming)

"Lucky for you you you weren't occupied by the British" commented Bond "Cricket is a much more difficult and skillful game"

(My favorite)

"Well, Blofeld, you mad bastard. I'll admit that your effects man down below knows his stuff. Now bring on the 12 she-devils, and if they're all as beautiful as Fraulein Bunt, we'll get Noel Coward to put music to it and have it on Broadway by Christmas. How about it?"

"...his life on Kuro, his love for Kissy Suzuki, were in Tiger's phrase, of as little account as Sparrow's tears"

007InVT

Great quotes from 'Diamonds Are Forever':

"I don't think you can ask for a lawyer or the British consul if you get in Dutch with the Mob. Only law firm out there's called Smith and Wesson"

"It'll be 120 in the shade out there. Only, there isn't any shade"

"Bond cut the cards and watched with approval as she carried out the difficult single handed Annulment, one of the most difficult gambits in card sharping"

"Nothing propinks like propinquity."

Dragonpol

StirredNotShaken wrote:

There's always going to be those two immortal lines...

"The bitch is dead."

And

"We have all the time in the world."

Collectively, probably the 12 most famous words the man ever wrote.

Plus it's 'The bitch is dead, now", which was inexplicably left out of the 2006 film version of Casino Royale, as I think it has much more punch to it. Still, only a minor quibble, really.

Perilagu_Khan

YOLT is simultaneously Fleming's most hilarious and most melancholy Bond novel. Perhaps it's true that humor is simply the opposite side of anger.

Dragonpol

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

YOLT is simultaneously Fleming's most hilarious and most melancholy Bond novel. Perhaps it's true that humor is simply the opposite side of anger.

It's his masterpiece - very interesting, if offbeat James Bond novel.

Plus, great to have you back here on MI6, @Perilagu_Khan. You've made the right choice.

Perilagu_Khan

Thank you, Dp. Nice of you to say so.

JWESTBROOK

I think it's forgotten due to the excellent delivery from the film, but Goldfinger's Fort Knox plan-speech was ripped almost verbatim from the novel:

" Man has climbed Everest and he has scraped the depths of the ocean. He has fired rockets into outer space and split the atom. He has invented, devised, created in every realm of human endeavor, and everywhere he has triumphed, broken records, achieved miracles. I said in every realm, but there is one that has been neglected, Mr. Bond. That one is the human activity loosely known as crime. The so-called criminal exploits committed by individual humans - I do not of course refer to their idiotic wars, their clumsy destruction of each other - are of miserable dimensions: little bank robberies, tiny swindles, picayune forgeries. And yet, ready to hand, a few hundred miles from here, opportunity for the greatest crime in history stands waiting. "

An iconic film speech masking it's even better origin.

timmer

Yes GF was a master orator in both book and film :) A deranged orator mind you, but eloquent none the less.

007InVT wrote:

"Well, Blofeld, you mad bastard. I'll admit that your effects man down below knows his stuff. Now bring on the 12 she-devils, and if they're all as beautiful as Fraulein Bunt, we'll get Noel Coward to put music to it and have it on Broadway by Christmas. How about it?"

My favourite quote from the book, as it underscores Bond's often very glib persona, as penned consistenty by Fleming in all his books, and even in this book where Bond is originally out of sorts due to the murder of his wife.
Terrence Young identified this defiant/smartass trait of Bond's, especially in the face of villainy, and made sure it was captured in the films. Connery of course delivered the goods beautifully with just the right underlying menace.

Dragonpol

JWESTBROOK wrote:

I think it's forgotten due to the excellent delivery from the film, but Goldfinger's Fort Knox plan-speech was ripped almost verbatim from the novel:

" Man has climbed Everest and he has scraped the depths of the ocean. He has fired rockets into outer space and split the atom. He has invented, devised, created in every realm of human endeavor, and everywhere he has triumphed, broken records, achieved miracles. I said in every realm, but there is one that has been neglected, Mr. Bond. That one is the human activity loosely known as crime. The so-called criminal exploits committed by individual humans - I do not of course refer to their idiotic wars, their clumsy destruction of each other - are of miserable dimensions: little bank robberies, tiny swindles, picayune forgeries. And yet, ready to hand, a few hundred miles from here, opportunity for the greatest crime in history stands waiting. "

An iconic film speech masking it's even better origin.

Indeed. Thank you for digging that one out again. Goldfinger is considered one of the very best James Bond villains for just this reason.

Dragonpol

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Thank you, Dp. Nice of you to say so.

As I said above, MI6 is the best site. No need to return to those moaners over on BaB.