true. He bore my childish pranks so patiently and, being gadget mad (as my wife will attest), I used to love playing with all the gizmos in Q-Branch.
I was watching Sky news on Sunday 19 December 1999, when I heard the awful news that Desmond had been involved in a car accident. He was returning home to Bexhill from a book signing. He died from his injuries. I was devastated.
A few months later, I attended his memorial service in London and spoke of the gentle gentleman who, despite having hands the size of spades and a total incomprehension of what he was talking about, always managed to explain and demonstrate his devices with great skill and endear himself to millions of fans across the world.
With the reboot of the Bond series in 2006’s
Casino Royale
and its successor,
Quantum Of Solace
, the character of Q did not appear, though gadgets were still very much in evidence.
Other actors to have played Q on film include John Cleese in
Die Another Day
, Geoffrey Bayldon in 1967’s
Casino Royale
and Alec McCowen in
Never Say Never Again
, with that wonderful line on Jim’s return to Q-Branch, ‘Good to see you, Mr Bond. Things have been awfully dull around here without you. I hope we’re going to see some gratuitous sex and violence …’
GUNS ’N’ AMMO
Think of 007 and you conjure up images of girls, gadgets and … guns. Yes, Jim’s firearms have played as important a part of his adventures as anything else, and though he has carried many, in the films at least, there has always been one constant in his chamois leather holster – the Walther PPK.
However, the Beretta was the gun Fleming’s literary Bond carried. It was described, by firearm enthusiast Geoffrey Boothroyd in a letter to Fleming, as ‘a lady’s gun, and not a very nice lady at that’. He suggested it had little stopping power and that Bond would be much better served with a revolver such as the Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight. Fleming thanked Boothroyd for his letter and said he felt Bond ought to have an automatic instead of a revolver, though agreed the Beretta 418 lacked power.
Ah, my favourite gadget – the magnetic Rolex. Ideal for deflecting bullets, attracting gas pellets or for unzipping ladies’ dresses.
Seiko took over as the official Bond watch suppliers in
The Man With The Golden Gun.
A couple of years on, and Seiko were still supplying 007 with their latest watch. It was waterproof.
Sometimes the Bond baddies have gadgets too. In
The Man With The Golden Gun
it came in the shape of … yes, you’ve guessed it, a golden gun. The gun comprised everyday items such as a pen, a cufflink and a cigarette case.
The original, made by Pinewood Effects engineer Bert Luxford.
One of the laser guns we used in our space-fight finale in
Moonraker
.
A handy wrist dart gun, as described by Q in
Moonraker
. Another ‘must’ for Christmas.
Bond was issued with a new gun in
Tomorrow Never Dies
, a Walther P99, which he kept for the next few adventures.
Everything for the traveller abroad – Q’s deadly travel kit includes an alarm clock (guaranteed never to awaken the user) and Dentonite toothpaste, the latest in plastic explosive.
In
Dr. No
Jimmy was hauled in to M’s office, where we learned he had carried a Beretta for ten years but, on one assignment, the said pistol – with the suppressor attached – snagged in his waistband. He was hospitalized for six months.
Boothroyd recommended the Walther PPK 7.65 mm as being the best choice for an automatic, with ammunition available everywhere. In thanks to Boothroyd, Fleming later called his armourer Major Boothroyd.
The Walther PPK was presented to Jim in
Dr. No
and was said to have an impact like ‘a brick through a plate-glass window’. I used a PPK in all my films, though it fell out of favour with the real Secret Service when, on 20 March 1974, an attempt was made to kidnap HRH Princess Anne. The police officer protecting the princess was
I was watching Sky news on Sunday 19 December 1999, when I heard the awful news that Desmond had been involved in a car accident. He was returning home to Bexhill from a book signing. He died from his injuries. I was devastated.
A few months later, I attended his memorial service in London and spoke of the gentle gentleman who, despite having hands the size of spades and a total incomprehension of what he was talking about, always managed to explain and demonstrate his devices with great skill and endear himself to millions of fans across the world.
With the reboot of the Bond series in 2006’s
Casino Royale
and its successor,
Quantum Of Solace
, the character of Q did not appear, though gadgets were still very much in evidence.
Other actors to have played Q on film include John Cleese in
Die Another Day
, Geoffrey Bayldon in 1967’s
Casino Royale
and Alec McCowen in
Never Say Never Again
, with that wonderful line on Jim’s return to Q-Branch, ‘Good to see you, Mr Bond. Things have been awfully dull around here without you. I hope we’re going to see some gratuitous sex and violence …’
GUNS ’N’ AMMO
Think of 007 and you conjure up images of girls, gadgets and … guns. Yes, Jim’s firearms have played as important a part of his adventures as anything else, and though he has carried many, in the films at least, there has always been one constant in his chamois leather holster – the Walther PPK.
However, the Beretta was the gun Fleming’s literary Bond carried. It was described, by firearm enthusiast Geoffrey Boothroyd in a letter to Fleming, as ‘a lady’s gun, and not a very nice lady at that’. He suggested it had little stopping power and that Bond would be much better served with a revolver such as the Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight. Fleming thanked Boothroyd for his letter and said he felt Bond ought to have an automatic instead of a revolver, though agreed the Beretta 418 lacked power.
Ah, my favourite gadget – the magnetic Rolex. Ideal for deflecting bullets, attracting gas pellets or for unzipping ladies’ dresses.
Seiko took over as the official Bond watch suppliers in
The Man With The Golden Gun.
A couple of years on, and Seiko were still supplying 007 with their latest watch. It was waterproof.
Sometimes the Bond baddies have gadgets too. In
The Man With The Golden Gun
it came in the shape of … yes, you’ve guessed it, a golden gun. The gun comprised everyday items such as a pen, a cufflink and a cigarette case.
The original, made by Pinewood Effects engineer Bert Luxford.
One of the laser guns we used in our space-fight finale in
Moonraker
.
A handy wrist dart gun, as described by Q in
Moonraker
. Another ‘must’ for Christmas.
Bond was issued with a new gun in
Tomorrow Never Dies
, a Walther P99, which he kept for the next few adventures.
Everything for the traveller abroad – Q’s deadly travel kit includes an alarm clock (guaranteed never to awaken the user) and Dentonite toothpaste, the latest in plastic explosive.
In
Dr. No
Jimmy was hauled in to M’s office, where we learned he had carried a Beretta for ten years but, on one assignment, the said pistol – with the suppressor attached – snagged in his waistband. He was hospitalized for six months.
Boothroyd recommended the Walther PPK 7.65 mm as being the best choice for an automatic, with ammunition available everywhere. In thanks to Boothroyd, Fleming later called his armourer Major Boothroyd.
The Walther PPK was presented to Jim in
Dr. No
and was said to have an impact like ‘a brick through a plate-glass window’. I used a PPK in all my films, though it fell out of favour with the real Secret Service when, on 20 March 1974, an attempt was made to kidnap HRH Princess Anne. The police officer protecting the princess was
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