The Battle for Bond
By Robert Sellers
Foreword by Len Deighton
Tomahawk Press
The
Battle for Bond is an explosive read, well researched yet controversial, filled
to the brim with intrigue, betrayal and legal battles – much like James Bond on
screen. The first edition was banned by the Ian Fleming Will Trust in a David
and Goliath dispute where a small press was suppressed in what appeared to most
members of the press as undue censorship. Now, as last, a second edition of the
book has been released and is a riveting read.
The
shocking truth revealed in these pages is that the screen version of James Bond
so heralded as the creation of Ian Fleming, was actually the creation of Jack
Whittingham, who was employed by producer Kevin McClory to adapt the character
to the big screen. Indeed, the unique vision of Whittingham was what gave James
Bond his unique screen persona. It could be construed that so many of his cinematic
characteristics that made Bond successful would not have occurred without
Whittingham’s work.
The
Battle for Bond is quite a sad and bitter tale. It is the story of Kevin
McClory's 40 year legal battle over the rights to the screen version of James
Bond, which he and Whittingham had created. It involved all manner of
recriminations, multi-million lawsuits and personal betrayals. It finally led
to a 1963 court battle where Ian Fleming was accused of plagiarism; however he
died during the trial. The upshot was that Kevin McClory won the film rights
and chose a deal with Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli which resulted in
Thunderball (1965). While the rights gave him certain rights and entitled him
to remake Thunderball (1965) as Never Say Never Again (1983), again with Sean
Connery as James Bond, he hadn’t banked on the opposition by MGM and Albert R. Broccoli and when his aim to create
his own James Bond series was thwarted a further legal battle ensued.
While
every aspect of the Bond story has been well documented, this had been a
subject which has been “off the menu” for quite a while and hence only
mentioned in an aside or even ignored in other volumes. This is an exhaustively
researched volume yet at the same time entertaining, well paced and enjoyable.
Sellers knows how to make a complex book informative as well as readable. The Battle for Bond is a
fascinating book and comes well illustrated with many rarely seen photographs.