50 years of James Bond

London, Oct 5: The world is today celebrating 50 years of the fictional British secret service agent James Bond, a creation of writer Ian Fleming. Dr No (1962) It was on October 5, 1962, that Sean Connery first appeared as James Bond in the film "Dr. No". Set in the beautiful Carribean islands, James Bond soon became a rage among the youths and elder persons.Already balding, Connery wore a toupee in all his Bond films. Ian Fleming, after seeing the preview screening of the first film, Dr. No, told his research assistant, "Dreadful. Simply dreadful." The role of Dr. No went to Joseph Wiseman. Ursula Andress was the Bond girl. From Russia with Love (1963)The film was shot on locales in Europe. It garnered more profits than Dr No. Sean Connery was again Bond, and Robert Shaw was the assassin Donald Grant. It was also the second and last film to feature the role of Sylvia Trench, who was supposed to continue through the series as Bond's somewhat regular bed partner between assignments. The violence of the second film was decidedly pumped up from the previous film, with more than double the homicides. US President John F. Kennedy said From Russia with Love was one of his ten favourite books. Goldfinger (1964)Again, Sean Connery. For the important role of Pussy Galore, Honor Blackman was lured away from her role on the Avengers television series. Gert Frobe played the role of Goldfinger. Goldfinger is the most noted Bond film by popular culture. The first appearance of the Aston Martin DB5 was in this film. The use of a menacing laser, newly invented just years before and not widely known to the public, was a cutting edge demonstration of real technology. The premiere in the UK created a near riot. It was the first Bond film to win an Oscar for Best Effects, Sound Effects. Ian Fleming died before getting to see the film. Thunderball (1965) Apart from Connery, the principal parts were hotly contested. For the lead Bond girl, Domino, former Miss France Claudine Auger. Italian actor Adolfo Celi played the role of supervillain Emilio Largo. Connery would later state that Thunderball was his personal favourite performance as Bond. Thunderball scored a total box office earnings of $141.2 million. You Only Live Twice (1967)In the fifth Bond film with Connery, Bond comes face-to-face for the first time with arch-nemesis Blofeld, Number One in SPECTRE, the world's most powerful criminal organisation. The title comes from a pseudo-haiku written by Fleming in the source novel, "You only live twice/Once when you're born/And once when you look death in the face." The Bond films were hugely popular in Japan and when the crew arrived for shooting, they were treated exuberantly. You Only Live Twice is the very first James Bond film to jettison the plot premise of the Fleming source material. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Australian George Lazenby was James Bond this time. Lazenby's reviews were quite mixed. Many felt that he was physically convincing in the action sequences, for which he did most of his own stunts, and that his portrayal was closer to the character in Fleming's novels, but that he looked foolish in his many loud costume changes, some featuring kilts, and delivered his lines poorly, possibly because much of his dialogue was dubbed after the fact with the voice of a character whom he was impersonating through much of the film. Never Say Never Again (1971)Sean Connery returned and he Connery received a remarkable contract: a record $1.25 million salary plus 12.5 percent of the gross profits, and an additional $145,000 per week overtime if filming extended beyond 18 weeks. Live and Let Die (1973) Roger Moore enters the screen as James Bond. Moore would become the longest-serving Bond, spending twelve years in the role and making seven films. Live and Let Die was a box office succes. From a budget estimated to be around $7 million, the film grossed $126.4 million worldwide. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) Moore's second Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun, is widely regarded as the most disappointing of the 1970s James Bond films and marked the end of Harry Saltzman's role as co-producer. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)Roger Moore's third film, The Spy Who Loved Me, became a turning point for the series in two ways: it was the first film produced by Broccoli alone and also the first to include a completely original storyline, as Ian Fleming had given permission to use only the title of the novel.Moonraker (1979)Moore's fourth film, Moonraker, was the last Bond film to use the title of a Fleming novel until 2006's Casino Royale. Moonraker wasn't originally going to be the sequel to The Spy Who Loved Me, it was going to be For Your Eyes Only. After the success of Star Wars in 1977 they decided to make Moonraker as it would be more sci-fi, which was the current movie interest at the time.For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and A View to a Kill (1985)The next two films, For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy, used both of the titles of Bond short story anthologies and each incorporated material from multiple stories in those anthologies. So far, 22 Bond films have raked in more than five billion dollars (3.85 billion euros). The rugged Daniel Craig is the latest of six actors to play Bond, but some things have stayed the same -- his taste for fast cars, beautiful women, high-tech gadgets and vodka Martinis.