Good plot and treatment - just the last half hour is boring, even though it's a big improvement on the novel's ending. Peter Hunt's editing is noticeable but less known is that he had to cut down the four and a half hour film without Young's involvement. This had a bigger budget then the previous three combined.
The story came up between Kevin McGlory (who was fascinated by underwater stuff) and Fleming, and was later written as the screenplay Longitude 78 West by Jack Wittingham. Fleming then used this as the basis for the novel 'Thunderball'. McGlory quite rightly sued (although why wasn't it Whittingham?) and won the literary and screen rights. He was listed as producer of the Broccoli / Saltzman version to prevent him from making a rival version of his own - something he did later with Never Say Never Again.
Seen with a twenty-first century eye, there's some slightly kinky stuff going on. Bond fights a man in drag, then appears in a short pale blue towelling robe. He massages his masseuse with a mink glove and is strapped to an electronic rack (for 'stretching the spine').
The health spa opening is a terrific way of getting us into the plot and the actual hijacking of the Vulcan bomber is still beautifully done. Then we're off into sunny clear waters, scuba diving, mucking about in speed boats and other stuff that Hitch originated years before in To Catch a Thief.
With Connery: Claudine Auger (Domino), Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, Guy Doleman, Molly Peters (her only significant film appearance), Martine Beswick (Bond's Nassau associate - this is the wrong move in the screenplay - Bond should have rescued her), Lee, Lleywelyn, Maxwell, Roland Culver, Paul Stassino, Reginald Beckwith and (uncredited) Philip Stone. Culver was still working up to his death in the / his eighties - The Missionary was one of his last appearances.
Photographed by Ted Moore. Score from John Barry. Ken Adam is the production designer.
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