The James Bond franchise has gone through plenty of changes over the years. After establishing the 60s spy genre, the franchise had often shown a willingness to adapt to contemporary trends to stay relevant. The Roger Moore films of the 70s emphasized the comedic aspects of the character, while the modern ones took a more gritty tone.
Not all of these experiments worked out so well though, with the franchise sometimes reversing direction by the next film. Beyond just that, there are all kinds of crazy things that have happened in Bond films that the franchise would never do today - from sexism and a fourth wall break to bizarre entries outside of the main series.
Bond Dressed As A Clown
James Bond is known for his signature style. Often seen in a tuxedo, he is consistently one of the best-dressed characters in film history. The Roger Moore films, however, were willing to bring a more comedic approach to Bond. One such moment came in 1983's Octopussy.
In this film, Bond disguises himself as a clown in order to stop a nuclear bomb from going off. It is a highly tense segment of the film and Roger Moore pulls off the mix of drama and comedy as only he can. It's hard to imagine Daniel Craig's Bond wearing something like this.
James Bond Was American
The very first James Bond adaptation was a 50-minute version of Casino Royale in 1954. It was an episode of the CBS anthology series Climax! and several characters were changed. CIA agent Leiter became British, while Mathis and Vesper were combined as Valerie Mathis.
Most shocking of all was the reworking of James Bond as an American, played by Barry Nelson and referred to as Jimmy Bond. Only in a time before Bond was a British screen icon could a producer get away with something like this.
Bond Pulled A Fish Out Of His Car
Roger Moore's portrayal of Bond emphasized the comedic aspects of the character. With over-the-top ing characters and gags aplenty, Moore's films had a different feel from Connery's. One of Moore's most hilarious Bond moments came in the 1977 hit, The Spy Who Loved Me. After a thrilling chase that involved Bond's Lotus Esprit transforming into a submarine, Bond drives out of the ocean into a crowded beach and drops a big fish out of the window.
Although there was a leak in Bond's car when it was damaged underwater, there's no way such a comically large fish could have gotten in. Roger Moore plays it straight and does it perfectly, as always. Only Roger Moore's Bond could get away with something like this.
The Invisible Car
One of the challenges filmmakers run into with every new Bond film is coming up with new gadgets. Each and every film has to one-up what the previous one has done. But Die Another Day gave James Bond an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish that could turn invisible. It's a bit on the sci-fi side for a James Bond car, although the car chase it is used in is a real highlight of that film.
Invisible vehicles returned in the 2004 video game, Everything or Nothing, in which Bond got an invisibility bodysuit, as well. But the decision was made to reboot the series into a more grounded direction with Casino Royale, so fans are not likely to see invisible cars in Bond films again anytime soon.
Filmmakers Cast The First Trans Model
One of the staples of the Bond franchise is the inclusion of beautiful women in the main and ing cast. 1981's For Your Eyes Only features a cameo by model Tula, aka Caroline Cossey, who the filmmakers didn't know was transgender. A British tabloid newspaper devastatingly outed her as trans soon after the film's release, but she would go on to be the first trans model featured in Playboy magazine, not to mention, likely the first trans model - full stop.
Nowadays, with more trans actors and models finally (and openly) being cast in movies and TV, this wouldn't be a controversial issue and a newspaper today would hopefully never handle such a situation so insensitively.
A Breathtaking Stunt Was Ruined By A Cartoonish Slide Whistle
1974's The Man With The Golden Gun featured one of the most incredible stunts in the series. Roger Moore's Bond launches a car off a dilapidated bridge, spiraling in midair and landing perfectly on the other side. The "corkscrew jump," as it is known, was performed by Loren "Bumps" Willert.
It is truly a breathtaking sight to behold, but in the film, it's ruined by a slide whistle in the soundtrack. The stunt required significant calculation and prep work and the cartoony sound effect reduces all of this to a cheap laugh. Edits by fans online have shown that the scene is incredible with normal audio.
Bond Winsurfed A CGI Tsunami
For 2002's Die Another Day, Director Lee Tamahori wasn't afraid to challenge the boundaries of what a Bond film could be. With a plot that involved identity altering through gene therapy, a giant space laser and a deadly electro bodysuit, Die Another Day is certainly a unique film. But the most shocking moment comes when Bond survives a massive tsunami by windsurfing.
An exciting idea on paper, the CGI heavy scene is a strange choice for a franchise renowned for its stuntwork. The CGI effects are far from convincing and it is easy to tell which shots involve Pierce Brosnan and which do not. The very next Bond film opened with a stunning parkour chase scene, setting the tone for a practical effects-heavy future for the franchise.
Slapping Women
There is some serious slapping going on in those early James Bond films. Sean Connery's Bond slapped women in various degrees in almost all of his Bond films, with Tatiana Romanova in From Russia With Love being the most startling. Similarly, Bond forcing himself on Pussy Galore in Goldfinger has been famously criticized.
Some parts of The Man With The Golden Gun are especially hard to get through. That film required Roger Moore, so charming and respectable in real life, to hurt a woman and even push a child. Bond's treatment of women received criticism over the years, leading to stronger female characters, such as Anya Armasova, Jinx and Judi Dench's M.
Casino Royale Was Made As An Absurd Comedy
Before Dr. No launched the James Bond film series we all know and love, author Ian Fleming had sold Casino Royale's screen rights to producer Gregory Ratoff. Upon Ratoff's death, the rights were bought by his friend, Charles Feldman. After the success of films like Goldfinger, Feldman decided to cash in by making Casino Royale as a zany comedy in the vein of What's New Pussycat?
It featured an ensemble cast, celebrity cameos and ridiculous situations. After a production that involved six directors and plenty of off-screen drama, 1967's Casino Royale is an incoherent mess Bond fans would rather forget.
James Bond Broke The Fourth Wall And Referred To The Prior Actor
After Sean Connery's first retirement from Bond, it was unclear if anyone else would ever be accepted as 007. Even the actor hired, George Lazenby, would make jokes when he had to do something on set that Sean Connery didn't have to do. Director Peter Hunt decided to work it in as a joke in the film by breaking the fourth wall.
When a girl Bond saved runs from him and drives away, Bond turns to the camera and says, "This never happened to the other fella." It's a bizarre and dated joke in an otherwise solid Bond picture and led to a fan theory that James Bond is just a codename. In the end, On Her Majesty's Secret Service was George Lazenby's only crack at Bond, whereas Connery would return to the character several times in the future.
