# American characters in (early) James Bond films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 16, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950 "2024-06-16T15:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/1 "2024-06-16T15:34:38Z")
The only James Bond films I’ve watched are _Dr. No_, and then three Craig films – _Skyfall, Quantum of Solace_, and _Casino Royale_. However, I also watch a bunch of reaction videos on YouTube, and I’m currently watching [a young woman react to the Bond franchise](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdAhrN8E-74). She just finished _Diamonds are Forever_. I’ve noticed that, in these early films anyway, the performances put in by the characters that are ostensibly American are just appalling. My guess is that it’s because they were portrayed by B-list British actors doing what passed for an American accent at a British film studio in the 1960s and 1970s. But surely they’ve done location shots in America over the decades; does the franchise use (almost) exclusively British talent, or have they used local (and apparently, really really bad) talent as well? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/2 "2024-06-16T16:16:51Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I’ve noticed that, in these early films anyway, the performances put in by the characters that are ostensibly American are just appalling. My guess is that it’s because they were portrayed by B-list British actors doing what passed for an American accent at a British film studio in the 1960s and 1970s. Can you give us some examples of British actors playing Americans in James Bond movies? It wouldn’t be too surprising. Movies are often filmed wherever it’s cheapest to film. They just set the stage to look like where the movie is supposedly going on. It’s cheaper to film in the U.K. than the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/3 "2024-06-16T16:19:08Z")
They’ve definitely done location shots. Unless I’m horribly mistaken, you’re kind of thin on deserts in the British Isles, and I’ve seen some desert shots here and there. Also, the very first Bond film had some location shots in Jamaica. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/4 "2024-06-16T16:27:38Z")
Felix Leiter has been played by numerous actors. The Sean Connery category included Jack Lord (_ **Dr No** _), Cec Linder (_ **Goldfinger** _), Rick Van Nutter (_ **Thunderball** _), and Norman Burton (_ **Diamonds Are Forever** _). They were all Americans except for Linder, who was Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/5 "2024-06-16T16:28:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Felix Leiter has been played by numerous actors. Beat me to it, and, IIRC, Leiter was one of the few American characters who had more than a brief appearance in the early Bond films. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/6 "2024-06-16T16:30:06Z")
Lois Maxwell, the original Miss Monneypenny, was also Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/7 "2024-06-16T16:36:41Z")
Honor Blackman, aka Pussy Galore in _ **Goldfinger** _, was British, not American as her accent implied. Bruce Boa, who played the USAF General in _ **Octopussy** _, was Canadian as well. In the '70s and '80s, he was Britain’s go-to actor whenever an American was needed. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/8 "2024-06-16T16:38:52Z")
I’m a Bond nerd and I can’t think of any American characters played by Brits offhand. They’re all played by North Americans (to include one or two Canadians!) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/9 "2024-06-16T16:41:38Z")
This is really irrelevant to the question here, but the first James Bond film had many American actors. That’s because James Bond was American in it. There was a 1954 episode of the American television series _Climax!_ based on the 1953 novel _Casino Royale_. Bond worked for an American intelligence agency. The actors came from various countries. It was filmed on a studio set in Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/10 "2024-06-16T16:46:24Z")
Jimmy Bond, right? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/11 "2024-06-16T16:47:38Z")
I’m going to hijack this thread for a second by saying _Diamonds are Forever_ has the worst stereotypes of how Brits think Americans are although it did give us one of the best James Bond movie lines ever. “I didn’t know there was a pool there.”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/12 "2024-06-16T16:49:27Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > But surely they’ve done location shots in America over the decades For what it’s worth, especially since you seem to primarily be referring to the early films, it wasn’t until the seventh Bond film (_Diamonds are Forever_, 1971) that they filmed more than a small amount in the U.S. Even in _Goldfinger_ (1964), which centered on a plot to rob Fort Knox, filming in the U.S. was limited to a small number of exterior shots in the Fort Knox area, and a few days of shooting (with a small crew) in Miami. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/13 "2024-06-16T19:45:50Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I’m going to hijack this thread for a second by saying _Diamonds are Forever_ has the worst stereotypes of how Brits think Americans are I thought Live and Let Die was worse. Both the stereotype of Harlem, and Sheriff Pepper. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/14 "2024-06-16T19:55:07Z")
Was it filmed or live (and recorded on a kinescope)? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/15 "2024-06-16T19:59:02Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Bond worked for an American intelligence agency. Interesting. I wonder if they had an inferiority complex. The first season of Danger Man had Drake working for NATO, not the British. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/16 "2024-06-16T20:24:09Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > > > Bond worked for an American intelligence agency. > > Interesting. I wonder if they had an inferiority complex. No, the producers just changed Bond’s nationality to make him more relevant and appealing to American audiences. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/17 "2024-06-16T20:28:26Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I wonder if they had an inferiority complex. You wonder if who had an inferiority complex? As I said, the movie (or more precisely, the episode of the television show) had Bond being an American working for an American intelligence agency. Remember, nobody watching the show knew anything about James Bond except a few of the Americans watching the show who had gotten hold of a year-old copy of a book printed in the U.K. Nobody except those few thought of it as being anything except a completely new story. > [@terentii](#): > > Was it filmed or live (and recorded on a kinescope)? It was live: > **[Casino Royale (Climax!)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(Climax!))** > > "Casino Royale" is a live 1954 television adaptation of the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. An episode of the American dramatic anthology series Climax!, the show was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, and stars Barry Nelson, Peter Lorre, and Linda Christian. Though this marks the first onscreen appearance of the secret agent, Nelson's Bond is played as an American spy working for the "Combined Intelligence Agency". > Most of the largely forgotten show was uncovered ... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/18 "2024-06-16T22:20:17Z")
I wonder how they did the torture scenes, which I remember were pretty horrific in the novel. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/19 "2024-06-16T22:26:44Z")
Bruce Boa and Ed Bishop were the two actors you hired if you wanted an ‘genuine’ American, but couldn’t afford a Hollywood name, and those two cropped up again and again in the 1970s. (though Boa was Canadian, but that’s close enough for us, we can’t tell the difference) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950/20 "2024-06-16T22:35:29Z")
The whole movie (51 minutes and 49 seconds) is at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztsXWp0nj2c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztsXWp0nj2c) . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-characters-in-early-james-bond-films/1002950.md?page=2)