This has been in the back of my mind since the first James Bond movies back in the dim mists of prehistory (that is, the 1960s).
In DR NO, Connery draws back his right fist - the camera angle changes - and he throws the punch with his left fist.
In FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, when he signs the film title on the photo of the Russian girl, we see it in a tight close-up and the hands certainly do not look like Connery’s hairy, tough mitts.
In the opening gunbarrel sequence to THUNDERBALL, when he turns to fire at the camera, that is the most awkward looking spin and fire I’ve seen in a long time. He looks like he’s about to lose his balance.
There are a number of other times in the films where he seems much more comfortable holding his cigarettes, Vodka Martini glasses, etc in his left hand. I sort of think he was directed to use the pistol with his right hand just to look natural to the audience (most of whom are right-handed).
So does anyone KNOW? Have any of you folk seen him signing autographs or writing, in real life?
Heh heh - yours truly is the one that added that “Goof” to the IMDb Goofs section for Dr. No.
I’m pretty sure he’s right handed. He always shoots with his right hand in the Bond movies. As far as drinking/smoking: I’m also right handed, and I always drink and used to smoke (before I quit) with my left hand. Not sure why.
Thanks for the quick replies. When I was little, I saw Dick Van DYke signing things left-handed on his TV show and it has become a lifelong quirk to notice.
In DR NO, it seems possible that he threw a quick one-two punch, and they edited out the right hand blow. The level of violence in movies was a bit lower then. There wasn’t even a superloud cracking noise when he hit the guy, as there would be today.
Also today, Bond would never use the litle Walther PPK he had in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, with its barely visible muzzle flash. It might have worked just fine and been a reasonable choice for a spy, but a movie hero today is required to carry a gun as large as his arm.