Thunderball (1965)

James Bond heads to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay by), John Hopkins (screenplay by)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Claudine Auger	...	Domino
Adolfo Celi	...	Largo
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Fiona
Rik Van Nutter	...	Felix Leiter
Guy Doleman	...	Count Lippe
Molly Peters	...	Patricia
Martine Beswick	...	Paula
Bernard Lee	...	'M'
Desmond Llewelyn	...	'Q'
Lois Maxwell	...	Moneypenny
Roland Culver	...	Foreign Secretary
Earl Cameron	...	Pinder
Paul Stassino	...	Palazzi
Rose Alba	...	Madame Boitier

Storyline

James Bond continues on his fourth mission, with his aim to recover 2 stolen warheads. They've been taken by the SPECTRE organisation, and the world's held hostage as Bond heads to Nassau, Bahamas. Here, he meets Domino and is forced into a thrilling confrontation with SPECTRE agent Emil Largo on-board his boat, the Disco Volante.

---

Plot Keywords:

underwater battle | official james bond series | nassau | femme fatale | 007 | 

---

Taglines:

Look Out!...Remember there is only one James Bond and Thunderball's the Biggest of them All! (Australian theatrical daybill poster)

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Molly Peters was an extra in director Terence Young's previous movie, The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965).

---

Goofs

When Bond and Leiter are in the helicopter at the Golden Grotto, Leiter has shorts on. The shot changes and he has long trousers on and then reverts back to shorts in the next shot.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Madame LaPorte: The coffin - it has your initials: J.B.
Bond: At the moment, rather him than me.
Madame LaPorte: At least you've been saved the effort of removing him. Colonel Bouvar passed away in his sleep, so they tell me.
Bond: Mm...
Madame LaPorte: You sound disappointed you did not kill him yourself.
Bond: I am. Jacques Bouvar murdered two of my colleagues.

---

Alternate Versions

The second audio commentary track on the special edition DVD not only includes comments from editor Peter Hunt and screenwriter John Hopkins, but also several alternate audio cues. For example, the original title song, "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," is heard in its entirety over the opening credits. The track also includes some scenes dubbed into other languages, and snippits dialouge from Largo and Domino before they were dubbed over by voice artists.

---

Connections

Featured in Best Ever Bond (2002)

---

Soundtracks

Thunderball
Music by John Barry
Lyrics by Don Black
Performed by Tom Jones

User Reviews

Great Villain and the Best Bond Babes!

This Bond film (the 3rd best; the others being From Russia With Love, Goldfinger and 4th would be Dr. No) has exotic locale, superb soundtrack, formidable bad-guy, the hottest real Bond gal (Claudine Auger as Domino), other hot chicks - Martine Beswick and Lucianna Paluzzi, and Sean's toupee still looked good before his final three Bond adventures.

There may have been too many Bond effects underwater in this one, but everything else about it makes up for the scuba scenes, which are necessary to the "plot". Adolfo Celi (Largo) had presence, great white hair, an eyepatch, and figured out Bond almost immediately. It flows with best scenery (Bond-wise) and had no major problems, although a tad long. A 7 out of 10. Recommended for 1965!

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 December 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Thunderball

Filming Locations:

Atlantis Hotel, Bahamas

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$63,595,658

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$63,595,701

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 6-Track Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1