Agent 007: The James Bond Film

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You would think after 25 James Bond films we’ve come to know agent 007. Turns out there’s a lot more to know.

For instance, we think Bond prefers to drive an Aston Martin and only drinks ‘vodka martini, shaken not stirred.” But he only drove an Aston Martin in one Ian Fleming novel, Goldfinger (1959), choosing to drive a Bentley in all the other books.

If you’ve only seen the films, there’s a whole lot about Bond you’re missing.

Regarding his preferred libation, researchers sifting through 14 Bond novels found 007 drinking 19 vodka martinis but 21 scotches and 37 bourbons. Same goes for his supposed weapon of choice, the Walther PPK, which doesn’t make an appearance until the sixth novel Dr. No (1958). Bond in fact prefers a .25 Beretta …show more content…

The biggest revelation however, may be that 007 was a pill popping speed freak who often jacked up before missions by dosing on amphetamines.

The first instance of Bond using speed occurs in Ian Fleming’s second novel Live and Let Die (1954) when 007 pops Benzedrine tablets before embarking on an underwater mission through a coral reef off the coast of Jamaica toward the island of Surprise. Bond “. . . still felt perfectly fresh and the elation and clarity of mind produced by the Benzedrine were still with him.”

In Moonraker (1955), Bond prepares for a confrontation with the villainous Hugo Drax by availing himself of some powdered courage. Bond “took a silver fruit knife off the table and dipped the tip of the blade into the packet so that about half its contents were transferred to the knife. He reached for his glass of champagne and tipped the powder into it. ‘Benzedrine,’ said James Bond. ‘It is what I shall need if I’m going to keep my wits about me tonight. It’s apt to make one a bit overconfident, but that’ll help too.’ M smiled at him indulgently. “It’s your funeral,” he said. “How were the

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