In the previous eight installments of this series we recalled the history of Quinn Martin’s 007, TV series from its creation in 1958 to the airing of its series finale in 1970. In this chapter we’ll look back at the Bond franchise’s cinematic debut in 1971 with the release of Dead Reckoning.

The hype buildup for the impending release of Dead Reckoning started almost at the second the end credits rolled for the 007 TV series finale. For almost a decade it had been predicted that a Bond feature film would be an incredibly hot property at the box office if and when it were made, and now the time was fast approaching when that thesis would be put to the test. 20th Century Fox’s publicity team went into overdrive to encourage prospective ticket-buyers to turn out for Reckoning’s premiere; on 007’s former network ABC, commercial air time for 30-second ads plugging James Bond’s cinematic debut sold for more than twice the fee such spots would normally command. At theaters and drive-ins across the country patrons would pay for movie tickets just for the chance to see the Dead Reckoning trailer.

And it wasn’t only in America where anticipation for the upcoming release of Reckoning was building to a fever pitch: in Europe, theater managers were practically tripping over each other in the scramble to be the first to screen the new 007 flick for European audiences, while in Canada 20th Century Fox’s Canadian subsidiary was putting the final touches on plans for the huge release party which would accompany the movie’s Canadian premiere in Toronto. In Japan, Tokyo’s largest movie theater was being decked out to the nines in advance of what was sure to be the biggest cinematic debut for a Western-made feature film in the Japanese capital since Gone With The Wind hit town. Even deep in the war-ravaged jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia U.S. combat soldiers were looking forward to the opportunity to check out Reckoning while they were on leave. Back in the executive offices of 20th Century Fox in Hollywood studio executives were already beginning to envision the enormous profits awaiting them once the first 007 flick hit theaters-- not to mention the lucrative possibility of sequels down the line. As Reckoning’s directorial team returned to the States to get started on their post-production chores and the film’s cast made the media rounds to promote the movie, an air of expectation surrounded the Bond film’s approaching spring 1971 debut.

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Perhaps the most eager audiences for the movie outside the United States were those in the late Ian Fleming’s ancestral homeland Great Britain; London’s Fleet Street tabloids in particular seemed to talk about little else in the weeks leading up to Dead Reckoning’s release. Even the customary salacious gossip about politicians, football stars, and the royal family took a back seat to Bond movie hype. News Of The World led the charge with a smorgasbord of articles and photo spreads focusing on the movie’s cast and the principal members of Reckoning’s production team; The Sun followed right behind with a travelogue about the overseas locations where many of the movie’s scenes had been shot. (Much of the travelogue was also printed in Life magazine, appearing in its Easter week issue as a four-page color spread.) More mainstream British newspapers also got caught up in the 007 movie hoopla-- one of the most widely read articles concerning Reckoning appeared in, of all publications, the normally conservative London Times.

Even Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street got in on the hype with the extension of invitations from both addresses to director Ken Annakin to host special screenings of the movie for the Queen and the prime minister. And a certain Conservative MP from Kent was heard to suggest one afternoon in the House of Commons that perhaps Parliament might consider temporarily postponing any business which it might have scheduled for the day of the movie’s premiere. While the motion was with some reluctance voted down, it was an accurate reflection of how eager audiences in Britain were for the new Bond film to open. Dead Reckoning’s release would be the fulfillment of a nearly fifteen-year- old dream of seeing the late Ian Fleming’s creation make the leap to the silver screen.

On May 8th, 1971 crowds at movie theaters throughout North America and Europe rushed to their seats to witness for the debut of 007 on the silver screen, hoping to see the same kind of thrill- a-minute action for which the original James Bond TV series had been famous. They got their wish and then some: audience word of mouth touted Dead Reckoning as one of the most exciting spy films to come out of Hollywood in ages. Reckoning became the prototype for the modern summer cinema blockbuster, generating a new wave of Bond- themed tie-ins along with its massive profits. Four years after its release many of the same people who had worked on the promotional campaign for Reckoning would play a significant role in the creation of another successful summer movie marketing blitz-- this time for Steven Spielberg’s Jaws.

By the time Reckoning finished its initial theatrical run in late August, it had not only established the viability of 007 as a box office draw but also made history as the first major live action theatrical film ever to gross $200 million. With numbers like that, it was inevitable that James Bond would be returning to the silver screen one day; the only question was who his foe would be for the sophomore installment of the 007 film franchise. The profits from Reckoning were to soar even higher when rental receipts and TV broadcast rights fees were factored into the equation(to say nothing of the ancillary profit accrued from sales of tie-in products, showings of the film at second- run theaters, and in the 1980s Reckoning’s release on home video.) Fox executives were duly impressed by the numbers they were seeing on the balance sheets from their accountants and by the volume of fan letters pouring into their studio mail room from moviegoers impressed with Ken Annakin’s interpretation of the 007 saga, and it didn’t take them long to decide to commission a sequel.

 For Bond’s sophomore adventure at the megaplex, the Fox brass initially considered bringing back one of the most popular recurring villains from the original TV series, Tanya Onatova. Unfortunately for them, Diana Rigg was filming a new season of The Avengers at the time and thus unavailable to reprise the character. Then the studio toyed with the idea of re-animating the late Rosa Klebb-- a notion which was fortunately shelved at once when Fox executives received an avalanche of negative feedback on it from the studio’s top writers. Their third idea, which would have had Bond carrying out a life-or-death mission deep within the Kremlin walls, showed great promise but in the end had to be scrapped for budgetary reasons.

 The story idea which finally became the basis for the second 007 movie would take the franchise in a gritty new direction....

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