MovieChat Forums > Goldfinger (1965) Discussion > Why wasn't Thunderball made before this

Why wasn't Thunderball made before this

posted 2 years ago by Lucia2016 (612)
7 replies | jump to latest

Re watching the series for first time properly and Goldfinger is so weird because it completely drops the Spectre story with no mention at all and then Picks it up again straight after this one.

Dr No FRWL and Thunderball are all directed by Terrence Young and all fit together as a sequence but then you have Goldfinger gatecrash halfway through with a different director.

None of this really matters and i quite like it's quirky but does anybody know the reason why they had the first 2 with a certain tone and story thread, then drop it and go in another direction and have a huge hit and then revert back to the original storyline and style as if nothing happened.

For what it's worth my two cents i would have loved it to have been the First 4 as we see and then On her Majesty with Connory and then end series, Maybe stick Goldfinger at the end after Maj.

[–] MCguy (1142) 2 years ago

As you may know continuity was not a factor in films. For example, Blofeld not recognizing Bond in OHMSS. That may be one explanation.

To me the bigger question is why didn't the Craig series refilm the novels in sequence? Money is probably the answer. I suspect commissioning an original script was much less expensive than reacquiring the film rights and commissioning new scripts.

[–] millsey72 (10283) 9 months ago

I think the movies were all made in order that the books came out

[–] KingBob (2125) 9 months ago

They were except Thunderball was made twice. Once in 1965 and once in 1983. But yes Ian Fleming did write Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace after he wrote Die Another Day.

[–] millsey72 (10283) 9 months ago

Yes I know. Did you already forget that I am an expert on everything James Bond and know more than most people

[–] stevewyzard (1591) 9 months ago

After the success of the first two Bond movies, director Terence Young was suddenly a "hot" property. He was approached to do the 3rd movie (which would have been OHMSS), but left after fighting with the producers over money. Instead, he took an offer for The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders, which today is just an answer to a trivia question.

After losing Young, the producers hired Guy Hamilton (who was their original choice to direct Dr. No) to do the 3rd movie. At that time, filming in the Swiss Alps for OHMSS was deemed too expensive, so they chose Goldfinger as a less expensive option. Hamilton declined Thunderball due to fatigue, so Terence Young was brought back.

[–] Lucia2016 (612) 9 months ago

Thanks for the reply that's interesting i have always said one of the big what if's should of been the original 4 then instead of You Only Live twice have Connory finish with Maj that would have been perfection.

[–] pjl69 (2647) 9 months ago

Probably because of budgetary reasons. Thunderball seemed like a more expensive production. EON and Bond franchise had to grow first in order to handle more expensive projects.