Today is National Bikini Day!
According to the good people at Checkiday, the proper way to celebrate National Bikini Day is to put on a bikini and head to the beach! Unfortunately, I don’t live anywhere near the beach but I can still wear a bikini.
As we often do here at the Shattered Lens, we’re going to recognize both this holiday and four of our favorite movies! Here, in honor of National Bikini Day, are….
4 Shots From 4 Films
118 years ago today, Ian Fleming was born in Mayfair, London. A member of British Intelligence during World War II, Fleming is today best-remembered as the creator of James Bond.
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1962’s Dr. No. Here is Sean Connery, in his first appearance as Fleming’s iconic secret agent. Eunice Gray was cast as Sylvia Trench, who was originally envisioned as being Bond’s permanent “London” girlfriend. She also appeared in From Russia With Love before the idea was abandoned. We all know that Bond’s true love was Tracy di Vincenzo.
Today is the official birthday of the bikini and today’s scene that I love features a moment that played a huge role in the bikini’s growing popularity.
Ursula Andress was one of the very first Bond girls, appearing opposite Sean Connery in Dr. No. Andress played the role of Honeychile Ryder, who was good with a knife and totally willing to trespass on Dr. No.’s beach. Andress set the standard by which almost all future Bond girls would be judged and the scene where Bond and Ryder first meet remains one of the most famous in the Bond franchise. It was such a culturally-defining moment in 1962 that it apparently led to rocketing sales of bikinis. Up until this film came out, bikinis were apparently considered to be too risqué to be worn anywhere other than France.
(Personally, I’m thankful that Andress and Dr. No made bikinis popular. I look good in a bikini and, even if I don’t swim, I do like lying out by the pool and pretending like I’m capable of tanning as opposed to just burning.)
Of course, in the original novel, Honey Ryder is naked (except for a belt and a knife) when Bond first sees her. Personally, I think that’s a bit much. I prefer the scene as it plays out in the movie, where everyone is flirtatious and fashionable.
Though Dr. No is best known for turning Sean Connery into a star, it also did wonders for Ursula Andress’s career. Whereas she had previously been best-known for briefly dating Jams Dean and being married to John Derek, Andress was now an actress who was able to pick her roles and to become financially independent, a development she would later tell the Daily Independent that she owed to “that white bikini.” Andress also appeared in Playboy several times, even after becoming a star. When she was asked why, she replied, “Because I’m beautiful,” and I have to say that I absolutely love that answer.
Anyway, from 1962, here’s a scene that we love:
117 years ago today, Ian Fleming was born in Mayfair, London. A member of British Intelligence during World War II, Fleming is today best-remembered as the creator of James Bond.
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1962’s Dr. No. Here is Sean Connery, in his first appearance as Fleming’s iconic secret agent. Eunice Gray was cast as Sylvia Trench, who was originally envisioned as being Bond’s permanent “London” girlfriend. She also appeared in From Russia With Love before the idea was abandoned. We all know that Bond’s true love was Tracy di Vincenzo.
I have no idea what this day is supposed to celebrate but I hope everyone has a good one.
There doesn’t seem to be any agreed upon way to celebrate Labor Day. A few people have the day off and they’re the reason why I decided to hold off on going up to Lake Texoma until this upcoming, holiday-free weekend. Personally, I think the best way to celebrate any holiday is with a film festival so here are my suggestions for your Labor Day viewing:
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 84th birthday to Ursula Andress!
Ursula Andress was one of the very first Bond girls, appearing opposite Sean Connery in Dr. No. Andress played the role of Honeychile Ryder, who was good with a knife and totally willing to trespass on Dr. No.’s beach. Andress set the standard by which almost all future Bond girls would be judged and the scene where Bond and Ryder first meet remains one of the most famous in the Bond franchise. It was such a culturally-defining moment in 1962 that it apparently led to rocketing sales of bikinis. Up until this film came out, bikinis were apparently considered to be too risque to be worn anywhere other than France.
(Personally, I’m thankful that Andress and Dr. No made bikinis popular. I look good in a bikini and, even if I don’t swim, I do like lying out by the pool and pretending like I’m capable of tanning as opposed to just burning.)
Of course, in the original novel, Honey Ryder is naked (except for a belt and a knife) when Bond first sees her. Personally, I think that’s a bit much. I prefer the scene as it plays out in the movie, where everyone is flirtatious and fashionable.
Though Dr. No is best known for turning Sean Connery into a star, it also did wonders for Ursula Andress’s career. Whereas she had previously been best-known for briefly dating Jams Dean and being married to John Derek, Andress was now an actress who was able to pick her roles and to become financially independent, a development she would later tell the Daily Independent that she owed to “that white bikini.” Andress also appeared in Playboy several times, even after becoming a star. When she was asked why, she replied, “Because I’m beautiful,” and I have to say that I absolutely love that answer.
Anyway, from 1962, here’s a scene that we love:
Happy birthday, Ursula Andress!
Today is National Bikini Day!
According to the good people at Checkiday, the proper way to celebrate National Bikini Day is to put on a bikini and head to the beach! Unfortunately, I don’t live anywhere near the beach so instead, I’ve just been cleaning the house and taking out a wasp nest while wearing a bikini, which is an experience that’s both frightening and empowering at the same time.
(Seriously, we had a huge wasp nest that showed up overnight over the front door. I went outside and sprayed the nest, which resulted in the porch getting covered with dying and angry wasps. Of course, that’s when I realized that, because of the whole bikini thing, I had put on a t-shirt but I’d forgotten to put on shoes so I was barefoot, the backdoor was locked, and I didn’t have my keys on me, again because of the whole bikini thing. Rather than walking in bare feet across a porch covered by angry wasps, I literally crawled through a window to get back in the house, at which point I put on my shoes, went outside, and swept up all the wasps and the nest. It’s been quite a day!)
Anyway, as we often do here at the Shattered Lens, we’re going to recognize both this holiday and four of our favorite movies! Here, in honor of National Bikini Day, are….
4 Shots From 4 Films
Earlier today, I read the sad news that British actress Eunice Grayson passed away at the age of 90. Grayson may not have been a household name but true fans of James Bond (as opposed to those who think that the franchise started with Daniel Craig) know Grayson from her role as Sylvia Trench in both Dr. No and From Russia With Love.
Eunice Grayson was the first Bond girl. When we first meet Bond in Dr. No, he’s sitting down across from her at the Baccarat table. When Bond asks her name, she replies, “Trench. Sylvia Trench.” When she asks his name, he playfully replies, “Bond. James Bond.” and history is made.
Grayson originally auditioned for the role of Miss Moneypenny but, when the producers decided to give that role to Lois Maxwell, Grayson was instead cast as Sylvia Trench. At first, Sylvia was envisioned as being Bond’s permanent “off-duty” girlfriend. That’s certainly the role that she’s plays when she briefly reappears in From Russia With Love. The original plan was for Sylvia (and Grayson) to appear in at least six Bond films and to be the principal Bond girl in the sixth one. However, those plans were abandoned with Goldfinger.
Today’s scene that I love is in memory of both Eunice Grayson and the role she played in the history of one of my favorite film franchises. From 1962’s Dr. No, James Bond meets Sylvia Trench for the first time…
Ian Fleming’s secret agent 007, James Bond, was introduced in the 1953 novel Casino Royale, and was a smashing success, leading to a long-running series of books starring MI-6’s “licensed to kill” super spy. No less than President John F. Kennedy was a huge fan of Fleming’s books, and since the early 60’s were all about “Camelot”, producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman decided to cash in and bring James Bond to the big screen (the character had appeared in the person of Barry Nelson in an adaptation of CASINO ROYALE for a 1954 episode of TV’s CLIMAX!, with Peter Lorre as the villain Le Chiffre).
DR. NO was the first Bond movie, and the producers wanted Patrick McGoohan, star of the British TV series SECRET AGENT, to play the suave, ruthless Bond. McGoohan declined, and Richard Johnson was considered. He also turned them down, leading Broccoli and Saltzman…
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Having survived his creator’s attempt to kill him off at the end of From Russia With Love, British secret agent James Bond returned in the 1958 novel Dr. No.
When Dr. No begins, M is concerned that his top agent might no longer have what it takes. After all, James Bond barely survived his previous mission. The doctors say that he’s recovered, Bond has spent months in rehab. Bond is desperate for a new mission but M still has his doubts. So, he gives Bond what should be an easy assignment. He sends 007 to Jamaica, to investigate the strange disappearance of John Strangeways and his secretary. (Strangeways previously appeared in Live and Let Die.)
It turns out to be anything but simple. As soon as Bond arrives, it becomes obvious that the mysterious Dr. No was somehow involved in whatever happened to Strangeways. Dr. No lives on a remote island and has made a fortune through the cultivation of bat guano. (Eck!) With the help of the loyal Quarrel and the beautiful Honeychile Ryder, Bond sets out to find out what Dr. No is actually up to. Of course, the natives say that Dr. No is protected by a dragon. Bond says that’s foolish but then the dragon shows up…
But it’s not just the dragon that Bond has to look out for! There’s Dr. No himself. When we finally meet Dr. No, we discover that he’s basically a cyborg. Oh, he’s never called that, of course. I don’t even know if “cyborg” was a word in 1958. But Fleming delights in telling us about Dr. No’s metal hands and the way that he glides across the floor. Fleming also delights in telling us all about the ins and outs of bat guano. Fleming came up with many creative deaths for his Bond novels but Dr. No is the first to feature suffocation by bat shit.
Dr. No is a departure from Fleming’s previous books, all of which may have featured villains with odd names but, at the same time, remained somewhat realistic. Dr. No, on the other hand, is so fanciful that it almost reads as being satire. Everything from Dr. No’s megalomania to Honeychile Ryder’s first appearance on the beach suggests that Dr. No is intentionally written to take place in a bigger-than-life fantasy world. That doesn’t mean that it’s a bad book. In fact, it’s one of Fleming’s more entertaining novels. But it’s almost as if, having brought Bond back to life, Fleming was determined to take a break from the real world with his next novel.
Interestingly, Dr. No started life as a non-Bond related screenplay. Though Fleming ultimately abandoned the script, he used it as the inspiration for his next book. It’s appropriate that, from such beginnings, Dr. No went on to serve as the basis of the first Bond film.
Through the Shattered Lens 