WCBE 90.5 FM: "Goldfinger," "Casino Royale-67," Man with the Golden Gun," "Die Another Day"

WCBE: James Bond EVERGREEN-Final
"It’s Movie Time: "Goldfinger," "Casino Royale 67," "Man with the Golden Gun," "Die Another Day"
Co-hosts, writers & producers: John DeSando & Clay Lowe
Air Time: Friday, 8:01 pm, November 24, 2006
streaming live on the web at http://www.wcbe.org .

John

Sean Connery in "Goldfinger" is the gold standard of the Bonds . . .

Clay

David Niven plays an aging James Bond in the first "Casino Royale" . . .

John

Roger Moore in "Man with the Golden Gun" is the fool’s gold of Bonds . . .

Clay

Pierce Brosnan snuggles up with Halle Berry in "Die Another Day" . . .

HIT MUSIC, THEN UP THEN UNDER FOR:

Richelle Antczak McCuen

"It's Movie Time" in Columbus with John DeSando and Clay Lowe. .

MUSIC BRIEFLY UP THEN SLOWLY DOWN AND OUT

John

I'm John DeSando

Clay

And I'm Clay Lowe

Folks, what with the release of a highly rated collection of James Bond DVDs (20 in all), and the arrival on the scene of Daniel Craig as a new James Bond starring in a "Casino Royale" remake, it's time to take a quick look back at some of the former James Bond's and how they have fared on the screen.
John ("Goldfinger" 130 words)

My enduring affection for the Bond series was born in my fascination with the beautiful women, astonishing technology, and eccentric bad guys of Goldfinger from 1964. Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore is rude and independent, claiming she is immune to Bond’s charms while Shirley Eaton is a golden girl whose painted skin has limited breathing space.

Gert Frobe is an unforgettable villain, Goldfinger, whose modest plan is to take over Fort Knox.  Besides his solid gold auto, even his furniture moves with the push of a button.  His mute Korean manservant, Oddjob, sails a deadly derby as smoothly as a talented collegian’s frisbee on a summer’s day.

The Gold prize goes to the Astin Martin, which spits out oil, bullets, and
an occasional driver when the going gets rough

Clay ("Casino Royale" 126 words)

Well, folks, the first “Casino Royale” (1967) is still the wackiest Bond film yet.

Starring David Niven as the  most proper of the Bond Brits, the original also featured various Bond clones including Woody Allen, Peter Sellers, and a couple of now forgotten Jamie Bond girls.

Further complicating this psychedelic mess were five different directors who shot their own individual segments, and then, left it up to coordinating director, Val Guest, to let it all hang out in splashy, dashy, and hashy, sixties’ style.

If your idea of evil is a villain who sets out to create a world populated by beautiful women and men no taller than four foot six, then this version of “Casino Royale” is bound to be one of your favorites.

John ("Man With the Golden Gun" 127 words)

Arguably the worst Bond film, Man with the Golden Gun has more self-referential jokes than any other Bond film and some of the silliest villains, while Roger Moore shows signs of becoming droll enough to enjoy the jokes on the house.

Some of the usual Bond types appear, such as Herve Villechaize, the diminutive but lethal Nick Nack, and Britt Ekland as the helpful in many ways Mary Goodnight.

The only actor playing it straight is arch villain Christopher Lee as Scaramanga in the titular role.  He’s a world class assassin, paid $1 million per job, but his Achilles’ heel may be his respect for his prey, James Bond. Bond has to find him before he finds Bond and the Solex Agitator, which harnesses the sun’s radiation.

Clay ("Die Another Day" 128 words)

Well, folks, things were also heating up in "Die Another Day" which starred Peter Jennings-Brian Wilson look-alike Pierce Brosnan as the James Bond prototype alpha male, who was always willing to take risks, but never willing to offer regrets. 

Sounds downright presidential, eh?

He also takes as his villains the North Koreans (isn't this where we came in?), then fearlessly surfs mile high waves, skates down shattering cliffs of ice, and then risks  ultimate meltdown in the arms of an ultra sexy Jinx who is played to the hilt by the ever so sensuous actress Ms. Halle Berry.

Fast forward through the movies sagging middle but slow down when the movie finally starts exploding in a spectacular climax.
Brosnan was good, but Halle was even better.

John (Summary and "Outta here")

I watched the Bond franchise grab hold of the American imagination, helping transform an Eisenhower, post war conservatism into a Beetles loving, free loving open society.  Once you accept James Bond’s  amoral amour and lethal professionalism, the world seems both more romantic and more dangerous, a preparation for the duality of contemporary global equality and terrorist possibility.

Sean Connery’s Bond cannot be duplicated, but some form of Bond will always be with us to remind that the world is a fun place to visit if your real and figurative guns are loaded and charming.

I’m loaded and charming and outta here.

Clay

John, you ARE charming when you're loaded, but you're also way outta here, to which most of our imbibing female companions will most readily agree.

I'm outta here too.

See you at the movies, folks.

Richelle:

The Award-Winning "It's Movie Time" with John DeSando and Clay Lowe iswritten and produced by John DeSando and Clay Lowe in conjunction with 90.5FM, WCBE in Columbus, Ohio.

MUSIC UP, THEN DOWN AND OUT

Copyright by John DeSando & Clay Lowe, 2006