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As you probably know, Pierce Brosnan and Wolverhampton's own Goldie are currently hard at work filming The World is Not Enough, the 19th official 007 epic due for release in November.
Thunderball was made in 1965 for a mere $5million and marked one of the last times that a Bond movie would resemble its Ian Fleming roots in anything but name.
It proved to be a lucrative smash, released while the 007 craze was at its peak and the Cold War was an all too real threat.
On TV, The Man From UNCLE (another Fleming creation) was cashing in on the superspy bandwagon and a host of clones were gracing the fleapits, all trying to outdo Bond - but usually failing dismally.
Thunderball was the fourth outing for Sean Connery who by 1965 was concerned about being typecast as the agent with a licence to kill. Not that he minded the adulation.
"With his clothing and his cars and his wines and his women, Bond is a kind of present day survival kit," he remarked at the time. "Men would like to imitate him - or at least his success - and women are excited by him."
Adolfo Celi (later to star in the BBC's unintentionally hilarious historical epic, The Borgias) gives one of the best performances of the series as Emilio Largo the vicious, sadistic number two man of SPECTRE.
The gorgeous Claudine Auger does a superb job as love interest Domino while Luciana Paruzzi pops up as Viona Folpe, a deadly femme fatale.
Why, you may wonder?
Well, the plot is good but probably not good enough to warrant two rehashes. The main reason is producer Kevin McClory, one of the few people outside the Broccoli dynasty who owns the rights to a Bond story and he's not foolish enough to leave the franchise well alone.
A decision which would have been ideal for the makers of Casino Royale. Its attempt to spoof the genre backfired louder than an Aston Martin with the choke out for an hour.
If that leaves a nasty taste in the mouth then fear not as the far more reliable You Only Live Twice set the series back on track. With a polished script by Roald Dahl, the first of the huge, trademark set pieces (inside a volcano) and enough stunts to give Indiana Jones a run for his money, this is everything a Bond film should be.
But back to Thunderball.
It's a polished little number boasting a terrific title track by Tom Jones, a sublime John Barry score and the usual bevy of gorgeous girls.
There's also a host of optional extras including a jet pack, Aston Martin DB5, a watch complete with Geiger counter and a pen that fires flares - handy for sticky situations but a bit embarrassing while trying to sign cheques.
Look after it for a couple of hours and try and bring it back in one piece won't you?
© 1999 Roger Crow
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