Please submit new posts to: DailySquashReport@gmail.com
We will not list the author's name unless specified.
Comments can be added directly to existing posts by clicking on "comments".
The answer is very probably yes that James Bond played squash. I base my conclusion on the following logic:
1. Ian Fleming used much of his own background in creating James Bond’s character
2. Ian Fleming was an all-around sportsman at Eton
3. Squash, in one form or another, has been played at Eton since before Ian Fleming was a student there in the mid-20s.
4. Therefore, Ian Fleming probably played squash and so did James Bond.
Bond Recommendations:
I haven’t read any of the post-Ian Fleming books and would recommend not starting with the short stories. From Russia with Love and Goldfinger would be good starter books because the movies follow them closely. I did like You Only Live Twice as a book because of all of the fascinating tidbits that were thrown in about Japanese culture, which was much more alien back then (I saw that movie 3 times in its first week - - twice on the Saturday it opened).
By the time you get to Moonraker, there is little similarity between the movie and the book. The original Casino Royale is a farce and intentionally so at that. I would say that in the traditional sense of story, especially for those of us that grew up with Sean Connery, that the early movies held truer to the books than the later ones (although Diamonds are Forever wasn’t bad). All of that said, I would have to give my vote to the Daniel Craig Casino Royale. Although M is now a woman (and in this case all the better for it), Daniel Craig’s James Bond is by far closer to the James Bond that Ian Fleming wrote about, capturing a man who can be a cold blooded killer on the one hand and a very human being on the other.
Did not read any of the Fleming novels but recall some items from a biography many years ago.
Your deductive reasoning was very mathematical.
Of interest in the article was Bond attending Fettes, which does list squash currently as one of their sports. A school in Scotland, it seems appropriate that Sean Connery was the first Bond.
Bond groupies seem to think more of Daniel Craig than I do. I like Pierce Brosnan the best. Bond girls? Halle Berry (Die Another Day), Corinne Cléry (Mookraker), Molly Peters (Thunderball), Sophie Marceau (The World Is Not Enough), in descending order.
Of the last 9 movies (post Connery and Moore), I like Living Daylights and Skyfall the most.
Since Bond (as we think we know) is a work of fiction, Funston Runner's rebuttal seems to be the logical conclusion if we were to take the whole character literally.
However, as we all know from the various chase movies filmed in cities such as San Francisco, works of fiction often take poetic license with reality.
My opinion is that since Bond can do anything, he likely can play squash, as his upbringing would have surely exposed him to the sport, but chose not to do it in any of his adventures shown in the movies.
Though they never showed it of course, it could have been logical that Bond, James Bond, played squash at that rehab facility in "Never Say Never, Again" when they were trying to get the free radicals out of his system.
One would hope that there won't be the bickering that surrounded the release of "Never Say Never, Again." That movie which was almost a rogue one that was not allowed to use the Bond music, is still not consider an "official" Bond movie by Eon Productions.
An old Sean Connery trying to prance around with Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera was tough to watch. That Bond would have been difficult to bend over and pick up a racquet (Connery was 53 years old when that movie was released).
Of course it was released the same year as probably one of the weakest Roger Moore entry, Octopussy. I thought the creative team behind the Bond movies was getting lazy, using Maud Adams again as the Bond girl after she had appeared in a prior film "Man With A Golden Gun" as a girlfriend of the villain. The Octopussy harem reminded me of Pussy Galore's flying team in Goldfinger. The similar plot lines continued later with the hijacked submarines in Spy Who Loved Me that was reminiscent of the underwater scenes in Thunderball.
After clicking a few Wiki buttons, I happened upon 'The Black Belly of the Tarantula" that I've place in my Netflix queue.
It can't be very good, but has 3 former Bond Girls in this Italian detective series....The method of elimination is truly in the 70's mode of international intrigue.
Bond Probably Played Squash
ReplyDeleteThe answer is very probably yes that James Bond played squash. I base my conclusion on the following logic:
1. Ian Fleming used much of his own background in creating James Bond’s character
2. Ian Fleming was an all-around sportsman at Eton
3. Squash, in one form or another, has been played at Eton since before Ian Fleming was a student there in the mid-20s.
4. Therefore, Ian Fleming probably played squash and so did James Bond.
Bond Recommendations:
I haven’t read any of the post-Ian Fleming books and would recommend not starting with the short stories. From Russia with Love and Goldfinger would be good starter books because the movies follow them closely. I did like You Only Live Twice as a book because of all of the fascinating tidbits that were thrown in about Japanese culture, which was much more alien back then (I saw that movie 3 times in its first week - - twice on the Saturday it opened).
By the time you get to Moonraker, there is little similarity between the movie and the book. The original Casino Royale is a farce and intentionally so at that. I would say that in the traditional sense of story, especially for those of us that grew up with Sean Connery, that the early movies held truer to the books than the later ones (although Diamonds are Forever wasn’t bad). All of that said, I would have to give my vote to the Daniel Craig Casino Royale. Although M is now a woman (and in this case all the better for it), Daniel Craig’s James Bond is by far closer to the James Bond that Ian Fleming wrote about, capturing a man who can be a cold blooded killer on the one hand and a very human being on the other.
Moose,
ReplyDeleteDid not read any of the Fleming novels but recall some items from a biography many years ago.
Your deductive reasoning was very mathematical.
Of interest in the article was Bond attending Fettes, which does list squash currently as one of their sports. A school in Scotland, it seems appropriate that Sean Connery was the first Bond.
http://www.fettes.com/fettes-college/sport/minor-sports/
I recently watched the 23 Eon Productions movies and don’t recall Bond, James Bond playing squash.
ReplyDeleteGolf, baccarat, skeet shooting, target shooting, equestrian, fencing, cards, yes. Squash, no.
Bond groupies seem to think more of Daniel Craig than I do. I like Pierce Brosnan the best. Bond girls? Halle Berry (Die Another Day), Corinne Cléry (Mookraker), Molly Peters (Thunderball), Sophie Marceau (The World Is Not Enough), in descending order.
Of the last 9 movies (post Connery and Moore), I like Living Daylights and Skyfall the most.
Since Bond (as we think we know) is a work of fiction, Funston Runner's rebuttal seems to be the logical conclusion if we were to take the whole character literally.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as we all know from the various chase movies filmed in cities such as San Francisco, works of fiction often take poetic license with reality.
My opinion is that since Bond can do anything, he likely can play squash, as his upbringing would have surely exposed him to the sport, but chose not to do it in any of his adventures shown in the movies.
After all, can one see Goldfinger, Blofeld or Dr. No playing squash?
ReplyDeleteHow about Odd Job, if his opponent played a double-bounce?
ReplyDeleteHard to imagine Odd Job in shorts. Or Jaws for that matter.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Javier Bardem's character in Skyfall. He seemed athletic enough.
Or Miranda Frost, who was handy with a sword.
May Day (A View to a Kill)
ReplyDeleteXenia Onatopp from Golden Eye. Both she and May Day were very athletic!
ReplyDeleteThough they never showed it of course, it could have been logical that Bond, James Bond, played squash at that rehab facility in "Never Say Never, Again" when they were trying to get the free radicals out of his system.
ReplyDeleteOne would hope that there won't be the bickering that surrounded the release of "Never Say Never, Again." That movie which was almost a rogue one that was not allowed to use the Bond music, is still not consider an "official" Bond movie by Eon Productions.
ReplyDeleteAn old Sean Connery trying to prance around with Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera was tough to watch. That Bond would have been difficult to bend over and pick up a racquet (Connery was 53 years old when that movie was released).
Of course it was released the same year as probably one of the weakest Roger Moore entry, Octopussy. I thought the creative team behind the Bond movies was getting lazy, using Maud Adams again as the Bond girl after she had appeared in a prior film "Man With A Golden Gun" as a girlfriend of the villain. The Octopussy harem reminded me of Pussy Galore's flying team in Goldfinger. The similar plot lines continued later with the hijacked submarines in Spy Who Loved Me that was reminiscent of the underwater scenes in Thunderball.
After clicking a few Wiki buttons, I happened upon 'The Black Belly of the Tarantula" that I've place in my Netflix queue.
ReplyDeleteIt can't be very good, but has 3 former Bond Girls in this Italian detective series....The method of elimination is truly in the 70's mode of international intrigue.