With speculation mounting in various quarters about the nature of the next James Bond movie (Bond 26), and who the new 007 will possibly be, it is worth remembering that new actors in the role have often benefited from continuity in the support cast. The character ‘M’ is a good case in point and, during the course of the franchise, the various ‘M’s have helped ease in new Bond actors. There is no reason why this should change, and recent suggestions in the media about who could be cast as a new ‘M’ have come up with some truly bizarre candidates.
Indeed, there is much to be said for retaining the services of highly respected and award-winning actor Ralph Fiennes in the role of ‘M’, just as Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and Judi Dench all helped a new Bond settle in. In Bernard Lee’s case, he oversaw no less than three actors in the role of 007 (Connery, Lazenby and Moore). Audiences did not complain. Far from it. While trawling through the JBIFC’s archives recently, a short interview with Bernard, conducted by the Club in 1980, re-emerged, in which he provides some background to his acting career and some brief thoughts on the Bond franchise.
Live and Let ‘M’
In the eyes of some Bond scholars, Bernard Lee (1908-1981), made his interpretation of 007’s boss very faithful to the original Ian Fleming novels. In all, he played ‘M’ in eleven James Bond films. Back in 1980, John Bernard Lee (his full name) very kindly gave a brief interview to the JBIFC, not long after the release of Moonraker.
Little did we know it at the time, but Bernard was experiencing serious health problems, and sadly died in January, 1981, of stomach cancer. Filming had already started on For Your Eyes Only, but Bernard passed away before his traditional scenes as ‘M’ could be filmed. It would have have been difficult for him to reprise his role anyway, as his health had deteriorated and he was finding it a big challenge to speak clearly and remember lines. As a tribute to the actor, the film-makers decided to leave the character ‘M’ out of the script and just say he was ‘on leave’. As Bond fans know, Robert Brown became the new ‘M’ in the following Bond movie Octopussy, and reprised the role in A View To A Kill (Roger Moore’s final James Bond film). Brown stayed on as ‘M’ for the two Timothy Dalton James Bond adventures, helping to ease in the ‘new boy’. It was a smooth transition.
The following brief extracts from the interview with Bernard Lee first appeared in the Club’s 007 newsletter (no.5, August, 1980), and we thought a new generation of Bond fans might enjoy reading them.
Interview With Bernard Lee (extracts):
Fan Club: How did you come to be an actor?
Bernard Lee: Well, firstly, I wanted to become a professional footballer! I went to school in Southampton. I played centre-half for the Corinthians (an amateur side) until I was 17. I never did homework at school, spending most of my time at Southampton Hippodrome. I came to discover the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (they call it RADA now – don’t get it mixed up with DECCA). I saved the money and did an audition and was accepted. While I was there I read The Stage and answered an advert for an audition for Edgar Wallace’s play The Ringer and, funnily enough, I got the job – my first. I may add en passant, that I also did a commercial in Auberley Street with a now international star – Rex Harrison. We got £2.10 each! I was taught by Claude Rains for two months and he told me “you’ll be a good actor one day, Lee”. I took that as a great compliment from a man I deeply respected. I then appeared in American films with Humphrey Bogart, Gina Lollobrigida, Jennifer Jones, Peter Lorre… you name them, they were all there. Walter Huston offered me a starring role which I refused because I felt lost in America, somewhat frightened.
FC: How did you become involved in the Bond films?
BL: Well, I knew Cubby, having worked with him previously in Father Brown and Fire Down Below (with Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemon and Herbert Lom) and when casting for Dr. No he must have thought of me. Cubby loves the Bond films, he loves actors. He is a wonderful person. Myself, I’d never read a Bond book.
FC: Did you ever imagine the Bonds would be a run-away success in 1962?
BL: No way. But the future of the series depended on the success of that project.
FC: Do people recognise you in the street?
BL: People do come up to me and ask me for my autograph – and most actors enjoy signing autographs; people enjoy asking questions about Sean Connery and Roger Moore. I say they’re different. Sean is a very dour Scot – he’s very private. I remember when his brother Neil made Operation Kid Brother, Sean was furious. Funnily enough, when Sean was asked in a radio interview what part of a Bond film he most enjoyed acting in, he said “the scenes with Bernard Lee because I don’t have to worry about the acting”. I suppose because he doesn’t have little girls stifling him or gadgets flying around him!
(There were plenty of other revelations from Bernard, but the JBIFC at the time had to take the difficult decision not to include some of his observations, as they could have upset some fragile egos). Needless to say, Bernard Lee was very generous with his time and loved to look back over his long and illustrious career.
‘Operation Kid Brother’
Both Bernard Lee and Louis Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny) took roles in Operation Kid Brother (1967), an Italian movie which sought to cash in on the spy movie craze of the 1960s. The film was also released in Europe under the titles O.K. Connery and even Secret Agent 00. In fact, the film not only had Sean Connery’s brother Neil (a plasterer from Edinburgh) in the starring role, but also had parts for a number of other familiar Bond movie faces: Anthony Dawson, Daniela Bianchi, and Adolfo Celi. Sean was not best pleased. Louis Maxwell later claimed that she and Bernard Lee only took the roles because she and Lee were paid more money for their roles in the movie than for their respective roles as Moneypenny and ‘M’ in the Bond series.
From ‘M’ With Love
While we are all very aware of the superb acting credentials of past ‘M’s such as Dame Judy Dench and the current ‘M’ Ralph Fiennes, let’s not forget that RADA-trained Bernard Lee was a star of both theatre and film, and had major roles in some of the classic films of post-war British cinema, such as The Third Man (1949), The Blue Lamp (1950), The Battle of the River Plate ((1956), Dunkirk (1958), and Whistle Down the Wind (1961). He also became a veteran of TV, with a wide range of guest roles in iconic series such as The Baron, The Champions and The Persuaders, to name just a few.
The acting tradition has continued in Bernard Lee’s family: Lee’s grandson is the Kingston-born actor Jonny Lee Miller, who has appeared in acclaimed films such as Trainspotting (1996) and in popular TV series such as the CBS drama Elementary, where he played a modern version of Sherlock Holmes.
Did You Know?
The late Sir Roger Moore, reminiscing in his book Bond on Bond (2012), said he had worked with ‘Bernie’ on a couple of occasions prior to Live and Let Die – in the movie Crossplot and in the TV series The Persuaders. However, Roger revealed that he ‘very nearly didn’t get to work with him’ in his debut as Bond, ‘as, just before filming commenced’, Lee’s wife Gladys tragically died in a house fire: ‘Uncertain as to whether Bernie would be able to reprise his role, the producers suggested that I ask Kenneth More if he would be prepared to step in. Kenneth agreed that he could be available on condition his fee be sent to Bernie’. However, Bernard insisted that he would return, and the scenes were filmed on Pinewood’s B-stage, which was dressed up as Bond’s flat. As many fans agree, Bernard Lee played his scenes as ‘M’ in a suitably testy way and there is some sparkling dialogue between Bond and his exasperated MI6 boss. It was a superb ‘intro’ for Roger’s debut as 007.
