Thunderball (novel)

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Title Thunderball

First edition cover - published by Jonathan Cape.
Author	Ian Fleming
Cover artist	Richard Chopping (Jonathan Cape ed.)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	James Bond
Genre(s)	Spy novel
Publisher	Glidrose Productions
Released	27 March 1961
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	For Your Eyes Only
Followed by	The Spy Who Loved Me

Thunderball is the ninth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. It was created with the intention of being turned into a film, and officially credited as being 'based on a screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming', a shared credit which has been the subject of much controversy. The novel was first published on March 27, 1961 and stands, technically, as the first novelisation of a James Bond screenplay, even though, at the time it was written and published, no such film had yet been produced. It was subsequently adapted as a daily comic strip, beginning in 1961.

To date, Thunderball has twice been adapted for the cinema. The first adaptation, also titled Thunderball, was released in 1965 as the fourth official Bond film in the EON Productions series, with Sean Connery as James Bond. McClory later produced an unofficial remake, 1983's Never Say Never Again, which again starred Connery as Bond. Thunderball was originally scheduled to have been the first James Bond film, in 1962, but this was later changed to Dr. No due to a lawsuit brought about by McClory.

The novel features the first and technically last appearance of the criminal organisation SPECTRE in its full form in Ian Fleming's novels. The book also features the first appearance of Bond's greatest enemy, SPECTRE leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld, although 007 does not actually meet the man in this book. This differs from the films, which introduced SPECTRE in Dr. No and Blofeld in From Russia with Love. Thunderball is the first book in what is known as the 'Blofeld trilogy' which, after the interlude novel The Spy Who Loved Me, resumes with On Her Majesty's Secret Service and concludes with You Only Live Twice.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters in Thunderball 3 The controversy over the novel 3.1 From a screenplay to a novel 3.2 Bond Battle Royale 4 Literary significance & criticism 5 Publication history 6 Comic strip adaptation 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Thunderball begins with a meeting between M and Bond, during which 007 is informed that his latest physical assessment delivered terrible results, due to his drinking and smoking sixty cigarettes a day. M sends Bond on a two week vacation to the Shrublands health farm in the country so that he can work off some of these bad habits and improve his health. While there Bond comes into contact with a man named Count Lippe who has a secret association with the Red Lightning Tong, a criminal organisation headquartered in Macao. When Bond learns of this, Lippe attempts to kill Bond by turning up the power on Bond's traction machine, hoping that by eliminating Bond he will not be able to make a connection to a new and secret terrorist organisation of which he is a member. Bond, however, is saved by Patricia Fearing, a nurse at the heath club. He later retaliates against Lippe by trapping him in a steam bath which results in second degree burns and a one week stay at the hospital.

Upon his return to London, Bond is a new man, following a new diet and smoking considerably less. This "new" Bond is ready for action when the British Secret Service receives a communiqué from a new terrorist organisation, SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) informing them that they have hijacked a new military aircraft, the Villiers Vindicator (a fictional V bomber) and are now in possession of the two nuclear warheads that were aboard. Unless a ransom of £100,000,000 is paid, SPECTRE will destroy a major city.

SPECTRE is headed by the criminal mastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld who has no tolerance for failure. Count Lippe was sent to the Shrublands by SPECTRE to oversee Giuseppe Petacchi at the Boscombe Down Airfield where the bombing squadron was undergoing training. While Lippe's mission was semi-successful he was considered "unreliable" by Blofeld after getting into his childish clash with James Bond. As a consequence of Lippe being put into the hospital, Blofeld orders his elimination. Petacchi, who is a NATO observer from the Italian Air Force was paid to hijack the military aircraft mid-flight by killing all onboard and redirecting the aircraft to the Bahamas. Once there, Blofeld's right hand, Emilio Largo and the crew of the cruiser Disco Volante, kill Petacchi rather than pay him and steal the two nuclear warheads. This plan is dubbed "Plan Omega" by Blofeld and is overseen by Largo, who at this point has the SPECTRE designation "Number 1" for security reasons.

To the Americans and the British, the task of foiling SPECTRE and recovering the two warheads is dubbed "Operation Thunderball." James Bond is sent to the Bahamas to investigate a hunch M has. Once there, he meets up with his friend Felix Leiter, who is once again working for the CIA as a result of the current crisis (in his previous appearance, Leiter had been working as a private detective after losing an arm and a leg while assisting Bond in Live and Let Die). Bond also meets Dominetta "Domino" Vitali, Largo's mistress and the sister of Giuseppe Petacchi while in Nassau. She is staying on Largo's yacht, the Disco Volante, and believes Largo is in the area on a treasure hunt. For reasons she does not understand Largo makes her stay on land while he and his partners go prospecting for the hidden treasure. After learning that Largo had Petacchi killed, Bond informs Domino who he recruits as an ally to spy on Largo for him. Domino returns to the Disco Volante with a Geiger counter to verify the ship as the location of the two stolen nuclear bombs, however, she is uncovered and taken prisoner. Largo tortures her by burning her with a cigar for heat and then using ice cubes for cold.

Bond and Leiter alert the "Thunderball war room" of their suspicion of Largo and team up with the crew of the Manta, an American nuclear submarine as the deadline for the ransom nears. The Manta pursues the Disco Volante hoping to capture and seize the warheads while they are being transported to the first target. An undersea battle ensues between the two crews while Largo squares off in a battle against Bond. Before Largo is able to eliminate Bond, however, he is shot in the neck by Domino with a spear fired from an underwater gun. The two nuclear warheads are recovered and Bond spends the remainder of the story in a hospital with Domino.

[edit] Characters in Thunderball

• James Bond - British Secret Service agent, Commander James Bond 007, is the protagonist of the story that is called into action to investigate the evil-doings of a new terrorist organisation. He allies himself with his friend Felix Leiter of the CIA and is able to woo the beautiful Domino to his aid in order to stave off a nuclear disaster.

• M - M is the codename of Bond's boss in the Secret Service. After sending Bond on a heath retreat he assigns Bond to "Operation Thunderball." He is frequently helped by his secretary Miss Moneypenny and his Chief of Staff Bill Tanner.

• Ernst Stavro Blofeld - Head of the terrorist organisation, SPECTRE, he is labelled as #2 for security reasons. He oversees all "projects" being carried out and has no tolerance for failure. A criminal mastermind, he tasks Emilio Largo with stealing two nuclear warheads while he announces the existence of SPECTRE to the world and demands a £100,000,000 ransom.

• Emilio Largo - A subordinate of Blofeld and a member of the terrorist organisation SPECTRE, he is labelled #1 for security reasons. Within the organisation he is second in command and stands to inherit it if Blofeld were to be captured or killed. He oversees "Plan Omega," which involves the hijacking of two nuclear warheads mid-flight.

• Felix Leiter - A long time agent of the CIA, Leiter was maimed by a shark in the previous adventure Live and Let Die. Thereafter he worked for Pinkerton National Detective Agency due to his disability until being called back by the CIA to aid with "Operation Thunderball" where he later meets up with long time friend James Bond.

• Domino Vitali - "Domino," short for Dominetta, is the traditional Bond girl of the story. After studying acting at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she returned to Italy where she became an actress. She later met and became Emilio Largo's mistress. Domino is Giuseppe Petacchi's sister.

• Giuseppe Petacchi - A pilot in the Italian Air Force, he works as a NATO observer who is sent on a test flight. He is recruited by SPECTRE agent, Signor Fonda and paid to hijack the new military aircraft, the Villiers Vindicator by killing the pilots and redirecting the plane to the Bahamas. Once there he is betrayed by Emilio Largo and killed. Petacchi is Domino Vitali's brother.

• Count Lippe - A member of the Red Lightning Tong, he is later recruited by SPECTRE for his expertise in conspiracy. He is sent to the Shrublands health farm from where he is supposed to keep an eye on Giuseppe Petacchi at the nearby military base. While there, however, he runs into James Bond, whom he attempts to kill by turning up the power on the traction table Bond is using. After surviving Bond traps Lippe in a steam bath in retaliation resulting in second-degree burns and Lippe being hospitalised for one week. Blofeld ultimately orders Lippe's elimination for being unreliable due to his childish clash with Bond.

• Patricia Fearing - A minor Bond girl and nurse at the Shrublands heath farm, she saves Bond after Count Lippe attempts to kill him on the traction table.

[edit] The controversy over the novel

[edit] From a screenplay to a novel

Thunderball originally was conceived as the first entry in a film series for Xanadu Productions, formed by Ian Fleming, Ernest Cuneo, Ivar Bryce and Kevin McClory. The first draft was written as a short story by Cuneo and sent to Bryce. It was specifically designed around an idea by Kevin McClory to shoot the film underwater using Todd-AO cameras developed by Mike Todd, McClory's previous employer. The story would later go through several rewrites, although some elements from Cuneo's version would remain in the final novelised story by Fleming.

The villains of the initial screenplay were Russians but after the first draft the villains were changed to the fictional terrorist organisation SPECTRE. Some sources, including Raymond Benson's The James Bond Bedside Companion,^[1] claim that both Cuneo and Bryce believed the idea of SPECTRE came from McClory. Other sources including the article "Inside Thunderball",^[2] by Fleming biographer John Cork, also the creator of documentaries, and DVD featurettes on Ian Fleming and the James Bond films also claims SPECTRE was created by Fleming. In support of this claim Cork produced a memo written by Fleming in which Fleming calls for the change to SPECTRE:

Fleming is said to have had an attraction to the word "spectre" as he had previously used it in his fourth novel, Diamonds Are Forever, in the name of a fictional U.S. town near Las Vegas called "Spectreville". He also used a similar sounding word, "spektor", as a top secret decoding machine in From Russia with Love. Further revisions by Fleming of the novel Thunderball removed SPECTRE as the main villain and inserted the Mafia, which according to Cork remained for all future revisions. Fleming also introduced the villain "Henrico Largo" and the Bond girl "Dominique (Domino) Smith," an agent working out of Scotland Yard. Fleming also conceived many of the main plot points from the novel and film including the theft of a nuclear device and the ending in which Bond, Leiter and the U.S. frogman battle Largo's men underwater.

Jack Whittingham was hired in 1959 to rewrite the story into a workable screenplay. Some of his additions included the characters Jack Petachi, later changed to Giuseppe Petacchi in Fleming's novel, and Sophia, whose role was largely transferred to Domino's in the novel. The rest of the project was a collaborative effort between McClory, Whittingham, and Fleming over a two-year period. During this time, Xanadu went out of business and Ernest Cuneo supposedly sold his rights to the drafts of Thunderball to Ivar Bryce for one dollar.

The finished screenplay was meant to be produced by Kevin McClory; however, McClory's recent unsuccessful film, The Boy and the Bridge, led to complications with securing proper financial backing for film production. In John Pearson's biography of Fleming, The Life of Ian Fleming, Pearson claimed that McClory had visited Fleming at Goldeneye, Fleming's house in Jamaica, where Fleming explained to McClory his intention to deliver the screenplay to MCA with his recommendation for McClory to produce the film.^[3] Additionally, Fleming told McClory that if MCA were to reject the film because of McClory's involvement then McClory should either sell himself to MCA, back out, or prepare to go to court. A few months later Fleming sold Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli the film rights to the current series of published books, as well as future James Bond novels except for Casino Royale, the rights for which had already been sold to other parties.

Because the deal between Fleming and McClory collapsed, Fleming novelised the story and the screenplay into his ninth James Bond novel. In this novelisation Fleming included a scene at the Shrublands health farm where Bond is sent to due to his health. Fleming himself was sent to Enton Hall in Surrey in April 1956 for hydrotherapy, however unlike Bond's return from the health farm as a "new man," Fleming's trip was unsuccessful in dealing with his heart condition. Initially, the novel credited only Ian Fleming as writer, with a dedication to his friend Ernest Cuneo ("Muse"). Prior to publication, McClory received an advanced copy of the book and consequently filed suit along with Whittingham against Fleming in 1961 for "plagiarism and false attribution." McClory also filed a lawsuit against Ivar Bryce for "injuring him as a false partner in Xanadu Productions." The courts ruled that the lawsuit would not interfere with the publication of the novel because a number of books had already been shipped to retailers but the lawsuit prevented Thunderball from becoming the first James Bond film even though screenwriter Richard Maibaum, who in the future would adapt and co-write thirteen of the first sixteen James Bond films, did complete a screenplay adaptation.

In December 1963 Fleming settled out of court with McClory at the behest of Ivar Bryce, who felt Fleming's health was being seriously affected by stress from the lawsuit (Fleming had already been victim to one heart attack and in 1964 would die from a second). During the lawsuit, Whittingham had assigned his rights to the scripts to McClory. The settlement forced future versions of Thunderball to credit on the copyright page: "based on a screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming," in that order though Ian Fleming's main author credit remained. McClory was given the right to make a film adaptation of the book as well as the rights to all aspects of Thunderball, which supposedly included the rights to the villainous organisation SPECTRE, the character Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Blofeld's white Persian cat, and nine additional plot treatments and outlines.^[4] In an October 1997 interview with The Daily Telegraph, McClory stated this included the rights to any James Bond film plot that would include an "atomic bomb hijacking."^[5]

[edit] Bond Battle Royale

After being awarded the rights to make a film, McClory unsuccessfully attempted to get backing for filming Thunderball. Later, he reluctantly went to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli and proposed collaborating on an adaptation of Thunderball as the fourth official James Bond film in 1964. In 1965, Thunderball was released starring Sean Connery as agent 007. Like many James Bond films, it was promoted as "Ian Fleming's Thunderball." The screenplay was credited to Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins, but was written as being "Based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham," which also was credited as being "Based on the original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming." Whittingham's sole original screenplay credit is usually omitted from posters and other promotional materials.

In the agreement between EON, McClory agreed that he would not attempt to make another Thunderball adaptation for twelve years. During that twelve years, McClory's ownership of the Thunderball film rights did not prevent further Bond films, specifically, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Diamonds Are Forever from featuring Blofeld, SPECTRE, and the Persian cat.

In 1976, after the twelve-year agreement expired, McClory teamed up with Sean Connery to write an original James Bond adventure. The reported to be titled either Warhead 8, Warhead, or James Bond of the Secret Service with Connery potentially directing and starring. This original Bond adventure was scrapped when United Artists filed suit against McClory, who at the time did not have the finances to engage in a legal suit. John Brosnan's book James Bond in the Cinema claimed that McClory and Connery learned specific plot details for The Spy Who Loved Me that were supposedly similar to Thunderball and Warhead.^[6] Early scripts for The Spy Who Loved Me indeed featured Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE as the main villains of the film. They were later replaced by Karl Stromberg and his unnamed organisation.

In the 1980s, McClory finally was able to contest the rights to the James Bond character when he met Jack Schwartzman who helped get backing from Warner Bros. and win the support of the British High Court against United Artists. Consequently, Schwartzman and McClory produced the 1983 film Never Say Never Again, a remake of Thunderball scripted by Lorenzo Semple Jr. that starred Sean Connery as James Bond in a much-publicised return to the role after a 12-year hiatus. That same year, EON Productions released Octopussy starring Roger Moore as agent 007. The media quickly dubbed this unique situation the "Battle of the Bonds," particularly during a brief period when both films were scheduled to arrive in cinemas nearly simultaneously (they were ultimately released several months apart, and were both box office successes).

In the 1990s Sony and McClory together planned another remake of Thunderball, titled Warhead 2000 A.D., with reportedly either Liam Neeson as Bond or with Timothy Dalton returning to the role. In 1997, Sony announced a rival James Bond series, which forced MGM and Danjaq, LLC (owner of EON Productions) to file suit against Sony and McClory, barring them from making the film. Plans for this third movie were abandoned in 1999 when Sony settled out of court with MGM, ceding any rights to making James Bond films. McClory still claimed ownership of the film rights to Thunderball, although MGM and EON have also asserted McClory's rights to Thunderball have expired. As part of the settlement, MGM relinquished their partial rights to Spider-Man, allowing Sony to release the film in 2002. MGM obtained the film distribution rights to Never Say Never Again in 1997 after their acquisition of Orion Pictures.

In the middle of the onslaught of lawsuits between Sony and MGM, Sony countersued MGM in 1998 attempting to claim that McClory was the co-author of the cinematic Bond and was owed fees from Danjaq and MGM for all past films. This matter, which McClory calls "The Greatest Act of Piracy in the History of the Motion Picture Industry," was thrown out in 2000 by Judge Edward Rafeedie on the ground that McClory had waited too long to bring his claims. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Rafeedie's decision soon thereafter ^[7]. Judge M. Margaret McKeown at the time wrote: "So, like our hero James Bond, exhausted after a long adventure, we reach the end of our story."^[8].

As it turned out, in 2005 MGM was acquired by a Sony/Comcast-led consortium allowing Sony Pictures Entertainment to become responsible for the distribution of the Bond series beginning with Casino Royale (2006). McClory later died on November 20, 2006 at the age of 80. It is currently unknown what will become of the Thunderball material which he claimed he owned.

[edit] Literary significance & criticism

Like most of Thunderball's predecessors, Fleming's novel was praised in numerous reviews. The Times said: "The Mixture - of good living, sex and violent action -is as before, but this highly polished performance, with an ingenious plot, well documented, and plenty of excitement."^[9] The Financial Times said it was Fleming's best since Diamonds Are Forever and the New York Times said, "The book is a mystery story, a thriller, a chiller, and a pleasure to read." ^[10]

[edit] Publication history

[edit] Comic strip adaptation

Main article: James Bond comic strips

As with all previous Bond books, a comic strip adaptation of Fleming's original novel was published as a daily comic strip in the British Daily Express newspaper and syndicated around the world. The adaptation began on December 11, 1961, however, the Daily Express suddenly cancelled the strip (on the orders of Lord Beaverbrook) on February 10, 1962, when a dispute between Beaverbrook and Fleming occurred over the rights to the short story of "The Living Daylights". Fleming had sold the rights to the Sunday Times, a rival newspaper, which upset Beaverbrook to the point of terminating his relationship with Fleming. Writer Henry Gammidge and illustrator John McLusky were given only a few days' notice and were forced to wrap up the story in only two daily strips.

The original strip seen in the Daily Express only got to the point in the story where Giuseppe Petacchi hijacked the plane and the two nuclear warheads for SPECTRE. The strip ended in the next panel (#1117), stating that afterwards SPECTRE sent their demands to the Western governments and that all agents, including Bond, were sent out in search for the hijacked plane. The final line reads, "Bond finds them and the world is safe." Six more panels for the Daily Express version were originally completed by artist John McLusky detailing the hijacking of the plane; however, they were never printed. A further six panels were also created to expand and conclude the story. These additions are included in a number of syndicated versions of the strip.

During the short time of the dispute between Ian Fleming and Lord Beaverbrook, Fleming at one point attempted to satirize Beaverbrook by writing a short story about a newspaper editor named Caffery Bone entitled "The Shameful Dream." The story went unfinished and was suppressed during Fleming's lifetime.^[11] Beaverbrook and Fleming would later work out their differences, and the James Bond comic strip would resume in the Daily Express in June 1964 with an adaptation of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but the adaptation of Thunderball was never completed. The abbreviated Thunderball strip was reprinted by Titan Books in 2004 and is a part of the Goldfinger anthology that also includes Goldfinger, "Risico," "From a View to a Kill," and "For Your Eyes Only."

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Casino Royale history for further information on the James Bond legal battles between Sony and MGM.

[edit] External links

• "McClory, Sony and Bond: A History Lesson — Universal Exports
• Thunderball obsessional; a website devoted to all things, Thunderball