Talk:M (James Bond)

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I had previously figured that "M" stood for "Minister" as in Minister of Intelligence. Oh well.

Contents 1 The Man Who Was M 2 Spoiler Warning Added 3 M's name in The World is Not Enough 4 M I who I say I M?

[edit] The Man Who Was M

I understood that the first 'M' was Sir James Melville, who died in 1918. He was from Caherciveen, Co. Kerry, Ireland. Fergananim 21:14, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

What do you mean by "the first M"? As far as an inspiration for M goes, I've read a number of Fleming biographies and James Bond "historical" type books and I don't recall seeing this name. Do you have a source for this? K1Bond007 22:09, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Sure, a book that was published last year that dealt in some depth on his life and carrear. I'll look around for it and see what I can come up with. Mind you, I think I may have confused the relevant British security forces. Fergananim 00:48, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

Stella Rimington, in her book, also suggests that 'M' came from Melville

Also seems to be confirmed in Andrew Cook's book: Please see review pasted below:

M: MI5's First Spymaster, Andrew Cook

Military Review, Nov-Dec, 2005 by Andrew M. Roe M: MI5's First Spymaster, Andrew Cook, Tempus Publishing Limited, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, 2004, 287 pages, $30.00.

M: MI5 's First Spymaster is the absorbing biography of William Melville, the founding father of the British Secret Service (MI5) and the man who came to be known as the original "M." Drawing on declassified accounts and interviews with Melville's family and the descendants of those who played central roles, Andrew Cook skillfully portrays the diverse, intriguing life of Britain's first spymaster. Cook, a renowned British historian and intelligence expert, purports that Melville was "one of the most influential counter-espionage figures of the twentieth century."

While of limited utility for today's intelligence community, Melville's story is intriguing. During his career, he was involved in many of London's high-profile crime dramas, including the Jack the Ripper investigations. He also successfully countered Irish Republican Army terrorism, assassination attempts on Queen Victoria, and anarchist bomb plots.

After his secret transfer to the war office, Melville deftly coordinated the recruitment and coordination of foreign and domestic agents--arguably his greatest achievement. It is little wonder that in the James Bond novels Ian Fleming used Melville as his model for "M."

M is carefully researched and offers engaging insights into a man who contributed significantly to Britain's homeland security. Cook provides a balanced, if on occasion overly sympathetic, portrayal of an elusive, yet remarkable man. Alas, M has one small shortcoming: Cook fails to reveal the hazards and tension that accompanied many of the events he describes. This is disappointing for the lay reader, but overall, M is an enjoyable study.

That confirms that Andrew Cook thinks that he was the source of M - but is there anything from Ian Fleming quoted or mentioned to confirm that? --Charlesknight 21:23, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spoiler Warning Added

Added a spoiler warning - I am a new Bond fan and now won't enjoy Man with the Golden Gun or Licence to Kill. Thanks for nothing to the previous authors....... Well I guess that the contributions themselves are worth something so keep them coming (a little more carefully perhaps :)) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.95.7.82 (talk • contribs) .

[edit] M's name in The World is Not Enough

Wasn't M's (Judi Dench) name—or an allusion to a possible name—given in a three-way conversation between her, Bond and another character in the opening scenes? --JB Adder | Talk 03:50, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] M I who I say I M?

It is somewhat ridiculous to debate whether the "Robert Brown M" is or is not the same person as the "Bernard Lee M". Does one argue that the "Roger Moore Bond" is a different character from the "George Lazenby Bond" (his Australian cousin, perhaps?) In other words, one should not confuse the role/charcter with the actor portraying that role. There is little or no contextual evidence in the film to support the assertion that M is two different people in those films from Dr. No through Licence to Kill. By contrast, it is shown in the films that the "Dench M" is a different person. She refers to her "predecessor" and Bond is expected to know of whom she speaks--his former boss.

Amen. Rule of thumb: if a person is played by two different actors, it's the same person unless otherwise stated. Emperor001 (talk) 12:12, 14 May 2008 (UTC)