Thunderball is a 1965 spy film and the fourth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the 1961 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham devised from a story conceived by Kevin McClory, Whittingham, and Fleming. It was the third and final Bond film to be directed by Terence Young, with its screenplay by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins.
The film follows Bond's mission to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, which holds the world ransom to the tune of £100 million in diamonds under threat of destroying an unspecified metropolis in either the United Kingdom or the United States (later revealed to be Miami). The search leads Bond to the Bahamas, where he encounters Emilio Largo, the card-playing, eyepatch-wearing SPECTRE Number Two. Backed by CIA agent Felix Leiter and Largo's mistress, Domino Derval, Bond's search culminates in an underwater battle with Largo's henchmen. The film's complex production comprised four different units, and about a quarter of the film comprises underwater scenes. Thunderball was the first Bond film shot in widescreen Panavision and the first to have a running time of over two hours.
Although planned by Bond film series producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman as the first entry in the franchise, Thunderball was associated with a legal dispute in 1961 when former Fleming collaborators McClory and Whittingham sued him shortly after the 1961 publication of the novel, claiming he based it upon the screenplay the trio had written for a cinematic translation of James Bond. The lawsuit was settled out of court and Broccoli and Saltzman, fearing a rival McClory film, allowed him to retain certain screen rights to the novel's plot and characters, and for McClory to receive sole producer credit on this film; Broccoli and Saltzman instead served as executive producers.
The film was exceptionally successful: its worldwide box-office receipts of $141.2 million () exceeded not only that of each of its predecessors but that of every one of the next five Bond films that followed it. After adjusting its earnings to 2011 prices, it has made around $1 billion worldwide, making it the second-highest earning Bond film after Skyfall. In 1966, John Stears won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and BAFTA nominated production designer Ken Adam for an award. Some critics and viewers praised the film and branded it a welcome addition to the series, while others found the aquatic action repetitious. The movie was followed by 1967's You Only Live Twice. In 1983, Warner Bros. released a second film adaptation of the Thunderball novel under the title Never Say Never Again, with Connery as Bond for the last time and McClory as executive producer.
Plot
SPECTRE operative Emilio Largo plots to hold NATO ransom by hijacking two atomic bombs from an RAF Avro Vulcan bomber during a training exercise.
At the Shrublands health resort, SPECTRE operative Count Lippe has French Air Force pilot François Derval murdered and replaced by Angelo Palazzi, whose face has been surgically altered to resemble Derval's. Palazzi demands more money, to which SPECTRE agent Fiona Volpe seemingly agrees so he will complete their operation. Palazzi hijacks the bomber jet, killing its crew, and lands it in shallow Bahamian waters. As the bombs are being recovered, Largo kills Palazzi.
British secret agent James Bond, recuperating at Shrublands after a previous assignment, notices and observes Lippe. After they survive mutual assassination attempts, Bond discovers Derval's body. In London, Lippe again targets Bond but Volpe kills him, as his recruitment of Palazzi jeopardised Largo's scheme. All 00 agents are put on high alert after SPECTRE threatens to destroy a major city in the United States or United Kingdom unless they are paid £100 million within seven days. Bond requests that M assign him to Nassau, Bahamas, to make contact with Derval's sister Domino, as he recognises him as the body at the resort.
Bond meets Domino, Largo's mistress, at the beach and later at a casino with Largo. Bond and Largo engage in a cat-and-mouse game whilst feigning ignorance of each other's true identities. Bond meets with CIA agent Felix Leiter, fellow agent Paula Caplan, and MI6 quartermaster Q, and is issued new espionage equipment, including an underwater infrared camera and miniature underwater breathing apparatus. Investigating Largo's ship, the Disco Volante, he discovers an underwater hatch. Largo has Paula kidnapped, and Bond infiltrates his estate at night and finds her dead. He escapes the compound and evades Largo's men during a Junkanoo celebration. Volpe intercepts him, but is killed when a henchman accidentally shoots her while aiming for Bond.
Bond and Leiter find the Vulcan camouflaged underwater, along with the bodies of Palazzi and the crew, though the bombs are missing. When Bond tells Domino that Largo killed her brother, she agrees to help search the Disco Volante for the weapons, using a Geiger counter hidden in his camera. Largo discovers Domino's deception and confines her. Bond disguises himself as one of Largo's divers as SPECTRE prepares to move the bombs. He learns where one is being moved before being discovered and stranded. Leiter finds him using a tracking signal, and they alert the US Coast Guard and US Navy. An underwater battle ensues between US Navy divers and the Disco Volante crew, whose defeat leads to the recovery of one bomb by the Navy.
As Largo escapes with the second bomb, Bond climbs aboard the Disco Volante. Largo detaches the ship's rear shell to become a hydrofoil to escape. Bond sends the Disco Volante out of control and defeats Largo's men. As Largo is about to shoot Bond, Domino kills him with a speargun, avenging her brother's death. Along with hired nuclear physicist Ladislav Kutze, who freed Domino, the three jump from the Disco Volante seconds before it crashes into rocks and explodes. Kutze cannot swim but is given a lifebuoy, and his fate is unknown. Bond and Domino are retrieved by a plane using a sky hook.
Cast
Sean Connery as James Bond: An MI6 agent assigned to retrieve two stolen nuclear weapons Claudine Auger as Domino (voice dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl): Dominique "Domino" Derval is Largo's mistress. In early drafts of the screenplay, Domino's name was Dominetta Palazzi. When Claudine Auger was cast as Domino, the name was changed to Derval to reflect her nationality. The character's wardrobe reflects her name, as she is usually dressed in black and/or white. Adolfo Celi as Emilio Largo (voice dubbed by Robert Rietty): SPECTRE's Number Two, he devises a scheme to steal two atomic bombs Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe: SPECTRE assassin who becomes Francois Derval's mistress to kill and replace him with his double, and later helps with Largo's plot in Nassau Rik Van Nutter as Felix Leiter: CIA agent who helps Bond Guy Doleman as Count Lippe: the SPECTRE agent (ranked Number Four) in charge of the operation of replacing Derval with Angelo Molly Peters (voice dubbed by Barbara Jefford) as Patricia Fearing: A physiotherapist at the health clinic Martine Beswick as Paula Caplan: Bond's CIA ally in Nassau. Beswick's made two appearances as a 'Bond Girl', the first being in From Russia With Love. Bernard Lee as "M": Head of MI6 Desmond Llewelyn as "Q": MI6's quartermaster, he supplies Bond with multi-purpose vehicles and gadgets useful for the latter's missions. Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny: M's secretary Roland Culver as the Home Secretary: British Minister who briefs the "00" agents for Operation Thunderball and has doubts about Bond's efficiency Earl Cameron as Pinder: Bahaman intelligence operative who serves as Bond and Leiter's contact in Nassau Paul Stassino as François Derval / Angelo Palazzi (credited for Palazzi): François Derval is a French Air Force pilot assigned to the NATO staff and also Domino's brother. He is killed by Angelo, who impersonates him. Rose Alba as Madame Boitier: purportedly the widow of Colonel Jacques Bouvar, while in reality 'she' is Bouvar in disguise Philip Locke as Vargas: Largo's personal assistant and primary henchman George Pravda as Ladislav Kutze: A nuclear physicist, he aids Largo with the captured bombs, but when Largo disregards the authorities firing on them, he pities and rescues Domino. Michael Brennan as Janni: one of Largo's henchmen, usually paired with Vargas Leonard Sachs as Group Captain Prichard: Bond's RAF liaison during Operation Thunderball Edward Underdown as Air Vice Marshal: a senior RAF officer who briefs the 00 agents on the range of the missing Vulcan and its disappearance Reginald Beckwith as Kenniston: the Home Secretary's assistant
Uncredited: Maryse Guy Mitsouko as Madame LaPorte: a French secret service agent Bob Simmons as Colonel Jacques Bouvar: SPECTRE Number Six, who is killed by Bond in the pre-title scene Anthony Dawson as Ernst Stavro Blofeld (voiced by Eric Pohlmann): The head of SPECTRE, Number One (neither actor is credited) Bill Cummings as Quist: one of Largo's henchmen Murray Kash as SPECTRE Number Eleven: an American senior member of SPECTRE who reports on a drug dealing mission jointly led by him and Number Nine André Maranne as SPECTRE Number Ten: a French senior member of SPECTRE who reports on assassinating a French defector to the USSR Clive Cazes as SPECTRE Number Nine: a French senior member of SPECTRE who gets killed by Blofeld for embezzling money. Michael Smith as SPECTRE Number Eight: a senior member of SPECTRE Cecil Cheng as SPECTRE Number Seven: a Japanese senior member of SPECTRE who reports on a blackmail mission Philip Stone as SPECTRE Number Five: an English senior member of SPECTRE who reports on helping to plan the Great Train Robbery Victor Beaumont as SPECTRE Number Three: a senior member of SPECTRE Gábor Baraker as SPECTRE Number Thirteen: a senior member of SPECTRE
Production
Legal disputes
Originally meant as the first James Bond film, Thunderball was the centre of legal disputes that began in 1961 and ran until 2006. Former Ian Fleming collaborators Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham sued Fleming shortly after the 1961 publication of the Thunderball novel, claiming he based it upon the screenplay the trio had earlier written in a failed cinematic translation of James Bond. The lawsuit was settled out of court, with McClory retaining certain screen rights to the novel's story, plot, and characters. By then, Bond was a box-office success, and series producers Broccoli and Saltzman feared a rival McClory film beyond their control; they agreed to McClory's producer's credit of a cinematic Thunderball, with them as executive producers.
Later, in 1964, Eon producers Broccoli and Saltzman agreed with McClory to cinematically adapt the novel; it was promoted as "Ian Fleming's Thunderball". Yet, along with the official credits to screenwriters Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins, the screenplay is also identified as 'based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham' and as 'based on the original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming'. To date, the novel has twice been adapted cinematically, as the 1983 Jack Schwartzman-produced Never Say Never Again features Sean Connery as James Bond, but is not an Eon production.
Casting