James Bond Guns

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Bit of Bond trivia from Dr No: the beach sequence in Dr No, where Dr No’s men spray the island with machine gun fire from a boat, had to be re-shot when a detachment form the US Navy who were on leave, entered the bay to find out what all the shooting was about!
 
IncredibleGord

A lot of it has to do with product placement, brand recognition, and the production company itself; along with whoever is supplying the weapons for props. I would think a new James Bond would carry on the tradition with a new Walther PPS, but quite possibly the producers may have thought it looked too much like a Glock, or that it didn't have the same cachet as the Walther PPK does. In any event, its still just entertainment so enjoy it as such.
 
It's been many years since I read any of the Ian Fleming novels but didn't the literary James Bond carry a .38 S&W snubnose?
 
Yeah it's only a movie, we know. But it bothered me as well that Bond would suddenly, without reason, abandon the P99 for the PPK in a situation where deep concealment wasn't necessary. I could see him carrying both (ankle perhaps for the PPK?) or bringing the PPK when greater concealment was necessary but it was a little jarring to see him back to the tiny PPK for no apparent reason.
 
I wonder if it's an attempt to get the franchise back to the typical Bond aesthetic -- Casino Royale was quite different to the more recent Bond films, and in some ways to all other Bond films -- grittier, less cheesy, fewer gadgets, a fallable Bond. No invisible cars or rocket pens or laser watches. Fairly sensible weapons choices (BHP, P99, UMP). I know I liked the change, but I wonder if some people didn't and the producers are afraid of alienating some core fans?
 
The Bond of the novels carried a Berretta .25 for a while, with "skeletonized grip". Then he got a PPK in .32ACP, because Ian Fleming knew little to nothing about sidearms.
 
didn't the literary James Bond carry a .38 S&W snubnose?
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in dr. no james bond is issued two guns a S&W centennial and a walther ppk. he loses the s&w.

in casino royale he has (in addition to the beretta .25) a colt .38 with a sawn barrel. he sleeps with the colt under his pillow. also in his bentley he has a long barrel .45 colt.

in moonraker he trains with a colt detective special.

ian fleming knew little about guns. it was suggested to him by geoffrey boothroyd that bond carry something more than a .25. boothroyd offered the centennial or ppk as better choices for concealment and the s&w model 10 for longer range. fleming mistakenly had the character armorer boothroyd issue bond a centennial for longer range work and a ppk for concealment.

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Another bit of trivia from Dr No:

Prior to Professor Dent’s assassination in Dr No, Bond tells him ‘That’s a Smith & Wesson. Professor, and you’ve had your six’ (shots). However, in the scene the gun Dent is holding is a Colt .45 Auto.

Also Bond is given a Walther PPK at the start of the film but uses a Browning 1910 .32 to kill Dent. This may have been used as it allows for easy connection to a silencer.
 
A lot of it has to do with product placement, brand recognition, and the production company itself
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Sad but true. A lot of its about advertising products. Note, Bond has been wearing Omega watches of late instead of the traditional Rolex. I am sure Omega pays a nice sum for that plug.

The recent "Casino Royal" was a decent movie but I hear the new one, "Quantum of Solace" is not very good. "Dr. No" and "Goldfinger" are still my favorites. I think Clive Owen should be the next Bond.
 
If the pistol annoyed you most, you must not be familiar with boats....that whole Haitian scene was terrible....as were the exploding hotel rooms. And calling an airplane ID# "zero" - well, actually "zed" - instead of "Oscar" is laughable too.

If you haven't seen it, wait for the dvd; and rent, don't buy.
/It's unfortunate, since the recent Casino Royale was (in my opinion) the best bond movie ever. I think the problem was mainly in the cutting room.
 
I saw the movie last night. Lots of product placements. Fords were everywhere and of course Rovers from their affiliate (before it was sold). I expected to see Bill Ford show up somewhere.
 
As a fan of Bond since 1963, I thought this and the last movie sucked. I miss Q (who was run down by a drunk) and the gadgets. BTW in QoS, just taking the right door off the Aston and throwing dirt on the car didn't make for much of a smash. "Course it was only on screen a short time. The new Bond likes to run. Well, as far as I'm concerned, he can take his poodle shooter and run right off the screen. I'd like to see more involvement with current firearms.

Plus, the opening music sounded like a cat being skinned with a hacksaw.
 
Poprivit I too am a huge bond fan although the series is much older than myself I have seen every movie and read most of the books. I also was not impressed with the most recen one, although I do like craig as bond.

the OP
bond does not use the PPK in the movie except at the very end.
in another thread I mentioned I was glad to see it cameo even though I think he uses a PPS most of the movie.
 
I think most of the old Bond movies are cheesy and horribly unwatchable. These last 2 are the best the series has in my eyes. And I also think that he needs to stick with the P99. He hardly ever does any super undercover work where he needs a tiny concealed .380. A full size 9mm is much more suited to the type engagement Bond gets into usually.
 
The subject of Bond's guns is very complex and goes through a lot of machinations.
For those interested, lots of googling will yield much information that can be pieced together. But for those who are simply curious, it's enough to know that the PPK replaced the Beretta early on for the Beretta being "deficient" in caliber.

I think it's fair to say that the PPK will always be the true "James Bond" pistol in the minds of most fans of the genre.

For my part, if Fleming were alive today and still writing, he'd be replacing the PPK with a 9mm Rohrbaugh for the PPK being "deficient" in caliber (oops, I mean "calibre").
 
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