16 Feb Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming
Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming, Starring Jason (son of Sean) Connery
(1990) Ian Fleming was, of course, the English author who wrote the James Bond novels. This made for television movie is a partly-based-on-fact story of his life from childhood until the end of the war. I was interested in watching in in preparation for the new BBC series Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond.
Ian Fleming was born in 1908 into a wealthy London family. When his father was killed in World War I, fellow officer Winston Churchill wrote the eulogy. Ian went from school to school, then from Job to job seemingly orchestrated by his mother.
In the 1930s Fleming worked first for Reuters, the London News Agency, and then, without success, in the world of finance. He had many girlfriends. During World War II he began to work for Britain’s Naval Intelligence.
This television show tries to capitalize on the Bond movies, as though Ian Fleming did all the daring things that his books portray. He did not. However, he learned enough during his intelligence career to create a lasting legacy of adventure stories.
On the official Ian Fleming website you can read and watch things from his angle.
I enjoyed the movie for what it was … a campy caricature of Fleming/Bond. Sean Connery’s son Jason played the lead role. Whoever created the cover of the DVD certainly wanted you to know that he was Connery (large font) … oh yes, Jason (small font.) I thought he looked the part and liked him before I knew that Sean was his Dad.
Now I’m looking forward to the BBC series (4 parts so far) to compare.
Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming at amazon.com
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