Cinema history might have been very different had the first James Bond film not been Dr. No in 1962 starring Sean Connery, but Thunderball directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1959 and starring Richard Burton as 007. It sounds preposterous and unbelievable, but it almost happened. The Battle for Bond unravels the untold story behind the most controversial part of the James Bond legend using previously unpublished material including letters and private documents. It is a tale of bitter recriminations, betrayal, multi-million-dollar lawsuits and even death. It starts way back in 1959 when colourful Irish film producer Kevin McClory collaborated with Ian Fleming and Hollywood screenwriter Jack Whittingham on a screenplay for what was intended to be the first ever James Bond film, entitled Thunderball. When the project collapsed, Fleming instead used its plot as the basis for his next Bond novel, but without permission. An incensed McClory and Whittingham sued. The resulting trial was one of the most high profile and complex of the 1960s. Essentially, the creator of the 20th century's greatest fictional character was in the dock, accused of plagiarism. Already gravely ill, many of Fleming's friends feared the pressure of the trial would have a detrimental effect on his health. Tragically, they were proved right when Fleming lost the case and died of a massive heart attack aged only 56. As for Kevin McClory, he became a millionaire overnight, winning the film rights to Thunderball. He was now in the enviable position of being able to make his own 007 movie. But the already established Sean Connery series was a hard act to compete with, and McClory instead decided to join forces with Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman in a one-off deal to co-produce Thunderball. Released in time for Christmas 1965, Thunderball was the Star Wars of its day, becoming one of the most successful films in movie history. Part of McClory's court victory entitled him to remake Thunderball at a future date, resulting in 1983's Never Say Never Again, which saw Sean Connery returning to the Bond role after a 12-year absence, and was the film that Broccoli tried desperately to ban. Following its success, McClory tried in vain to start his own 007 film series, using the rights he owned in Thunderball, but was thwarted at every turn in a succession of increasingly hostile legal battles against Broccoli and Bond studio MGM. McClory even made the claim that he was co-creator of the cinematic James Bond character and demanded a share in the three billion dollars of profits the 007 series had earned. Featuring exclusive access to a wealth of previously unpublished material including hundreds of letters from the principal characters in the Thunderball story, including Fleming himself, business and private documents and never before seen papers from the 1963 court case, The Battle of Bond is regarded within the Bond fan community as one of the most important books ever written about 007. The first edition was banned by the Ian Fleming Trust due to copyright infringement, since the book reprinted letters from Ian Fleming in full. This decision was hugely controversial and was reported by the BBC and newspapers such as The Times. The following year, a second edition of the book was printed, minus the copyright material and with a foreword by Len Deighton. This version of the book has not been available for a long time after the publisher sold all copies and no further editions were published or put on Kindle. AUTHOR: Robert Sellers was born in Leeds in 1965. Following graduation from drama school, he dreamt of a career on stage and screen. Alas, despite a few walk-on roles, the world has been spared his acting, which is perhaps all for the best. Instead, he turned to film journalism - why not write about the medium he loves if he couldn't appear in it. Since the early 90s, he has written numerous biographies, books on film and TV and popular culture including the bestselling Hellraisers (Preface, 2009). His book The Battle for Bond was the subject of controversial litigation and for a time was banned in Britain. 20 b/w illustrations
