TV: Bond Girls Are Forever

Starz! and Encore are airing this as part of their “Ultimate Bond” package. I expected a bit of ‘where-are-they-now?’ fluff about the women who have appeared in the 007 films.

What I got was an engaging quasi-documentary hosted, produced and co-written by Maryam d’Abo, who appeared in the underrated Bond film THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS opposite the underrated Bond Timothy Dalton.

The focus is mostly on the positive, but the actresses are also forthright about the mixed blessing of being “Bond girls.” (They almost universally reject the name “Bond women.”) Lois Chiles of MOONRAKER talks about the difficulty of playing Dr. Holly Goodhead during the age of feminism, while d’Abo openly calls the Roger Moore films sleazy. She even thanks Camille Paglia in the end credits.

DVD: Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968)

Hammer horror films were such staples of my childhood that I tend to blur them together. Particularly the ones starring Christopher Lee as Dracula. But it turns out I remembered the opening of this movie vividly:

- The dead woman hidden in the church bell.

- The townspeople telling a visiting monsignor that they won’t venture back into the church even after Dracula’s death because “the shadow of his castle touches the church wall.”

- The long climb up the mountain to cleanse the castle of Dracula’s spirit.

The remainder of the movie is underplotted, coasting on mood and Lee’s charisma. But those first moments are mesmerizing.

Miscellaneous: Links

Over at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, Ivan has been wrestling with two questions that have plagued man throughout the ages, or at least since the late ‘50s: Is Jerry Lewis funny? And are Martin & Lewis funnier?

As a dedicated Quizno’s customer, I say: dump Baby Bob! Bring back the Spongmonkeys!