top of page
Octopussy

Sean Connery as James Bond with his Aston Martin DB5

James Bond Day

Oct 5

Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day

Today's Musings, History & Folklore

“Octopussy: 'Who is he?'
Kamal Kahn: 'Englishman. Likes eggs, preferably Fabergé, and dice, preferably loaded.'”

~ Octopussy, 1983

The airplane scene in the opening sequence to 1983's Octopussy (featuring Roger Moore as Secret Agent 007) is still hailed as one of the most iconic action stunt sequences in the James Bond movie franchise. Octopussy is a 1983 Bond film in which a fake Fabergé egg and a fellow agent's death leads James Bond (Roger Moore) to uncovering an international jewel smuggling operation, headed by the mysterious femme fatale Octopussy, being used to disguise a nuclear attack on NATO forces. Ian Fleming's famous super spy rarely takes a break for his favourite Vesper martini (a Vodka martini with citrus and chilied olives), but when not skydiving from planes, his preferred modes of transportation include: Aston Martin DB5, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Aston Martin DBS V12, Lotus Espirit S1, and BMW 750iL. Beginning with the 1962 release Dr. No with Sean Connery in the starring role, the latest installment in the franchise, No Time to Die, is slated for a 2021 release and features Daniel Craig in his fifth and reportedly final outing.

Octopussy

On October 5, 1962, the world's most famous fictional spy, James Bond, debuted in the feature film Dr. No.

Portrayed by a series of charming actors throughout the years, it is now fashionable to do modern psychological analysis on even fictional characters, by examining the original source material from Ian Fleming's novels, Bond has been dubbed a "functional psychopath" due to his superficial charm, absence of anxiety, promiscuous sexual behavior, a constant sense of boredom, lack of guilt or empathy, and being at ease with violence.   That, and the fact that he has killed nearly 400 people in 25 movies. 

Aside from all that, his drinking habits have been noted.  During the course of On Her Majesty's Secret Service alone, Bond consumes forty-six drinks: Pouilly-FuisséRiquewihr and Marsalawines, most of a bottle of Algerian wine, some 1953 Château Mouton Rothschild claret, along with Taittinger and Krug champagnes and Babycham; for whiskies he consumes three bourbon and waters, half a pint of I.W. Harper bourbon, Jack Daniel's whiskey, two double bourbons on the rocks, two whisky and sodas, two neat scotches and one glass of neat whisky; vodka consumption totalled four vodka and tonics and three double vodka martinis; other spirits included two double brandies with ginger ale, a flask of Enzian Schnaps and a double gin: he also washed this down with four steins of German beer.  

 

Bond's alcohol intake does not seem to affect his performance.

For his non-alcoholic drinks Bond eschews tea, calling it "mud" and blaming it for the downfall of the British Empire. He instead prefers to drink coffee.

Bond is also a heavy smoker, at one point smoking 70 cigarettes a day.  Bond has his cigarettes custom-made by Morland of Grosvenor Street, mixing Balkan and Turkish tobacco and having a higher nicotine content than normal; the cigarettes have three gold bands on the filter.  Bond carried his cigarettes in wide gunmetal cigarette case which carried fifty; he also used a black oxidised Ronson lighter.  On average, Bond smokes sixty cigarettes a day, although he cut back to around twenty five a day after his visit to a health farm in Thunderball.

Well ... Her Majesty's Secret Service has an interesting hiring profile ... 

In the novel You Only Live Twice, Bond's origins are noted in a fictional obituary. The novel reveals Bond is the son of a Scottish father, Andrew Bond, of Glencoe, and a Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix, of the Canton de Vaud.

***

 

Octopussy (1983) is the thirteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond.

The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's 1966 short story Octopussy andThe Living Daylights.  In the film, Bond is assigned the task of following a general who is stealing jewels and relics from the Soviet government. This leads him to a wealthy Afghan prince, Kamal Khan, and his associate, Octopussy, and the discovery of a plot to force disarmament in Western Europe with the use of a nuclear weapon!

For more on all things James Bond, click the Octopussy poster for the official 007 website!

Octopussy

Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!

Octopussy

Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Jul    Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec

WELCOME TO An Entertainment Site for Scottish Country Dancers - Enjoy the curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!  

bottom of page