Bond’s past: Who’s the best 007′s had?
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 8 August 2010
We hope you’ll excuse the vulgarity of it, but this is 007 we’re talking about after all – one of the world of fiction’s greatest lovers – so we couldn’t very well end Bond Week without asking the obvious: who’s the best Bond girl? Who’s the best 007′s had?
There are so many – and they range from the sublime (Pussy Galore) to the ridiculous (Christmas Jones anyone?).
After literally hours of deliberation, after pouring over photo after photo, clip after clip, we emerged, tired – and not a little dehydrated – from our study with the definite list. Here is The Prodigal Guide’s top ten of Bond’s conquests:
- Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress in Dr No): The first but is she the best? In our view, yes. Unbeatable.
- Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman in Goldfinger): Bond ‘cures’ Blackman’s lesbian with a kiss. Yep, you read that right. And she earns close to top billing for the name alone. Classic Bond.
- Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike in Die Another Day): Contentious, we know, but we just have this massive thing for Pike in pretty much anything she does. We’re in the minority who thought her Miranda Frost was one of the classic Bond Girls.
- Vesper Lynd (Eva Green in Casino Royale): One of the few woman Bond has ever really fallen for. Lynd gives as good as she gets and remains real. Lest we forget, she inspired the killing spree that was Quantum of Solace.
- Elektra King (Sophie Marceau in The Word is Not Enough): What can we tell you!? We’ve got a thing for French girls and the truth is we’ve been in love with Marceau since 1980′s La Boume. Sad but true.
- Jinx Johnson (Halle Berry in Die Another Day): Die Another Day was weak in many ways but very strong when it came to Bond Girls. Jinx is the second from the film on our list. She’s such a good character that, for a while, there was talk of a spin-off franchise for her.
- Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi in From Russia With Love): To this day we think Bianchi’s vulnerable yet sexy eyes make this film. She’s absolutely beautiful and as a result it’s easy to believe that Bond would go to the lengths he does to protect her.. However, a word of warning, don’t ever, EVER, dig too deep into the extras on the DVD. You’ll risk finding an interview with Bianchi taken more recently. Let’s just say the years haven’t been kind.
- Domino (Claudine Auger in Thunderball): When Sony remade Thunderball years later as Never Say Never Again, Kim Basinger herself couldn’t come close to matching the allure of Auger.
- Octopussy (Maud Adams in Octopussy): Adams makes our list not least because she is the only actress to have portrayed two Bond Girls. She was also Andrea Anders in The Man With The Golden Gun.
- Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell in…all the best Bond films): Yeah, that’s right, we’re going there. You can’t compile a list of the best Bond Girls without Moneypenny and Maxwell is still the quintessential incarnation of the role.
But that’s just what we think. As we round off Bond Week, we’d like to give you the chance to have your say. You tell us, who’s the best Bond Girl?
Bond’s past: Who’s the best 007′s had?
We hope you’ll excuse the vulgarity of it, but this is 007 we’re talking about after all – one of the world of fiction’s greatest lovers – so we couldn’t very well end Bond Week without asking the obvious: who’s the best Bond girl? Who’s the best 007′s had? There are so many – and [...]
10 Responses to “Bond’s past: Who’s the best 007′s had?”
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Where’s Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Tracy)? Or am I the only romantic Bond fan left?
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She was a spoilt little brat.
And how can you accuse me of not being romantic!? I put Pussy Galore on the list.
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Amazing: For all these years, I’d felt confident in my preference for Tatiana Romanova; but when push came to shove, er, I mean, time to vote, the overwhelming compulsion was to pull for Octopussy.
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Straight-Six
9 August 2010
I’d go so far as to state that Ursula Andress (Fool, please notice spelling of her first name!) as she appeared in Dr. No is the hottest woman ever to appear on celluloid.
And yes, that includes Debbie when she was doing Dallas!
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Apologies for the typo. I was a little exhausted and distracted after all my, eh, research for this post. Now corrected.
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Frank T
10 August 2010
Jill St. John in Diamonds Are Forever … the cassette tape in the bikini bottom scene is one of the best in all of Bond-dom. Plus she’s smart in the role.
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Good call. She was good. And some classic lines too (Weren’t you a blonde when I walked in? Collars / cuffs, Nice little nothing you’re almost wearing, etc…)
Hey ho…
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For the “collars and cuffs” quip she very nearly made the list. Nearly.
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Although way to old for me… Maud Adams was the most beautiful of them all
A celebration of 007: Bond Week « The Prodigal Guide
8 August 2010
[...] Sunday – Bond’s past: We’ll leave the last word to you at the end of the week, asking you to look back on 007′s career to-date and take part in a good old fashioned Bond Girl poll. Who’s the best Bond’s had? [...]