WHAT IF - Alfred Hitchcock's 'Never say Never Again' in The Psycho Ward Forum

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WHAT IF - Alfred Hitchcock's 'Never say Never Again'

Author	Comment
HawkeyePierce	WHAT IF - Alfred Hitchcock's 'Never say Never Again'	Lead	[-]
Jun 11 11 1:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Okay, so here is something which never would have happened (rightly so perhaps). What if Hitchcock did Kevin McClory's 'Thunderball' remake? Hitchcock was one of the people asked to film the first Bond film written by McClory, Ian Fleming and Jack Whittingham, a couple of years before Brocolli and Saltzman started work on a Bond series of there own, the 4th of which would be an adaption of the 'Thunderball' story by McClory, Fleming & Whittingham. McClory had been in a position to remake 'Thunderball' since 1975. He announced his plans in 1976, the same year Hitchcock's final film 'Family Plot' came out. After 'Family Plot' Hitchcock was desperate for a subject and started work on a spy thriller based on a novel called 'The Short Night'. So what if McClory approached 'Hitch' again? The final film might have been the coolest Bond film ever! Also, 'Never Say Never Again' poorly and indifferently copied the formula of the Moore Bond movies, a huge pity since they had the opportunity to make a truly unique stand-alone James Bond thriller. Hitchcock would have undoubtedly rewritten the 'Thunderball' to suit his own tastes and themes. While I enjoy the comicbook feel of 'Never Say Never Again', a 'North by Northwest' atmosphere would have suited it much better. Alfred Hitchcock - Sean Connery - James Bond ... I rest my case.
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Wich2		#1	[-]
Jun 11 11 3:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well on the one hand, N BY NW feels like a Bond film in many ways; and in fact, Grant was considered for the role at one point. But on the other, FAMILY PLOT shows The Master with much-diminished powers. So...
Grant		#2	[-]
Jun 11 11 10:26 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	As usual, when a Bond movie or anything LIKE a Bond movie has a villainess character, that's my big concern. Obviously Hitchcock movies have great "femme fatales," but do they have great ones in the Bond movie tradition? And besides, would a second film version of Thunderball necessarily have one at all, considering that the book didn't? So my question is, would his version of NSNA necessarily have a recognizable Bond movie villainess, even if (heaven forbid) she hadn't been played by Barbara Carrera?
HawkeyePierce		#3	[-]
Jun 12 11 1:26 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Why bother going with Bond movie tradition at all? What bother's me about NSNA is that it is a lost opportunity to make a great film about a spy called James Bond instead of just another Bond Blockbuster. Hitchcock is perfectly suited for the spy genre, and his films (especially the ones with Grant) do indeed have a James Bond feel. Or do the Bond movies have a Hitchcock feel...? By the way, I like 'Never Say Never Again' as it is. Great camp Connery one-off, it just would have prefered a bit more depth.
cabmangray		#4	[-]
Jun 13 11 2:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The main reason I like NSNA is because it's so different than the usual Broccoli / Moore formula. By necessity, of course. Klaus Maria Brandauer is great as Largo, Barbara Carrera pumps life into what would be a one dimensional role. Connery proves he is still Bonded for duty (even if his wig does move from scene to scene). The main strike against the film is the wretched music score; sorry bur no excuse for it! I have gotten into long verbal arguments with other Bond fans about NSNA and some just go on and on about how awful it is (no gunbarrel, no Bond theme, it moves at a leaden pace, Connery looks tired, the whole thing just sucks on general principles, etc.). I've given up trying to persuade fans about the film. Also note that Broccoli did lift several ideas from NSNA after the fact. Bond's laser/wristwatch in Goldeneye? A black Felix Leiter in CR and QoS? Connery had them first!
HawkeyePierce		#5	[-]
Jun 15 11 12:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I didn't think NSNA was that different from the EON films at all to be honest, but I do agree that I don't miss a gunbarrel or a Bond theme, etc. I, for instance, really like the titles playing over the action in the opening of the film.
Monsterpal		#6	[-]
Jun 17 11 8:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wich2 wrote: Well on the one hand, N BY NW feels like a Bond film in many ways; and in fact, Grant was considered for the role at one point. But on the other, FAMILY PLOT shows The Master with much-diminished powers. So... FRENZY sure didn't, though.
Wich2		#7	[-]
Jun 17 11 9:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	True enough, MP. Not his best, but solid. His last years have been written of, though, and they don't sound as if he was really up to NSNA: http://hitchcockandme.wor...-hitchcocks-final-years/
PhantomXCI		#8	[-]
Jun 18 11 10:48 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Perhaps the reason Hitchcock didn't direct NSNA is because he died three years before it was made.
HawkeyePierce		#9	[-]
Jun 19 11 4:00 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, Kevin McClory was in a position to make NSNA as early as 1975, that's five years Hitchcock could have worked on it. It still wouldn't have happened ofcourse, considering Hitchcock's health, not to mention the health of his wife Alma. If Hitchcock wasn't in a position to make 'The Short Night' (also a spy story) why would any other project, Bond or otherwise, be a realistic alternative.
Wich2		#10	[-]
Jun 19 11 8:34 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>Perhaps the reason Hitchcock didn't direct NSNA is because he died three years before it was made.< Well, sure - if we're getting nitpicky, there's that! Though as Hawkeye says, the project was cooking before then; but yes, Hitch just wasn't up for/up to the gig, anyway.
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Rick		#11	[-]
Jun 19 11 4:45 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Maybe even more interesting would have been a Hitchcock DR. NO, slipped in between PSYCHO and THE BIRDS. The Hitch influence might well have spun the Bond series in a rather different direction.
Wich2		#12	[-]
Jun 19 11 6:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	YES! (And esp. since Grant had evidently said, "I'd do one - but ONLY one...")
HawkeyePierce		#13	[-]
Jun 20 11 12:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The main argument against Hitchcock directing any of the official films is that he would have completely taken over the project (because if your Alfred H. you can do that ), claming the complete creative controle he by now rightly earned and deserved. This is why I think the idea of the McClory film is so tantilising. Since there would only ever be the one McClory rival-Bond movie () there was a lot more room to make something special which could compete with the EON series and stand on it's own. (though McClory himself would later argue against that)
Shadow Chaser		#14	[-]
Jun 21 11 12:05 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Has anyone ever seen Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Heburn? That's what I think of when you put Hitchcock and Bond together. Of course, there's no real way of knowing. Still, I enjoyed Charade and would have been very interested in seeing Hitchcock take a stab at a Bond vehicle. Dr. No in particular.
Wich2		#15	[-]
Jun 21 11 7:55 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, CHARADE is an example of HitchHomage, that's for sure!
scotpens		#16	[-]
Jun 21 11 11:03 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wich2 wrote: Shadow Chaser wrote: Has anyone ever seen Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Heburn? That's what I think of when you put Hitchcock and Bond together. Of course, there's no real way of knowing. Still, I enjoyed Charade and would have been very interested in seeing Hitchcock take a stab at a Bond vehicle. Dr. No in particular. Well, CHARADE is an example of HitchHomage, that's for sure! The same can be said of Arabesque (1966) starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren, and House of Cards (1968) with George Peppard and Inger Stevens — both very Hitchcockian romantic-adventure-thrillers. The train scene in the latter picture, with Inger stripping to her undies, seems a direct homage to North by Northwest (although Eva Marie Saint didn’t undress in that one, dammit).
Rick		#17	[-]
Jun 21 11 7:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Couple more very Hitchy '60s flix... MIRAGE THE PRIZE
Shadow Chaser		#18	[-]
Jun 21 11 10:00 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I wonder if the thought ever crossed Hitch's mind when working with Connery on Marnie? Or visa versa.
ryanbrennan		#19	[-]
Jul 27 11 8:30 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I believe Connery was supposed to star in THE SHORT NIGHT, had it been filmed. Any latitude in telling the story of NSNA would have been limited by McClory's rights. He had at least two earlier scripts which were shot down by the lawyers because they strayed too far from the original THUNDERBALL premise. One, JAMES BOND OF THE SECRET SERVICE had the finale taking place underneath the Statue of Liberty. Now there's a Hitchcock touch.
Shadow Chaser		#20	[-]
Jul 30 11 6:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Statue of Liberty? Hmm...no...I don't like it. So what's the story on THE SHORT NIGHT? Never heard of that one.
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WHAT IF - Alfred Hitchcock's 'Never say Never Again'

WHAT IF - Alfred Hitchcock's 'Never say Never Again'