Q: I wonder if you could help me with something I'm curious about? This morning on
Turner Classic Movies I watched Action of the Tiger (1957), directed by Terence
Young, and featuring a very young Sean Connery. I'd never seen or even heard of
this movie before and I was just wondering -- and please excuse my ignorance --
if you knew if Terence Young was chosen to direct Dr. No before Connery was cast
as Bond, and if Young had anything to do with the choice of Connery, perhaps
having remembered him from Action of the Tiger?- Rory Monteith
A: Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had chosen Terence Young to direct the first Bond movie, Dr. No long before the part of 007 had been cast. I once asked Cubby and his wife Dana to clear up the misconceptions about how Connery got the part. Cubby said that while he remained close friends with Terence Young (this was in the early 1990s), he practiced revisionist history when it came to casting James Bond and always tried to take credit for discovering Connery. It is true that Young took an immediate liking to young Connery and told him during the making of Action of the Tiger that he had star potential but this non-descript action film would not be his breakthrough role. Young promised to do what he could to assist Connery in his career. However, Cubby and Dana told me that even Cubby didn't see the potential for Connery to play Bond. It was Dana who convinced him that Connery had the requisite sex appeal after they saw a screening of Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Cubby and Harry were skeptical until they met with Connery and liked his brash, independent nature. Yet, when they told Young about their choice, he held his head in his hands and said, "Disaster! Disaster! Disaster!" Young thought Connery was a good actor but that he lacked the sophistication for the role of Bond - which even Connery later admitted was true. However, Young, who was among the most erudite and sophisticated of directors, took young Sean under his wing and personally gave him a crash course in the snobbier aspects of life: how to dress, how to order fine wines, etc. Connery proved to be an eager student and to this day still credits Young with playing a major role in his success.- Lee Pfeiffer