SPY MANIA

THE SIXTIES WASN'T ALL ABOUT FLOWER POWER – FROM JAMES BOND TO JOHN STEED, SECRET AGENTS DOMINATED POPULAR CULTURE

- Written by Callum McKelvie

At the end of the Second World War a new conflict emerged - the Cold War, a struggle between communist East and capitalist West.

The spectre of nuclear armageddon ensured this was not a battle that would be fought with armies out in the open, but in the shadows with secret agents as its soldiers. As tales of espionage dominated the headlines, so too did they come to dominate bookshelves, cinema screens and the airwaves, beginning with a certain martini-drinking super-spy...

BOND, JAMES BOND

In 1952 Ian Fleming, 45, was on the verge of getting married and, in his own words, sought something to "take my mind off the agony." The successful journalist declared he would write the "spy story to end all spy stories." Casino Royale was published in 1953 and the first print run of 4,728 copies sold out in under a month. By the time of his death in 1964 Fleming had written 11 novels and two short story collections furthering the adventures of James Bond.

Attempts were made to produce a Bond film almost immediately. A 1954 CBS TV adaptation of Casino Royale saw an Americanised 'Jimmy' Bond portrayed by Barry Nelson, but it was the only time an attempt actually made it to screen until 1961, when producers Albert R 'Cubby' Broccoli and Harry Saltzman began adapting Fleming's sixth adventure, Dr No. The original script by Wolf Mankowitz and Richard Maibaum discarded much of the book, even replacing the titular villain with a marmoset monkey, until Saltzman and Broccoli demanded a more faithful rewrite. With Terrence Young set to direct, one crucial question had to be answered: who would play James Bond?