John Le Carre: James Bond was a neo-fascist gangster

[Blowfeld]

Date: 17/08/2010
An early BBC interview in which thriller writer John Le Carré gives Ian Fleming's James Bond a dressing down has been unearthed by the broadcaster.

In the interview, which was recorded in 1966, Le Carré dubs Bond a 'neo-fascist gangster' who would do anything for a harem of girls and a dry martini.

Speaking to the BBC's Malcolm Muggeridge, Le Carré said: 'I dislike Bond. I'm not sure that Bond is a spy. I think that it's a great mistake if one's talking about espionage literature to include Bond in this category at all.'

The author, who has written a number of bestselling spy novels including The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and The Tailor of Panama, claimed that Bond is more like an international gangster who is 'entirely out of the political context' than a spy.

Looking back on his comments, Le Carré, who worked for both MI5 and MI6 during the Cold War, told the Radio Times his feelings were in part based on his own understanding of the reality of espionage and in part on the nature of the character portrayed.

'At the root of Bond there was something neo-fascistic and totally materialist,' he said, adding that his feelings towards the iconic character had since mellowed.

The archive footage will be rebroadcast next week on BBC Four as part of the In Their Own Words series.

The story can be found at Foyles

[Blowfeld]

Was James Bond just a "neo-fascist gangster?"
LONDON | Tue Aug 17, 2010 1:53pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) - James Bond is nothing but a gangster who would ply his trade for any country that offered him a steady supply of girls and dry Martinis, says writer John le Carré.

Agent 007 may be as popular as ever, but not with the creator of George Smiley.

Here is Le Carre on Bond in the 1960s: "I dislike Bond. I'm not sure that Bond is a spy. I think that it's a great mistake if one's talking about espionage literature to include Bond in this category at all," he said of rival novelist Ian Fleming's creation in a 1966 interview.

"It seems to me he's more some kind of international gangster with, as it is said, a license to kill... He's a man entirely out of the political context. It's of no interest to Bond who, for instance, is president of the United States or of the Union of Soviet Republics."

The interview will be shown again on television this week as part of BBC4's "In Their Own Words," which revisits archive footage of some of the biggest names in British literature.

But that was then and this is now.

"These days I would be much kinder," Le Carré told Radio Times magazine after watching a tape of the interview.

"I suppose we've lost sight of the books in favor of the film versions, haven't we?"

Fleming's novels and their film versions are heavy on violence and gadgetry, unlike Le Carré's work, which includes "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "The Constant Gardener."

"At the root of Bond there was something neo-fascistic and totally materialist," Le Carre said.

"You felt he would have gone through the same antics for any country really, if the girls had been so pretty and the Martinis so dry."

Le Carré, who worked for MI5 and MI6 in the 1950s and 1960s, also doubted the credibility of Fleming's smooth protagonist.

"I knew that I had written about the reality in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and that the Fleming stuff was a deliberate fantasization of Fleming's own experiences when he was safely in New York."

(Reporting by Isobel Coles; Editing by Steve Addison)

Was James Bond a neo-fascist gangster?

Had to go with Foyles for the lead in because well they are Folyes, Reuters had the better write up.
I disagree with the premiss that Ian 007s was any but a patriot, it was the primary motivation behind doing his job.

[Kristatos]

I think Le Carre's description probably applies more to the movie Bond than the literary one. But he is correct in saying that Bond is fantasy. Neither the books nor the films pretend to be a realistic depiction of espionage, any more than Pirates of the Caribbean pretends to be a realistic depiction of piracy or the Indiana Jones films pretend to be a realistic depiction of archaeology.

[Capt. Sir Dominic Flandry]

Bond is fantasy and Fleming's Bond always fought unambiguous villians didn't he?

[Dr. No]

Could see neo-fascist gangster if he were talking about Craig's spy. Not far off really.

Spys have always been picky about Bond, it is so famous but there work and life is nothing lkie it. I remember back in the 80s CIA agents and other were dogging Bond as completely unrealistic. Craig's gritty and realistic spy is still pure fantasy maybe more so. At least with old Bond movies we see people and events in history that inspired Bond,

[Blowfeld]

Spy author John Le Carré no fan of James Bond: I 'dislike' Ian Fleming's 'neo-fascistic' 007

By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, August 23rd 2010, 1:57 PM
Famed spy novel writer John Le Carré is apparently no fan of super 'spy,' 007 James Bond.


It's still spy author vs. spy.

Famed espionage writer John Le Carré remains no fan of James Bond, the martini-loving super spy created by Ian Fleming.

"I dislike Bond. I'm not sure that Bond is a spy," the "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" author said in 1966, during a BBC interview that will be re-broadcast next week.

Today, the 78-year-old Le Carré told the Radio Times that while he may have been harsh 40 years ago, he's still not sure Bond is much of a spy.

"At the root of Bond there was something neo-fascistic and totally materialist," said Le Carré, who once worked with the British Foreign Service. "You felt he would have gone through the same antics for any country really, if the girls had been so pretty and the Martinis so dry."

Le Carré - whose real name is David Cornwell - described 007 as more of an "international gangster" who sported a "license to kill," and had no real loyalty to England.

"I think that it's a great mistake if one's talking about espionage literature to include Bond in this category at all," he said.

Le Carré's own spy character, George Smiley, appears in several of the author's works and stands in stark contrast to the Fleming creation. The author admits that his approach to spy novels is far more realistic than the gadget-obsessed adventures of James Bond.

"I had written about the reality in 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold,'" he told Radio Times. "The Fleming stuff was a deliberate fantasisation."

msheridan@nydailynews.com; or follow him at Twitter.com/NYDNSheridan

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