The year was 1963. John F. Kennedy was president, TOM JONES won Best Picture and "Combat" was the top action series on ABC. With little fanfare, United Artists launched, in wide release, a spy movie called DR. NO with an unknown British actor in the leading role. Theatre owners grumbled that it starred "that limey truck driver" and if you had called a theatre in Los Angeles that week and asked what was playing, a manager might have mispronounced his name as "Seen Connery." They may have grumbled at the film’s lack of star power and marquee value, but they couldn’t argue with its box office returns, which reached new heights at Christmas 1965 when the Bond film THUNDERBALL brought in the type of numbers we see today for SPIDER-MAN and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. Since then, Bond has endured through multiple interpretations and against a changing global-political landscape, right up to his hard-edged current incarnation as embodied by Daniel Craig.

The American Cinematheque will present four Sean Connery Bond classics, as well as a double feature of the best Roger Moore Bond films.

Friday, January 1 - 7:30 PM JAMES BOND

Double Feature: DR. NO, 1962, MGM Repertory, 111 min. Dir. Terence Young. Now almost taken for granted, this initial adaptation of Ian Fleming’s spy novels was a subversive breath of fresh air, depicting for the first time a secret agent who was an unapologetically suave, promiscuous - not to mention homicidal - hero. Sean Connery proved amazingly popular as the ultimate sexy beast, James Bond, ushering in the 1960s spy film craze. One of the best of the Bond films, with its Caribbean locale, Ursula Andress’ sensual presence as the feral nature girl and Joseph Wiseman (who just passed away in October) as the evil mastermind with black metal hands. Trailer

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, 1967, MGM Repertory, 117 min. Director Lewis Gilbert directs the fifth movie starring Sean Connery as 007. To give Bond a headstart on the opposition, his death is faked. He’s then sent to Japan to track down SPECTRE’s missile silo and liaison with Japanese secret service honcho Tetsuro Tanba and operatives Mie Hama and Akiko Wakabayashi (two of Toho Studios’ most charismatic contract actresses of the era). Karin Dor, veteran of numerous German-lensed krimis pictures also appears as a villainess. To cap things off, the great Donald Pleasence is Blofeld. With a script by Roald Dahl (author of The Fantastic Mr. Fox) and Ken Adam’s most sleekly spectacular production design ever. Trailer James Bond expert Steve Rubin will introduce the film.

Saturday, January 2 - 7:30 PM JAMES BOND

Double Feature: GOLDFINGER, 1964, MGM Repertory, 111 min. Dir. Guy Hamilton. "Do you expect me to talk, Goldfinger?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die …" cackles homicidal villain Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe), as he prepares to re-arrange 007’s secret equipment with a laser beam, in what is widely considered to be the best of the classic Sean Connery Bond pictures and a high point in 1960s pop culture. (Dig the Aston Martin! the Shirley Bassey-sung theme song!) Co-starring the saucy Honor Blackman as Bond’s nemesis-turned-partner Pussy Galore, with Shirley Eaton as the gold-painted girl, Harold Sakata as mute assassin Oddjob, and the venerable home office team of Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn. Terrific high-60s production design by series veteran Ken Adam. Trailer

THUNDERBALL, 1965, MGM Repertory, 130 min. Dir. Terence Young. We have to admit this is one of our favorite Bonds, with three of the most dynamic Bond women ever: Claudine Auger as Domino, compromised heroine and mistress to eyepatch-wearing villain Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi); fiery Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe, an extremely lethal femme fatale; and Martine Beswick as Paula, Bond’s assistant. Bond has his therapeutic rest cure cut short when a British bomber with two A-bombs aboard is hijacked by SPECTRE and secreted below the waters of the Caribbean. Winner of the Oscar for Best Special Effects (John Stears). Trailer James Bond expert Steve Rubin will introduce the film and hold a trivia contest at 7:00 PM.

Double Feature: MOONRAKER, 1979, MGM Repertory, 126 min. Dir. Lewis Gilbert. James Bond goes to space in his 11th outing, which stars Roger Moore as Bond and the gorgeous Lois Chiles as his love interest. Richard Kiel is back from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME as imposing villain Jaws, and production designer Ken Adam’s spectacular sets make this one of the most visually striking films in the series. Trailer