A LOOK AT TWO OF SPY-Fi’s RARE PROPS USED BY BOND VILLAINS TO ELIMINATE 007

IN HONOR OF GLOBAL JAMES BOND DAY

Who could forget the deadly tarantula that crawled up James Bond’s torso in the first 007 movie, DR. NO. Or the famous spy’s brush with death when pursued by a killer shark 21 years later in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN.

This week Bond fans the world over are celebrating Global James Bond Day, October 5th, which was the date that, in 1962, DR. NO had its world premiere. Only two days later, October 7th, was the date that NEVER SAY NEVER premiered in 1983.

Two of the Bond props preserved by the SPY-Fi Archives and regularly displayed in its traveling museum exhibit were used in the production of those two movies—Sean Connery’s first and last Bond films. Each prop was used by a SPECTRE assassin in separate attempts to kill Agent 007. Notably, those assassins used deadly creatures to try to bring about Bond’s death.

In DR. NO, it was a tarantula that was placed in Bond’s bed during his mission in Jamaica. While a real tarantula is seen in the movie, a prop version was created for use on the set—employed for shot set-ups and publicity photos, including a shot of the prop tarantula on a pillow next to Connery’s head. That prop has survived for 63 years following the film’s completion, first as a conversation piece at a local London pub and later acquired for preservation and public exhibitions by the SPY-Fi Archives.

Although the tarantula wasn’t alive, that didn’t prevent it from appearing live on NBC’s Today Show, patiently posing beside Danny Biederman’s shoulder during the broadcast directly from CIA headquarters where Danny’s SPY-Fi exhibit had its debut in 2000.

The second creature used by SPECTRE against Bond was in 1983’s NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, Connery’s seventh and final performance in the role. During deep sea diving, villainess Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera) secretly attached a transmission device to the back of Bond’s oxygen cylinder which sent a radio signal to a homing device on the head of a shark. That device caused the shark’s brain to pursue the signal emanating from Bond’s transmitter, resulting in the shark swimming after Bond and attacking him. That SPECTRE homing device also resides in the SPY-Fi Archives and has toured museums in the U.S. and London as part of its traveling exhibit.

On this Global James Bond Day, we wish a Happy 63rd Anniversary to DR. NO and 42nd Anniversary to NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. As well as offering eternal appreciation to Sean Connery, Eon Productions, Ian Fleming, and all who contributed to Bond film series.