James Bond SAMLA Call For Papers 2019 – Goldfinger & OHMSS

We have two more calls for papers for the annual SAMLA conference between November 15-17, 2019 in Atlanta.

Please send 250-word proposals, brief bios, and A/V requirements to Oliver Buckton (obuckton@fau.edu) and Matt Sherman (baconbond@gmail.com) by May 15th, 2019.

James Bond as Popular Icon: Goldfinger at 60 (and 55)

Illustration by Fay Dalton from The Folio Society edition of Goldfinger by Ian Fleming ©Fay Dalton 2018

Goldfinger—the seventh James Bond novel by Ian Fleming published in 1959—has achieved iconic status in the series. The novel brings together many of Fleming’s chief strengths as a writer—such as his vivid creation of larger-than-life-villains, suspenseful description of competitive games, and evocation of the power of precious metals and stones.

The novel also introduces key “gadgets” such as the Aston Martin DB3, and explores key Fleming themes such as organized crime, homosexuality, and American culture. Equally, if one film can claim to have established the identity of Bond as a global cinematic icon, that film is Goldfinger.

Guy Hamilton’s 1964 adaptation set the formula of the Bond movie for decades, complete with thrilling pre-title sequence, dazzling opening credits and powerful theme song (sung here by Shirley Bassey), deadly henchman (Oddjob) and the gadget-laden car (the Aston Martin DB5).

This panel will use the 60th and 55th anniversaries of novel and film in 2019 as an opportunity to examine the enduring power of various elements of the Bond “formula” created by Fleming and the filmmakers, and to reevaluate the continuing popularity of Bond in popular culture.

Paper proposals are invited on any aspect of Fleming’s novel, Hamilton’s film, and the relationship between the novel and its adaptation. Given the conference theme of “Languages: Power, Identity, Relationships” papers that explore the language of Fleming, and/or issues of power, identity, and relationships in Goldfinger are especially welcome.

James Bond’s Identity Crisis: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service at 50

OHMSS, Illustration by ©George Almond

In 1969, the world of film was presented with an almost unthinkable breach of protocol: in the new James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (OHMSS) the familiar face of Sean Connery was no longer James Bond, instead the global icon 007 was represented by an unknown Australian actor/model, George Lazenby.

As Lazenby’s only Bond film, OHMSS has been neglected—and maligned—as a “misfit” in the James Bond series. Not only does the film begin with Bond attempting to resign from the Secret Intelligence Service, but it is the only film in which Bond—the permanent bachelor–does the unthinkable and gets married to Tracy di Vicenzo (powerfully played by Diana Rigg).

The tragic conclusion of the film and escape of Ernst Stavro Blofeld also makes it an anomaly, a radical departure from the “Bond defeats the villain and gets the girl” formula. The time has come, at this 50th anniversary of the film, to reevaluate it and examine the “identity crisis”—both that of James Bond himself and of the Eon Bond film series—it represented.

This panel welcomes papers on any aspect of the 1969 film of OHMSS, directed by Peter Hunt, and/or the novel by Ian Fleming, published in 1963, of which it is a surprisingly close adaptation.