Review of Terence Young: Bond Vivant

. . . which he passed along to the character "James Bond" and a hayseed actor named Sean Connery, as he directed three of the first four Agent 007 flicks (DR. NO, FROM RUSS1A WITH LOVE, and THUNDERBALL). If you scan the list of 45 films Mr. Young wrote or directed from 1939 through 1987 (which scrolls on-screen at the conclusion of BON VIVANT), you're unlikely to recognize ANY of the non-Bond titles if you're younger than age 70. Terence Young was no John Ford or Alfred Hitchcock. A British Army tank combatant during WWII, Young churned out war and adventure movies which mostly are forgotten today (few people remember such fare from even TEN years ago, let alone FIFTY). However, the cast and crew of the early Bond pictures reminiscing about Young during BON VIVANT considered him to be Agent 007 in the flesh. A "good-time Charlie," Young was extremely popular on location, throwing lavish parties on his own dime. Strutting around on-set in "hand-made, impeccable" clothes, Young served as a role model for how to play a character "Living Large." Unlike Hitchcock or Ford, he was buddy-buddy with his actors, partying with them into the wee hours rather than ever doing any directorial "homework." The "fun shoots" he supervised resulted in Boffo Box Office for three Bond features, but no Oscars.