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Quick Big Mi6 Actor Ranking Game - 7th PLACE

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  • 007ClassicBondFan007ClassicBondFan
    edited July 31 Posts: 2,650
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    What do I do with Barry Nelson, considering I never watched the U.S. TV drama involving "Jimmy" Bond? I think I have a copy somewhere, but never felt like I would have to really see it. Glimpsed into it for a few minutes (if that much) and thought it was amateurish. And we're not voting on Peter Lorre here.

    It’s free to view on YouTube. It’s definitely not an “essential” viewing but it’s an interesting watch nonetheless.

    But as far as the game goes, I shall be submitting my list to you as soon as possible @GoldenGun!
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited July 31 Posts: 7,743
    Superb fellas, thanks!

    @goldenswissroyale and @007HallY, I understand your feelings and respect them 100% :)

    As I see there are members interested in a film-by-film performance ranking, I'll do that one after this one, it'll be interesting to compare the two.

    In the meantime, keep those rankings coming :)
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,743
    So far I have received 11 lists. A couple more will do, but hopefully a lot more are still to come in. :)
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,860
    Come on, people. Just for fun?
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,743
    One more list and the magic number of 15 participants has been reached... :)
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,743
    We've reached 15 participants!

    If anyone is still interested in participating who hasn't submitted a list, they are of course most welcome to do so.

    I will start counting the results this Saturday, which means the submission deadline is this Friday at midnight CET.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,743
    Okay fellas, I am going to start adding up the results. For transparency's sake, points will be awarded according to the following system:

    1st place: 10 pts
    2nd: 8 pts
    3rd: 7 pts
    4th: 6 pts
    5th: 5 pts
    6th: 4 pts
    7th: 3 pts
    8th / last: 1 pt
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,427
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Superb fellas, thanks!

    @goldenswissroyale and @007HallY, I understand your feelings and respect them 100% :)

    As I see there are members interested in a film-by-film performance ranking, I'll do that one after this one, it'll be interesting to compare the two.

    In the meantime, keep those rankings coming :)

    I'll be very interested in doing a film by film performance ranking, old boy.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited August 12 Posts: 7,743
    royale65 wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Superb fellas, thanks!

    @goldenswissroyale and @007HallY, I understand your feelings and respect them 100% :)

    As I see there are members interested in a film-by-film performance ranking, I'll do that one after this one, it'll be interesting to compare the two.

    In the meantime, keep those rankings coming :)

    I'll be very interested in doing a film by film performance ranking, old boy.

    We'll do that next, this one won't take long ;)

    Tomorrow I'll start with the bottom finish, lads :)
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 8,481
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    royale65 wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Superb fellas, thanks!

    @goldenswissroyale and @007HallY, I understand your feelings and respect them 100% :)

    As I see there are members interested in a film-by-film performance ranking, I'll do that one after this one, it'll be interesting to compare the two.

    In the meantime, keep those rankings coming :)

    I'll be very interested in doing a film by film performance ranking, old boy.

    We'll do that next, this one won't take long ;)

    Tomorrow I'll start with the bottom finish, lads :)

    Looking forward to it!
    I would find a film by film quite difficult, especially with Moore and Connery! And I think (obviously, in my case!!) Dalton is brilliant in both of his movies, so couldn't put one over the other!
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,743
    Ladies and gentlemen, let's kick this game off with our bottom finish, at #8:

    BARRY NELSON
    James 'Jimmy' Bond in
    Climax: Casino Royale (1954)

    s-l1200.png

    Unsurprisingly one of the two non-EON Bonds finishes last in our little game. Practically everyone, 13 out of 15 participants, ranked him last.

    One member ranked him penultimate. And one member, in the single most leftfield list I have ever received for any of these games, ranked him 2nd.

    In total Barry Nelson received 24 points.
  • OtisFairplayOtisFairplay
    Posts: 77
    I see little point in comparing The Climax! version of Casino Royale to the decades to come. Clearly Jimmy Bond is not the smooth, bulletproof (to anything but trends), near superhuman hero soon to emerge and I think that is a perfectly legitimate take on the character. That said, to me Barry Nelson’s performance does seem somewhat rudderless and not quite projecting the gravitas suggested by the teleplay. And while being upstaged by Peter Lorre is fine and dandy, having Michael Pate’s Clarence Leiter come across as the more interesting Man of Mystery is a bit of drawback. So, the last place for me as well. Still, like John Terry, Barry Nelson proved that a rather derided performance in a James Bond production didn’t necessarily preclude you from landing a part in a Stanley Kubrick film. I’m sure there’s a lesson in there for all of us.
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 8,481
    Yes, no surprise, Barry comes last. Even though I am one of the few that enjoys this short film, maybe it's the brief runtime, or the presence of the great Peter Lorre, but Nelson doesn't work at all as Bond! Fair play to the person who put him second, Brave decision! Considering my dislike for Brossa, I couldn't even bring myself to put Barry Nelson ahead of him!!!! ( but David Niven? , that's a different story 🤫)
  • 007ClassicBondFan007ClassicBondFan
    Posts: 2,650
    I had Nelson at Number 7 in my rankings. It’s a decent performance on its own - and it’s important to remember that his take came long before Bond’s popularity had exploded. I’m a bit more forgiving of Nelson in that regard though I really wish that he and the guy playing Leiter would have switched roles for the production. The only reason I had him ranked above Niven is because of the amount of times I’ve watched the 1954 Casino Royale as a piece of noise for the background. There is one moment that I think Nelson is great at and it’s during the torture scene where he looks to Le Chiffre and says “You won’t get anything out of me - pain and killing is part of my job.” That was a pretty cool moment from Nelson.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited August 13 Posts: 24,860
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    And one member, in the single most leftfield list I have ever received for any of these games, ranked him 2nd.

    Shocking. Positively shocking.

    But let's face it, he didn't play Bond, now did he? So this was easy enough. :-)
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,743
    I am not the biggest fan of CR54, even though I know it's unfair to compare it to the rest. That's why I usually don't include it in personal lists. Nevertheless, if included it's my bottom finish and the same goes for Barry Nelson.

    On a sidenote, I also think Michael Pate was excellent as Leiter and that he would have fit the Bond character better than Nelson.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,860
    Also, Peter Lorre should have starred in an EON Bond at some point.
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 8,481
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Also, Peter Lorre should have starred in an EON Bond at some point.

    I was about to say the very same thing!
  • 007ClassicBondFan007ClassicBondFan
    Posts: 2,650
    Sadly Lorre died before the series really took off. However I still think he is without a doubt the best part of CR ‘54.
  • 007HallY007HallY
    edited August 13 Posts: 5,762
    Yes, he wouldn’t have even been a potential Goldfinger. Great actor though. Very similar to Orson Welles as ‘what if’ EON Bond villains (both played Le Chiffre and I guess were on more downward parts of their careers by Bond). .
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,743
    Continuing our journey through the Bonds, in at #7 we have:

    DAVID NIVEN
    as Sir James Bond in
    Casino Royale (1967)

    93eb50083241ac620147b38d39cb4819.jpg

    Also not much of a surprise, given his exclusively non-EON appearance.

    An accomplished actor outside the world of 007, he is one of only two actors on our list who has won an Academy Award (the other of course being Sean Connery), his Bond was the first of only two who dies on screen (the other being Daniel Craig's in NTTD), he is the only one on this list who gets a mention in one of Ian Fleming's novels, he's also the only candidate here who did not get first-billing as James Bond (Peter Sellers did as Evelyn Tremble) instead being billed third, and he is the only Bond who has a moustache.

    Now, Mr. Niven received only one bottom finish, though he did end up penultimate in ten other lists. Four members though ranked him above at least one EON Bond. Three of those were 6th places, and one of those was a surprising 3rd place finish.

    In total David Niven collected 50 points, more than doubling the tally of Nelson.
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 8,481
    Placed David Niven at #6 , above Brosnan!! I always find him charming, good actor, good screen presence, probably not what we see as Bond, I still find him enjoyable to watch, and somehow he holds his dignity in the chaos happening around him!
  • OtisFairplayOtisFairplay
    Posts: 77
    I do have something resembling a soft spot for Casino Royale, and had there been a glue to hold the film together David Niven would probably have been the best shot.
  • 007ClassicBondFan007ClassicBondFan
    Posts: 2,650
    I had Niven in last place. Fair enough he’s one of the best elements in CR’67 and I enjoy his presence in that film - but much like Nelson I find it hard to compare him to the official Bond actors.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,860
    The comedy in CR67 was uneven in the hands of various different people writing, directing, etc. Yet Niven kept his cool and in an charmingly professional way got through the whole thing with ease. Whatever we say about the film, Niven is one of the best elements in it.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited August 14 Posts: 7,743
    I have always been a fan of David Niven, outside the world of Bond, but also as part of CR67. The man is just always a very charming presence. There's just something incredibly likeable about him.

    I also think he is one of the highlights of CR67, a film that I actually really like (despite its many many shortcomings), bringing a dignified retired James Bond to the table that I, in all honesty, enjoy more than my least favourite EON 007.

    As such, Niv came in 6th for me.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,427
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I have always been a fan of David Niven, outside the world of Bond, but also as part of CR67. The man is just always a very charming presence. There's just something incredibly likeable about him.

    I also think he is one of the highlights of CR67, a film that I actually really like (despite its many many shortcomings), bringing a dignified retired James Bond to the table that I, in all honesty, enjoy more than my least favourite EON 007.

    As such, Niv came in 6th for me.

    I quite agree. It would be interesting to see Niven cast as Bond as a younger man in a "serious" Bond film. I think he would do an admirable job.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,860
    royale65 wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I have always been a fan of David Niven, outside the world of Bond, but also as part of CR67. The man is just always a very charming presence. There's just something incredibly likeable about him.

    I also think he is one of the highlights of CR67, a film that I actually really like (despite its many many shortcomings), bringing a dignified retired James Bond to the table that I, in all honesty, enjoy more than my least favourite EON 007.

    As such, Niv came in 6th for me.

    I quite agree. It would be interesting to see Niven cast as Bond as a younger man in a "serious" Bond film. I think he would do an admirable job.

    If he could lose the moustache, absolutely!

    vhaonylxtkmd.jpg
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited 12:33pm Posts: 18,812
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I have always been a fan of David Niven, outside the world of Bond, but also as part of CR67. The man is just always a very charming presence. There's just something incredibly likeable about him.

    His autobiographies are fantastic fun if you ever fancy reading them, really interesting stuff.

    He's also probably the toughest guy to have ever played Bond, and closest to the fictional spy in some ways, in that he joined the military in the early 30s and served in the Commandos in WW2.
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 8,481
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    royale65 wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I have always been a fan of David Niven, outside the world of Bond, but also as part of CR67. The man is just always a very charming presence. There's just something incredibly likeable about him.

    I also think he is one of the highlights of CR67, a film that I actually really like (despite its many many shortcomings), bringing a dignified retired James Bond to the table that I, in all honesty, enjoy more than my least favourite EON 007.

    As such, Niv came in 6th for me.

    I quite agree. It would be interesting to see Niven cast as Bond as a younger man in a "serious" Bond film. I think he would do an admirable job.

    If he could lose the moustache, absolutely!

    vhaonylxtkmd.jpg

    Ah, you couldn't have David Niven without his moustache..Just wouldn't be him! 😁
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