Managed to squeeze another Bond in before I headed out for the evening.
You Only Live Twice: This is the Bond film that worked with the “formula”, expanded upon by author Roald Dahl. From The Official James Bond Movie Book: 25th Anniversary Edition: “There are two cast-iron rules in Bond movies that cannot be broken. The first concerns the Bond character, which is fixed and unchangeable, and the second relates to the Bond girls and the order of their appearance in the film. The first girl should be pro-Bond and sacrificed early on in the plot (preferably in Bond’s arms); the second should be anti-Bond but eventually succumb to his charms (if possible saving him from his enemies); the third must also be pro-Bond but circumstances should be such that the attraction is not consumated until after the adventure.” Indeed, You Only Live Twice fulfills the formula, with some nice twists. It has some dark humor, plenty of gadgets, and Donald Pleasance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld is the penultimate Bond villain. The final battle when the volcano secret base is stormed has provided years of fodder for spoofs and parody, but is a fun climax to Connery’s first “final” Bond film.