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The biggest, most audacious James Bond movie during Sean Connery’s celebrated run as the British superspy is 1965’s Thunderball, a spectacular adaptation of the Ian Fleming novel of the same name. Thunderball sees the insidious terrorist syndicate Spectre steal two nuclear warheads from NATO and hold the world governments hostage for ￡100 million. After a run-in with Spectre operatives at a local clinic while recuperating from a recent mission, Bond suspects the warheads are hidden in the Bahamas and convinces M to investigate further. Upon arriving, Bond matches wits with high-ranking Spectre figure Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) and assassin Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi), romancing Largo’s girlfriend Domino (Claudine Auger) as he searches for the warheads.

Nearly 60 years after its initial release, Thunderball remains the highest-earning Bond film in North America after adjusting for inflation and is the second in the long-running series to win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

The late Raquel Welch was always very pragmatic about her acting career. She understood that she was largely approached for very specific kinds of roles merely for her model good looks and dazzling on-screen sparkle. It's telling that one of her most famous roles, that of Loana in Don Chaffey's 1966 film "One Million Years B.C.," featured Welch in a revealing fur bikini. That Welch was also a hilarious actor was a marvelous bonus for audiences everywhere. She was always very game, and can be seen in any number of energetic and bawdy comedies. Of course she was in Richard Lester's celibate "Three Musketeers" movies in the 1970s. She was, however, always aware of what audiences were looking at. Case in point: Welch's 2010 autobiography is called "Beyond the Cleavage."

In that book, Welch revealed that she was once approached to play the central love interest in the early James Bond film "Thunderball.

This article contains Tenet spoilers.

Throughout the Daniel Craig era of James Bond, the influence of Christopher Nolan has been hard to miss. A year after Nolan reinvented Dark Knight mythology with Batman Begins, and created the industry term of a “reboot” in the process, 007 had his own back-to-basics reset in Casino Royale. And following The Dark Knight’s praise for reconfiguring its iconography again for a post-War on Terror world, Skyfall would receive similar acclaim a few years later for its chilly, realpolitik tone.

But no matter how many developments in the Bond canon end up attributed to Nolan’s influence, it should be recognized that Bond influenced him first. That fact is almost inescapable after watching Tenet, which just premiered on HBO Max. It’s the filmmaker’s latest time-bending thriller, and the one that most resembles a 007 flick. With its smoothly dressed secret agent hero, its allusions to British intelligence,...

Claudine Auger, a French actress best known for her work as the Bond girl Domino in the 1965 James Bond movie “Thunderball” opposite Sean Connery, has died. She was 78.

The official James Bond Twitter account shared the news of her passing Friday.

“It’s with great sadness we have learnt that Claudine Auger, who played Domino Derval in ‘Thunderball” (1965), has passed away at the age of 78,” @007 said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with her family and friends.”

Also Read: 'No Time to Die' Trailer: Daniel Craig Suits Up as James Bond for 5th and Final Time (Video)

Auger, born Claudine Oger, was a French star who first won the Miss France pageant in 1958 and was the runner up for Miss World that same year. She studied dramatic acting at the Conservatory in Paris and made her uncredited film debut in 1958 in a film called “Christine.” She was then...

Auger in a publicity photo for "Thunderball".

By Lee Pfeiffer

French model-turned actress Claudine Auger has passed away at age 78. Auger was France's entry in the Miss World contest at age 17 in 1958. She later entered the movie profession and caught the eye of James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman when they were casting the female lead for the fourth 007 blockbuster "Thunderball" starring Sean Connery in 1965. Auger wasn't their first choice, as Faye Dunaway, Julie Christie and Raquel Welch had been considered, but for different reasons, did not end up playing the pivotal role. In the film, Auger played Domino, the mistress of Spectre villain Emilio Largo, played by Adolfo Celi. Domino seems content with the life of luxury afforded her by Largo but upon being seduced by James Bond, she courageously risks her life to help him thwart Spectre's nuclear threat to Miami Beach. Although Auger could speak fluent English,...

Claudine Auger, the French actress who played Bond girl Dominique "Domino" Derval in 1965's Thunderball, died Wednesday in Paris, her talent agency announced. She was 78.

Born in Paris on April 26, 1941, Auger was a model who won the Miss France beauty contest and finished first runner-up in the 1958 Miss World pageant. While still in school, she was discovered by Jean Cocteau and appeared in his 1960 film Testament of Orpheus, and then in The Iron Mask (1962) and Games of Desire (1964).

During a vacation in Nassau, the Bahamas, Auger bumped into producer Kevin McClory, and he signed her ...

Claudine Auger, the French actress who played Bond girl Dominique "Domino" Derval in 1965's Thunderball, died Wednesday in Paris, her talent agency announced. She was 78.

Born in Paris on April 26, 1941, Auger was a model who won the Miss France beauty contest and finished first runner-up in the 1958 Miss World pageant. While still in school, she was discovered by Jean Cocteau and appeared in his 1960 film Testament of Orpheus, and then in The Iron Mask (1962) and Games of Desire (1964).

During a vacation in Nassau, the Bahamas, Auger bumped into producer Kevin McClory, and he signed her ...

French actor Claudine Auger, who broke through internationally with her part opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond film “Thunderball,” has died. She was 78.

Auger’s talent agency Art Time announced the news and said she had died in Paris.

Auger started her acting career with a small part in the 1958 film “Christine,” in which she starred alongside Romy Schneider and Alain Delon. She then appeared in Jean Cocteau’s 1960 film “Testament Of Orpheus.”

She was the first French actress to be cast as a “Bond girl” in a movie with the dashing British spy, years ahead of Lea Seydoux, Sophie Marceau, Eva Green and Carole Bouquet. In 1965’s “Thunderball,” she played “Domino,” a femme fatale and mistress of Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) who falls in love with Bond and helps him bring down a criminal organization. She reportedly won the role over Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway and Julie Christie.

French actress Claudine Auger, noted for her role as Dominique “Domino” Derval in James Bond film Thunderball, has died at the age of 78.

The news was announced by her agency Time Art, which said she died in Paris on Thursday (December 20), as reported by numerous French press. No cause of death was disclosed.

Auger began her acting career in France when Jean Cocteau cast her in a small role in his 1960 pic Testament Of Orpheus. At the age of 18, she married the French filmmaker Pierre Gaspard-Huit, who was 43 at the time, and he cast her in several of his films including his 1958 film Christine in which she appeared alongside Romy Schneider and Alain Delon.

Her big break came when she landed the role of Domino in Thunderball, the fourth pic in the James Bond franchise in which she starred with Sean Connery, playing the mistress of arch villain Emilio Largo...

Claudine Auger, who played Domino opposite Sean Connery in Thunderball has died.

The actress died in Paris on Thursday, according to her agent, reports Afp. She was 78.

Before Léa Seydoux, Eva Green and Carole Bouquet, Auger was the first French actress to star opposite 007 appearing in the Bond series’ fourth entry in 1965.

Born Claudine Oger in Paris, she began her career as a model before representing France and becoming runner-up in the 1958 Miss World competition.

Turning to acting, she appeared on stage and in films including Jean Cocteau’s The Testament of Orpheus in 1960 before winning the part in Thunderball...

A look back at all the lovely allies and femme fatales who’ve crossed paths with 007 over the years.

Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, “Dr. No” (1962)

Widely regarded as the first Bond Girl, Honey Ryder’s emergence from the ocean clad in a white bikini is considered one of the most iconic moments in 007 franchise history.

Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench, “Dr. No” (1962) & “From Russia With Love” (1963)

Sylvia Trench introduced herself to James Bond as “Trench, Sylvia Trench,” which inspired him to reply with his now iconic “Bond, James Bond” phrase. She’s also the first Bond Girl to appear in more than one film.

Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova, “From Russia With Love” (1963)

Tasked with seducing and killing James Bond, Tatiana falls for the British spy instead, ultimately teaming up with him to take down the deadly Rosa Klebb.

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore, “Goldfinger” (1964)

Perhaps the most...

Welcome back to our ongoing From VHS to VOD column – our guide through the strange and obscure – the odd, unseen and unreleased (well unreleased on disc formats) films available on streaming and on-demand services.

Once again we’re taking a look at the obscure movies hitting Amazon Prime Video – available for streaming and/or purchase, some of which have been made available in the UK for the first time since VHS and a Lot that have been added to the service in their original uncut form! And yes, despite the recent reported cull of genre titles from Amazon Prime’s vaults there’s still a Huge amount of obscure films to watch right now without ever leaving the couch (feel free to sit around in your pants too if that’s how you roll).

Bermuda Triangle (1978)

The passengers and crew of a boat on a summer cruise in the Caribbean...

Yvonne Monlaur: Cult horror movie actress & Bond Girl contender was featured in the 1960 British classics 'Circus of Horrors' & 'The Brides of Dracula.' Actress Yvonne Monlaur dead at 77: Best remembered for cult horror classics 'Circus of Horrors' & 'The Brides of Dracula' Actress Yvonne Monlaur, best known for her roles in the 1960 British cult horror classics Circus of Horrors and The Brides of Dracula, died of cardiac arrest on April 18 in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. Monlaur was 77. According to various online sources, she was born Yvonne Thérèse Marie Camille Bédat de Monlaur in the southwestern town of Pau, in France's Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, on Dec. 15, 1939. Her father was poet and librettist Pierre Bédat de Monlaur; her mother was a Russian ballet dancer. The young Yvonne was trained in ballet and while still a teenager became a model for Elle magazine. She was “discovered” by newspaper publisher-turned-director André Hunebelle,...

It's a genuine forgotten gem: American student Jean Seberg's five-year adventure in Paris is mostly a period of romantic frustration. Irwin Shaw and Robert Parrish's look at the problems of an independent woman is remarkably insightful; the chronically miscast and underused Ms. Seberg is luminous. In the French Style Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1963 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 105 min. / Ship Date April 12, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Jean Seberg, Stanley Baker, Phillippe Forquet, Addison Powell, Jack Hedley, Maurice Teynac, Claudine Auger, James Leo Herlihy, Ann Lewis, Barbara Sommers. Cinematography Michel Kelber Original Music Joseph Kosma Written by Irwin Shaw from his short stories Produced by Irwin Shaw, Robert Parrish Directed by Robert Parrish

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Talk about elusive movies: on must keep an eye on the TCM logs to catch many of the films of director Robert Parrish. I had to wait for the advent of...

Thunderball

Directed by Terrence Young

Written by John Hopkins and Richard Maibaum

1965, UK

Being a relative novice to the James Bond canon, I have never grown accustomed to the many colorful details that have leaked from the Bond films into popular culture. Thunderball, as I discovered, is the home to many of the Bond clichés, as they’ve more or less become. It is, from what I can understand, the mold that which every Bond film is created.

There are the clever puns delivered with a wink, daring escapes using proto-gadgets that bend the boundaries of belief, the beautiful women, seemingly hypnotized by the smooth debonair Bond, and of course, the cartoonish villain and his cartoonish plot to conquer, or destroy the world.

These are all clear marks of every Bond film, past, present, and future. And though there were films that used these ideas before, and even Bond films that used the same formula,...

Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Black Sabbath is playing on Mubi in the Us through November 13, and Bay of Blood is playing on Mubi in the Us October 15 - November 14.Starting as a cinematographer and director of documentaries and shorts, Mario Bava would ultimately explore a variety of genres, from spaghetti westerns and sword-and-sandal adventures, to a modish detective film and even a romping sex comedy. It is his work within the horror genre, however, for which he is most widely, and justly, lauded. Among the Italian filmmakers who rose to prominence on the international horror scene of the 1960s and 70s, few would attain his degree of diverse stylistic virtuosity, nor would they cover the genre in such an expansive fashion. As the years of his career happened to fall, Bava ended up documenting the horror film in the process of profound transition.

Sean Connery's last appearance as James Bond, and the last 'unofficial' 007 movie. We revisit Never Say Never Again...

So does this count? Never Say Never Again stirs many arguments by shaking up the official order, splitting fans on the issue of its legitimacy. Ruins pub quiz questions such as ‘How many actors have played M?’ due to the inevitable argument whether Edward Fox should be numbered. Put such issues aside and enjoy what remains: a sly, witty semi-pastiche that doesn’t attempt to recapture past glories but can easily hold its own alongside Diamonds Are Forever and Octopussy. And with much less swimming than Thunderball.

The Villain: Ignore Emilo: Maximillian Largo is his own maniac. Short, tubby, lanky blond hair receding, Largo is Draco Malfoy gone to seed. Easily visualised shuffling around Comic Con, accompanied by Mr Kidd and the reformed Jaws. Yet Largo is one of the film’s strengths.

A Bay of Blood (1971) (Blu-ray Review) Directed By: Mario Bava Starring: Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso Rated: R/Region: A/1X77/1080p/Number of disc: 1 Available from Kino Lorber An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dil…...

Penélope Cruz: Bond Girl or Bond Woman? Whether you find "age-appropriateness" all-important or just another politically correct inanity, it’s both surprising and good news that 39-year-old Academy Award winner Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) has been reportedly tapped as the next Bond Girl — ahem, Bond Woman. If all goes well, according to Yahoo, Cruz, who turns 40 next April, should start filming the next James Bond movie opposite Daniel Craig in summer 2014. (Photo: Penélope Cruz.) Regarding Penélope Cruz’s casting, Yahoo cites an unnamed source "close to the production." According to the source, "the producers have tried to get Penélope before, but she has never been available because of other commitments. The discussions have been going on for some time and they are working out the contract details now." Other details that need to be worked out is the name of the director to handle the Skyfall sequel. The...

"Do you mind if my friend sits this one out? She's just dead."

The tremendous box office success of Skyfall reinvigorated the James Bond franchise after the lackluster performance of the previous film in the series, Quantum of Solace, but tonight's Double-0 MovieMovie is still far and away the most financially successful of the franchise, when adjusted for ticket price inflation. It was also a critical favorite at the time of its release and earned an Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 1966 Academy Awards.

Thunderball finds 007 (Sean Connery) on a quest to recover two nuclear weapons stolen by the global terrorist organization Spectre — last seen in From Russia with Love — who threaten to blow up a major city in the U.S. or the U.K. unless Nato pays a ransom of £100 million in diamonds. Bond's investigation leads him to the Bahamas and the underwater fortress of Spectre's Number Two,...

"Miss Anders... I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on."

It's been 50 years this month since James Bond first made the leap from the printed page to the silver screen with the release of Dr. No in theaters. Six different actors — Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig — have played Ian Fleming's timeless character over the decades and, while his spy gadgets and cars may change, you can always count on Bond to surround himself with beautiful, resourceful, and downright deadly women.

Considering February is Bond Month on Reelz, we thought this would be a great time to look back at the sexy women who have helped to make James Bond the cultural icon of masculinity he has become. Is Ursula Andress's Honey Ryder still the top Bond Girl, the pinnacle of spy intrigue sex appeal, or is it time to christen a new queen?...

Thunderball

Directed by Terrency Young

Written by John Hopkins and Richard Maibaum

1965, UK

Being a relative novice to the James Bond canon, I have never grown accustomed to the many colorful details that have leaked from the Bond films into popular culture. Thunderball, as I discovered, is the home to many of the Bond clichés, as they’ve more or less become. It is, from what I can understand, the mold that which every Bond film is created.

There are the clever puns delivered with a wink, daring escapes using proto-gadgets that bend the boundaries of belief, the beautiful women, seemingly hypnotized by the smooth debonair Bond, and of course, the cartoonish villain and his cartoonish plot to conquer, or destroy the world.

These are all ear marks of every Bond film, past, present, and future. And though there were films that used these ideas before, and even Bond films that used the same formula,...

The actresses who have played "Bond Girls," are perhaps some of the most stunning in the world. Ursula Andress of "Dr. No," Britt Ekland of "The Man With The Golden Gun," Barbara Bach of "The Spy Who Loved Me," and of course, Jane Seymour in "Live And Let Die." These beauties remain a source of style and beauty inspiration today. But the image that lives in the public consciousness is typically their bikini-clad Bond girl image, even though that may have been a decade (or a few decades) ago.

These women are just as gorgeous today. They may no longer frolic on the silver screen in swimsuits, but they still know how to turn up the glamour on the red carpet. In honor of the 50th anniversary of "Dr. No" this week, take a look in the gallery below to see Shirley Eaton of "Goldfinger," Claudine Auger of "Thunderball" and...

London, Sept 30: Ursula Andress has been voted the sexiest Bond girl - 50 years after her famous scene in 'Dr. No', where she emerged from the Caribbean sea in a white bikini.

The now 76-year-old-actress, beat Halle Berry, Claudine Auger and Eva Green in a poll to mark the half-century of Bond films, the Sun reported.

The top 15 Bond girls are:

Ursula Andress - Dr. No

Halle Berry - Die Another Day

Claudine.

For the next 22 weeks, MTV Movies Blog will be running what we call the Bond-a-Thond. Every Wednesday we're taking a look back at a single (official) Bond film, giving you the vitals and seeing how it holds up, right up until the release of "Skyfall" on November 9. Feel free to watch along with us and share your thoughts or just kick back and enjoy the Bond.

Thunderball (1965)

Title Meaning: Thunderball is the name given to the operation organized to recapture the stolen atomic bombs.

Plot: After taking "Goldfinger" off, evil international organization Spectre returns to hold two stolen atomic bombs for ransom. MI6 assembles all of the 00 agents to help retrieve them, but only James Bond is clever enough to track them to Nassau.

Bond: Sean Connery

Villain: Emilio Largo aka Number 2, Blofeld's second-in-command and the orchestrator of the ransom plot, played by Adolfo Celi, and Fiona Volpe, Spectre agent and murdering seductress,...

When Bernard Natan, head of Pathé, had his French nationality taken away during the French Occupation (after which he perished in Auschwitz), his brother Emile, also a film producer, was similarly denaturalized. But Emile escaped the country, enlisted abroad, and was able to return to France as a conquering hero at the end of the war. His citizenship was restored and he resumed his producing career, notably with Yves Allegret's Maneges (1950).

When Natan died, his company was taken over by his daughter Monique. Now it was the Sixties, and a whole new generation of filmmakers were at work, with a whole new style. But Monique rejected all offers from the nouvelle vague—the only two filmmakers she took a real interest in were Jean Rollin, with whom she produced and co-wrote Le frisson des Vampires (softcore erotic vampire S&M horror), and Alain Jessua.

Jeu de massacre (1967), Jessua's film for Natan's Les Films Modernes,...

James Bond 007 Declassified File #4: "Thunderball" This series will trace the cinema history of James Bond, while also examining Ian Fleming's original novels as source material and examining how faithful (or not) the films have been to his work. Directed by Terence Young Screenplay by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins and Jack Whittingham Story by Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming Produced by Kevin McClory and Stanley Sopel Characters / Cast James Bond / Sean Connery Domino Derval / Claudine Auger Largo / Adolfo Celi Fiona / Luciana Paluzzi Felix Leiter / Rik Van Nutter Count Lippe /...

All the gossip from Harvey Weinstein's Baftas after-party, where Ralph Fiennes danced with the new Bond girl and Gillian Anderson danced on a table

Kiss and make up

A Bafta trophy rested on the bar downstairs at Le Baron in London, where Harvey Weinstein was hosting his exclusive after-party. It was late and I was tired after a sweaty dance session with Michael Fassbender, but I just had to ask the woman who was holding it what she'd won it for. "Jason, I'm your next-door neighbour," she said. I looked straight at her and indeed it was Marese Langan. We've lived next door to one another for two years, and I only hazarded a guess that she was in the film industry because I occasionally get her copies of Screen International misdelivered to my door. But I never knew Marese was a makeup artist, and I certainly didn't know...

As James Bond prepares for his 23rd official outing in Skyfall and to mark the 50th Anniversary of one of the most successful movie franchises of all time I have been tasked to take a retrospective look at the films that turned author Ian Fleming’s creation into one of the most recognised and iconic characters in film history.

Ian Fleming died just one month before the release of the third James Bond film, Goldfinger in August 1964. Even though both Dr. No and From Russia With Love had been successful and well received it was not until Goldfinger that James Bond truly became a worldwide phenomenon and it is a tragedy that Fleming never lived to see the full impact his creation had on popular culture.

The story of the fourth James Bond film, Thunderball, is a complicated one that pre-dates the formation of Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...

The term “giallo” initially referred to cheap yellow paperbacks (printed American mysteries from writers such as Agatha Christie), that were distributed in post-fascist Italy. Applied to cinema, the genre is comprised of equal parts early pulp thrillers, mystery novels, with a willingness to gleefully explore onscreen sex and violence in provocative, innovative ways. Giallos are strikingly different from American crime films: they value style and plot over characterization, and tend towards unapologetic displays of violence, sexual content, and taboo exploration. The genre is known for stylistic excess, characterized by unnatural yet intriguing lighting techniques, convoluted plots, red herrings, extended murder sequences, excessive bloodletting, stylish camerawork and unusual musical arrangements. Amidst the ‘creative kill’ set-pieces are thematic undercurrents along with a whodunit element, usually some sort of twist ending. Here is my list of the best giallo films – made strictly by Italian directors, so don’t expect Black Swan, Amer or...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules – Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Robert Capron

Sucker Punch – Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm

Movie of the Week

Sucker Punch

The Stars: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm

The Plot: A young girl (Browning) is institutionalized by her wicked stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the facility.

The Buzz: It’s certainly a great time to be a fifteen-year-old boy, isn’t it? It’s a shame I’m twenty years past my prime – Sucker Punch would have been 100% pure Pavlovian arousal for me back then. The batch of battling bombshells cartwheeling in all their gorgeously rendered video-game glory, coupled with the film’s flawless focus on, and impenetrable belief in, the great escape that can...

Turner Classic Movies (North America) is presenting a full day of Yul Brynner films tomorrow. Among them is the rarely-seen 1967 WWII spy thriller Triple Cross that pairs Brynner with a stellar cast including Christopher Plummer and Trevor Howard. The film is directed by Terence Young, who helmed the early James Bond classics and, intriguingly, the movie features three prominent Bond cast members: Thunderball leading lady Claudine Auger, Dr. No baddie Anthony Dawson and Goldfinger himself, Gert Frobe. The film has never been released on video in the USA. It airs at 3:30 Pm (Est) Incidentally, keep your video recorders in high gear because other Brynner gems showing throughout the day include Taras Bulba, Adios Sabata, The Magnificent Seven, The King and I, Kings of the Sun and Westworld.

This weekend was a James Bond weekend for me as I just received all six of the upcoming James Bond Blu-ray titles releasing tomorrow, October 21. They include, as you can see from the pic above, Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Thunderball, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only and Die Another Day. I have no idea how they came up with this order since they don't match up with any one of the Ultimate DVD sets released one year ago and outside of having three of Connery's first four turns as Bond (minus Goldfinger) there doesn't appear to be any real logic to it all. You can buy each title separately, which wasn't an immediate option with the Ultimate DVD releases, which is a nice bonus or you can save money if you plan on buying the whole lot in two separate volumes. Volume One contains Dr. No,...