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Perhaps the most enduring mystery about James Bond is how and why he has endured. The character who first appeared in Ian Fleming's Casino Royale in 1953 has been through countless reinventions and reinterpretations in his 55 fictional years and the process seems set to continue with the 22nd Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, which opens today.
Every detail of Bond's life has been obsessively catalogued by, or for, fans yet many enigmas remain. We will never know everything about James Bond. But here is a chance to find out exactly how much you do know about Britain's greatest secret agent.
1. What inspired Ian Fleming to call his hero James Bond?
a) He was writing a letter to his near-contemporary James Callaghan on Basildon Bond notepaper.
b) He heard the chimes of Big Ben while walking in St James's Park and originally planned to call the character James Bong.
c) He owned a copy of Birds of the Caribbean by ornithologist James Bond.
2. In the 1954 TV adaptation of Casino Royale the first Bond adventure ever screened, who played James Bond?
a) Sean Connery
b) David Niven
c) Barry Scott
3. How many gold bands are there on the Turkish-Balkan cigarettes made for Bond by Morlands of Mayfair, and what do they represent?
a) Two, symbolising the wedding rings he exchanged with his wife Tracy.
b) Two, symbolising the "double-O" prefix which indicates Bond is licensed to kill.
c) Three, symbolising the naval rank of Commander, shared by Fleming and Bond.
4. In the earliest books in the series, who is Bond's secretary?
a) Miss Moneypenny
b) Mary Goodnight
c) Loelia Ponsonby
5. Who wrote the James Bond theme first used in Dr No?
a) John Barry
b) David Arnold
c) Monty Norman
6. What are George Lazenby's first words as 007 after saving Diana Rigg's Tracy from suicidal drowning and fighting off two thugs in On Her Majesty's Secret Service?
a) "The name's Bond, James Bond."
b) "Let's get you out of those wet things."
c) "This never happened to the other fellow."
7. Which of these was not called GoldenEye?
a) The spy satellite in the eponymous Pierce Brosnan film.
b) Ian Fleming's Jamaican retreat, where he wrote all the books.
c) Ian Fleming's Labrador.
8. What, according to Fleming in The Man With the Golden Gun, is a sign of homosexuality?
a) Bond's compulsive womanising.
b) Wearing black leather sandals.
c) An inability to whistle.
9. Who supposedly massaged their testicles so that they retracted back into the inguinal canal, preventing them from harm in a brawl?
a) Oddjob in Goldfinger.
b) Wint and Kidd in Diamonds Are Forever.
c) Tiger Tanaka's ninjas in You Only Live Twice.
10. Ursula Andress's first appearance as Honeychile Ryder, emerging from the waves in Dr No, may have disappointed Fleming's readers because:
a) in the book she is described as a shapely brunette.
b) In the book she has an identical twin with her.
c) In the book she is naked apart from a belt and knife.
11. Who described the Bond books as "pillow fantasies of an adolescent mind"?
a) Ian Fleming's friend Noël Coward.
b) Ian Fleming's wife Ann.
c) Ian Fleming himself.
12. What's unusual about the stunt in Diamonds Are Forever, where Connery's Bond bounces Tiffany Case's Ford Mustang up on two wheels to drive it down a narrow alley?
a) Sean Connery performed the stunt himself.
b) It happened accidentally.
c) The car enters the alley balanced on the driver's side wheels, and exits balanced on the passenger side.
13. Ian Fleming originally wanted his cousin to play Dr No but the cousin ended up playing another villain. Was it:
a) Michael Lonsdale as Hugo Drax.
b) Charles Gray as Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
c) Christopher Lee as Francisco "Pistols" Scarmanga.
14. What do James Bond and Marc Forster, the director of Quantum of Solace, have in common?
a) They are both fond of Vesper martinis.
b) They were both expelled from Eton.
c) They both have Swiss ancestry.
15. Gemma Arterton, who plays Agent Fields, is reportedly the first Bond girl with a unusual physical trait. Is it that:
a) She is taller than the actor playing Bond.
b) She is double-jointed, as Daniel Craig discovered during the love scenes.
c) She was born with a vestigial extra finger on each hand.
KEY TO ANSWERS
Mostly a - You're an effective intelligence operative but not quite double-O material.
Mostly b - Oh dear. In the words of Q, "do try and pay attention".
Mostly c - You are either a Bond aficionado or you have access to Smersh's dossier.
