1965: "Thunderball" and the heavenly choirs of 007

By Deborah Lipp, author of The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book

 But of course, I forgot your ego, Mr. Bond. James Bond, who only has to make love to a woman and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She repents, and immediately returns to the side of right and virtue. But not this one.

The first, and arguably greatest femme fatale of the James Bond movies was introduced in 1965’s Thunderball, the fourth James Bond movie. Fiona Volpe, played by Luciana Paluzzi was both thunderously femme and stunningly fatale. We meet her as the very sensual, very beautiful lover of Francois Derval. Soon, though, she is supervising his murder and replacement by a surgical double. Next, she is the mysterious motorcyclist who murders a SPECTRE agent who was indiscreet. 

So, before Bond ever encounters her, she’s shown us the full range of thrills and chills; sex, death, and speed...

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Gone but Not Forgotten

We've been remiss of lately marking the passing of showbiz greats and with Oscar night fast approaching and with it another "in memoriam" people we've lost are suddenly in mind. (This time of year is always a major challenge to keep up with given the mania of awards season.) Here are five stars, four of whom became famous right around the same time as each other, that passed away in December.

Let this small remembrance make amends for our lateness in paying tribute...

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007 Femme Fatales

Deborah Lipp, author of "The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book" continues her countdown to "Skyfall" with lists of 007 things!

Author Ian Fleming, creator of the James Bond series, had no interest in the archetype of a femme fatale—a seductive, beautiful, dangerous woman. The femme fatale is Freud's ultimate woman, combining sex and death. Fleming's women were either love interests, usually fragile and in need of rescue, or—if villains—hideously ugly. But the Bond films introduced us to the sexy villainess. As it happens, there have been exactly seven such villainesses in the course of Bond film history.

In chronological order, then, here's a run-down of the femmes fatale that have passed through Bond's films and bed...

Miss Taro

001 Miss Taro, Dr. No (1962)
A secondary villain, Miss Taro sleeps with Bond to keep him at her house long enough for compatriots to come and kill him. Unfortunately, he knows her plan, and in a rare gesture of mercy, has her arrested. She's the only character on our list who survives the encounter! She's also not terribly interesting; she seems uneasy in her role as villainess and the film relies far too heavily on "inscrutable Asian" stereotypes.  

What should I say to an invitation from a strange gentleman?"
-Zena Marshall as Miss Taro 

Fiona Volpe

002 Fiona Volpe, Thunderball (1965)
This one's the best, ladies and gentlemen, the prototype, the mold upon which all other seductresses are based. 

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