Book Review: WHEN HARRY MET CUBBY--THE STORY OF THE JAMES BOND PRODUCERS

 

There's been numerous books written about the James Bond film franchise, especially lately, with the recent 60th anniversary of the release of DR. NO, the first Bond movie. In WHEN HARRY MET CUBBY, author Robert Sellers takes a look at the two producers who instigated the most successful film series of all time. 

Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman didn't even know each other when they joined forces in 1961 to attempt to make films based on the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming. The two men had been individually producing films for a few years before their partnership, but neither of them were considered part of the top echelon of filmmakers at the time, and most people in the industry had very little confidence that a James Bond picture would work. Needless to say, the Bond films would go on to rule the 1960s, and Broccoli and Saltzman became rich, powerful men. 

Robert Sellers starts this book with early biographical detail on Broccoli & Saltzman, giving a chapter to each man's life before they met each other. The main theme of the book is that the two men were very different people, but the first chapters reveal that the two men actually had a lot in common. They both had hardscrabble upbringings, they both worked numerous jobs before getting into the film industry, and they both were North Americans who wound up producing films in England. 

Sellers makes the case that in their partnership, Broccoli was the "good cop" and Saltzman was the bad one. Broccoli wanted everyone on his cast & crews to be happy and get along, and he went out of his way to avoid and solve problems. Saltzman was a more complex figure, a wheeler-dealer that, according to Sellers, lacked the social graces and tact to be looked upon fondly by those who worked with him. 

Because of Saltzman's complicated nature, he gets much more coverage in the book than Broccoli does. Saltzman also was a much more adventurous producer than his partner, even though Sellers details that much of his projects and plans never amounted to much. (Broccoli just wanted to focus on the Bond series, knowing that was the most important thing to deal with.) 

Of course most of the book details the making of the Bond films during the Broccoli-Saltzman era (Saltzman sold out to Broccoli after THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN). If you are a major James Bond fan, a number of the stories about the franchise in this book will be familiar, but there's plenty of info that I was not aware of. 

This is a solid, concise look at both Broccoli & Saltzman (the book is only 250 pages minus the footnotes and index). Sellers has a clear, get-to-the-point writing style. There's more than a few juicy anecdotes to be found here, but this is not a gossipy tell-all. 

After reading this book, one may wonder why Broccoli & Saltzman stayed together as long as they did (much mention is made of how they didn't get along very well). The main reason isn't surprising--the Bond films were making an incredible amount of money, and neither man wanted to get off the gravy train. Despite their individual quirks, the two men do deserve credit for initiating the James Bond film series and making a huge impact on pop culture. 

Robert Sellers' book is a nice, quick look at two important producers and the film series they began. I must admit that I bought this book at a discount, and, in all honesty, I don't think I would have paid full price for it.