Gallery: Highlights from 50 Years of James Bond

News
By published
Daniel Craig (left) and Sébastien Foucan (right) star in James Bond movie, Casino Royale. (Image credit: Jay Maidment)

Dr. No (1962)

James Bond film Dr. No

(Image credit: © 1962 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.)

Goldfinger (1964)

James Bond film Goldfinger

(Image credit: © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)

While investigating smuggling by Auric Goldfinger, a gold magnate, Bond (played by Connery) uncovers a plot to raid the Fort Knox gold reserve and decimate the global economy. While saving the world once again, Bond wins the Bond Girl, this one Goldfinger's personal pilot, the lovely Pussy Galore (played by Honor Blackman). Famous Bond Girl Jill Masterson (played by Shirley Eaton, shown here) is covered by gold paint, which kills her via epidermal suffocation.

You Only Live Twice (1967)

James Bond film You Only Live Twice

(Image credit: © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)

In the sixth film of the Bond series, agent 007 and the Japanese secret service ninja force work together to find the true culprit of several spacejackings, one of which involved an American space capsule that gets swallowed up by what is thought to be a Russian spaceship, nearly triggering a nuclear World War 3. Bond finds the real evildoer and saves the day.

Casino Royale (1967)

James Bond film Casino Royale

(Image credit: © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)

After the death of M, Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop the Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH. Bond's ultimate plan? Every agent is donned with his name. One of the Bonds, Evelyn Tremble (played by Peter Sellers and shown here) is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat. The twist: The ultimate villain ends up being the real James Bond's nephew, John.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever

(Image credit: Danjaq/Eon Productions)

In the 1971 "Diamonds Are Forever," Bond's antagonist develops a satellite to be used as a space-based weapon, and 007 himself escapes danger at one point by stealing a moon buggy from a research laboratory.

The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)

James Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun

(Image credit: © 1974 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Still of Christopher Lee and Roger Moore in The Man with the Golden Gun

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

James Bond Film The Spy Who Loved Me

(Image credit: © 1977 – MGM)

James Bond, played by Roger Moore, is at it again, this time on a mission to figure out how a Royal Navy Polaris submarine holding 16 nuclear warheads vanishes into thin air. Bond's villains are not to be outdone in this action film, with a web-handed mastermind named Karl Stromberg, and a henchman with a mouth of metal teeth aptly named Jaws. The clock ticks as Bond tracks down the missing submarine before the warheads fire.

Moonraker (1979)

James Bond film Moonraker

(Image credit: © 1979 - United Artist)

James Bond is back for another mission and this time, he blasts off into space, working against the clock to find out who hijacked a spaceship created by Drax Industries and the man behind the corporation Hugo Drax (played by Michael Lonsdale, shown here). Along the way, Bond (played by Roger Moore) meets up with Dr. Holly Goodhead and the metal-toothed Jaws.

A View to a Kill (1985)

James Bond film A View to a Kill

(Image credit: © 1985 - MGM)

One of Bond's most intriguing qualities is his ability to be both bad-boy and suave at the same time, often saving the day and the gal. In the 17th film of the Bond series, 007 must find a computer chip capable of withstanding nuclear electromagnetic pulses and keep the chip's creator from wiping out Silicon Valley with an earthquake along California's San Andreas Fault. He brings Bond girl along for the ride.

Goldeneye (1995)

By 1995, Pierce Brosnan had taken over the role of James Bond. In "Goldeneye" the super-spy battled Agent 006 (Sean Bean) at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

(Image credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)

By 1995, Pierce Brosnan had taken over the role of James Bond. In "Goldeneye" the super-spy battled Agent 006 (Sean Bean) at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

Skyfall poster

Skyfall poster

(Image credit: MGM/Danjaq/Eon)

Skyfall poster

Jeanna Bryner
Managing editor, Scientific American

Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.