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Subsequent
"facts" give cause for concern as well. For example, as written, the
quote above implies that Cubby Broccoli was standing on set there in
Jamaica back in early 1962 as the cameras started rolling for the
production of Dr. No, only reacting then and there by
providing his Rolex. Other official histories, however, place the
anecdote about Mr. Broccoli having handed over his personal wristwatch
in a pre-production circumstance.
"That watch" (and no other? ever?) as Mr. Nathan continues, was used for
Dr. No, From Russia with Love,
Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live
Twice? That's some durable wristwatch when you consider what
pieces are up against in James Bond film productions! And some long-term
budget crunch. As well as some patient producer in Albert R. Broccoli,
who had to do without that watch for five long years. Or was it returned
to him between films, only to have the production come back to him at
the start of each successive movie with a plea along the lines of,
"nope, still no money in the budget to buy one for wardrobe yet"?
Apart from any argument regarding Ian
Fleming as "lynchpin" in contemporary James Bond films, there is no line
in the Casino Royale novel that quotes: "He could not just
wear a watch, it had to be a Rolex." In fact, Mr. Fleming makes no
reference to any watch brand at all in that novel, and, frankly, only
refers to Bond's watch once in Casino Royale. "Rolex" is
not named as a brand until a year later, in Live and Let Die
(1954). After that, it disappears, never referenced again by Fleming
until after the Dr. No movie hit theatres.
So much for fetishism.
Looking now to the larger context of the
EMPIRE article, Mr. Nathan makes a point not once but
twice about the Broccoli family and Mr. Craig not being on the same page
with facts. The first is in the first paragraphs of the article, where
he notes that, "like all good anecdotes, everybody is telling it
differently." Then, on page 87: "According to who you ask, Quantum of
Solace begins two minutes (Broccoli), five minutes (Wilson), 20 minutes
(Forster), or one hour (Craig) after the final shot of Casino Royale."
So— is the Daniel Craig Rolex Submariner model 6538 based as he
appears to have said, straightforwardly, on "the one he
remembers" from Goldfinger (my emphasis added here), or,
as some are now reading between the lines "on specific production
records retained by EON, because he'd clearly have had insider-access as
the current James Bond to research it before buying"?
Outside of those among us who care about
such exacting detail, is it prudent to assume that Mr. Craig would
have asked simply because he could have asked?
At this point, I have to separate myself
as a professional researcher from the wishful thinker, and answer this
question with a conservative "nope." That said, I think it's darn cool
that the current James Bond owns a vintage Rolex Submariner, and that we
know it's a model 6358. A fact for history and trivia in its own right. |
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