BOND MONTH: Best of Bond's allies

(WARNING: THERE WILL BE MINOR SPOILERS FOR 'SKYFALL')

We continue Bond Month by taking a look at the primary allies of James Bond (M, Q, Monnypenny, and Felix Leiter) who, like Bond himself, have all been played by multiple actors/actresses over the years. So who were the best in each key role? That is what we're going to find out today. For the record, I will not be including the newest interpretations of M, Q, or Moneypenny that were introduced in 'Skyfall'. However, I will warn you that I will be mentioning them in this post, along with a few spoilers for the movie itself. Let's not waste any time and get started with Bond's boss and the head of MI6, M.

M

From the original 'Dr. No' in 1962 to this year's 'Skyfall', the role of M has been played by four different people over the 50 years that this franchise has been around. First, there was Bernard Lee, who played M from 'Dr. No' to 'Moonraker' before his death in 1981. Because of this, 'For Your Eyes Only' did not feature M out of respect towards Lee, and the script was re-written so that the character would be referred to as being 'on leave'. Robert Brown (who had notably appeared in an earlier Bond film, 'The Spy Who Loved Me') took over the role of M starting with 'Octopussy' until 'Licence to Kill'. Dame Judi Dench became the first actress to play M in 'Goldeneye' and would stay in the role until her character's death in 'Skyfall'. The role currently belongs to Ralph Fiennes' Mallory, who was introduced in 'Skyfall' and took over the position at the end of the film. But who was the best of the original three?

BEST M: JUDI DENCH (1995-2012)

Dench immediately earns this title in her first appearance in 'Goldeneye', where she flat out expresses her dislike of Bond by calling him a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War." However, despite this early tension, the relationship between M and Bond was greatly explored through Dench's tenure as M, more so than ever before. This more applies to Daniel Craig's Bond, specifically Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, with Dench getting her biggest role yet in the latter. In regards to the other M's, Bernard Lee comes in second. Like Dench, he does express his disapproval of Bond from time to time, but never at a moment as memorable as Dench's 'sexist dinosaur' statement from 'Goldeneye'. Of course, Lee was always solid in the role and he was the original M, after all. Finally, there's Robert Brown. Overall, he was rather underused in the series and came off as being too nice, except during 'Licence to Kill' when he revokes Bond's licence to kill. I'm not saying he was bad. It's just that he wasn't given much to do.

Q

This is no contest. There's only one Q.

BEST Q: DESMOND LLEWELYN (1963-1999)

He's been in more Bond films than any single Bond actor. He's given five different 007's his unique gadgets, reminding each one to 'return them in pristine condition', which Bond rarely does. No matter who takes over the role of Q, they will never match the legacy that Llewelyn has created in the 17 Bond films he has starred in. So what about the other Q's that have succeeded Llewelyn so far? Well, first we had John Cleese, who was introduced in 'The World is Not Enough' as Q's assistant R, but was then officially promoted to the role of Q for 'Die Another Day'. After that, the franchise was rebooted with 'Casino Royale' and it wasn't until 'Skyfall' when Q was used again, now played by Ben Whishaw. It's sad that Cleese was only Q for one film because he was perfect to take over for Llewelyn. The same can be said for Whishaw in Skyfall. He and Craig play off each other very well and this new version of Q is perfectly written for the modern world, and he just might be better at Bond's job than even Bond himself.

 

MISS MONEYPENNY

Next up is M's secretary. Like M, there have been four actresses who have been in the role since 'Dr. No'. The role was originated by Lois Maxwell, who has appeared in 14 Bond films, the second most of any actor in the Bond franchise (second only to Desmond Llewelyn). Caroline Bliss took over the role of Moneypenny for the two Timothy Dalton Bond films, 'The Living Daylights' and 'Licence to Kill'. When the franchise was revived in 1995's 'Goldeneye', the role of Monnypenny now belonged to Samantha Bond (see what they did there?), who played the character for all four Pierce Brosnan Bond films. After not appearing in the first two Bond films, Monnypenny was reintroduced in 'Skyfall' now played by Naomie Harris.

BEST MONEYPENNY: LOIS MAXWELL (1962-1985)

She was the original Miss Moneypenny, and she will always be the best. She's the only Moneypenny who has flirted with more than one of the six Bond actors and she always plays off each of the three Bond actors she has worked with extremely well. In second, I will have to go with Samantha Bond from the Brosnan movies for having superb chemistry with Brosnan. Closing out the list of the Moneypenny actresses in third is Caroline Bliss from the Dalton Bond movies. As for the current Monnypenny, Naomie Harris, she proved that she had great chemistry with Craig in 'Skyfall', but I'm not including her at this point because she has only been in one Bond film up to this point.

FELIX LEITER

This is a harder role to talk about because there have been multiple actors who have played the role of Bond's friend from the CIA through the 23 EON Bond films, seven to be exact. In order, the role has been played by Jack Lord (Dr. No), Cec Linder (Goldfinger), Rik Van Nutter (Thunderball), Norman Burton (Diamonds are Forever), David Hedison (Live and Let Die and in 'Licence to Kill' 16 years later), John Terry (The Living Daylights), and Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace). More importantly, the role of Felix has always been a minor one so it's a harder decision. However, there's one Leiter that stood out amongst the rest.

BEST FELIX LEITER: DAVID HEDISON (1973, 1989)

Hedison is one of only two actors who have played the role of Leiter at least twice, the other being Jeffrey Wright. While Hedison wasn't really given much to do in his first film, 'Live and Let Die', he was given a more substantial role in 'Licence to Kill' that plays a key part in the plot of the movie. The attack on him and his new wife Della by drug lord Franz Sanchez gives Bond the perfect reason to go out on a personal vendetta against Sanchez even after his licence to kill has been revoked by MI6. In second place, I'll have to go with Jack Lord from 'Dr. No', the original Felix Leiter, and in third will have to be Jeffrey Wright from the Daniel Craig Bond movies, the current Leiter.

NEXT UP: THE TOP 5 BEST AND WORST BOND GIRLS