|
Q is a character in the James Bond movies. He is the head of the Q (for Quartermaster) branch of the British Secret Service that
makes spycraft devices ranging from pens with built-in radios to cars with built-in submarines. The character first appeared in
From Russia With Love, and has appeared in every mainstream Bond movie, except Live and Let Die, up until
1999's The World Is
Not Enough. The part was played by Desmond Llewelyn, up until
his death in 1999. The World Is Not Enough introduced
Q's assistant R, who takes over the rank and title
'Q' from 2002's Die Another
Day.
In the movies the relationship between Bond and Q has been one of seeming antipathy. The gadgets supplied by Q are almost
invariably destroyed as a result of Bond's use of them, and Q is constantly exhorting Bond to take better care of them and
occasionally read the instruction manual (which Bond never does). Bond usually responds by displaying an instant mastery of
whatever device Q hands to him. In Licence to Kill Q sides with Bond, supplying him with gadgetry and even helping him
operationally despite his resignation from the Secret Service.
The ancestry of the Q character is rather complicated. In the Fleming novels there are frequent references to 'Q branch', and
in Dr. No the service armourer, Major Boothroyd, replaces Bond's Beretta pistol with a Walther PPK. In the first movie, Dr. No, the character of Major Boothroyd, the armourer, appears; but in
the second, From Russia With Love, it is Desmond Llewellyn who hands out the gadgets. From then on Llewellyn's character
is referred to as Q, but he is credited as 'Boothroyd' in From Russia With Love and also named 'Major Boothroyd' in
dialogue in The Spy Who Loved Me.
Q (like M) is a job title rather than a name. In The World Is Not Enough an assistant to Q was
introduced, known as R and played by John Cleese. In subsequent movies the
John Cleese character took over the job of the former Q, and so from then on was known as Q.
John Gardner, in his James Bond novels, introduced the character of Ann Reilly, a young female assistant to Q who Bond
nicknamed Q'ute.
Some of the more memorable gadgets supplied by Q include:
- The trick briefcase in From Russia With Love
- The Aston Martin car with the ejector seat in Goldfinger
- The autogyro 'Little Nellie' in You Only Live Twice
- The submersible Lotus car ('Wet Nellie')
- The invisible Aston Martin in Die Another Day
External links
|