"There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit." - President Ronald Reagan.

Buy The Amazon Kindle Store Ebook Edition

Buy The Amazon Kindle Store Ebook Edition
Get the ebook edition here! (Click image.)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Ian Fleming Inspired By 1951 Superman Episode?

Above, the edition of "The Spy Who Loved Me" in my collection.

A woman is terrorized by two mobster thugs at a tourist cabin resort near the Canadian border. She is going to be killed unless she is rescued. Eventually, she is rescued in the nick of time.

Sound familiar? Well, it should. It is the plot to a 1951 episode of the Adventures of Superman titled "Night of Terror" (photo below) starring George Reeves and Phyllis Coates. Lois Lane is terrorized by two mobster thugs at the Restwell Tourist Cabins until Superman comes to the rescue.



It is also the plot to Ian Fleming's James Bond novel, "The Spy Who Loved Me." The story is written through the eyes of "a passionate woman" named Vivienne Michel.

Nowhere in the novel are undersea cities, submarines, Soviet agents, Stromberg, Egypt or Jaws (as in the movie version). The novel's story takes place in the Adirondacks on a route from Canada through the United States. The thugs arrive at the tourist cabins to torch them for insurance money and terrorize clerk Michel. There's no Vivienne Michel in the movie version.

Following a completed assignment in Canada, James Bond arrives at the resort due to a flat tire and for a night's sleep.

It was an entertaining and fast read. Bond does not show up until about 2/3 of the way through.

I wonder if Fleming watched the Adventures of Superman and got his inspiration for this story from "Night of Terror"?

No comments:

Search This Blog