MEMORABLE MOVIE QUOTES: THUNDERBALL (1965)
By
Michael Arruda

Welcome to another edition of MEMORABLE MOVIE QUOTES, that column where we look at great quotes from some really great movies. Some of the best lines in the movies come from the James Bond films, especially the early ones with Sean Connery and Roger Moore.

One of the best Bond films in terms of memorable lines is THUNDERBALL (1965), Sean Connery’s fourth outing as 007. This film came at the height of James Bond mania, following the insane success of the third film in the series, GOLDFINGER (1964), and really, you could call this film the high point of the Sean Connery era, as the series trended downward a bit after this film.

Anyway, let’s have a look at some of those memorable lines of dialogue from THUNDERBALL, screenplay by Jack Whittingham, John Hopkins, and Richard Maibaum.

 

This is the only James Bond movie where we see all the 00 agents together in one room in one shot. It comes early on in the movie, when an emergency meeting is held to discuss an impending crisis. Bond is the last to arrive, something that is not unnoticed by M (Bernard Lee) who says, stopping Bond in his tracks momentarily:

M: Now that we’re all here.

 

One of my favorite lines in the movie comes when Bond (Sean Connery) first meets the beautiful Domino (Claudine Auger) and calls her by her name, something that he wasn’t supposed to know.

BOND: My dear, uncooperative Domino.

DOMINO: How do you know that? How do you know my friends call me Domino?

BOND: It’s on the bracelet on your ankle.

DOMINO: So, what sharp little eyes you’ve got.

BOND: Wait till you get to my teeth.

 

The villain in THUNDERBALL is Largo (Adolfo Celi) and he enjoys some memorable lines as well, like in this scene where he talks about his favorite henchman, Vargas.

LARGO: Of course. Vargas does not drink— does not smoke— does not make love. What do you do, Vargas?

Of course, we know what Vargas does: he kills.

 

As you would expect, some of the better exchanges in the movie are between Bond and Largo, like in this scene where the two men are getting to know each other, each pretending to be someone they aren’t, each trying to learn something of value about the other.

Here, they discuss guns:

BOND: That gun, it looks more fitting for a woman.

LARGO: You know much about guns, Mr. Bond?

BOND: No, but I know a little about women.

 

And as Largo leads Bond in a sharp shooting contest.

BOND: It looks very difficult.

(Shooting from the hip, Bond shatters his clay pigeon.)

BOND: Why no, it isn’t, is it?

 

Some of my favorite lines of dialogue in THUNDERBALL are between James Bond and the beautiful assassin Fiona (Luciana Paluzzi) who works for Largo and has made it her mission to kill James Bond.

After the two ride together in a car, with Fiona driving at incredibly high speeds, she screeches the car to a halt, and Bond appears visibly shaken.

FIONA: Some men just don’t like to be driven.

BOND: No, some men don’t like to be taken for a ride.

 

At one point, Bond walks in on Fiona while she’s taking a bath in the bathroom of her hotel room.

FIONA: Since you’re here, would you mind giving me something to put on?

(Bond casually hands Fiona her shoes.)

 

And their time together ends at a festival, where Fiona finally attempts to kill Bond, but since this is a James Bond movie, it’s Fiona who dies, not 007. She’s cut down on the dance floor, in Bond’s arms. He guides her limp lifeless body to an empty chair and says:

BOND: Do you mind if my friend sits this one out? She’s just dead.

 

And we finish with a classic James Bond line, one that fits in with the fine tradition of double entendres uttered by Bond when he finishes off his adversaries.

In this scene, Bond is on the beach with Domino, when she spies Vargas creeping up on them, and she tells Bond this. He casually shoots Vargas with a spear gun, then turns to Domino and says,

BOND: I think he got the point.

 

That’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed these quotes from the classic James Bond movie, THUNDERBALL.

Thanks for joining me today, and I look forward to seeing you next time on another edition of MEMORABLE MOVIE QUOTES.

Thanks for reading!

—Michael