M (James Bond)

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M
James Bond character
First appearanceCasino Royale (1953)
Created byIan Fleming
Portrayed by
In-universe information
OccupationHead of MI6
NationalityBritish

M is a codename held by a fictional character in

series of films, M has been portrayed by four actors: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes, the incumbent; in the two independent productions, M was played by John Huston, David Niven and Edward Fox
.

Background

Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey, Fleming's superior at the Naval Intelligence Division and a basis for M.

Fleming based much of M's character on

Second World War. After Fleming's death, Godfrey complained "He turned me into that unsavoury character, M."[1]

Other possible inspirations include Lieutenant Colonel Sir

MI6 and head of the wartime Z network, who achieved different interpretations of his character from those who knew him: Malcolm Muggeridge thought him "the only professional in MI6",[2] while Hugh Trevor-Roper considered Dansey to be "an utter shit, corrupt, incompetent, but with a certain low cunning".[2] A further inspiration for M was Maxwell Knight, the head of MI5, who signed his memos as "M" and whom Fleming knew well.[1] The tradition of the head of MI6 signing their name with a single letter came from Mansfield Smith-Cumming, who would sign his initial "C", with green ink.[3]

Another possibility for the model of M was William Melville, an Irishman who became the head of the Secret Service Bureau, the forerunner of both MI5 and MI6: Melville was referred to within government circles as M.[4] Melville recruited Sidney Reilly into government service and foiled an assassination plot against Queen Victoria on her 1887 Golden Jubilee.[5] Fleming's biographer John Pearson also hypothesised that Fleming's characterisation of M reflects memories of his mother:

There is reason for thinking that a more telling lead to the real identity of M lies in the fact that as a boy Fleming often called his mother M. ... While Fleming was young, his mother was certainly one of the few people he was frightened of, and her sternness toward him, her unexplained demands, and her remorseless insistence on success find a curious and constant echo in the way M handles that hard-ridden, hard-killing agent, 007.

John Pearson, The Life of Ian Fleming[6]

Novels

Fleming's third Bond novel,

Vice Admiral Sir Miles Messervy KCMG;[8] Messervy had been appointed Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service after his predecessor had been assassinated at his desk.[9]

A naval theme runs throughout Fleming's description of M and his surroundings, and his character was described by journalist Ben Macintyre as "every inch the naval martinet".[8] Macintyre wrote that in his study of Fleming's work, Kingsley Amis outlined the way Fleming had described M's voice, being: angry (three times); brutal, cold (seven times); curt, dry (five times); gruff (seven times); stern, testy (five times).[10]

Over the course of twelve novels and two collections of short stories, Fleming provided a number of details relating to M's background and character. In

Blades, an upscale private club for gentlemen he frequents in London to gamble and dine. Blades has a restricted membership of only 200 gentlemen and all must be able to show £100,000 (£2,227,732 in 2024 pounds[11]) in cash or gilt-edged securities.[13] Kingsley Amis noted in his study, The James Bond Dossier, that on M's salary his membership of the club would have been puzzling.[12] As a personal favour to M, the staff at Blades keeps a supply of cheap red wine from Algeria on hand but does not include it on the wine list. M refers to it as "Infuriator" and tends only to drink it in moderate quantities unless he is in a very bad mood.[14]

The academic Paul Stock argues that M's office is a metonym for England and a stable point from which Bond departs on a mission, whilst he sees M as being an iconic representative of England and Englishness.[15]

In the first post-Fleming book,

COLD, M is kidnapped and rescued by Bond and finishes the book by retiring from MI6.[18] Continuation Bond author Raymond Benson's 1998 novel The Facts of Death continued Messervy's retirement, where he still resides in Quarterdeck.[19] The book also introduces a new M, Barbara Mawdsley.[20]

Films

Eon Productions films

Bernard Lee: 1962–1979

Bernard Lee, who played M from 1962 to 1979

M was played by Bernard Lee from the first Bond film, Dr. No (1962), until Moonraker (1979).[21] In line with Fleming's character, he is given the name of Miles in The Spy Who Loved Me. In Dr. No, M refers to his record of reducing the number of operative casualties since taking the job, implying someone else held the job recently before him. The film also saw M refer to himself as head of MI7; Lee had originally said MI6, but was overdubbed with the name MI7 prior to the film's release. Earlier in the film, the department had been referred to as MI6 by a radio operator.[22]

A number of Bond scholars have noted that Lee's interpretation of the character was in line with the original literary representation; Cork and Stutz observed that Lee was "very close to Fleming's version of the character",[23] while Rubin commented on the serious, efficient, no-nonsense authority figure.[24] Smith and Lavington, meanwhile, remarked that Lee was "the very incarnation of Fleming's crusty admiral."[25]

Lee died of cancer in January 1981, four months into the filming of

Sir Frederick Gray.[27] Later films referred to Lee's tenure as head of the service, with a painting of him as M in MI6's Scottish headquarters during the 1999 installment The World Is Not Enough.[23]

Appearances in:

Lee's likeness was used in the 2005 video game
James Bond 007: From Russia with Love.[28]

Robert Brown: 1983–1989

Robert Brown, who played M from 1983 to 1989

After Lee's death in 1981, the producers hired actor Robert Brown to play M in Octopussy. Brown had previously played Admiral Hargreaves, Flag Officer Submarines, in the 1977 film, The Spy Who Loved Me. Bond scholars Steven Jay Rubin, John Cork, and Collin Stutz all consider Admiral Hargreaves would have been appointed to the role of M, rather than Brown playing a different character as M.[29][30]

Pfeiffer and Worrall considered that whilst Brown looks perfect, the role had been softened from that of Lee;[31] they also considered him "far too avuncular",[32] although in Licence to Kill they remarked that he came across as being very effective as he removed Bond's double-0 licence.[33] Continuation author Raymond Benson agrees, noting that the M role was "once again under written, and Brown is not allowed the opportunity to explore and reveal his character traits";[34] Benson also considered the character to be "too nice".[35]

In No Time to Die (2021), Brown's M is briefly seen in a portrait at M's office (Ralph Fiennes) opposite a portrait of Judi Dench's M.[36]

Appearances in:

Judi Dench: 1995–2015

Judi Dench, who played M from 1995 to 2015

After the long period between Licence to Kill and

Chief of Staff, refers to her during the film as "the Evil Queen of Numbers", given her reputation at that stage for relying on statistics and analysis rather than impulse and initiative.[40]

Following

Foreign Secretary orders her to personally withdraw Bond from the field in Bolivia and to stop any investigations into Dominic Greene's eco-terrorist organisation; and in Skyfall, she is the subject of a public inquiry when MI6 loses a computer hard drive containing the identities of undercover agents around the world.[42] Skyfall marked Dench's seventh appearance as M, where she is targeted by former MI6 agent Raoul Silva, whom she turned over to the Chinese in order to save six other agents. She assists Bond with making booby traps in preparation of Silva's forces coming to attack at Bond's old family estate, Skyfall in Scotland. She is shot and wounded before dying from her wounds in the film, making her the only M to die in the Eon Bond films. Dench's M makes a final appearance in Spectre in a video will, giving Bond a final order to hunt down and terminate someone, which ultimately leads him to the film's titular criminal organisation
.

In No Time to Die (2021), Dench's M is briefly seen in a portrait at M's office (Ralph Fiennes) opposite a portrait of Robert Brown's M.[36]

There have also been brief references to M's family:[43] in GoldenEye, she responds to Tanner calling her the "Evil Queen of Numbers" by telling him that when she wants to hear sarcasm she will listen to her children.[44] Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster suggested that Dench's casting gave the character maternal overtones in her relationship with Bond,[45] overtones made overt in Skyfall, in which Silva repeatedly refers to her as "Mother" and "Mommy" [sic].[46] In Skyfall she is revealed to be a widow.[citation needed]

An inscribed box following her death in Skyfall reveals her name to be Olivia Mansfield, at least for the duration of the Craig era.[47]

Appearances in:

Dench also appeared in seven James Bond video games:

Ralph Fiennes: 2012–2021

Ralph Fiennes, the incumbent actor in the role

After the death of Dame Judi Dench's M at the end of Skyfall, she is succeeded by Gareth Mallory, played by

Intelligence and Security Committee prior to heading MI6, and is a former lieutenant colonel in the British Army.[53] He served in Northern Ireland (with the Special Air Service) during the Troubles, where he had been held hostage by the Irish Republican Army for three months.[54] In Spectre, the 00 Section of MI6 is briefly dismantled in addition to Mallory being demoted. He assists Bond in the field when it is revealed that the Nine Eyes initiative
is part of Spectre's plan for world domination. He eulogizes 007 at the end of No Time to Die. Mallory is the first M in the EON series whose real name is known from the start, and he continues to be referred to both as M and as Mallory throughout the films.

Appearances in:

Non-Eon films

John Huston/David Niven: 1967

The 1967 film Casino Royale had not one but two Ms. The first is played by John Huston, who also co-directed.[55] In this film, M's real name is McTarry and he is accidentally killed when, in order to get Bond out of retirement, he orders the military to fire mortars at Bond's mansion when the retired spy refuses to return to duty. The first quarter of the film depicts Bond's subsequent visit to McTarry Castle in Scotland, on a quest to return the only piece of M's remains recovered after the attack—his bright red toupée.[56] Subsequently, Bond—played by David Niven—becomes the new M[57] and proceeds to order that all MI6 agents, male and female, be renamed "James Bond 007" in order to confuse the enemy.[58]

Edward Fox: 1983

Edward Fox played M in Never Say Never Again

In 1983's Never Say Never Again, Edward Fox played M as a bureaucrat, contemptuous of Bond—far removed from the relationship shared between Bernard Lee's M and Sean Connery's Bond;[59] the academic Jeremy Black notes that the contempt felt for the 00 section by Fox's M was reciprocated by Connery's Bond.[39] Fox's M is very notably younger than all of the previous portrayals,[60] and indeed his portrayal is the only instance ― to date ― of the actor playing M being younger than the actor playing Bond. The media historian James Chapman notes that whilst M considers Bond to be an out-dated relic, the Foreign Secretary orders the 00 section to be re-activated.[61]

Outside the James Bond series

Century, spanning from 1910 to 2009, the M of 2009 is an elderly Emma Peel from The Avengers.[64] In the 2003 film adaptation of the series, M is once again Moriarty, and played by Richard Roxburgh.[65]

In the fifth book of the Belinda Blinked series, the subject of the podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno, the Duchess is revealed to be M in the eighth chapter, titled 'M's the Word'. The Duchess, after explaining her position and informing Belinda that she has been observing her movements since their meeting in the first book of the Belinda Blinked series, grants Belinda top-level security clearance, along with MI6 agent James Spooner, and sends the two characters to Australia in an attempt to bring The Special One to justice after kidnapping Professor Slints.[66]

In the 2022 film Operation Mincemeat, Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn) is portrayed in his role as a Naval Intelligence Officer during WW2, and refers to Commander Godfrey as M, because he called "[his] Mother M, the most terrifying, most impossible, most demanding creature [he] ever met."[67] In the film, Godfrey is the authority for approving mission critical assets for Operation Trojan Horse, a plan to deceive the Nazis that England intended to invade Greece in July 1942, leveraging a ruse from the Trout Memo which includes the insertion of a corpse carrying false documents on the Spanish Coast.

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b Macintyre, Ben (5 April 2008a). "Bond – the real Bond". The Times. p. 36.
  2. ^ a b Macintyre 2008, p. 78.
  3. ^ Macintyre 2008, p. 77.
  4. ^ Sharrock, David (2 July 2007). "M: Britain's first spymaster was an Irishman who played patriot game". The Times. p. 39.
  5. ^ Macintyre 2008, p. 81.
  6. ^ Pearson 1966, p. 235.
  7. ^ West 2010, p. 142.
  8. ^ a b Macintyre 2008, p. 74.
  9. ^ Griswold 2006, p. 47.
  10. ^ Amis 1966, p. 75.
  11. ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  12. ^ a b Amis 1966, p. 39.
  13. ^ Comentale, Watt & Willman 2005, p. 153.
  14. ^ Lejeune 1979, p. 63.
  15. ^ Stock 2009, p. 251.
  16. ^ Lane & Simpson 2002, p. 65.
  17. ^ Lane & Simpson 2002, p. 71.
  18. ^ Simpson 2002, p. 61.
  19. ^ Simpson 2002, p. 63.
  20. ^ Lane & Simpson 2002, p. 81.
  21. ^ Rubin 2003, p. 256.
  22. ^ Smith & Lavington 2002, p. 11.
  23. ^ a b Cork & Stutz 2007, p. 154.
  24. ^ Rubin 2003, p. 227-228.
  25. ^ Smith & Lavington 2002, p. 15.
  26. ^ "Obituary: Mr Bernard Lee". The Times. 19 January 1981. p. 12.
  27. ^ Pfeiffer & Worrall 1998, p. 98.
  28. ^ "From Russia With Love Tech Info". CBS Interactive Inc. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  29. ^ Cork & Stutz 2007, p. 154-155.
  30. ^ Rubin 2003, p. 178.
  31. ^ Pfeiffer & Worrall 1998, p. 136.
  32. ^ Pfeiffer & Worrall 1998, p. 155.
  33. ^ Pfeiffer & Worrall 1998, p. 165.
  34. ^ Benson 1988, p. 236-137.
  35. ^ Benson 1988, p. 137.
  36. ^ a b "No Time To Die Makes Moore & Dalton's M Canon In Daniel Craig's Movies". screenrant.com. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  37. ^ West 2010, p. 45.
  38. ^ Rimington 2008, p. 244.
  39. ^ a b Black 2005, p. 100.
  40. ^ Pfeiffer & Worrall 1998, p. 174.
  41. ^ McKay 2008, p. 353.
  42. Sight & Sound. British Film Institute
    . Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  43. ^ Jütting 2007, p. 91.
  44. ^ Simpson 2002, p. 22.
  45. ^ Nathan, Ian (October 2008). "Quantum's Leap". Empire. p. 87.
  46. ^ James, Caryn (11 November 2012). "Skyfall: Bond Is Older, Wiser, Better". HuffPost. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  47. ^ Gant, Will (6 May 2013). "True identity of James Bond's M revealed". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  48. ^ "James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing Review". James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing Xbox. IGN Entertainment. 18 February 2004. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  49. ^ "GoldenEye: Rogue Agent". GoldenEye: Rogue Agent PlayStation 2. IGN Entertainment. 22 November 2004. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  50. ^ East, Tom (4 November 2008). "Making of Quantum of Solace". Nintendo magazine. Future plc. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  51. ^ "E3 2010: GoldenEye Reimagined for Wii". GoldenEye 007 Wii. IGN Entertainment. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  52. ^ "James Bond 007: Blood Stone Review". James Bond 007: Blood Stone Xbox 360. IGN Entertainment. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  53. ^ Pande, Sophia (9 November 2012). "Skyfall". Nepali Times. Kathmandu. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  54. ^ French, Philip (28 October 2012). "Skyfall – review". The Observer. London. p. 32.
  55. ^ "Casino Royale (1967)". Allrovi. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  56. ^ Rubin 2003, p. 187.
  57. ^ Rubin 2003, p. 44.
  58. ^ Chapman 2009, p. 107.
  59. ^ Rubin 2003, p. 148.
  60. ^ Benson 1988, p. 341.
  61. ^ Chapman 2009, p. 186.
  62. ^ Morrison 2011, p. 367.
  63. ^ Vice magazine 2011.
  64. ^ ""The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1999" Review". The Comics Journal. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  65. ^ Kerr, Philip (27 October 2003). "In a league of its own". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  66. ^ Flintstone, Rocky (2019). Belinda Blinked 5: Belinda Blumenthal, worldwide Sales Director of Steeles Pots and Pans is in big trouble. Can the sexiest girl in sales continue to remove her brassiere whilst the evil grows. pp. Chapter 8: M's the Word.
  67. ^ Madden, John (2022). Operation Mincemeat.

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