M (James Bond)
M is the title and code letter for James Bond's boss and fictional head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6. The title "M" is believed to derive from the first real life head of MI6, Mansfield Smith-Cumming, who used his initial "C" to indicate he had seen a paper and so became referred to as "C", a practice which carried on with his successors.
In both the novels and the films, all characters holding the title of M have been aided by Miss Moneypenny (personal secretary) and Bill Tanner (Chief of Staff).
Sir Miles Messervy
| M | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | MI6 |
In Ian Fleming's novels, M's real name is Rear Admiral Sir Miles Messervy KCMG, the name hinted at throughout the series was finally revealed in The Man with the Golden Gun, Fleming's final novel. In the films only his first name, Miles, was revealed (in The Spy Who Loved Me), and he also has the rank of Rear Admiral. It is assumed that the M of the films and of Fleming's books is the same person.
In the novels, M clearly has a liking for Bond, and they have obviously had a long professional relationship. M bends the rules for Bond on several occasions. In The Man with the Golden Gun, Bond attempts to assassinate M, as a result of extreme Soviet brainwashing, but M insists that Bond be rehabilitated rather than punished. In the first post-Fleming book, Colonel Sun, M is kidnapped from his home, Quarterdeck, and Bond goes to great lengths to rescue him. In the later books, written by John Gardner, M/Messervy protects Bond from the new, less aggressive, climate in the Secret Service, saying that "sometime this country will need a blunt instrument." In the movies, the relationship is similar.
M was played by Bernard Lee from the first Bond movie, Dr. No, until Moonraker (1979). Lee died in 1981 and, out of respect, the character was removed from that year's For Your Eyes Only (1981), with his lines given to either his Chief of Staff or Q. The film version of Dr. No suggests that Messervy is a relatively recent appointee to the position of M (he boasts about his ability to reduce the number of operative casualties since taking the job) suggesting someone else held the job before him. Gardner makes references to M's predecessors in Scorpius, again suggesting that Messervy is not the first M. Also, in the film version of Dr. No, M is heard to call himself head of MI7 (the actor originally said MI6, but for reasons unknown was overdubbed with the now-fictional MI7 prior to the film's release); this contradicts later films that state he is in charge of MI6.
An oil-painting portrait of Lee as the original M can be seen, behind Judi Dench as the third M, in the Scottish MI6 headquarters in The World Is Not Enough (1999).
Messervy in real life
The character of M is apocryphally based on Rear Admiral John H. Godfrey who was the Director of the British Department of Naval Intelligence during World War II. During this time, Fleming was his assistant. Godfrey and Fleming were close friends and on first name terms, unlike M and Bond in the novels. Other names that have from time to time been referenced as a possible resemblance include Maxwell Knight, former head of counter-subversion in MI5 and Maurice Buckmaster, head of Section F of the SOE.
Fleming Biographer John Pearson states in his 1966 book The Life of Ian Fleming that M may in fact be based on Fleming's own mother. Pearson writes,
- "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 sterness 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."[1]
Featured in:
- Dr. No (1962)
- From Russia with Love (1963)
- Goldfinger (1964)
- Thunderball (1965)
- You Only Live Twice (1967)
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
- Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
- Live and Let Die (1973)
- The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
- Moonraker (1979)
Robert Brown as M
| M | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | MI6 |
After Lee's death in 1981, the producers decided to hire actor Robert Brown to continue the role in the Bond films. Brown picks up the role in Octopussy however, it is never explicitly stated onscreen whether Robert Brown's character is intended to be the same person played by Bernard Lee, or if he was intended to be Admiral Hargreaves, the role played by Brown in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me, though the later Bond books retain Messervy. One thing to note is that in the pre-title credits to The Living Daylights, M's insignia suggests he is a Rear Admiral, which would mean if he was Hargreaves then he was demoted since Hargreaves' insignia in The Spy Who Loved Me suggests he is a Vice Admiral. It is also worth noting that Sir Godfrey Tibbett addresses him as Admiral at the horse race in A View to a Kill.
As played by Brown, M lacks a sense of humor and has absolutely no tolerance whatsoever for Bond's antics. Brown's M came off tougher than his predecessor, wasting no time to revoke Bond's licence to kill in the film Licence to Kill when Bond went off on a vendetta.
Featured In:
Edward Fox as M
| M | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | MI6 |
In 1983's unofficial Never Say Never Again, it is clearly stated that a new M is in post, played by Edward Fox. This M is concerned primarily with making the books balance and constantly testing agents. He is quite open about his low regard for Bond.
Featured in:
Judi Dench as M
| M | |
|---|---|
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Affiliation | MI6 |
After the long period between Licence to Kill and GoldenEye, the producers brought in Dame Judi Dench to take over as the new M. The character is said to have possibly been based on Stella Rimington, the head of the real MI5 between 1992 and 1996. M's real name has yet to be revealed in the films, but recent Bond novelist Raymond Benson gives her the name Barbara Mawdsley.
Unlike the ambivalence of Brown's M, Dench clearly plays a new person appointed to the position of M (putting to rest a long time debate over the nature of the character). In GoldenEye, she is clearly established as different from her predecessors; she is cold, blunt, and unabashedly dislikes Bond, whom she calls a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War." During the film Bill Tanner her Chief of Staff refers to her as "the evil queen of numbers." In later films she begins to care more about 007. Whatever affection she may have for 007 never interferes with her unerring professional detachment, however; in Die Another Day, she orders her subordinates to disavow Bond after he is taken prisoner in North Korea, and abandons him to be tortured for 14 months. Although it would appear that Dench's M and Bond don't get along too well, M still has the same high professional respect for Bond that her predecessors had (from The World Is Not Enough: "he's the best we have, although I'd never tell him.").
For the next film, Casino Royale in 2006, Dench was re-signed as M. This casting is generally considered somewhat controversial because Casino Royale is a reboot of the franchise in which it will be Bond's first official mission as a 00-Agent.
Featured in:
- GoldenEye (1995)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- The World Is Not Enough (1999)
- Die Another Day (2002)
- Casino Royale (2006)
- Bond 22 (2007)
Casino Royale 1967 spoof
The 1967 film spoof Casino Royale featured not one but two M's. The first was played by John Huston. In this film (which is considered non-canon), M's real name is McTarry, and he is killed when he (for some reason) 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 featured Bond's subsequent visit to McTarry Castle on a quest to return the only piece of M's remains recovered after the attack -- his toupee, which is thereafter referred to as a "hair-loom."
Subsequently, Bond (David Niven) becomes the new M and proceeds to order that all MI6 agents, male and female, be renamed "James Bond 007" in order to confuse the enemy... and the audience.
See also
References
- ^ Pearson, John (1966). The Life of Ian Fleming. Vintage/Ebury. ISBN 0224611364.
- The Man Who Was M, Anthony Masters, Basil Blackwell ISBN 0-631-13392-5