Thunderball, released in 1965, was directed by Terence Young, who also made Dr. No and From Russia with Love.
It was Sean Connery’s fourth official outing as James Bond for Eon Productions, adapted from Ian Fleming’s 1961 novel of the same name.
The story follows Bond as he investigates the theft of two NATO atomic bombs by the criminal organization SPECTRE, which threatens to detonate them unless the world pays a massive ransom.
It was also the most expensive Bond film up to that point, with a budget estimated at roughly 6.5 to 8 million dollars, and it premiered at the Hibiya Theater in Tokyo on December 9, 1965, before reaching North America later that month.
The opening sequence is one of the most memorable parts of the film.
It was shot at the Château d’Anet, a historic French château dating back to the 16th century, and it features a real working jetpack, the Bell Rocket Belt, flown by professional pilot Bill Suitor while doubling for Connery.
The grieving widow at the funeral is actually the supposedly dead Colonel Jacques Bouvar in disguise, played by stuntman Bob Simmons in women’s clothing.
Much of the rest of the movie takes place in and around Nassau and the surrounding Bahamian islands, which gave it a glamorous tropical atmosphere, and one party scene there used about 200 local socialites as extras.
The film leaned heavily on underwater action, with reportedly more than a quarter of it filmed beneath the surface, which was an ambitious goal for a major movie in 1965.
The production brought in Ivan Tors Films to help with the extensive underwater photography, and the climactic underwater battle involved more than 45 divers.
The underwater action was supervised by Ricou Browning, who was best known for playing the Gill-man in Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Even the sharks were real. During the pool sequence at Largo’s mansion, the Plexiglas barrier was not tall enough to fully protect Connery, and one shark managed to swim over it.
Emilio Largo’s yacht, the Disco Volante, was based on an actual hydrofoil called the Flying Fish and was modified to create its distinctive detachable rear section. Its name is Italian for “Flying Saucer,” which suits its unusual look. The yacht’s destruction used experimental rocket fuel, and the explosion was reportedly so powerful that it blew out windows about 30 miles away in Nassau.
The film’s visual effects work earned it the Academy Award for Best Special Visual Effects at the 1966 ceremony.
The music has its own story.
Tom Jones’s famous theme song was not the first choice for the title song.
A track called “Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” written by John Barry and Leslie Bricusse, was originally considered, and Shirley Bassey recorded it, but it was cut from the theatrical film, though an instrumental version appeared on the soundtrack.
Jones, for his part, held the final note of the theme so long that he reportedly nearly fainted while recording it.
Years later, in 1983, Connery returned to the role in Never Say Never Again, an independent remake of the Thunderball story that was not an official Eon Productions Bond film.