...Yes, it's one of those – a
post where I lose the plot never to entirely regain it. Well, we've
already had the debacle of the Michael Jackson/Elvis 'co-incidences',
but that was a finger firmly pointed in the direction of the subject.
Consider this a playful wave...
Had
James Bond 007 Licence to Kill actually climbed the hotel featured in
Diamonds are Forever, he
would have actually been scaling the International, Kirk Kerkorian's
monumental Vegas establishment, featured as the fictional Whyte
House. So, rather than dropping in on Blofeld he'd have found himself
breaking in to the legendary Suite 3000 – the resident of which at
the time DAF was being
filmed? - you get me. Rumour has it Elvis actually watched the car
chase being filmed from the panoramic windows of his suite.
So, we find
ourselves – irresistibly and uncomfortably drawn into the realm of
the unanswered – and unasked. Were there any other points at which
the Worlds of Elvis and James Bond met, or crossed?. Well, yes and
no. Mainly no, but that didn't deter me, oh no; don't let it be said
I know when to stop...
Well,
that was weird. Quite apart from the fact that Ursula Andress pops up
more than once we have the odd image of Elvis giving Felix Leiter a
Walther PPK – one of a pair of gold-plated pistols he owned – in
Hawaii in '73. Next, the mobile phone – Elvis had his own, seen
here in its carry case. He bought it after seeing Bond using one in
From Russia With Love...
Lets get Boaty...
the Glastron boat Company of Texas are famous for providing the boats
Bond uses in films such as Moonraker and Live & Let
Die. Guess who owned a Glastron first? - yep, Elvis bought his
Bayflite DeVille 163 model in the early sixties.
OK, music now –
Nancy Sinatra's memorable vocals on the theme for You Only Live
Twice was followed in 1968 by her co-starring with Elvis in the
movie Speedway.
Our wild career
through the Elvis – Bond Timeline stumbles blindly on, ticking
through time itself with watches. It seems odd that if 007 had a
watch, Elvis had one of the same make – often first. OK, I'll
concede this one's the lamest of the lot – Elvis had so many
watches I could have shown evidence for almost any co-incidence. They
weren't even the same models... but this didn't cost you, so lets
pretend you aren't growing quietly concerned for my health and look
at the tick-tocks...
Pimpmobiles –
ever since he saw Superfly, Elvis started dressing and riding
in style – Pimp style!. His favourite car was his Black Stutz, but
the '72 model in Pearl White features here because of a certain
similarity-in-passing to the Corovado, a Corvette-based creation of
Les Dunham, at the Dunham Coach Company. Only seven of these were
made, this one driven by Kananga's henchman Whisper in Live &
Let Die.
So where does that
leave us?, well, we at Volcano Cat – me at any rate – feel that
with our frequent vacillations between the Elvis Presley and James
Bond themes, it was only natural for the two to collide. After all,
they both love/d gadgets, both had plastic surgery (Bond on his hand
– at least in the books) and, as a final point – both used
aliases. Elvis' was Jon Burrows.
One last piece of
oddness – the last film Elvis Presley saw at the cinema? - The
Spy Who Loved Me...
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