Roald Dahl & James Bond: A Licence To Write

When most people think of You Only Live Twice, they immediately picture the iconic Sean Connery. Suave and effortlessly charismatic, Connery defined the Bond archetype for every actor who followed. Yet behind that signature stamp, there are the unmistakable fingerprints of another cultural icon – Roald Dahl.

Best known for his children’s stories, Dahl brought his own wartime experience and mischievous flair to the Bond universe. This influence is perhaps most clear in the infamous aerial battle involving the gadget-laden gyrocopter ‘Little Nellie’. As an RAF pilot during the war, Dahl had been involved in similar combat, an experience he described in vivid detail in his autobiography Going Solo:

Dahl took just 8 weeks to write the first draft of the screenplay for You Only Live Twice, but the script continued to evolve even as cameras rolled. On set, he worked closely with director Lewis Gilbert, whom Dahl called “the only fine, lovely director I’ve ever worked with.” In this behind-the-scenes photo, the pair peer at some last-minute edits against the futuristic backdrop of Tiger Tanaka’s underground office:

Dahl and Ian Fleming both knew the secretive world of espionage first hand, having worked for British Intelligence during World War II. Although the precise details of Roald’s work as a spy are shrouded in mystery, a letter in our archive sheds a little light on the matter. Here Sir William Stephenson, head of British Security Co-ordination, notes that Roald’s contribution to secret service operations was of “particular significance and value”.

Interestingly, Dahl’s You Only Live Twice screenplay was the first James Bond film to differ almost entirely from Fleming’s novel. Dahl kept the East Asian location and a handful of names and settings, but the rest of the plot diverged considerably. The result was a film uniquely infused with Dahl’s imagination – adventurous, mischievous and unmistakably his own.

The film’s gadgets are a perfect example of this, reflecting Dahl’s signature inventive spirit. At his home in Great Missenden, he loved playing boules with friends and family, using a clever ‘magnet on a string’ contraption to save himself from bending over. Could this practical solution to his old back injury have been the spark for Bond’s giant magnet scene in the film?

While Roald Dahl may be best known for his magical, mischievous tales for children, his mark on Bond is unmistakable. You Only Live Twice captures his iconic wit and creative flair, albeit in a rather different context to his children’s books. The result is a rare blend of material from two iconic authors, both of whom drew upon their first-hand experience of Bond’s world of secrecy and espionage.

See the original manuscript, as well as select items from our archive on display until Sunday 1 February.