Bond At 50 - Pinewood Studios

On Sunday October 21st, Bondstars marked the 50th anniversary of 007 with the “Bond At 50” event at Pinewood Studios with a screening of Dr No and a Sunday lunch with guest of honour Sir Roger Moore.

At 9am, guests arrived for morning coffee and browsed the memorabilia and autograph room, mixing with guests from Dr No and other Bond movies before moving to Theatre 7 for a digitally restored high definition screening of the film that started it all. Ahead of the film, some of the cast and crew were introduced: Reg Barkshire, Alan Tomkins, Count Prince Miller, Charles Edghill, Bettine la Beau, Eunice Gayson, Norman Wanstall, Stanley Morgan, Ron Quelch, Trevor Bond and – a special surprise guest – Monty Norman.

Monty Norman, Eunice Gayson, Stanley Morgan, Trevor Bond, Norman Wanstall, Alan Tomkins, Count Prince Miller, Charles Edghill and Reg Barkshire introduce a digitally remastered Dr. No.

Following the movie, guests returned to Pinewood’s stately ballroom for a photo opportunity with Sir Roger Moore and lunch ... with each table hosted by a Bond personality with Honor Blackman, Peter Lamont, Eunice Gayson, Monty Norman and Alan Tomkins joining Sir Roger on his table.

Gareth with Sir Roger Moore hosting taking part in Q & A session.

Following lunch, Sir Roger Moore entertained with a amusing and insightful Q&A before departing for an appointment! However before he left, he pulled the first ticket in the free raffle – a custom made Cyril Castle suit. It went to Bernard VandenDriessche.

From left to right: David Mason (Cyril Castle), winner Bernard VandenDriessche, Richard W Paine, Sir Roger Moore, Gareth Owen.

THE infamous Terry Bamber (left) and Bettine Le Beau (right)

Memorabilia and autograph room

Further Q&As followed during the afternoon, including Monty Norman sharing with the guests how he wrote the James Bond Theme, and other Dr No alumni remembering their experiences on what was considered a rather low budget, small film.

Monty Norman - the surprise guest, in conversation.

Terry Bamber then hosted – in his own unique style – a quiz, and an amazing goody bag of prizes (worth over £250) including a crew jacket, crew t-shirt, Blu-Ray boxed set, Monopoly game, DK books, posters, and many other items.

A further 8 raffle prizes were drawn before afternoon tea, with the specially made “007” cupcakes was served.

Afternoon tea was served with unique cupcakes from Planet of the Cakes

As the day wound to a close around 7.00pm, the feeling was one of elation, enjoyment and pride that we were all part of a very special day in Bond history. Thanks to Bondstars for hosting another great event at the Pinewood Studios!

For more information or to order an event programme (while supplies last), visit bondstars.com.