The Truth About the Dr. No Monkey Myth ft. Professor James Chapman | The 007 Files S4E008

<p>Professor James Chapman, author of <em>Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films</em>, joins <em>The 007 Files</em> to talk about Bond, film history, and the stories that attach themselves to 007.</p><p>He begins with his own route into Bond: the films he first saw, how they landed at the time, and how that early interest eventually became serious work on the series. From there, the discussion moves into the way Bond has been written about, remembered and sometimes misremembered.</p><p>One example is the old story that <em>Dr. No</em> was, at one stage, going to feature the villain as a monkey. It is exactly the kind of detail that gets passed around because it sounds too strange to lose. Chapman explains why access to the archives matters. Without the drafts, memos and correspondence, it is too easy for a colourful anecdote to become the accepted version of events.The episode also covers Harry Saltzman’s influence, the early shape of cinematic Bond, and why the first film could so easily have gone in a very different direction. </p><p><strong>Where to find us</strong></p><p>Professor James Chapman</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/4xnYFH0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://amzn.to/4xnYFH0</a></p><p>Bill Koenig</p><p><a href="https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>Javi Trujillo<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/javitru.bsky.social">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/javitru.bsky.social">⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/javitru.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thebondisnotenough/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/the⁠bondisnotenough⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>David Leigh</p><p><a href="http://https//www.thejamesbonddossier.com%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thejamesbonddossier.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p><em>Recorded in the UK, USA and Spain on 8th June 2026.</em></p>