But it was Sean Connery's performance as a souped-up version of Fleming's iconic superspy that turned 007 into one of the UK's largest cultural exports, on par with Doctor Who and The Beatles. Based on a canon of novels by journalist and WWII intelligence officer Ian Fleming, Bond was already a household name in the United Kingdom a decade before reaching the silver screen.
After 50 years and 23 films, the James Bond franchise is inarguably the most successful and steadfast in film history.
