S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
The SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion (S.P.E.C.T.R.E.) is a fictional evil organization appearing in Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, and subsequently in a few James Bond movies.
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2 Blofeld Portrayals 3 S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Henchmen 4 External link |
The goal of the organization is extortion and world domination. Organization discipline is notoriously draconian with the penalty for disobedience or failure being death. Members of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. are referred to only by numbers within the organisation, presumably as a security measure.
The commander of S.P.E.C.T.R.E., the supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, usually appears accompanied by a white angora cat in the movies (but not in the books). He appears in 5 official James Bond movies as well as Never Say Never Again, the 1983 remake of Thunderball. Blofeld was partially responsible for the murder of Bond's wife Tracy in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but for years never got his commuppence. Blofeld apparently met his demise (or so we thought) in the pre-title sequence of 1981's For Your Eyes Only but for copyright reasons (see next paragraph) his name was never mentioned either verbally or in the final credits. The name Blofeld was inspired by the father of English Cricket commentator Henry Blofeld, with whom Fleming went to school.
For years there had been ongoing litigation between Kevin McClory/Sony and MGM/UA over who owns the rights to S.P.E.C.T.R.E. that has been in court since the 1960s. In 1981 Kevin McClory won a lawsuit against MGM that gave him the go ahead to create a remake of 1965's Thunderball, which he co-wrote with both Ian Fleming and Jack Whittingham. The litigation was eventually settled with MGM getting the rights to the "unofficial" Bond films Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again.
There are some slight differences between the portrayal of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. in the Bond books and the movies. The organisation for example does not appear in the book of From Russia with Love (in the book the organization being fought is SMERSH, a Soviet counter-spy organization), though it plays a major role in the film. In the books the numbers of members are deliberately assigned at random and regularly rotated to prevent detection, and at the time of Thunderball the leader has been assigned 'Number 2'. In the movies Blofeld is 'Number 1', and the numbers appear to indicate rank.
The look of the Donald Pleasence Blofeld in You Only Live Twice inspired the look of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers films, down to the Nehru suit and facial scar.
Actors who have played Blofeld in the films (order of appearance):
Henchmen working for S.P.E.C.T.R.E. include (order of appearance):
Overview
Blofeld Portrayals
S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Henchmen
External link