sometimes you just need six or seven james bonds

No offense to Daniel Craig, but I prefer this swingin' '60s version of James Bond, especially for its sense of humor. And these days, laughter is truly the best medicine around these parts.

Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, and Orson Welles.

And what a cast:

As the Bonds:
David Niven
Woody Allen
Joanna Pettet
Terence Cooper

Secret weapons, cohorts, and adversaries:
Peter Sellers
Ursula Andress
Orson Welles
Barbara Bouchet
Deborah Kerr
Jacqueline Bisset
Daliah Lavi
Bernard Cribbins
Ronnie Corbett
Anna Quayle
John Huston
William Holden
Charles Boyer

r.i.p. ray harryhausen

Like many, I grew up with the amazing stop-motion animation of the incredibly talented Ray Harryhausen. My first exposure to his work was in Jason and the Argonauts, and I still enjoy watching it. The climactic fight between Jason and his men and the armed skeletons is a cinematic classic, but I also loved Harryhausen's Talos, the gigantic man of bronze.

I also loved Clash of the Titans, with a gorgeous young Harry Hamlin as the intrepid Perseus, who is tested by A-list actors playing the Greek Gods - Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Claire Bloom, and Ursula Andress, Hamlin's lady love at the time.

A few years ago I found a DVD with some of Harryhausen's early work, stop-motion animated nursery rhymes and fairy tales, like Rapunzel, Mother Goose, etc., that my daughter loves. She also loves Jason and the Argonauts. We're carrying on the Harryhausen appreciation to the next generation. Thanks, Mr. Harryhusen, for a lot of fun at the movies.

perfect friday

I remember seeing this movie on TV with my dad when I was a kid. Probably too young to pick up on all of the sexual double entendre — Ursula Andress (or Undress, as my dad liked to call her) playing husband David Warner against bank manager Stanley Baker — in this 70s caper movie.

Ursula Andress as Lady Britt Dorset: "I must be absolutely your most troublesome customer Mr Graham."

Andress was not only gorgeous, but she had a wonderful way with dialogue and always spoke each line as if she realized she was in on a delicious joke. She was, of course, the quitessential Bond girl, but I think my favorite of her performances may be What's New Pussycat?, Casino Royale and Perfect Friday, which unfortunately, has yet to be released on DVD.