Greetings all. This month’s offering is a bit unusual in nature for many reasons, mostly it is of historical interest, yet it is simply a children’s book.
Original Author, later Edition
Yes, its Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car (1964), by IAN FLEMMING (1908-1964) of James Bond novel fame (most editions contain illustrations by John Burningham). It is a children’s book, but there is a considerable dark thread to the novelization that just wouldn’t fly with Dick Van Dyke playing the lead. Ian Flemming was a newspaper editor prior to his explosion on to the world stage with Casino Royale(1953). The book is really a fun read and the plot is far more twisting than the movie (though the movie is probably the best example of Dick Van Dyke’s acid-trip-like gloriously technicolor movies). I bought this book along with Ian Flemming’s two non-fiction works (The Diamond Smugglers (1957) and Thrilling Cities (1963)) after I had read the entire Bond series twice. It was a nice summer-time departure for me (I first read them in July of 2002).
It is interesting in that it reads a lot like Moonraker (1955), and not like the other works he wrote after his first heart attack in 1961. Also interesting is that other than his non-fiction works it is the only Flemming novel to contain illustrations (though Goldfinger (1959) contained a fictional map of Fort Knox, illustrator unknown to MPM). The novel also seems to serve a bit as a reflection of places Flemming encountered while as a spy and special forces operative during World War II. The original primary inspiration was as Wikipedia suggests:
“Fleming took his inspiration for the car from a series of aero-engined racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s at Higham Park, christened “Chitty Bang Bang”. Fleming had known Higham Park as a guest of its later owner, Walter Wigham, chairman of Robert Fleming & Co.”
Other interesting bits about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang:
- The film adaptation was written by Roald Dahl, screenwriter, consultant, or co-writer of several James Bond film adaptations. Dahl also wrote several children’s books with similar tone and style to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, among them: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach and George’s Marvellous Medicine Most of which later became film adapted themselves, though usually not by Dahl.
- The film adaptation was co-produced by Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, long time co-producer and producer of the James Bond film series.
- The film adaptation featured Gert Fröbe as Baron Bomburst. Fröbe played the titular lead in the film adaptation of Goldfinger (film: 1964)as well.
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