Thunderball (film) listed at number 73. Thunderball (film) Thunderball is a 1965 British spy film and the fourth in the "James Bond" series produced by Eon Productions, starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham. It was directed by Terence Young, with its screenplay by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins. The movie would have been the first of the Bond series if not for legal disputes over copyright issues. The film follows Bond's mission
1970s in film around the world (garnering the film high honors at the Cannes Film Festival and several BAFTA Award nominations). Sean Connery returned to the role of James Bond in 1971 in "Diamonds Are Forever" after George Lazenby filled the role in 1969. Roger Moore succeeded Connery in 1973 with an adaptation of Ian Fleming's "Live and Let Die" which was the most successful of his Bond films in terms of admissions. "Live and Let Die" was followed by an adaptation of "The Man with the Golden Gun" in 1974, which at the time garnered the lowest box office taking of any