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
O.K. Connery Sabatello that Neil sounded like his brother Sean. Sabatello met Neil at the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh to recruit him to play the lead role in a Eurospy film. Neil recalled when he did his screentest the crew kept saying "OK, Connery, OK" that became the title for the film. Experienced director Alberto De Martino who had previously filmed "Upperseven, the Man to Kill" and "Special Mission Lady Chaplin" (both 1966) recalled his father Romolo de Martino doing Neil's extensive makeup and problems with Neil's inexperience as an actor. He also recalled Sabatello approaching Sean Connery do to an appearance