![Left: Sean Connery held at gunpoint by Jack Lord in a scene from the film 'James Bond: Dr. No', 1962 [detail]. Photo by United Artist/Getty Images. Right: Bond’s first gun depicted on screen: a Walther PP handgun, used by Sean Connery in ‘Dr. No’. Photo: Julien’s Auctions](https://images.prismic.io/barnebys/f4d57e4a-bccf-4ef3-84d7-8a7e42cc43d8_Hero.jpg?auto=format,compress)
When it comes to James Bond, the iconography is almost as important as the character himself. Where would Bond be without his martini (shaken, not stirred), his Aston Martin, his tux, his suave wristwatch and his handgun?
Bond’s first gun depicted on screen was a Walther PP handgun, used by Sean Connery in Dr. No (1962). Connery, who used this hero weapon throughout the film, helped to establish and define the character that has since become one of film’s most loved and popular. The character, and franchise, was of course born from the novels of British writer Ian Fleming.
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Though M (Bernard Lee) referred to Bond’s gun as a Walther PPK, the prop used in Dr. No was in fact a Walther PP .380 ACP, which features a slightly longer build. One of the two original Walther PP pistols used by Connery in Dr. No (deactivated), went under the hammer at Julien’s Auctions, Beverly Hills on 3 December. The prop went on to achieve $256,000, well in advance of its $150,000-200,000 estimate.
“We were deeply saddened to hear the news of Sir Sean Connery’s passing as we were preparing to unveil our... auction lineup” said Martin Nolan, Executive Director of Julien’s Auctions. Connery passed away in the Bahamas on 31 October this year, aged 90. “The silhouette of 007 holding this gun would go on to become the James Bond franchise’s most iconic image and one of the most recognizable pop culture references of all time.”
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The prop was identified by the original film armorer, BAPTY, in the UK, which kept hold of it until the official BAPTY Archive auction in 2006. Since then, it had been archived in the collection of that buyer, until it was presented for sale at Julien’s Auctions.
Other highlights of the December 3 auction included Tom Cruise’s ‘Maverick’ Helmet from his role as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in Top Gun (1986), which sold for $108,800 against an estimate of $30,000-50,000; Bruce Willis’ Katana sword for his role as Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction (1994), which achieved $35,200 against $1,500-2,000; and Marilyn Monroe’s handwritten poem on Arthur Miller’s personalized stationery, which sold for $16,000 against $6,000-8,000.
