50 Years of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Hot on the heels of Thrilling Cities Radio 4 have a programme this coming week about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Quote :

Writer and Broadcaster Brian Sibley tells the story of James Bond author Ian Fleming's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 50 years on from publication.

Most of us know the film of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with its inventor father, Caractacus Potts, the twins Jemima and Jeremy and their adventures in their flying car. But few realise that Ian Fleming's original book is quite different. Potts was 'Pott' (or Crack Pott) in the book, the original manuscript's adventures take place in Kent and Northern France, and it was screenwriter Roald Dahl who added the characters of the Child Catcher and Truly Scrumptious.

Brian Sibley speaks to Fleming's nieces, Lucy Fleming and Kate Grimond, and to Ian Fleming bibliographer Jon Gilbert, to hear how Fleming's only children's book was written and published.

Fleming told the original story aurally to his son Caspar, and he only decided to write it down long hand when he was convalescing after serious illness. The book coincided with the last years of Fleming's life and contain some of the elements of the Bond Books - a great adventure story at its heart and the love of cars. The vehicle itself was inspired by Fleming watching the racing at Brooklands and a legendary driver called Count Zborowksi, who had a car named Chitty Bang Bang.

Brian Sibley goes to Brooklands to take a spin on the old race track, as well as talking to original illustrator John Burningham and the writer of the sequels, Frank Cottrell Boyce. He also catches up with legendary composer of the film score Richard M. Sherman.

Monday, 4pm, BBC Radio 4


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04lpxx7

be nice if Radio 4 like some other bits did podcasts of these things. But there you go.

Thanks for the heads up, Hilly.

If anyone fancies writing a bit of alternative history it would be interesting to speculate how Ian Fleming's life might have been if Casper hadn't ruined it. Here's the reality crib notes:

1. A man who should never have married does so because Ann, his mistress, is pregnant.
2. Ann's a complete snob and bitch, and drives Ian to drink.
3. Ian's health fails catastrophically.
4. Ian sells the rights to the James Bond goldmine for a pittance to try and provide for his family after he's gone.
5. Caspar pisses it all away and kills himself with a heroin overdose.

Fin

Always wonder if Fleming hadn't died in 1964 (assuming his health was better etc) what would've happened, but what you highlight above Ambler intrigues as much. I'm going by Andrew Lycett's biography but it all went in a sharp direction once he married Ann.

Though reading about Patrick Leigh Fermor and seeing how PLF went to Goldeneye as he was friends initially with Ann and thence Fleming using PLF's descriptions of voodoo in the Traveller's Tree for Live And Let Die.

Forgive the tangent, but it's noted that when at Goldeneye Fleming was busy "bashing away at a thriller" when Leigh Fermor arrives and when he emerged Leigh Fermor describes him as "having a strong sneering face, but not a sneering character". Go figure, as they say.

Part of me would like to read Chitty just to sort of make it a completion of Fleming works.