A Steel Deli

Right lads, I'm inviting comedy here but let's spit ball. What the hell did 'Blofeld' mean by a steel delicatessen?

In 1981 Mrs Thatcher had been PM for two years, things were changing. The USSR was stuttering towards its end.

So...where was this deli? What was it? Or was ol' Ernst so terror stricken he was saying whatever bollocks to save himself?

I assumed Blofeld was offering to put together a nice charcuterie board for Bond. Can certainly picture Gray's Blofeld inviting 007 to nibble on his deli meat.

His Iron Zampone, wot...

Ha, well I can imagine this Blofeld, as CJB says, being more in tune with Gray's performance.

I just can't imagine the thinking behind this PTS. It has some great imagery of London before Docklands changed, some decent music and stunts but it's bewildering. Almost as if Glen and co didn't think the PTS was all that important.

PTS is a likely thumbing of the nose at McClory and his shenanigans - 'You can have Blofeld. Look, we don't even need him'.

The line ... I think I read in one of the books I have on the series that apparently it's not in the script, so it may have been a 'thought it was funny on the day' addition by somebody.

Hilly wrote:

Ha, well I can imagine this Blofeld, as CJB says, being more in tune with Gray's performance.

I just can't imagine the thinking behind this PTS. It has some great imagery of London before Docklands changed, some decent music and stunts but it's bewildering. Almost as if Glen and co didn't think the PTS was all that important.

Tonally, the PTS is all over the place. We move from Bond mourning at Teresa's grave and the priest making the sign of the cross as Bond leaves in the helicopter, to "We can do a deeeeeeal! I'll give you a delicatessen in stainless steeeeeel!"

It was Cubby's contribution to the script. Being New York Italian, he was cognizant of the kind of promises and threats the local goombas would make to assure cooperation from the citizenry.

Forget everything you thought you knew about Ernst and his German/Polish background. Turns out he was a NY Italian goomba all along. Perhaps they should have had Joe Pesci play him instead.

I remember some guy's writing an account of the FYEO script with only Maibaum's name on it. Apparently the PTS started with the sinking of the St. George and the Havelocks murder, the push-in on Melina's eyes started the main titles, then we pick up with Bond at the grave, the priest comes out, copter lands and whisks Bond off...cut to him entering the office, MP banter, etc. His contention was the remote control stuff was more last minute. Might explain some of that tonal shiftiness.

Quote :

It was Cubby's contribution to the script. Being New York Italian, he was cognizant of the kind of promises and threats the local goombas would make to assure cooperation from the citizenry.

Surely one of those colorful la cosa nostra expressions rather than literal? Gone wrong in the film, no doubt.

After I made my post, it popped into my head that I thought I'd read somewhere that it was intended as a Mafioso-style promise. Thanks for confirming, Hornet.

The line probably went over better in NY than anywhere else - at all.