Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell)
Stats
Miss Moneypenny played by Lois Maxwell
Born in Kitchener, Canada on 14th February 1927
Died 29th September 2007
Starred In Dr No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and A View To A Kill (1985).
Profile
In Dr No, Miss Moneypenny establishes the relationship with Bond that would remain for the next twenty-three years. In From Russia With Love, she still attempts to seduce Bond but to no avail. Moneypenny furthers her attempts by promising to bake him a cake in Goldfinger, but Bond politely declines when he tells her he has a business appointment. After telling him that's the flimsiest excuse he has even given, M calls through on the radio telling her that Bond is dining with him tonight, giving her renewed hope.
She continues her flirts with Bond in Thunderball, although is caught out by M when she refers to him as 'the old man'. In You Only Live Twice, Miss Moneypenny tries to trick Bond into repeating his Japanese SIS codeword ("I love you") to her, but Bond gets wise to the plan, and simply tells her he gets it. Moneypenny gets her own back at the end of the film however, as whilst Bond enjoys a romantic moment with Kissy Suzuki ontop of M's submarine, M tells her to go and get Bond to report, something she is more than happy to do.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service showcases perhaps the most important and impressive Miss Moneypenny scenes for Lois Maxwell. After telling Moneypenny to hand in his resignation into M, Bond is upset and disappointed when M approves the memo without comment. It is not until Moneypenny tells him to read the memo, that she had changed his request to ask for two weeks leave instead. In an emotional scene at Bond's wedding, Bond throws his hat at a crying Moneypenny before leaving for his honeymoon.
Diamonds Are Forever sadly features only a small scene with Miss Moneypenny. Appearing as a customs officer at Dover, Moneypenny works with Bond to take on the identity of Peter Franks. When asked if he can bring her anything back from Holland, Moneypenny replies to Bond, "A diamond, in a ring?", to which he tells asks her if she would accept a tulip, which she is more than happy to receive.
Live And Let Die only features Moneypenny in a short scene where she helps Miss Caruso hide from M in Bond's closet. After she thinks she has a chance in The Man With The Golden Gun after Bond calls her 'darling', she sulks into M's office when Bond is only trying to get information from her. Once more The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker see Moneypenny only appear in two extremely short scenes. However this is made up for her flirtatious scenes with Bond in For Your Eyes Only.
Octopussy marks the penultimate appearance of Lois Maxwell's Miss Moneypenny. Bond is treated to a delight when he sees the beautiful Miss Penelope Smallbone, Moneypenny's new assistant. Bond amusingly covers his interests in Miss Smallbone by not too convincingly telling Moneypenny how beautiful she also is. Unfortunately A View To A Kill marks the last appearance of Miss Moneypenny played by Lois Maxwell. She does however end her famous participation in the Bond series by accompanying Bond, M and Q to the horse racing at Royal Ascot where she gets perhaps too involved in the racing!
About
Secretary to M, Miss Moneypenny is always happy to welcome Bond for his meeting with M. Since Dr No, Miss Moneypenny has held a special relationship with Bond, flirting with him at any opportunity, hoping the world's most famous secret agent will succumb to her charms.
Lois Maxwell is the classic Moneypenny. Her scenes with Bond are comical and always welcome in the film. Bond enjoys her numerous flirtations, however their relationship never goes any further. She frequently listens into M's conversations over the intercom, usually wanting to hear about Bond's escapades, much to M's frustration. Her portrayal of Moneypenny is loyal, caring, hoping (!) and a very good friend. She is always the first person to help Bond if she can, and does so on many occasions. §
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