“The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977): From Denmark with Love

For "The Spy Who Loved Me" (EON 1977), the German-born production designer Ken Adam once more let his interest in Danish furniture design rub off on the film's villain, Karl Stromberg (as played by another German, Curd Jürgens).

The famous designer Verner Panton (b. 1926, d. 1998) is represented for the third time in the EON Bond series. His Pantonova furniture system from 1971 features prominently in the underwater lair Atlantis where Stromberg as well as Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) are seen reclining on the brown-cushioned steel sofa.

Verner Panton's Pantonova in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The sculptural Pantonova system, originally created by Panton for the restaurant Varna in Aarhus in Jutland, consists of three modules – one linear, one concave, and one convex – which can be used separately or combined in various organic shapes such as a cirkel, an S or a wave. The company Montana Furniture, based on Funen, relaunched Pantonova in 2019. As of January 2023 a module will cost you somewhere between 1.300 and 1.800 €.
Time code (Blu-ray): from 01:06:05

● The Pantonova system at Montana Furniture (external link)

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“The Spy Who Loved Me”: Danish rental VHS (1986)

In 1983 Warner Home Video began releasing the James Bond 007 films on rental video (VHS) in Danmark through local distributor Metronome Video A/S.

The cover below is for the first Danish rental VHS of "The Spy Who Loved Me" (EON 1977) which was released in 1986. The front cover is based on Bob Peak's poster artwork.

TSWLM DK lejevideo 1986

Thanks to Michael Frederiksen.

“The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974): From Denmark with Love

● EONs ninth James Bond film, "The Man with the Golden Gun" from 1974, features the first ever on-camera appearance of a Danish person. However, Janni Pia Christensen is not mentioned in the credits, nor has she any lines. The 20-year old Janni from Copenhagen can be glimpsed in a single shot as she is passing James Bond (Roger Moore) on the stairs of the The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.
Time code (Blu-ray): 27.37

Janni Pia Christensen in "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974) - framegrab

According to the Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet, Janni also did an evening scene with Roger Moore and Britt Ekland at a restaurant in Bangkok. This sequence appears to have ended up on the cutting-room floor - unless it was staged for the benefit of the Danish press?

Janni Pia Christensen' got her walk-on in the Bond movie after winning the beauty contest "Årets pige" [Girl of the Year] arranged by Ekstra Bladet in 1973. On December 29, 1973 the tabloid printed a photo of Roger Moore apparently choosing Janni from a picture of the fifteen finalists aged 15 to 21. Moore was photographed in South Africa where he was shooting "Gold" for director Peter Hunt.

Janni Pia Christensen with Roger Moore, Britt Ekland and Maud Adams | publicity photo, 1974

Janni met up with the Bond film crew in Thailand in May 1974, but after her return she told the monthly youth magazine Vi Unge as well as the weekly glossy Billed Bladet that her experience as the first Danish Bond babe had been a dispapointing one, and that Roger Moore with his "hollow knees" wasn't exactly her type. Later the same year she married and changed her last name to Nicolaisen and quietly disappeared from the limelight.

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“The Living Daylights” (1987): Carlsberg advance tie-in posters

In the mid-1980s Danish brewery Carlsberg made a product placement deal with EON Productions. Carlsberg, who had previously featured briefly in "Goldfinger" (1964), got their logo prominently displayed in both "The Living Daylights" (1987) and "Licence to Kill" (1989).

Around the time of the theatrical release of "The Living Daylights" Carlsberg produced this advance tie-in poster measuring 28x20 inches for the US market. Some might say that the tagline seems somewhat self-defeating: "He's dangerous and he takes chances. Except when it comes to his beer".

TLD Carlsberg poster 1987

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“Golden Eye” (1989): Danish rental VHS

The English TV movie "Golden Eye" from 1989 (not to be confused with EON's theatrically released "GoldenEye" from 1995) was the first filmed dramatization of James Bond author Ian Fleming's life. Charles Dance, almost a dead ringer for Fleming,  was perfectly cast in the lead after previously guest-starring as the henchman Claus in EON's "For Your Eyes Only" (1981). Christoph Waltz, who was later to become Blofeld in "SPECTRE" (2015) and "No Time to Die" (2021), also had a bit part as a Nazi in "Golden Eye", the plot of which was inspired by Ian Fleming's experiences in the Royal Navy's Secret Service during World War II.

Danish distributor Irish released "Golden Eye" with Danish subs as a rental VHS sometime around 1989/90. The cover designer clearly didn't bother checking the name of the main character who is invariably spelled Ian Flemming on the front and back cover.

"Golden Eye" was shown on Danish TV 2 on February 1, 1992, now retitled "Hemmelige affærer" [Secret Affairs]. To this date, "Golden Eye" has not been released on DVD or VOD with Danish subtitles.

Goldeneye Irish VHS forside

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