Molly Peters was an actress that didn’t have all that big of a career in
the entertainment industry. However, the actress did end up making history during her short career
by becoming the first-ever actress in a James Bond film to be seen taking off her clothes on camera!
Although no legitimate nudity can be found in Molly Peters’ performance in the 1965
James Bond film Thunderball, this didn’t stop censors at the time from nearly having
a heart attack when her character was shown suggestively stripping her clothes off for
Sean Connery’s James Bond. Sadly, not much came of Molly’s career after the movie. Join
Facts Verse as we explore how Molly Peters was the first nude Bond girl.
Molly Peters’ Role in Thunderball Was Too Hot for Theaters!
Of the few roles that actress Molly Peters took on during her relatively
short career in the entertainment industry, her role in the James Bond film Thunderball
undeniably remains her most iconic. Molly appeared in the film as a nurse by the name of Patricia
Fearing, who is tasked with taking care of Sean Connery’s character of James Bond. James Bond
ends up being the one to take care of Patricia, as he turns the tables on the nurse and seduces
her into giving him her love. Molly certainly didn’t have all that big of a role in the film,
which was the fourth film in the main James Bond franchise and was released after the classic
Goldfinger. However, the small part that she did have ended up making lots of waves due to the
fact that her character ended up taking her clothes off for Sean Connery’s James Bond!
Goldfinger was the third film to feature Sean Connery as the character of James Bond, and
everyone involved in the production of follow-up Thunderball knew they were going to have a heck of
a time outdoing the feature. Goldfinger had been a massive hit with both critics and audiences,
and still stands today in the eyes of many as the greatest James Bond
film that has ever been conceived. While some may argue that more recent James Bond films,
such as the Daniel Craig-starring Casino Royale, have been more faithful to both the character
and Ian Fleming’s source material, many still consider Goldfinger to be the absolute best film.
Given that the producers knew they were going to have a challenging time keeping audiences
involved after the seemingly perfect Goldfinger, they had to think of some ways to make the fourth
James Bond feature, Thunderball, stand out. One of the things that they decided to amp
up in the fourth James Bond feature was the sex appeal. Thunderball featured a handful
of beautiful Bond girls, and one of them ended up making history by being the first-ever Bond
girl to take her clothes off on screen! Of course, this would be the aforementioned Patricia Fearing,
played by Molly Peters.
Thunderball Nearly Received an X Rating The producers had certainly intended
for actress Molly Peters’ nearly nude scenes in the movie Thunderball to make a stir,
but they likely didn’t anticipate the controversy that was going to come about from the actress
stripping her clothes off on camera! Even though no explicit nudity was shown in the 1965 film,
censors at the time still couldn’t believe what they were seeing when the character of Patricia
Fearing began stripping in the film for Sean Connery’s James Bond. At the end of the day,
not much could be seen of Molly Peters despite the fact that the audience knew that her character was
naked. However, this didn’t stop the censors from nearly giving Thunderball an X rating!
It seems that the censors at the British Board of Film Classification required the scene featuring
Molly Peters in Thunderball to be significantly trimmed in order for the film to pass with an
appropriate classification. Of course, the film would’ve likely proved a box-office
disaster if it had been given an adults-only classification, which would’ve defeated the
purpose of making the film entirely! The James Bond franchise has always been about money,
and there’s no reason for a Bond girl to be showing off her skin unless it sells tickets.
It’s unclear just how racy the footage that had to be excised was, but it’s doubtful that the
producers of the James Bond franchise would’ve submitted any cut of Thunderball to the British
Board of Film Classification that contained any amount of explicit nudity whatsoever.
Even though Molly Peters was only in Thunderball for a brief amount of time,
audiences fell in love with her character of Patricia Fearing. It certainly didn’t
hurt that the character was naked for much of her screen time, even if the audience wasn’t
allowed the chance to see the good parts! Sadly, Molly Peters’ career following the
release of Thunderball would leave a bit to be desired. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be
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How Molly Wound Up in the Fourth James Bond Feature
Molly Peters was born in England in the 1940s. Before starting up her short-lived acting career,
Molly could be seen posing as a model in such sexy publications as Playboy
and Modern Man. It seems that Molly never had much of an issue with taking her clothes off,
and she arguably would’ve been fine with showing off a good deal more
on the screen during her appearance as the character of Patricia Fearing in Thunderball. It
was undeniably Molly’s various sexy photo shoots that brought her to the attention of the producers
of the James Bond films, who felt that the actress would provide the perfect ingredient to keep
audiences enthralled after the franchise peak that was Goldfinger. Molly appeared in the film when
she was in her early 20s and had been discovered by the film’s director, who was Terence Young.
Of course, Thunderball was based upon the Ian Fleming novel of the same name,
but the fourth James Bond feature isn’t the only adaptation of Ian Fleming’s Thunderball that has
been made. Nearly two decades after the release of the original film, a new film was made that
attempted to adapt the classic spy novel for more modern audiences. This film would be 1983’s Never
Say Never Again, which was directed by The Empire Strikes Back’s Irvin Kirshner. Never
Say Never Again is a very odd film in the James Bond canon, as it is not considered part of the
main film franchise due to not being produced by the same people. Instead, Never Say Never Again is
essentially an outlier in the world of James Bond films, though it featured Sean Connery as the spy.
Kim Basinger Recreated Molly Peters’ Infamous Scene
Never Say Never Again is notable for many reasons, including the fact that it allowed the aging Sean
Connery to step back into the role of James Bond one more time before he became too old for
audiences to buy him as the character. At that point in the main James Bond franchise, Roger
Moore was portraying the character of James Bond. The same year that Sean Connery could
be seen portraying the character of James Bond in Never Say Never Again, Roger Moore
could be seen playing the character in the regrettably named Octopussy.
Both films ended up performing well in the box office, but Octopussy actually
ended up taking home around 20 million dollars more than its immediate competition. Still,
Never Say Never Again arguably stands as the much more interesting James Bond film nowadays,
whether because it features Sean Connery’s final performance
as the famous superspy or because of the fact that it was produced outside of the main film
franchise and features some decidedly different production values. There are some who say that
Never Say Never Again is the only James Bond film to feature a distinct directorial vision,
as it has always been the producers that have been truthfully in charge of the main film franchise.
There’s certainly a lot that makes Never Say Never Again an interesting feature in the James
Bond pantheon. Another thing of interest about the film is that it featured a burgeoning Kim Basinger
recreating the controversial stripping scene that Molly Peters had performed in
Thunderball. By 1983, however, there was nothing remotely controversial about it.
Following Thunderball, Molly Peters only appeared in a handful of movies
and television series before retiring. It has been suggested that the actress
retired from her career in the entertainment industry after falling out with her agent.
Claudine Auger Also Made History in Thunderball Molly Peters ended up passing away in 2017,
at the age of 75. James Bond actor Roger Moore passed away the very same year. In 2020,
Sean Connery passed away. While Molly Peters remains inarguably best known for
her performance as the character of Patricia Fearing in Thunderball, she wasn’t even the
most prominent Bond girl that was featured in the film! The main Bond girl of the picture was
Claudine Auger’s Domino. While Molly made history by being the first Bond girl to take her clothes
off on screen, Claudine made history by being the first French Bond girl. Given that Claudine had an
incredibly heavy French accent, her lines had to be dubbed. However, Claudine was a great swimmer
and was one of the few stars in the film that didn’t require a stunt double for her numerous
underwater scenes. Of course, Thunderball has been criticized for its surplus of
aquatic action scenes, with a great deal of the film’s action taking place underwater.
Unlike Molly Peters, Claudine Auger performed in a great deal of works after her appearance
in Thunderball. However, she ended up finding much more success in her home
country of Europe than anywhere else. Because of this, Thunderball is arguably still her most
iconic film. Claudine ended up passing away in 2019. Other beautiful actresses that portrayed
Bond girls in Thunderball include the Italian Luciana Paluzzi, as well as English-Jamaican
actress Martine Beswick. Martine had also appeared in the previous James Bond film, From Russia
with Love, in a separate role. In that earlier film, she was wrongfully credited as “Martin”.
Though Molly Peters had an incredibly short-lived career in the entertainment industry, she remains
an icon to this day for being the first Bond girl to take off her clothes on screen. Now it’s time
to hear from you: did you know that the 1965 James Bond feature Thunderball nearly got
an X rating for nude scenes featuring actress Molly Peters and that the film also contained
the first French Bond girl? As always, like this video to show your support, subscribe, and hit the
notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are
on their way!