ARTICLES:
THE M THEORY
Having watched all the Bond films a couple of times I have recently developed a theory, a theory that you may find shocking and disturbing. A theory that initially may be scoffed at, causing humiliation to whoever suggests it, but when you analyses the circumstances, evidence can be found, and strong evidence at that. This Evidence supports what many judge as outrageous, perhaps even distressing.
My theory is that there was a double Agent inside MI6, inside the British Secret Service, who was really working for SPECTRE. And that agent was none other than the original ‘M’, aka Admiral Sir Miles Messervy. I know what you are thinking, how stupid is this? M was loyal to his county, to the service, he must have been!! But please, let me continue, I may just change your opinion. There is evidence to support this claim and it dates right back to the beginning. In Doctor No M makes Bond change weaponry, from a gun he has used for “nearly 10 years”, a gun that Bond was used to, surely this is disadvantaging Bond. So what? You may be asking, but wait, there is more to come. From Russia with Love sees M send Bond into what is obviously a trap. Somehow SPECTRE knew that the British would send Bond, M was helping them out here. And what about Thunderball, M originally has Bond going far away from the Bahamas, where Largo actually is. Why would M keep Bond, who he acknowledges in this film as the best, away from where SPECTRE are. Of course when Bond requests to go to the Bahamas, M cant refuse, it would look suspicious.
And then there’s OHMSS, towards the end, you know what I’m talking about, where M wont let Bond go after Blofeld, who had Tracey and was demanding to be acknowledged as a Count. And don’t forget about Diamonds are Forever. M sent Bond to Holland, while Blofeld was far away living it up in the glitz and glamour Las Vegas, with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior* among others. Seems M is doing his bit to help SPECTRE out, and none of this happens when its villains other than SPECTRE, very suspicious if you ask me.
‘For Your Eyes Only’ sees Bond finally kill Blofeld, dropping him off a helicopter into a smoke stack. With Blofeld dead SPECTRE is no more, and guess what? In the very next scene Moneypenny informs Bond that M is on leave. If my hunch is correct, this was just M’s cover, M has now lost his employer in Blofeld, and has gone to find a new employer, allowing him to continue to spy on the British and sabotage missions for his new employer.^
A suggestion that he now has shifted from SPECTRE to the KGB can be supported by his newfound friendliness towards General Gogal, who seems to appear more and more during this time. Finally in ‘Licence to Kill’, in one last sabotage attemp, M accepts Bonds resignation without giving it the fight you would expect from a boss for his most successful employer. Now there is one piece left of the puzzle, why M doesn’t feature after ‘Licence to Kill’. The answer is simple; he was caught and executed by the British for his Double Agent crimes.
So there you have it, a theory that on the surface seems illogical and impossible, but when you dig below the surface, you find evidence. Perhaps inconclusive, but still evidence, from six different films that all point to something that you just can’t ignore, the possibility that M was a double agent.
* Sammy Davis Junior made a cameo in Diamonds are Forever, but his scene, along with other scenes were cut before the film was released. It can be found in the extra on the Special Edition DVD and VHS of the film.
^ Was Miss Moneypenny in on it with M? Perhaps she used her knowledge to blackmail M into getting rid of his new secretary Miss Smallbone after Octopussy. How else could she hold the job for 27 years, when we rarely actually see her do any work? I mean, she keeps make up in the filing cabinet.