In Films
In the film series Blofeld first appears in From Russia with Love, then in Thunderball. In these first two appearances, his face is not seen and only his lower body is visible as he strokes his trademark white cat.
In the third, fourth, and fifth appearances – You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Diamonds are Forever – he is the primary antagonist, meeting Bond face-to-face.
In the film version of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, he is not the actual killer of Tracy Bond. He drives the car from which Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat) fires the fatal shots at Tracy, just hours after she marries Bond.
In the sixth and final appearance – in the pre-credit sequence of For Your Eyes Only – he is an anonymous, bald villain trying to kill Bond once again. Blofeld remains unnamed and unlisted in this film’s end credits. The only clues to his identity are the trademark white cat, similar clothes to his previous onscreen appearances, the dialogue indicating that he and Bond have met before, and the fact that the scene begins with Bond paying his respects to Tracy, often considered by the producers as a means of providing an "immediate continuity link" in the event of a new actor taking the part of Bond (although this was Roger Moore's fifth appearance as Bond). The anonymity of the villain was due to the legal dispute between Kevin McClory and Eon Productions over the Thunderball copyrights.
Blofeld’s appearance and personality change according to the personifying actor:
He has a full head of black hair in From Russia With Love and Thunderball; a facial dueling scar in You Only Live Twice; no scar or earlobes in On Her Majesty's Secret Service; and silver-grey hair in Diamonds Are Forever. This metamorphosing matches Fleming’s literary portrayal of a master criminal who will go to great lengths to preserve his anonymity, including the use of radical plastic surgery. He often wears a jacket without lapels, based loosely either on the Nehru jacket or on the Mao suit, a feature which is used in spoofs like the Austin Powers series, though in his early two appearances on film he wore a black business suit.
Blofeld's last onscreen appearance outside the Eon Productions series was in Never Say Never Again, the 1983 remake of Thunderball. Here, Blofeld is tall, thin, and bearded, with a European accent more in keeping with the character as presented in From Russia With Love and Thunderball.
Czech actor Jan Werich was originally cast by producer Harry Saltzman to play Blofeld in You Only Live Twice. Upon arriving at the Pinewood set, both producer Albert R. Broccoli and director Lewis Gilbert felt that he was a bad choice, resembling a "poor, benevolent Santa Claus". Nonetheless, in an attempt to make the casting work, Gilbert continued filming. After five days, both Gilbert and Broccoli determined that Werich wasn't menacing enough, and recast Donald Pleasence in the role – the official excuse being that Werich was ill.
| Year | Film series | Actor/Notes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | From Russia with Love | Anthony Dawson, person, Eric Pohlmann, voice; both uncredited as only hands and back of head are seen; the end credits list a question mark instead of an actor’s name. | Active/Indirect involvement in the field. |
| 1965 | Thunderball | Anthony Dawson, person, Eric Pohlmann, voice (though other sources mistakenly claim that it is Joseph Wiseman); both uncredited as only hands and white hair are shown; end credits do not list Blofeld. | Active/Indirect involvement in the field. |
| 1967 | You Only Live Twice | Donald Pleasence; initially unseen as previously, before a dramatic reveal. | Injured in the hand; Escaped. |
| 1969 | On Her Majesty’s Secret Service | Telly Savalas; appears with earlobes removed to back up claim to a noble title. | Neck broken; Escaped; Was driver in the drive-by murder of Teresa Bond. |
| 1971 | Diamonds Are Forever | Charles Gray; appears also as doubles, all created via plastic surgery. | He attempts to escape in his mini-sub, but Bond gains control of it and crashes it into the Control Room. |
| 1981 | For Your Eyes Only | John Hollis, person, Robert Rietty, voice; Blofeld’s face is not seen close-up. | Dropped into tall chimney stack from a helicopter and died after that. |
| 1983 | Never Say Never Again (non-Eon) | Max von Sydow | Active/Indirect involvement in the field |
Read more about this topic: Ernst Stavro Blofeld
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“Does art reflect life? In movies, yes. Because more than any other art form, films have been a mirror held up to society’s porous face.”
—Marjorie Rosen (b. 1942)
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