Desmond Llewelyn as “Q” in Thunderball (1965)
Vitals
Desmond Llewelyn as “Q”, MI6’s trusted quartermaster and gadgeteer
Nassau, Summer 1965
Film: Thunderball
Release Date: December 29, 1965
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Designer: Anthony Mendleson
Background
Welsh actor Desmond Llewelyn, best known for his portrayal of the steadfast “Q” in 17 James Bond films over 36 years, was born 110 years ago today on September 12, 1914. Llewelyn may have been destined to be indelibly intertwined with James Bond’s world of gadgetry, as his father purchased the first production Bentley in 1921, decades before Ian Fleming assigned agent 007 a Bentley 4½ Litre in his early novels.
After serving in the Royal Welch Fusiliers during World War II, Llewelyn resumed his acting career, which consisted largely of uncredited bit parts in films such as Hamlet (1948) and A Night to Remember (1958). His big break came when director Terence Young invited him to audition for the role of MI6’s equipment officer in the second Bond film, From Russia With Love (1963). Both Young and Fleming envisioned the character of Major Boothroyd—named after firearms expert Geoffrey Boothroyd—with a Welsh accent, although Llewelyn believed the character should speak with the upper-class accent that he ultimately adopted for the role. Although the name Boothroyd was occasionally referenced (most notably in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977), the character became widely known as “Q,” a nod to his title as quartermaster and head of MI6’s “Q branch.”
Llewelyn returned for Goldfinger (1964), where he and Sean Connery established Bond and Q’s signature relationship, marked by affectionately antagonistic banter during the now-iconic scenes where Q introduces Bond to his latest innovative gadgets—often destined for considerable abuse. This playful dynamic continued in Thunderball (1965), during a memorable scene where a tropically dressed Q arrives in the Bahamas to equip his most troublesome agent with a selection of pocket-sized gadgets… provided Bond has a convenient pocket, of course.
What’d He Wear?
We don’t know Q’s exact cover story in the Bahamas, but he perfectly suits the role of a middle-aged colonial tourist in his tropical shirt, khaki Bermuda shorts, and desert boots, topped with a straw trilby. This short-brimmed hat of woven light-brown straw features a four-row band, each row woven into alternating brown and beige squares.
Q’s tropical shirt lacks some characteristics of true Hawaiian-made aloha shirts, though this has generally become the shorthand term for any short-sleeved sport shirt with a bright tropical pattern. The all-over print consists of blue pineapples with green and yellow-leafed crowns, positioned against a royal-blue ground with a tonal geometric print to keep things busy. Unlike the sporty camp collars typically found on classic aloha shirts, Q’s shirt has a spread collar, which he wears open at the neck with the remaining five dark-blue buttons fastened down the plain front. The shirt has elbow-length sleeves and a straight hem designed to be worn untucked, as Q does.
In his Bond Suits post about Q’s ties, Matt Spaiser explains that “Llewelyn brought his own personal history and affiliations—including military, college and sports club—to the character of Q,” reinforced by Llewelyn himself stating for the DVD commentary on Licence to Kill (1989) that “I wear a different tie every time, and I have sort of the history of Q worked out.”
The shirt’s untucked hem covers the top of Q’s khaki cotton shorts, cut to knee-length to fit the definition of Bermuda shorts. However, the glimpse of a pleated pocket on the right hip suggests that these may be the KD-1941 pattern shorts issued to British military personnel serving in the tropics during World War II, aligning with both the actor and character’s military history.
These knee-length cotton shorts rise high to the wearer’s natural waist, where they are rigged with two belted straps across the top of the waistband to adjust the fit above the button-up fly. Later patterns feature two button-up belt loops on each side of the waistband and a third button-up loop over the back right. The silhouette flares out from the waist, emphasized by the double pleats—forward-facing, in the British tradition—on each side of the front and back. The sole outer pocket is a box-pleated dressing pocket over the right hip that closes through a single button.
Worn with mid-calf black socks, Q’s sand-colored suede two-eyelet desert boots also share a British Army heritage. As Nathan Clark had been serving with the Eighth Army in Burma during World War II when he observed officers wearing what he described as “crêpe-soled rough suede boots,” crafted for them by Cairo cobblers. Their construction and soles balanced a light weight with considerable traction that made them ideal for long walks across the sandy desert. Upon returning to the United Kingdom after the war, Clark collaborated with pattern-cutter Bill Tuxhill to recreate the shoe for his family’s footwear company, resulting in the launch of the Clarks Original Desert Boot at the 1949 Chicago Shoe Fair.
Q wears an elegantly minimalist plain gold dress watch with a round silver dial on a smooth black leather strap, significantly dressier than the stainless Breitling diver (equipped with a geiger counter) that he issues to 007.
How to Get the Look
Desmond Llewelyn as “Q” in Thunderball (1965)
Q blends summer holiday sensibility with his military-informed tradition as he dresses in a tropical shirt, khaki shorts, desert boots, and a straw trilby to equip 007 in the Bahamas.
- Blue pineapple-printed short-sleeved tropical sport shirt with spread collar, plain front, and straight hem
- Khaki cotton drill double forward-pleated knee-length KD-1941 pattern Bermuda shorts with double-belted waist and box-pleated button-through right-side pocket
- Sand-colored suede two-eyelet desert boots
- Black mid-calf socks
- Light-brown straw short-brimmed trilby with alternating brown-and-beige square-woven band
- Gold dress watch with round silver dial on smooth black leather strap
Do Yourself A Favor And…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
I must say, I find this business of equipping you in the field—on the run, as it were—highly irregular!
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