When Johanna Harwood left Bray in the 1950s, she was determined to get into the film business - and she succeeded, working on the first two James Bond movies in the early 1960s.
Programme maker Shauna McGreevy introduces her Documentary On One production Harwood, Johanna Harwood below - listen to it above.
James Bond is one of the most successful franchises in the history of cinema, so when I discovered that the first two Bond movies had been written by an Irish woman - Johanna Harwood - I needed to tell her story! I was soon to discover, she has some story!
In late 2022 I came across an old article about Irish scriptwriter Johanna Harwood. Why was she in the news now?
It was because Phoebe Waller Bridge had been writing the script for the latest Bond film, No Time To Die, only the second female writer to take on such a task after Johanna. I wanted to know more about her. How had she ended up at the centre of the Bond phenomenon back in the 1960s? And what had become of her?
I quickly discovered Johanna was still alive, in her 90s, and living in, of all places, Monaco. I got hold of her number and we had our first phone call. I immediately knew Johanna was a remarkable woman, a great character. When the time was right, she was happy for her story to be documented.... Two years later, the time was right!
In October 2024 I travelled over to Monaco to spend 3 days with Johanna, and she told me her story from start to finish!
Johanna recalls memories going back over 90 years, painting an evocative picture of growing up in the 'one horse town’ of Bray and her decision, as a teenager, to try and break into movies. The Irish film industry was tiny! So, although Johanna worked in Ireland for a time, she moved to London to chase her dream. Screenwriting was part of that dream.
She ultimately ended up working with a producer by the name of Harry Saltzman, the future James Bond producer. Johanna told him in no uncertain terms that she wanted to write film scripts and he supported this, as long as she did secretarial work as well.
They established a system – he'd pick a book, give it to her to adapt into a screenplay and then he’d try and get funding for it. Johanna was writing scripts all the time, honing her craft. So, when the opportunity to adapt Ian Fleming's Dr. No came her way, she was ready to go!
She wrote the first ever Bond script in a mere 10 days. Said script was the final piece in the jigsaw that got the first Bond film over the line. Johanna recalls the writing process in great detail, itself as action-packed as any Bond adventure! Before long, Sean Connery was reading that script and, well, the rest is big-screen history.
Johanna would go on to write the first draft of From Russia with Love before moving away from the franchise for several reasons, one involving the great love of her life, French film director René Clément, who she met in the 1950s. She speaks of him as if she just fell in love with him yesterday.
Johanna has been living on the continent for over 60 years and is still working and living life to the fullest. Spending time with her was a joyous experience for me. I have never met anyone like her. At the end of our time together Johanna had painted the most wonderful picture of a life full of love, loss and... Bond, James Bond!
Listen to more from Documentary On One here.
