M is the title and code letter for James Bond’s boss, the fictional head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6 (or MI7). The title “M” is believed to have been derived by creator Ian Fleming from the first real-life head of Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Mansfield Smith-Cumming, who used his initial “C” to indicate when he had seen a paper and so became referred to as “C”, a practice that carried on with his successors.

M (left) briefs James Bond on his assignment in ‘Dr No’.

In both the novels and the films, all characters holding the title of M have been aided by Miss Moneypenny (personal secretary) and Bill Tanner (Chief of Staff).

In Ian Fleming’s novels, M’s real name is Rear Admiral Sir Miles Messervy KCMG; the name, hinted at throughout the series, was finally revealed in The Man with the Golden Gun, Fleming’s final novel. In the films, only his first name Miles was revealed (in The Spy Who Loved Me), and he also has the rank of Rear Admiral. It is assumed that the first M of the films, as played by Bernard Lee, and that of Fleming’s books are the same person. Most notably, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, M is portrayed at his home, Quarterdeck, with his idiosyncratic domestic arrangements transferred intact from the novel.

In the novels, M clearly has a liking for Bond, and they have obviously had a long professional relationship. M bends the rules for Bond on several occasions. For instance in the short story For Your Eyes Only, Bond agrees to carry out a private assassination for M, while in The Man with the Golden Gun, Bond attempts to assassinate M himself; this is as a result of extreme Soviet brainwashing and M insists that Bond be rehabilitated rather than punished. In the first post-Fleming book, Colonel Sun, M is abducted from Quarterdeck and Bond goes to great lengths to rescue him. In the later books, written by John Gardner, M/Messervy protects Bond from the new, less aggressive climate in the Secret Service, saying that “sometime this country will need a blunt instrument.” In the films, their relationship is similar.

Robert Brown as M in ‘Licence to Kill’.

M was played by Bernard Lee from the first Bond film, Dr No, until Moonraker (1979). Lee died in 1981 and, out of respect, the character was removed from that year’s For Your Eyes Only (1981), with his lines given to either his Chief of Staff, Bill Tanner. The film version of Dr No suggests that Messervy is a relatively recent appointee to the position of M (he boasts about his ability to reduce the number of operative casualties since taking the job), suggesting someone else held the job before him. Gardner makes references to M’s predecessors in Scorpius, again suggesting that Messervy is not the first M. Also, in the film version of Dr No, M is heard to call himself head of MI7 (the actor originally said MI6, but for reasons unknown was overdubbed with the now-fictional MI7 prior to the film’s release); this contradicts later films that state he is in charge of MI6.

The 1967 satire Casino Royale featured not one but two Ms. The first is played by John Huston. Subsequently, Bond becomes the new M (though he is not regularly referred to by that title) and proceeds to order that all MI6 agents, male and female, be renamed ‘James Bond 007’ in order to confuse the enemy.

M has been played by the following in films:

• Bernard Lee:
  • Dr No (1962)
  • From Russia with Love (1963)
  • Goldfinger (1964)
  • Thunderball (1965)
  • You Only Live Twice (1967)
  • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
  • Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
  • Live and Let Die (1973)
  • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
  • Moonraker (1979)
• Robert Brown:
  • Octopussy (1983)
  • A View to a Kill (1985)
  • The Living Daylights (1987)
  • Licence to Kill (1989)
• Judy Dench:
  • GoldenEye (1995)
  • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
  • The World Is Not Enough (1999)
  • Die Another Day (2002)
  • Casino Royale (2006)
  • Quantum of Solace(2008)
• John Huston:
  • Casino Royale (1967)
• Edward Fox:
  • Never Say Never Again (1995)

See also:

• Bond allies