007 Exhibit: A License To Thrill

The Henry Ford Museum, in Dearborn, Mich., is the latest stop for the traveling tour exhibition "Bond, James Bond."

Celebrating 40 years of James Bond in film, the exhibition features rare Bond memorabilia and a chance for any fan to be a super agent for a day. CBS News Correspondent Maureen Maher reports.

The exhibit debuted in the U.S. this summer and is opened through Dec. 31, 2003, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.

Visitors are welcomed to register to be spies. With the help of Scott Mallwitz, the museum's director of experience design, Maher got to pick the spy she wanted to be.

Mallwitz told her, "Now, you get to pick between: trainee agent, general agent and super agent depending on what your confidence is and your sophistication and knowledge of the program."

Maher went for general spy ,though she says she would like to consider herself a super agent. Once she was registered, Mallwitz gave her a personal tour through 40 years of dozens of cool props and gadgets used by 007.

One such prop is the mini-sub with a crocodile disguise that Roger Moore used in "Octopussy."

Pointing at the prop, Mallwitz explains, "This floated. He was in it. He was actually not lying down in it the way that it's shown in the film. But his head was in this area. Through this lens you could see his eyes and his forehead. And he actually walked on the bottom of a pool as this was kind of suspended on his shoulders."

James Bond may have looked like he was flying by the seat of his pants, but rarely-seen before original storyboards from many of the films detail how every super-stunt and explosive was carefully choreographed.

Crowds at the museum are crossing both generation and gender lines. Marc Greuther, the museum's curator of industry, says there are a lot of reasons why James Bond keeps his appeal after 40 years.

He says, "There's a sort of potent combination going on there. All of it's to do with exotic locations, and a lot of glamor. There are the cars. There's the danger. It's escapist, to a degree."

One visitor pointed out, "I love the action. I kind of like that part of it."

Even with the action and the best gadgets "Q" could ever come up with,a Bond movie isn't complete without the cars, the villain and the girls! Bond's modified Aston Martin from the last flick, Oddjob's deadly bowler and Solitaire's crimson dress are all part of the massive display.

Mallwitz notes that visitors can see "original costumes from the films including the shoes, which I find really great. Because sometimes they're custom made and sometimes they're bought off the shelf."

As for the estimated value of the collection, Mallwitz says, "You can't estimate this value. It's all one of a kind."

Like the character himself, the appeal of the Bond films seems ageless. This show has been sold out every weekend since it opened in June. The museum says the exhibit has given spies of all ages a license to thrill.