Itinerary: Spies and Espionage

We can’t all be James Bond. But maybe we can find a little intrigue this weekend.

Friday

Prepare for opening night of the 19th James Bond movie with a trip to your neighborhood spy shop.

The hot personal espionage item these days is the hidden video camera. The “nanny cam” hides in a stuffed animal, but cameras--which transmit to an actual recorder--are so small they can be camouflaged in pagers or sunglasses. You could do a little holiday shopping too. Surely someone you know needs a wiretap detector.

Counter Spy Shop (9557 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., [310] 274-7700) also carries fashionable bulletproof jackets. Try out the infrared night-vision goggles in a dark room. Similar toys are also available at Spy Tech Agency (8519 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., [310] 657-6333) and Privacy Connection (23133 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. [818] 225-8007).

Properly decked out, you can attend an opening-night screening of “The World Is Not Enough” (see Best Bets, Page 3) without a James Bond inferiority complex. A big screen--say the Hollywood Galaxy--is necessary. Everything about James Bond should be larger than life.

Then, wind down at a Hollywood bar 007 would approve of. Goldfingers (6423 Yucca St., Hollywood, [323] 962-2913) is a natural choice. But you could also go to Martini Lounge (5657 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, [323] 467-4068) to find something shaken, not stirred.

Saturday

Who was the first actor to play James Bond?

No, it wasn’t Sean Connery in “Dr. No.”

It was Barry Nelson, who starred as 007 in a 1954 British TV adaptation of “Casino Royale” (not to be confused with the surreal 1967 “Casino Royale” with David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen). You can see it this weekend as part of the “Spy vs. Spy” screening program at the Museum of Television & Radio (465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. $6, adults; $4, seniors and students; $3, age 13 and younger. [310] 786-1000).

Also on the program, which is part of the “Television and the Cold War” series, is the premiere of “Secret Agent,” a British prequel of sorts to “The Prisoner”; and Rocky and Bullwinkle foil Boris and Natasha in the cartoon “Jet Fuel Formula.” “Spy vs. Spy” shows at 12:15 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Sunday

Deep in Rustic Canyon in Pacific Palisades is a mysterious spot where, according to local legend, a group of aspiring Nazis constructed a sort of commune in the early ‘30s. Called Murphy Ranch, the site at one time had giant water and fuel tanks and a power generator, ruins of which remain. The terraced hillsides and crumbling concrete staircases up the steep canyon walls are still visible.

The story goes that a wealthy couple named Winona and Norman Stephens bankrolled the construction under the influence of a Nazi named Schmidt. They planned to take over California when America crumbled into anarchy after Hitler conquered Europe and Great Britain. Well, those plans didn’t pan out, and the place was raided by the Feds after Pearl Harbor.

You can hike to Murphy Ranch to see what remains. To get there, follow the creek bed up Rustic Canyon several miles north of Will Rogers State Park. Or take the fire road that starts at the west end of Casale Road in Brentwood. Murphy Ranch is about a mile past the big flagstone gateway.