The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) - Illustrated Reference

The Man With the Golden Gun was directed by Guy Hamilton and premiered on 19th December 1974. Starring Roger Moore, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams and Christopher Lee. Screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz. Music by John Barry. Theme sung by Lulu.

A golden bullet with “007” engraved on it arrives at M’s office, is James Bond the next target for top assassin Scaramanga? Meanwhile, the Solex Agitator has gone missing, a device that can harness the sun’s energy and can be used as a deadly weapon. Bond travels to Hong Kong where he teams up with agent Mary Goodnight, he discovers Scaramanga’s remote island and the missing Solex. 007 must face the man with the golden gun in a final showdown.

The Man With the Golden Gun was Ian Fleming’s 13th Bond book and was first published in 1965, it was preceded by You Only Live Twice and followed by the short story collection Octopussy. Golden Gun was Fleming’s last Bond novel and not one of his best, he died before he could polish, revise and add the rich detail contained in the previous Bond books.

This was the last Bond film directed by Guy Hamilton, he had also directed Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Live and Let Die (1973). It was also the last Bond film produced by Harry Saltzman, his health had deteriorated, his wife had cancer and he had financial problems so he sold his half of the company and retired.

After the success of Live and Let Die, Roger Moore was back as 007, this time showing off his three nipples (when posing as Scaramanga) and kung fu skills at a martial arts school. Q turns up but does not provide Bond with any gadgets, apart from the fake nipple.

"You see, Mr Bond, like all great artists I want to create one indisputable masterpiece - the death of 007."

Unusually it’s the villain that has all the gadgets this time round, Hammer horror veteran Christopher Lee plays Francisco Scaramanga, the man with the golden gun. The worlds highest paid assassin, he charges a million dollars a hit. The golden gun is disguised as a lighter, cufflink and ballpoint pen. He also owns a car that can fly and a laser gun powered by the Solex. Jack Palance was one of the actors considered for the role of Scaramanga.

Britt Ekland plays Bond girl Mary Goodnight, sent to assist 007 on his search for the missing Solex. In the novel Goodnight is Bonds secretary and appears in two other novels, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice.

Maud Adams plays Scaramanga’s mistress Andrea Anders, she sent Bond the golden bullet hoping that he would confront and kill Scaramanga. Unfortunately she doesn’t live to see her wish come true. Adams would appear again in a Roger Moore Bond film playing the title role in Octopussy (1983).

Herve Villechaise plays Nick Nack, at just 3’ 11” the shortest henchman in the Bond series, he is also Scaramanga’s chef. The character does not appear in the novel. The actor found fame as Tattoo in the TV series Fantasy Island. Villechaise suffered from clinical depression and took his own life in 1993, he was 50.

Clifton James reprises his role as sheriff J.W. Pepper from the previous Bond film. He is holidaying with his wife in Bangkok when he bumps into 007. “Hey! I know you! You’re that English secret agent, from England!”

The film features a stunt that had never been seen in the movies before, Bond is chasing Scaramanga in an AMC Hornet and drives over a broken bridge, the car spinning 360 degrees before landing on the other side. This was no special effects trickery but done for real by stunt driver Bumps Willard in a redesigned Hornet and the ends of the bridge positioned at the precise angles (worked out by computer) for the stunt to work. Eight cameras were used to film the scene.

Felix Leiter appears in the novel but not the film. Scaramanga has a gold plated Colt.45 in the book, there is an assassination attempt on M and a fight on a train, the final showdown between Bond and Scaramanga is in a swamp.

Look out for the shot near the end of the film when Bond and Goodnight are fleeing Scaramangas exploding island, while they're running Britt Ekland trips and knocks down Roger Moore too. It was an accident which was left in the finished film.

The Man With the Golden Gun was one of the least successful Bond films. Britt Ekland looks great in a bikini but she’s one of the more forgettable Bond girls and Maud Adams barely makes an impression. On the plus side Christopher Lee was a memorable villain though a little too charming to be really menacing. The locations were great and John Barry contributed another effective score but the theme song yelled out by Lulu has to be one of the worst.

The film was retitled The Man With the Golden Colt in Germany and 007 Versus the Golden Gun in China.

James Bond will return in… The Spy Who Loved Me.

The Critics Wrote -

"An efficient globetrotting escapist actioner, with Moore now settling nicely into the part." (Winnert)

"The throbbing information that "the energy crisis is still with us" isn't what you need or want to learn from a James Bond picture. But that poverty of invention and excitement characterizes "The Man With the Golden Gun". The only energetic moments are provided by Herve Villechaize, as a midget gifted with mocking authority, and Christopher Lee as the golden gunman—both have a sinister vitality that cuts through the narrative dough." (New York Times)

"Good, gimmicky fun... Lee is excellent as assassin Scaramanga. Great car stunts, worldwide locales." (Maltin)

"Slow, tired, unfunny James Bond film, worst of the series. Roger Moore looks understandably bored. Attempts to drag in kung fu sequences add to the general air of desperation." (Christopher Tookey)

"Britt Ekland doing her well-known showroom-dummy routine and Maud Adams, the dark and Garboesque Swedish cover girl, making her debut into a career of celluloid negligence." (Julie Burchill, Girls on Film)