To celebrate the release of Dr. No (Young, 1962), the first in the long-running series of James Bond movies (Various, 1962 to present), October 5^th is officially recognised as “Global James Bond Day”. Today, this franchise stands as the longest-running franchise ever and the character is one of the most recognised and popular movie icons of all time.

Released: 19 December 1974
Director: Guy Hamilton
Distributor: United Artists
Budget: $7 million
Stars: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Hervé Villechaize, Soon-Taik Oh, Richard Loo, and Maud Adams

The Plot:
Sophisticated super spy James Bond/007 (Moore) may have met his match in Francisco Scaramanga (Lee), a world-renowned assassin whose weapon of choice is a distinctive gold pistol. When Scaramanga seizes the priceless Solex Agitator energy convertor, Bond must recover the device and confront the trained killer in a heart-stopping duel to the death!

The Background:
James Bond, Agent 007 of MI6, was the creation of writer Ian Fleming in 1953 and was heavily inspired by his time and experiences as a navy intelligence officer. James Bond was most famously brought to life by Sean Connery, who kick-started an unparalleled cinematic franchise. However, after five films as the super spy, Connery began to tire of the role; after being lured back for a whopping $1.25 million and other perks, Connery walked away from Bond (…for a time…) and, while still finishing up with The Saint (1962 to 1969), suave Roger Moore took over and immediately set about making it his own so as not to imitate Connery’s iconic performance, eventually becoming a softer and more gentle Bond. Moore’s Bond debut, Live and Let Die (Hamilton, 1973) was a commercial success, though garnered mixed reviews, and famed Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman finally set about making a big-screen adaptation of Fleming’s 1965 novel, a polarising tale that set Bond against a notorious assassin. It was writer Tom Mankiewicz who altered Scaramanga’s character into a dark mirror of Bond himself, and the adaptation ended up being very different from the source material after taking inspiration from the 1973 energy crisis. Christopher Lee, Fleming’s step-cousin, finally got his chance to play a Bond villain and received high praise for his performance, though he struggled a bit with the Golden Gun prop device. The film was shot in numerous locations around Hong Kong, with the nearby Ko Khao Phing Kan islands housing Scaramanga’s suitably elaborate and bizarre lair. The Man with the Golden Gun was notable for its car stunts, one of which made it into the Guinness Book of Records; the barrel roll was caught in one take and saw a stunt driver guide an AMC Hornet over a specially-constructed ramp for the shot, which was mired only by an unfortunate slide whistle sound effect. Although The Man with the Golden Gun grossed over $97 million at the box office, notably less than its predecessor and coming in as the fourth-lowest-grossing film in the series. Reviews were mixed upon release, with critics questioning the script and redundancy of the film, regarding it as an uninspiring entry, despite Lee’s performance, and the film very nearly ended the franchise right then and there. It didn’t, of course; Moore’s Bond was back three years later with The Spy Who Loved Me (Gilbert, 1977), which got the franchise back on track and has been regarded as one of the best Bond movies ever.

The Review:
It was very interesting in preparing for this review to find out that The Man with the Golden Gun wasn’t very successful or well liked upon release, and that it’s since garnered a legacy as one of the worst Bond films ever made. When I first started getting into James Bond, Roger Moore was my main doorway into the classic films; Pierce Brosnan was the Bond of my generation and I’d struggled to get into the Sean Connery films for some time, but Moore’s films were far more appealing to me as they were more fun and quirky and far less dry and dull like a lot of Connery’s films. Consequently, I always had a fondness for The Man with the Golden Gun; granted, much of this was because there was a mystique surrounding the title character thanks to his trademark weapon being such a game-breaking inclusion in the classic GoldenEye 007 (Rare, 1997) but this game was my primary gateway into the franchise so anything that was included in it became a fascination for me. The film opens not with a crazy action sequence or with James Bond on a mission, but on Scaramanga’s opulent island getaway near Red China. Here, surly gangster Rodney (Marc Lawrence) shows up to kill Scaramanga and claim a hefty bounty from his pint-sized butler, Nick Nack (Villechaize). Naturally, he’s unsuccessful, but this establishes many aspects of the titular assassin that come into play later in the film: he’s a skilled gunman and survivor who delights in engaging in live competition against other killers, his island is a veritable funhouse full of animatronic distractions used to disorientate both him and his foe, he’s a crack shot with his trademark weapon, easily scoring a headshot even under low lighting, and he seems to regard James Bond as the ultimate opponent since he has a life-sized dummy of the super spy in his house of tricks.

Scaramanga holds a unique distinction amongst other Bond villains in that he’s only the second one to have not only the film but also the title song named after him. Everything you need to know about this sadistic marksman is related in Lulu’s awkward, if catchy, opening song; he’s a world-famous assassin who’s so proficient that he can afford to charge $1 million for a hit. With few morals, he’ll take any contract as long as the client pays this fee, and he likes to engage in “love” before completing his assignment, and only requires one bullet to claim his bounty. However, there’s actually a surprising amount of depth and quirkiness to Scaramanga; as a child, he worked in the circus training animals, and was so enraged when his best friend, a performing elephant, was killed by a stage hand that he immediately took his revenge and found that he enjoyed killing even more than animals. Consequently, while he basks in the opulence of his fully-automated and luxurious island abode, Scaramanga takes a perverse pleasure in every kill and thrives on testing his skills against other, equally worthy opponents. Though he’s notorious enough that even James Bond and MI6 are aware of him, few have actually seen Scaramanga’s face and lived to tell of it; he’s readily identifiable, however, by his recognisable third nipple, a curious physical quirk that allows Bond to impersonate Scaramanga. Although he comes across as a cool, calculating, and even charismatic man, charming women and clients alike with his eloquence and wealth, Scaramanga is a ruthless and abusive man; Andrea Anders (Adams) lives in constant fear of him, to the point where she risks her life and offers her body just to get Bond to free her from his grasp, and even Nick Nack appears to covet Scaramanga’s wealth and power. Bond also gives a quick rundown of the titular assassin’s life history; of course, during his time, Bond films loved to have 007 do this, so this isn’t exactly anything new and actually helps establish the a reputation Scaramanga has. Despite his constant despair over Bond’s childish antics, M (Bernard Lee) is thus understandably perturbed when one of Scaramanga’s golden bullets arrives baring not only Bond’s number but also Scaramanga’s fingerprints, resulting in one of my favourite exchanges in the film where M gruffly rattles off the list of potential suspects who would happily pay $1 million to kill Bond. Recognising the threat, M forces Bond to take a sabbatical, but surreptitiously gives him carte blanche to investigate the threat. Luckily for Bond, his concerns about the “energy crisis” and the mysterious Solex Agitator align with his efforts to track down Scaramanga, which is made easier by Scaramanga having assassinated a fellow 00 Agent in Beirut but also because Bond is approached by Andrea, the woman behind the golden 007 bullet, who offers him anything he desires to kill her abuser.

As much as I enjoy the quirkier side of Bond as embodied by Moore, it’s true that he’s not quite in that role here; Bond is unduly rude and dismissive of Mary Goodnight (Ekland), threatens to shoot a man in the groin, tosses a little boy into water, and smacks Andrea around before seducing her in the same brutally manipulative style of his predecessor. Still, Moore’s suave charm is more than evident (he easily seduces a belly dancer (Carmen du Sautoy) in possession of one of Scaramanga’s bullets) and to be fair, it’s implied that Bond is more than familiar with Goodnight and doesn’t regard her as much of an agent (and why would he? She’s easily one of the more scatter-brained Bond Girls so I’m not surprised that Bond is exasperated by her). Bond walks into every situation with an effortless confidence; even when attacked by larger men, or highly-trained karate students, his resolve doesn’t falter and he finds a way to fight, shoot, or run from the problem with trademark physics-defying deftness. A far cry from later, more independent and capable Bond Girls, Goodnight is little more than an inconvenience; she has some local knowledge, but mostly just gets in the way and ends up taken hostage. Although she has one flash of brilliance when she superbly knocks down Bond’s charms, she’s only too eager to hop into bed with him and is incensed when he literally stuffs her into a wardrobe to screw Andrea to get closer to Scaramanga, meaning she’s one of the few Bond Girls who’s immediately besotted by Bond and desires him, whereas most of her counterparts at least need a bit of convincing first. Goodnight is juxtaposed by the alluring Andrea, a desperate victim of Scaramanga’s lusts and control who puts her life on the line getting his finger prints on the bullet and note sent to MI6 all so Bond can slap her about and bully her into revealing Scaramanga’s location. However, this is nothing compared to Scaramanga; we never see or learn exactly what he does to Andrea, aside from a brief scene of her clearly disgusted by him, but it’s clear that she has nothing but hatred for the cold-blooded assassin, who has no compunction about putting killing her for her betrayal. While in Hong Kong, Bond works with local agent Lieutenant Hip (Oh) who, wouldn’t you know it, is not only proficient in martial arts but even has nieces who are similarly trained, allowing the movie to clumsily capitalise on the recent popularity of kung-fu movies like Enter the Dragon (Clouse, 1973). Sadly, Q’s (Desmond Llewelyn) role is disappointingly small and little more than a cameo and armaments expert Colthorpe (James Cossins) steals lines and screen time away from the recurring quartermaster, and the secondary villains aren’t much to shout about either. Scaramanga takes a contract from Thai industrialist Hai Fat (Richard Loo), whom he promptly kills (for free, despite Lulu’s assertions to the contrary…) so he can assume control of his business and claim the coveted Solex Agitator for himself, and his reportedly perverted, diminutive henchman Nick Nack is little (no pun intended…) more than a cackling nuisance who Bond easily dispatches, despite wishing to take his employer’s vast estate for himself by arranging (or, at least, co-operating) in his death.

The Nitty-Gritty:
As with any James Bond film, it’s always worth discussing the title sequence and song. Sadly, The Man with the Golden Gun doesn’t impress in this department; James Bond films of this era were decidedly simple and lacklustre compared to the more elaborate title sequences that would come later, but this is a mess of glittering lights, dancing bodies, and primarily focuses on the titular weapon being held and waved in our faces just in case you forget what Scaramanga is known for. Earlier, I described Lulu’s song as “awkward”; it’s a catchy tune and definitely sticks in the head, but there’s some weird lines like “If-you-want-to-get-rid-of-some-one, the-man-with-the-golden-gun-n-n…willgetitdone!”, which would flow a lot better if “want to” was substituted with “wanna”. While Bond films tend to be quite formulaic, especially in this era, they’re often salvaged by their exotic locations, gadgets, and colourful villains and The Man with the Golden Gun excels in this latter aspect. Christopher Lee brings a charismatic menace, largely carrying the film and stealing every scene with his magnetic performance and alluring delivery, switching between affable and menacing with a natural ease. It’s a shame, then, that the film is lumbered with a far less interesting side plot regarding the Solex Agitator; Q stresses that the device is integral to solving the world’s energy crisis but it’s not clear how it works and even Scaramanga isn’t all that interested in the specifics. I guess the film wouldn’t have been as interesting without some kind of world-threatening crisis in the background, but it might’ve benefitted from making Scaramanga’s endgame a little more explicit as he’s far more focused on killing and testing his unmatched marksmanship against the world’s greatest super spy.

A prominent theme throughout the film is the idea of both Scaramanga and Bond being world-renowned killers; Scaramanga views Bond as the only man worthy of testing his skills against, and even gun and munitions manufacturer Lazar (Marne Maitland) is in awe of Bond’s reputation as a marksman. I have some issues with this (after all, it can hardly be conducive for a spy for all and sundry to know their name and repute), but it fits perfectly with Bond’s ego and arrogance (he always openly introduces himself as “Bond, James Bond”, gives out his number, and usually always identifies himself as working for the British government so it’s natural that the underworld is aware of him). This ties directly into Scaramanga’s belief that he and Bond are cut from the same cloth; while treating Bond to his lavish hospitality, Scaramanga goads 007 by suggesting they each get a thrill out of killing, though Bond vehemently disagrees. It’s a fascinating dichotomy, one that is probably an ill fit for Moore’s Bond, who seems nonchalant about killing half the time (always pausing to straighten his tie and deliver a pithy one-liner) and regretful the rest, with only a handful of instances where he was more brutal in his methods (none of which are here, where Bond’s body count is noticeably low). When it’s revealed that Scaramanga hasn’t been contracted to kill Bond, cracks noticeably appear in this plot thread; Scaramanga states that he “doesn’t have anything against” Bond when they finally meet, and yet has a life-size dummy of him in his funhouse and, later, delivers a menacing diatribe about how alike they are, and even M admits that things would be easier if Scaramanga were gunning for Bond as it would be less of a crisis compared to the disappearance of the Solex Agitator, which promises to end the energy crisis by making fossil fuels redundant.

The Man with the Golden Gun is surprisingly light on Bond gadgets; Bond doesn’t get a fancy car or even some wearable tech. In fact, the only thing Q fits him with is an artificial third nipple so he can impersonate Scaramanga, a ruse that fails since Hai Fat has a working relationship with the renowned assassin, and the only impressive gadget is the titular golden gun, a custom-built, single-shot pistol assembled from four seemingly innocuous golden objects. Still, that’s not to say that The Man with the Golden Gun doesn’t have its fair share of stunts and exciting chase sequences; Bond flees from Hai Fat’s martial arts academy (after being inexplicably left behind by Hip) on a motorised sampan for some wacky hijinks, Scaramanga escapes in an AMC Matador that bizarrely transforms into a plane, but of course the most memorable stunt is Bond’s incredible barrel roll in an AMC Hornet that’s sadly undermined not just by the aforementioned slide whistle effect but also the blustering commentary provided by the cartoonish Sherriff J. W. Pepper (Clifton James). Bond’s fight scenes are as ungainly as ever from this time in the franchise, with Moore’s Bond specialising in improvisation and underhanded tactics such as using nearby objects, attacking the groin, and disregarding kung-fu’s code of honour. Bond succeeds in every physical encounter simply because the script says he must, meaning he can hold his own against two sumo wrestlers and even punch out Hai Fats top student, Chula (Chan Yiu Lam), and unfortunately he’s not really given a physical challenge to test himself against beyond enduring Scaramanga’s funhouse. As is also a Bond tradition, The Man with the Golden Gun visits some exotic locations, primarily Hong Kong and Thailand; Bond reconvenes with his superiors on the wreckage of the RMS Queen Elizabeth, giving us a fun slanted set, fights and speeds away through rural Bangkok, and has a tense encounter with Scaramanga at a Muay Thai boxing match, but the most impressive set is, naturally, Scaramanga’s island home.

Although she ends up as little more than a piece of eye candy as Scaramanga’s hostage, Goodnight allows Bond to pinpoint Scaramanga’s location thanks to the homing device she placed in his vehicle, leading 007 to Scaramanga’s vast, elaborate estate. In addition to his elaborate funhouse, Scaramanga’s lair houses a sophisticated solar power planet facility that, luckily for the charming assassin, is all fully automated (he has one inept guard, Kra (Sonny Caldinez)). Interestingly, it’s Bond, rather than Scaramanga, who explains what the facility is capable of since Scaramanga doesn’t understand the Solex Agitator; indeed, he’s more interested in using focused solar energy to power his destructive laser cannon, and he’s largely content to use Hai Fat’s business to give himself the monopoly in solar energy, which he can then outsource or sell to others (or take bribes from fossil fuel manufacturers). Rather than concern himself with the particulars of all this science and business, Scaramanga’s absolutely giddy at finally testing himself against the legendary James Bond. Despite putting himself at a disadvantage since his golden gun only fires one bullet, Scaramanga has the natural advantage since they’re on his home turf and both he and Nick Nack delight in watching Bond stumble around, wasting his ammo on the same distractions that were so helpfully shown in the opening sequence. Ultimately, however, Scaramanga meets his match when Bond uses his life-sized dummy to catch the wealthy murderer by surprise with a single shot from his Walther PPK, finally ending Scaramanga’s threat. Quite conveniently, Goodnight knocked Kra into a vat of liquid helium, causing the facility (and the entire island) to go into meltdown. Of course, Bond retrieves the Solex Agitator (despite Goodnight’s bumbling) and escapes, and even fends off one final attack from Nick Nack before finally getting it on with Goodnight ahead of the credits.

The Summary:
It’s hard for me to be negative about The Man with the Golden Gun; it may very well have been the first Roger Moore James Bond film I ever saw and I’ve always had a soft spot for it, primarily because of how alluring and enigmatic the titular assassin is. Christopher Lee always brought his A-game to every role, especially villainous ones, and he plays Francisco Scaramanga with such delicious relish that it’s hard to deny that he’s the best part of the film and seems to be enjoying himself. Roger Moore, as ever, remains one of the most fun and charismatic Bonds; although he’s got a little too much of Sean Connery’s blunt edge here, and is quite the bully towards Mary Goodnight, he effortlessly charms, fights, and overcomes every situation, no matter how unlikely the odds or how physically outmatched he is, and I’ve always been a fan of his suave delivery and unflinching confidence in the role. While the film is undeniably bogged down by some cartoonish supporting characters and perplexing side plots, The Man with the Golden Gun is the first movie to present us with a dark reflection of 007 in Scaramanga, a sadistic assassin whose skills with a pistol are more than a match for Bond’s own, and I would’ve loved to see the idea of Bond’s occasionally ruthless and cold-blooded ways being explored in a dark opposite in one of Daniel Craig’s movies since his Bond had more of an edge than Moore’s. Still, it makes for one of the best and most memorable Bond villains; the climactic showdown between the two is a tense and engaging shoot out, despite Goodnight’s pratfalls, and I enjoyed seeing Bond on the back foot for a change and having to adapt to his surroundings to win rather than simply overpowering or outshooting his rival because the script says so. Honestly, I’m not sure why people rate this one so low; it’s not perfect, of course, and has its flaws, but all Bond films do. It’s maybe not the best of Roger Moore’s outings as the famous spy, but it’s still one of my favourites of his and I find the positives far outweigh the negatives thanks to Christopher Lee’s captivating presence and performance, the thematic parallels between Scaramanga and Bond, and the lavish locations on offer.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Are you a fan of The Man with the Golden Gun? Where does it rank against the other James Bond films for you? What did you think to the thematic parallel between Bond and Scaramanga? Did you enjoy Christopher Lee’s performance and where does Scaramanga rank in your list of favourite Bond villains? What did you think to Goodnight and Bond’s bullish ways? Which Bond actor, film, story, villain, or moment is your favourite? How are you celebrating Global James Bond Day today? Whatever you think about The Man with the Golden Gun, or James Bond in general, feel free to leave a comment below.