The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay) and
Tom Mankiewicz (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 December 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

He never misses his target, and now his target is 007.

Plot:

Bond is led to believe that he is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin and must hunt him down to stop him.

Plot Keywords:

Casino Owners | Official James Bond Series | Bond Girl | Pun | Gadget Car

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Roger Moore	...	James Bond
Christopher Lee	...	Francisco Scaramanga
Britt Ekland	...	Mary Goodnight
Maud Adams	...	Andrea Anders
Hervé Villechaize	...	Nick Nack (also as Herve Villechaize)
Clifton James	...	Sheriff J.W. Pepper
Richard Loo	...	Hai Fat
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Lieutenant Hip (as Soon-Taik Oh)
Marc Lawrence	...	Rodney
Bernard Lee	...	'M'
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Marne Maitland	...	Lazar
Desmond Llewelyn	...	'Q'
James Cossins	...	Colthorpe
Yiu Lam Chan	...	Chula (as Chan Yiu Lam)

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's The Man with the Golden Gun (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Thai

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG (1987) (video rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | USA:PG (certificate no. 24040) | South Korea:15 | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1974) | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Andaman Sea, Thailand

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

First James Bond movie to be shown at the Kremlin. According to Roger Moore in his audio commentary, apparently when the movie had finished, one Russian official turned around and said we didn't train him [Scaramanga] very well. The Scaramanga character in the James Bond universe was recruited by and acted as a hit-man for the KGB.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the sea plane is flying to the island it has a float on each wing, but when landing on the beach it has one missing.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Francisco Scaramanga: Nick Nack! Tabasco!
Nick-nack: Right away, Monsieur Scaramanga.

Movie Connections:

Featured in In Search of James Bond with Jonathan Ross (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Man With The Golden Gun

Moore's Best Bond Movie Has Greatest Villain

This is James Bond # 9, and one of the films in the series that has the worst reputation. Hardcore fans (and Connery idolaters) seem to always use this movie (and "Live and Let Die") as an example of the series' growing deterioration. In addition, from a box office standpoint, this is the lowest grossing film in the series. No, it was not a failure, but it did receive a lukewarm response from the general audience. Years ago, I felt that the film's detractors were right, which is why I never cared to revisit this movie before. What an incredible surprise was to find out that this is not only one of the best Moore movies, but it is also one of the most interesting films in the entire series. I simply fell in love with it, and I found myself clapping as the credits started rolling in. There is so much to admire here. The plot is very interesting, and plays like one of those suspenseful John Le Carre thrillers (the script is top notch). The movie is very low-key, and cerebral, and in my view, that is a good thing. The film has little action (and even those sequences are kept simple), concentrating on good plot twists and fine characterizations instead. There are no gadgets or elaborate set-pieces – the film's story is propelled by circumstances. It is indeed the most restrained Bond movie ever (yes, even more restrained than "Dr. No"), which may account for the film's failure to capture a large audience. It is a well-crafted espionage tale, very suspenseful, with a truly intriguing premise. This time around Bond doesn't face some crazy, over the top villain, but a canny, charismatic assassin name Scaramanga, superbly played by Christopher Lee – he is my favorite Ian Fleming villain. The film cleverly implies that Scaramanga is some sort of Bond in a parallel universe; a sinister version of 007. It is as if Bond is against his own alter ego, an element that makes the story much more interesting. This idea makes more sense once one realizes that Lee (Ian Fleming's real-life cousin), was Fleming's first choice to play Bond. The movie has humor, but the jokes are clever and don't interfere with the gritty nature of the story (well, let's ignore those scenes with the redneck policeman from "Live and Let Die"). I think the title song is very silly, but the way pop star Lulu sings it made me fell in love with the tune – a rare case of a singer that is able to "sell" an unmemorable song. I really hope that in the near future people start reevaluating the merits of this film. Meanwhile, I'm going to put this one up there, next to the other great Bond films, where it belongs. This is indeed a wonderful movie.