The Man with the Golden Gun (film)

The Man with the Golden Gun
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Bond:	Roger Moore
Writer:	Ian Fleming
Screenplay:	Richard Maibaum, Tom Mankiewicz
Director:	Guy Hamilton
Music:	John Barry
Video:	See the Music Video
Composer:	John Barry Don Black
Performer:	Lulu
Distributor:	United Artists
Released:	December 18, 1974
Runtime:	125 min.
Preceded by:	Live and Let Die
Followed by:	The Spy Who Loved Me
Budget:	$7,000,000
Worldgross:	$97,600,000
Admissions:	51.6 million

The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth film in the EON Productions James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as British Secret Service agent, Commander James Bond 007. Released in 1974, it was the fourth and final film in the series to be directed by Guy Hamilton.

The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman and was the final Bond film to be co-produced by Saltzman as his partnership with Broccoli dissolved after the film's release. Saltzman's 50% stake in EON Productions parent company, Danjaq, LLC was then purchased by United Artists. The resulting legalities over the Bond property delayed production of the next Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me for three years. The interval had been the longest break in the series until the six-year hiatus between Licence to Kill (1989) and GoldenEye (1995).

Plot summary

The film version's title character is Francisco Scaramanga, a high-priced assassin who charges US$1 million per hit. He's known for using a golden gun and only needs one golden bullet per hit. Nothing is really known about Scaramanga in the beginning of the film except that he has a third nipple (information which Bond later uses to get in touch with Scaramanga's financier, Hai Fat); no pictures or physical descriptions of him exist.

The movie begins with a golden bullet, with "007" — Bond's codename — etched into its surface, being received by Her Majesty's Secret Service, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI-6). It is believed by Military Intelligence that Scaramanga has been hired to assassinate James Bond and has sent the bullet to intimidate his new target.

Bond's mission at this time revolves around the work of a scientist named Gibson, thought to be in possession of information crucial to solving the energy crisis by creating a virtually unlimited amount of energy using a new technique of harnessing the Sun's power. Because of the perceived threat to the agent's life, M (Bond's 'control' officer in MI-6) removes James from his current mission, and forces 007 to go on leave until the matter is resolved.

Though officially "on leave" from his duties, Bond sets out to find Scaramanga before Scaramanga finds him. By retrieving a golden bullet used to assassinate another 'Double-0 agent' sometime previously, Agent 007 is led to the man responsible for supplying Scaramanga with his unusual golden ammunition. This leads Bond to Andrea Anders, Scaramanga's mistress. She confesses that it was she who sent the golden bullet to MI6 — to lure Bond to kill Scaramanga for her. Anders informs Bond as to where Scaramanga's plans will require him to be.

Unbeknownst to Bond, that location is that of Scaramanga's next 'hit', the target of which is Gibson, the solar energy scientist from Bond's previous mission. The hit takes place in order to steal the "solex agitator" — a critical component of Gibson's solar energy device. It is now Bond's mission to retrieve the solex agitator and duel it out with Scaramanga before Scaramanga can sell the device to the highest criminal bidder or use it for his own nefarious plans.

Cast & characters

This is the first of three movies to either star or have a cameo by Maud Adams. In 1983 she plays a different character, Octopussy, in the film of the same name. She would later have a cameo in the Bond movie A View to a Kill. This is also the second movie with Clifton James playing the role of Sheriff J.W. Pepper. He first appeared in Live and Let Die.

The Women of The Man with the Golden Gun

Picture	Name	Actress
100px	Mary Goodnight	Britt Ekland	The lead Bond girl of The Man with the Golden Gun, Goodnight, in the Bond novels, is 007's secretary. In the film, she is an MI6 operative who had a past fling with Bond, and is eager to rekindle it. Swedish actress Britt Ekland actually contacted "Cubby" Broccoli and lobbied for the role. Broccoli was surprised to learn later that Ekland was pregnant during filming. During the production of the movie, Ekland and her fellow Swede co-star Maud Adams, would talk to each other in Swedish, something that amuses Christopher Lee, who was curious about what the women were talking about.
100px	Andrea Anders	Maud Adams	Swedish model Maud Adams made her first appearance in a Bond film as Andrea Anders, the scarificial lamb of the movie. She will later starred as the lead Bond girl in "Octopussy". Andrea is Francisco Scaramanga's mistress. However, he only pays attention to her right before he kills someone and she grew to hate him. Knowing that walking out on him will only earn her his wrath, Andrea concocted a plot to have Bond kill Scaramanga for her.
100px	Saida	Carmen du Sautoy	The brief role of the belly dancer Saida is played by respected British actress Carmen du Sautoy. Saida was in a romantic embrace with 002, Bill Fairbanks, when Scaramanga shot him through the neck with his trademark golden gun; the golden bullet went through him, hitting the wall of the room the pair was in. It seems Saida has a sense for the morbid for she took the bullet out of the wall and wears it in her belly button as a "lucky charm".
100px	Chu Mi	Francoise Therry	Although she is not regarded as a full-fledge Bond girl by many, the uncredited role of the suggestively named Chu Mi (spelt more straightforwardly as "Chew Mee" by other quarters) is played by Francoise Therry. Bond encountered her swimming naked in Hai Fat's swimming pool. Chu Mi gamefully invited Bond to join her; he could have if Hai Fat didn't barge in on them.

Crew

Directed by: Guy Hamilton
Written by: Ian Fleming
Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum, Tom Mankiewicz
Produced by: Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman
Composed by: John Barry
Cinematography by: Ted Moore, Oswald Morris
Production Design by: Peter Murton
Art direction by: Peter Lamont

Soundtrack

The Man with the Golden Gun
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Type	Soundtrack
Artist	John Barry
Cover
Background	gainsboro
Released	1974
Recorded	1974
Genre
Length	42:17
Label	EMI
Producer	Frank Collura (Reissue)
Reviews	*All Music Guide
link
Last album	The Dove (1974)
This album	The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Next album	King Kong (1976)

The theme tune, "The Man with the Golden Gun", was performed by Lulu and the lyrics to the song were written by Don Black. Alice Cooper claims his song The Man With The Golden Gun was to be used by the producers of the film until it was dropped for Lulu's song instead. Cooper's song appears on his album Muscle of Love.

The soundtrack was composed by Bond veteran John Barry. At the time, it was Barry's seventh Bond movie.

Track listing

Main Title - The Man With The Golden Gun
Scaramanga's Fun House
Chew Me In Grisly Land
The Man With The Golden Gun
Getting The Bullet
Goodnight Goodnight
Let's Go Get Them
Hip's Trip
Kung Fu Fight
In Search Of Scaramanga's
Return To Scaramanga's
End Title - The Man With The Golden Gun

Vehicles & gadgets

Main article List of James Bond gadgets

AMC Hornet 'X' 'hatchback' — Bond steals this car from an AMC dealership in Bangkok, Thailand, unknowing that Sheriff J.W. Pepper is in it, planning to test drive it (a full-on example of product placement, as AMC cars were actually never sold in Thailand, which drives on the left). LHD AMC cars were also used for the cop's cars, and by Scaramanga. A great stunt in the film takes place using the UNIVAC computer-calculated 'Calspan Spiral', permitting a fantastic feat of automotive acrobatics, until that time considered physically impossible.
Car Plane — During a car chase, Scaramanga's AMC Matador 'X' disappears in a shed for some time. When it emerges it has wings attached, allowing it to fly away. The vehicle is an extrapolation of the last of the Taylor Aerocars, then undergoing experimentation in the USA.
The Golden Gun — Scaramanga's weapon of choice, it could fire a .17 calibre golden bullet specially made for the gun. The gun contained only a single round, which was sufficient for Scaramanga given his legendary marksmanship. The gun also separated into a gold cigarette lighter, a gold cigarette case, a gold cuff link, and a gold pen so as to avoid detection.
Fake Nipple - James Bond uses a fake, synthetic nipple provided by Q to make it look like he has three nipples so that he might impersonate Scaramanga (who was known for said physical trait).

Locations

Film Locations

One of the more interesting locations is the use of a derelict former Atlantic Ocean liner, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, as a top-secret MI6 base in Hong Kong harbour.

Shooting locations

Pinewood Studios — London, England
Hong Kong
Macau
Thailand

Trivia

The film references the then-recent 1973 energy crisis. Britain had not yet fully overcome the crisis when the film was released.
The Announcer on the Hong Kong-Macau Hydrofoil ferry announces, when passing the wreck of the Queen Elizabeth, mentions that it sunk in 1971. Actually it was January 1972.
Christopher Lee is Ian Fleming's cousin and according to some sources was one of Fleming's choice for the role of Dr. Julius No in the film Dr. No (1962).
In the video game GoldenEye 007, and subsequent James Bond games (including Agent Under Fire, Nightfire, and GoldenEye: Rogue Agent), the Golden Gun counts as an instant kill, reflecting that the villain Francisco Scaramanga never missed.
The idea of a 'golden gun' was also referenced in the video game Total Overdose, where the player can use a special move that equips the character with a golden revolver, which automatically hits whoever you are targeting and is also an instant kill.
In the 2003 movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Dorian Gray uses a gun with looks very much like the golden gun, only this weapon can fire at least 3 bullets a round, unlike the one bullet round of Scaramangas weapon.
This film was criticised that, in addition to production faults, it is the most sexist story in the series, with James Bond's assistant, Mary Goodnight, a stereotypical blonde buffoon who is nearly useless to him. On the other hand, when Bond is fleeing an enemy dojo, chased by martial artists, he offers to protect two girls who were being menaced by them, only to have them demonstrate their superior fighting skill by easily thrashing Bond's pursuers.
Although her performance in the film is undistinguished, Mary Goodnight is a recurring character in several Fleming Bond novels, even appearing in lieu of Miss Moneypenny; in the novels, Goodnight is Bond's secretary.
Broccoli and Saltzman originally intended The Man with the Golden Gun as the film to follow You Only Live Twice, in 1969, but production was cancelled, because it was to have been filmed in Cambodia, and the outbreak of war in the region made filming impractical. Roger Moore was invited to be Bond in the 1969 version.
The cork-screwing car jump was proposed several years before. The producers took out copyrights and patents on the stunt in order to prevent it being used before they could integrate to a James Bond film; the jump was planned using computer modelling.
The scenes featuring the island hideout of Scaramanga were filmed in Phang Nga Province in Thailand, northeast of Phuket. One of the islands seen in the film is known as the "Nail" island (or Ko Khao Tapoo) — in the film, this island houses the solar panels. Scaramanga's hideout is actually Ko Kow-Phing-Khan — both islands are now tourists attractions. The "nail" island seen in the film is known by locals as James Bond Island in all tourist literature. The site was extremely hard hit by a tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
Marc Lawrence, who plays the gangster shot dead by Scaramanga at the start of the film, played a similar character in Diamonds Are Forever, although this film does not indicate whether Lawrence is playing the same character.
When Bond appears on Scaramanga's island, Scaramanga doesn't use his deluxe golden gun--made from a cigarette case, lighter, and other components--to shoot the cork off the bottle of Dom Perignon. Instead, he employs a gold-plated Colt.45. This could be a nod to the weapon that Scaramanga uses in the original novel, or a reference to the golden gun brandished by Auric Goldfinger during the climax of Goldfinger. It may even be the same prop.
In the book, Scaramanga fires a gold plated Colt 45 that shoots silver jacketed, solid gold bullets. In the film, the bullet is a 17 caliber slug without a silver jacket. Scaramanga would have to be an incredible shot in order to make a one shot - one kill with such a small caliber bullet.
The canal scenes where Bond disables the dojo's boat was filmed in Thon Buri, Thailand.
Because Christopher Lee was filming the movie in Bangkok, Ken Russell was unable to sign Lee to play The Specialist in Tommy (1975). The part was eventually given to Jack Nicholson.

External links

MGM Official website

The James Bond films

Unofficial films
Casino Royale (1954 TV) | Casino Royale (1967 spoof) | Never Say Never Again