"THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN" (1974) Review

"THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN" (1974) Review

What can I say about 1974’s "THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN"? It is not the worst James Bond movie I have ever seen. I can think of at least two or three of which I have a lower opinion. But I do believe that it is the worst Roger Moore film in the franchise. 

Apparently screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz believed the same. He made the decision to bow out of adapting Ian Fleming's 1965 novel, before the script could be finished. The plot for "THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN" focused on the Solex Agitator - a device which can harness the power of the sun. Before Bond could investigate the death of scientist who was thought to be in possession of information crucial to the creation of the Solex Agitator, he has to find out why hitman Francisco Scaramanga had sent a golden bullet to him. 

It turns out that Scaramanga’s long-suffering mistress, Andrea Anders, had sent the bullet to Bond, hoping that he would kill the hitman. Eventually, Bond teams up with MI-6 agents Mary Goodnight and Lieutenant Hip against Francisco Scaramanga - The Man with the Golden Gun and his employer, billionaire Hai Fat. Eventually Scaramanga kills Hai Fat and become the sole possessor of the Solex Agitator. He also kills Andrea and kidnaps Goodnight. Bond tracks Scaramanga to an island of mainland China, where the action finally culminates in a duel between the two men - Bond's Walther PPK against Scaramanga's Golden Gun.

I must admit that the movie’s plot seemed interesting. It certainly did not seem like the disappointment that "LIVE AND LET DIE" turned out to be. I thought it was a lot better than the plot created by Fleming for his 1965 novel. The problem with"THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN" is that it was so poorly executed . . . especially by director Guy Hamilton. There seemed to be a lack of style or substance in how the movie was directed. 

Roger Moore’s performance did not help matters. After his impressive debut in his previous movie, many Bond fans made a fuss over the fact that Moore’s Bond seemed nothing like Connery’s Bond. Which led to Moore being forced to attempt a recapture of Connery’s style. And it did not work. He came off as false and almost wooden. Only two scenes saved Moore’s performance from being a complete bust – his encounter with the Macao gunsmith, Lazar ("Speak now or forever hold your piece.") and the Bond/Scaramanga confrontation during luncheon on the assassin’s island when Bond expresses his dislike of Scaramanga’s suggestion that the British agent is nothing more than a fellow assassin. 

Speaking of Scaramanga, EON Productions had the good fortune to cast Christopher Lee (the future Count Dooku and Sarauman) as the movie’s main villain, expert assassin Francisco Scaramanga. The scene that featured Scaramanga's recollection of a pet elephant produced a very poignant performance from Lee. In fact, only Lee and South Korean actor, Soon-Tek-Oh (who portrayed MI-6 agent Lieutenant Hip) seemed to be the only two cast members who gave consistently excellent performances throughout the entire film. 

I certainly cannot say the same about the other supporting cast members. Herve Villachaise (four years before "FANTASY ISLAND") simply annoyed me. Maud Adams seemed to be her usual wooden self. Britt Ekland, although a good actress, had the bad luck to portray the annoyingly clumsy Mary Goodnight. Bernard Lee seemed a bit over-the-top in his constant annoyance toward Bond and Hip. Even worse, I never understood M's willingness to blame an innocent Bond for the death of government scientist Dr. Gibson. Desmond Llewellyn's portrayal of Q struck me as equally annoying as M seemed to find him. I do not even recall the quality of Lois Maxwell’s brief performance as Moneypenny.

I must admit that cinematographers Ted Moore and Oswald Morris beautifully captured the exotic allure of Southeast Asia. It seemed a pity that John Barry could not produce a memorable score and that Don Black wrote what I consider to be the second worst Bond theme song (performed by Lulu) in the franchise’s history. Oh well. Nothing is perfect. Unfortunately for"THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN", it was far from perfect.  But it was still entertaining.

R.I.P. Sir Christopher Lee (1922-2015)

"THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN" (1974) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the James Bond 1974 movie, "THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN", which is an adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1965 novel.  Directed by Guy Hamilton, the movie starred Roger Moore as James Bond: 


"THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN" (1974) Photo Gallery

"LIVE AND LET DIE" (1973) Review

"LIVE AND LET DIE" (1973) Review

Between 1967 and 1972, EON Productions spent a chaotic five years trying to find one man to portray James Bond following Sean Connery’s decision to retire from the role. Nineteen sixty-eight found Australian model, George Lazenby in the role. But after one movie, the excellent "ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE", Lazenby decided that he did not want to continue the role. Connery came back for one last movie - "DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER", but did not bother to stick around. 

Then in 1972, Broccoli and Saltzman hired Roger Moore (famous for the TV series, "THE SAINT") to portray the British agent. And Moore went on to play the role for the next 12 years. But he had to start somewhere and he did with 1973’s"LIVE AND LET DIE", an adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1954 novel. This was the very first Bond movie I had ever seen. Although I have a great sentimental attachment to the movie, I do not really consider it to be among the finest in the franchise. Nor is it a personal favorite of mine.

Following the murders of three MI-6 agents (in New York, New Orleans and the fictional island of San Monique), Bond is assigned by "M" to investigate their deaths. His investigations in New York leads him to a Harlem gangster named Mr. Big. But as it turns out, Mr. Big is also San Monique’s foreign minister, Dr. Kanaga. Bond eventually learns that Kanaga/Mr. Big plans to use the heroin grown in the San Monique opium fields to flood the current heroin market and gain complete control of the U.S. drug market (very similar to the schemes of Harlem gangster, Frank Lucas). He ordered the three British agents killed, because apparently they were in danger of stumbling upon his scheme.

I am going to be frank. As much as I like "LIVE AND LET DIE", I have never been impressed by the screenplay written by Tom Mankiewicz. It never made any sense to me that the British government would be interested in the activities of a diplomat from an island that had obviously been a former French colony, or an American gangster. If the three agents and Bond had been French, I could see them working with CIA agent Felix Leiter on this case. But there you have it. And Bond’s San Monique showdown with Kanaga had always struck me as being rather disappointing. Another aspect of the movie I found disappointing was the leading lady – namely Jane Seymour as Kanaga’s Tarot card seer, Solitaire. I have nothing against Seymour’s performance. She seemed to be her usual, competent self. But other than predicting Bond’s arrival in New York and later, at Kanaga’s San Monique estate; and warning Bond about Rosie Carver (via a Tarot card), I found nothing impressive about Solitaire’s role in the story. Especially since she eventually became nothing more than a moaning damsel-in-distress. And Geoffrey Holder as Baron Semedi did not really do much for me, but his ghostly appearance at the end of the movie was memorable. 

Fortunately, "LIVE AN LET DIE" had its virtues. Roger Moore’s long experience with action roles in television ("MAVERICK", "THE SAINT", and "THE PERSUADERS") allowed him to segued into the Bond role with great ease. He already seemed very comfortable in the role. And without any problems, Moore managed to establish his own style. Unfortunately, very few people appreciated this at the time. And Yaphet Kotto created an impressive villain in an interesting duel role as the smooth and intelligent Kanaga/the bombastic Mr. Big. To this day, Julius Harris’ TeeHee remains one of my favorite Bond henchmen of all time. All I can say was that the man was perfect – humorous, yet very menacing. David Hedison’s friendship with Moore proved to be very effective in his first outing as CIA agent, Felix Leiter. The warmth and easy between Leiter and Bond seemed more apparent than in any other Bond film. And I rather enjoyed Gloria Hendry’s performance as the amusingly clumsy, yet treacherous Rosie Carver. And let us not forget the hilarious and unforgettable Clifton James as the long-suffering Southern lawman, Sheriff J.W. Pepper. James’ peformance was so impressive that the producers brought him back to reprise his role in 1974’s "THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN".

Also among the movie's virtues was its smooth direction by Guy Hamilton, which included a rather fun boat chase through the Louisiana bayou, fine performances and the rich atmosphere of New York’s Harlem and New Orleans. Cinematographer Ted Moore did much to contribute to the film’s atmosphere. But it is the movie’s score by George Martin and theme song by Paul McCartnery and Wings that seemed to be the movie’s most impressive virtue . . . other than Moore, Kotto and James’ performances. Although the story for "LIVE AND LET DIE" struck me as unimpressive, the still remains rather entertaining to me.

"LIVE AND LET DIE" (1973) Photo Gallery

Below are images from 1973 James Bond movie, "LIVE AND LET DIE".  Based on Ian Fleming's 1954 novel, the movie was directed by Guy Hamilton and marked Roger Moore's first appearance as James Bond:


"LIVE AND LET DIE" (1973) Photo Gallery