Man with the Golden Gun, The: Film – Trivia- The title role was originally offered to Jack Palance, before it eventually went to Christopher Lee, the cousin of Ian Fleming. (Fleming had previously offered Lee the title role in Dr. No (1962), the first James Bond film.)
- Vehicles featured included various American Motors cars including two American Motors Cassini (AMC) Coupés, a red 1974 AMC Hornet X Hatchback Special Coupé which performs the spiral loop jump and a brown and gold 1974 AMC Matador X Coupé which became a car-plane which was based on the Aerocar International’s Aerocar or Taylor Aerocar; a fleet of green Peninsula Hotel Rolls Royce Silver Shadows; a Cairo Taxi; an MGB; Mercedes-Benz 240D; Longtail Boats riding the Bangkok canals and waterways known as the Klongs; a Chinese Junk belonging to Scaramanga; Republic RC-3 Sea Bee; and a Hong Kong Harbour Patrol Boat.
- In the film, the golden gun fires single shot 23 carat 4.2 mm golden bullets with nickel trace elements whereas in the Ian Fleming novel of the same name, the golden gun is just a gold plated .45 caliber Colt 45 revolver that fires silver jacketed solid gold bullets.
- “The Man With The Golden Gun” was the thirteenth and final complete James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. It was the first and only one of his full James Bond novels to be published posthumously. Some sources claim that it was unfinished at the time of his death whereas other experts such as Andrew Lycett and John Cork maintain that Fleming had completed it before he died. It is of controversial debate as to whether Fleming wrote the novel completely himself or whether other(s) were involved.
- The source of the name “Scaramanga” originates in the name of a man that James Bond creator Ian Fleming knew called Pandia Scaramanga. He had met him and stayed at his house on the island of Hydra in the Greek isles. Reportedly, Fleming sought permission from him to use his surname, indicating that he would be James Bond’s adversary in “The Man With The Golden Gun”. The real Scaramanga apparently responded: “I certainly do not mind you using my name but please do not to kill me.”
- The license plate number of the Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel Green Rolls Royce that escorts Scaramanga and Andrea Anders is AU 603.
- Last James Bond film to be directed by Guy Hamilton.
- This is the James Bond film which it is said that the partnership between Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli is said to have deteriorated. Roger Moore has said in his DVD audio-commentary that this predominantly occurred behind closed doors.
- The character of Nick Nack played by Hervé Villechaize was originally called Demi Tasse.
- The character of Nick Nack played by Hervé Villechaize was originally called Demi Tasse.
- The classic spiral loop car jump stunt was done in one take.
- According to the Inside ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ (2000) (V) documentary on the DVD version of this film, during production on the fifth James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967), producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had originally intended for this film to be the sixth entry in the Bond series. It was to be shot in Cambodia and Roger Moore was considered to fill Sean Connery’s shoes as the second James Bond. However, the Vietnam War caused the producers to change plans and pick On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) as the sixth Bond film instead.
- Britt Ekland auditioned for the role of Scaramanga’s mistress, but director Guy Hamilton offered her the role of Mary Goodnight after seeing her in a bikini.
- J W Pepper (Clifton James) is a sheriff from Louisiana that James Bond met in Live and Let Die (1973). While chasing Scaramanga, Bond teams up with Pepper, who is on holidays in Thailand. Apparently, when Pepper first sees Bond riding past in a boat, the music from Live and Let Die (1973) can be heard.
- The spiral “Javelin Jump” was performed by a modified 1974 Hornet X: special suspension, a six cylinder engine (for reduced weight), centered steering wheel, and a special fuel system to stop the car stalling when turning over.
- Alice Cooper’s “Muscle of Love” album has a song “Man With the Golden Gun” on it. The CD version includes notes claiming it was to be the theme song of the film, but the producers chickened out.
- First James Bond film to be shown at the Kremlin. According to Roger Moore in his audio commentary, apparently when the film 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.
- This is the last Bond film to be shot/shown in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
- The spectacular spiral car stunt was shown in slow motion in the film because it went too quickly.
- Harry Saltzman sold his shares of 007 to alleviate the very large financial difficulties he was in. He sold his 50% share in the Bond franchise to United Artists.
- This film sees two Swedish actresses: Maud Adams (Scaramanga’s mistress) and Britt Ekland (Mary Goodnight). Adams would later star in Octopussy (1983) (as the title character) with two other Swedish actresses (Kristina Wayborn and Mary Stavin) and appear yet again in A View to a Kill (1985) as an extra. On top of that, Stavin also makes an appearance in A View to a Kill (1985).
- Harry Saltzman wanted an elephant stampede in the film so Bond and Scaramanga could chase each other on elephant back. The rest of the creative team balked at the idea, but Saltzman went to see an elephant trainer. It turns out that elephants need a special shoe on their feet to protect them from rough surfaces when they work. A few months later, while filming in Thailand, Albert R. Broccoli got a call saying his elephant shoes were ready. Saltzman had ordered about 2,600 pairs of them. The sequence was not in the film, but the man who made the shoe had not been paid. As of 1990, EON production still owed him.
- The driver that performed the loop-jump was given a large bonus for completing the jump on the first take. The jump is also credited with being the first stunt ever to be calculated by computer.
- Last Bond film to be co-produced by Harry Saltzman.
- One of the lowest-grossing Bond films. That fact, combined with behind-the-scenes problems, nearly made this the final Bond film, and delayed production of the next entry in the series, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
- Final film of Richard Loo.
- Long-time DP Ted Moore quit halfway through the production, either through illness or disagreements with the producers depending on who you ask. Ernest Day acted as DP for about a week before Oswald Morris came on board (though none of the footage shot by Day made it into the final film).
- In the fight in the dancer’s dressing-room, Roger Moore sprays one of the villains in the face with an aerosol can of what is clearly Brut-33, a nod to the Fabergé company with which Moore was associated.
- In Scaramanga’s fun-house, there is a mask on the wall in the form of a caricature of Frank Morgan’s face as the Wizard of Oz.
- Nick Nack says in French that the champagne he greets Bond with on Scaramanga’s island is Dom Perignon soixante-quatre, ie 1964 vintage.
- When Bond says, “The energy crisis is still with us,” to M, that had a lot of truth to it. Britain had not yet overcome the oil crisis of 1973, as it had not yet had North Sea oil and gas flowing through its pipelines
- The island used as filming location for the Scaramanga’s beach house (Phang Nga Bay, Thailand) is known as “James Bond Island”.
- The Golden Gun consisted of a number of gold components from Pistols Scaramanga’s personal effects. These included: A gold 15 x 1.5 cm fountain pen which became the gun barrel; a 8 x 4 cm gold cigarette lighter which formed the hammer and bullet chamber; a 10 x 6 cm gold cigarette case doubled as the gun’s magazine hand grip (or gun butt or handle); whilst a solid gold cuff link from his shirt cuff was adjoined to the cigarette case turned into the gun’s trigger. In the film, custom made 23 carat golden bullets with nickel trace elements were manufactured for the gun by Eastern expert Portugese gunsmith Lazar.
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- Entry created: December 28, 2006; 8:47; Last modified: August 15, 2009; 0:12
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