Sir Christopher Lee Week: The Man with the Golden Gun

Welcome one and all to Day 1 of Sir Christopher Lee Week. With the roles of wretched scum and villainy, I thought we would start the week off with a memorable character other than Dracula. Yeah way to branch out I know. The fact that I have reviewed almost all of his portrayals of said character might have been a definitive role in this review but let that not bother you. Instead, I felt a particular Bond villain might just be the ticket to kick this week off right. That being said, Bond is led to believe he is being targeted by the world's most expensive assassin and must get the jump on him before he succeeds in killing Bond. This is The Man with the Golden Gun.

Light Cotton Polyester Blend: Beloved by hit men all over the world.

A million dollars buys a fair amount but one transaction you may not have considered is a hit-man giving you piece of mind. Saramanga (Christopher Lee of Horror of Dracula, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Umbracle, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, The Wicker Man, The Three Musketeers, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Ivanhoe, Soul Music and GoldenEye: Rogue Agent) an accomplished marksman created by the KGB is said to require only one shot to complete his contract.

A fellow double 0 turns up dead and Scaramanga is laid the blame with the caliber comes out as gold. Bond (Roger Moore of Ivanhoe, The Saint, Maverick, The Persuaders!, Live and Let Die, The Sea Wolves and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore) is on assignment to find out what brings an assassin out of the shadows. A golden bullet is delivered to MI6 as a warning to Bond or perhaps a challenge? A brillant new solar power cell called the solex agitator draws in more solar power than any before and could be the next step into eliminating the need for fossil fuels and uranium deposits. Gibson, the scientist trying to give this to MI6 fails to deliver when he is shot by Scaramanga on Bond's watch.

Your timing is appalling.

Assuming all along the target was Bond, Gibson is shot straight through the heart causing instant death. The caliber is identical as the previous of an unusual caliber meaning a superior craftsman made this firearm giving Bond the first lead in his mission. Following a girl that is meant to pick up bullets from the gunsmith to Hong Kong he begins to find out just what sort of a man his opponent is and the drive and ambition he possesses. Will Bond be able to stop this assassin? Can Scaramanga convince Bond to join him in the same line of work?

A few fun facts on the film.

While shooting in Thailand the cast and crew were put up at one of the local bordellos. When going to Johnny Carson Show, Christopher Lee had his Golden Gun confiscated by US Customs until they were certain it was not a real lethal weapon. Christopher Lee wore full body makeup to give off the appearance of a tan.

Herve' Villechaize (Nick Nack) commented to Roger Moore that he could never get a hotel room above the first floor. Baffled at this, Moore asked him why when Villechaize responded with couldn't reach the buttons in the elevator.

I can explain the twin Chinese girls, sir.

007 Week: Live and Let Die

Welcome back Bond fans to Day 2 of 007 Week.  As we acknowledge Connery's success as Bond we need to observe the other fellows that claimed this title as well.  Today I thought we would focus on another kind of Bond.  A dapper gentleman with the same strive and need to serve Queen and country.  Referred as a dandy, I would disagree with that term.   While lacking the rough and tumble standing that Connery had, Roger Moore is no lesser Bond and completely worthy of the title.  This is Live and Let Die.

I really have no desire to work for UNCLE.

Mr. Big: Is THIS the spoiling mother who tailed you uptown?
James Bond: There seems to be some mistake. My name is...
Mr. Big: Names is for tombstones, baby! Y'all take this honky out and WASTE HIM! NOW!

While this is the 8th Bond movie, this is the first Moore film as James Bond.  Three MI-6 agents working in junction with the CIA have been killed within 24 hours of their assignment.  The only comment denominator is was Dr. Kananga (Yaphett Kotto of The Thomas Crown Affair, 5 Card Stud, Bone, The Limit, The Running Man and Homicide: Life on the Street) a dictator of the island San Monique making his way to the UN building in New York.   Deep in Harlem a drug kingpin known only as Mr. Big plans to release no less than two tons of heroin through New York as such a cut rate cost to put all other drug czars completely out of business and making him top dog without firing a shot.  

Carribbean Comcast runs things a little differently.

James Bond (Roger Moore of Ivanhoe, The Miracle, Maverick, No Man's Land, The Saint, The Persuaders!, The Man with the Golden Gun, A View to a Kill and Alias) has arrived in New York and his contact with CIA agent Felix Leiter (David Hedison of A Man About a Dog, Crime Club, Adventures of the Queen, The Power Within, Romance Theatre and Fantasy Island) which personally I feel the role has become nothing more than a straight man for Bond's pithy comments or puns.  Remember when Jack Lord handled this role?  Yeah think on that.

Leiter lets Bond in on the scam in question that Kananga and Mr. Big may been in cahoots with one another given San Monique's tropical climate is ideal for poppy growth. Ensuring his empire Kananga seeks solace in his lovely tarot card expert Solitaire (Jane Seymour of The Only Way, The Strauss Family, Our Mutual Friend, Captains and the Kings, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Smallville and Modern Men) and she gauges the course of his journey as one would the course of the river.  Bond must uncover the heroin connection and put Kananaga's plot on hold.

Now a few facts about the movie.  This is deemed a bit of a groaner for puns as many of Bond's comments are that.  This film fell into the Blaxploitation and broke race barriers for the Bond Franchise as his first romantic encounter with a black woman, CIA agent Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry of Hell Up in Harlem, Black Caesar, Black Belt Jones, Savage Sisters, Seeds of Tragedy and Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings).  While the previous films focused on meglomaniacs bent on world domination, this movie fixated with drug trafficking  and organized crime.

With a 7 million dollar budget our film cleared $35 million payoff and an Academy Award for Best Original Song "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCarthy and the Wings.  Not too shabby.

Hmm, lovely view.