GUY HAMILTON
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BB.5.
United Kingdom, 1974. Eon Productions. Screenplay by based on the novel by Cinematography by Produced by Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman. Music by John Barry. Production Design by Peter Murton. Costume Design by Elsa Fennell. Film Editing by Raymond Poulton, John Shirley.
Should go on record as the funniest Bond film in the franchise, though not intentionally. This time, agent 007 (Roger Moore) is sent after a crazed millionaire (well what else is new) whose island estate is a palace of death! Christopher Lee plays the villainous Scaramanga, a high-priced hit man who charges a million dollars for a death and seems to have locked on to Bond as his next target. He is also suspected of having murdered a scientist to steal a device that harnesses the power of the sun and gives the bearer of it great powers over the earth. Hervé Villechaize plays Lee’s pint-sized assistant, whose tricky hall of mirrors provides for one of Bond’s most daring escapes! It’s so bad it’s good, particularly any scenes involving Britt Ekland as literally the stupidest Bond girl of all time (what spy’s assistant gets pushed into the trunk of a car by accident, I ask you). Features the first appearance of the very lovely Maud Adams, who would later play a different role in Octopussy.
