Main Cast: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Herve Villechaize
Release Year: 1974
Country: UK
Run Time: 123 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
The Man With the Golden Gun, Roger Moore's second outing as James Bond (Live and Let Die was the first), whisks our hero off to Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, and then the South China Sea in search of a solar energy weapon. His opponent is Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), who rules the roost on a well-fortified island. Scaramanga's aide-de-camp is Nick Nack, played by future Fantasy Island co-star Herve Villechaize. Britt Ekland plays the bikinied Mary Goodnight, whose clumsy efforts to help Bond thwart Scaramanga are almost as destructive as the elusive solar device. The Man With the Golden Gun was adapted by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz from Ian Fleming's last James Bond novel, which had to be published posthumously in "rough draft" form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Roger Moore's second time in the role of James Bond is an improvement over Live and Let Die, but still suffers from a lot of the same problems. Like its predecessor, The Man With the Golden Gun is overlong, suffers from a rambling plotline, and chases the cinematic trends of the day in a too-obvious fashion (the kung fu set piece that occurs in the midsection is a now-dated concession to the mid-'70s martial arts film boom). However, its biggest problem is its overreliance on campy humor. Potentially exciting boat and car chases get weighed down with uninspired slapstick and Bond's relationship with Mary Goodnight plays like a bad subplot from a particularly tired British sex farce. Despite these key flaws, The Man With the Golden Gun has a few strong elements that make it worthwhile for the Bond aficionado; there is plenty of action, some dazzling sets (especially Scaramanga's funhouse-styled lair), and John Barry's lush musical score is exotic and alluring. Best of all, Christopher Lee makes an intelligent and genuinely menacing villain as Scaramanga. The scene where he meets James Bond and tells the story of how he became an assassin manages to be darkly witty and unsettling all at once thanks to Lee's subtly intense performance. In the end, The Man With the Golden Gun is probably a bit too leisurely paced and dated in its style for audiences raised on modern action fare, but it provides enough solid thrills to please the Bond fanatic. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
John Graysmark - Art Director, Peter Lamont - Art Director, Charles Orme - Associate Producer, Maude Spector - Casting, Elsa Fennell - Costume Designer, Derek Cracknell - First Assistant Director, Guy Hamilton - Director, Ray Poulton - Editor, John Shirley - Editor, John Barry - Composer (Music Score), Don Black - Songwriter, Peter Murton - Production Designer, Ted Moore - Cinematographer, Oswald Morris - Cinematographer, Albert R. Broccoli - Producer, Harry Saltzman - Producer, John Stears - Special Effects, Gordon Everett - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Maibaum - Screenwriter, Tom Mankiewicz - Screenwriter, Don Lusher - Musical Performer, Peter Childs - Draftsman, Ian Fleming - Book Author
