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Of course, Francisco "Pistols" Scaramanga and James Bond are fictional characters. But there is also a literary-cinematic dichotomy which is immediately recognized by all true Bondian fans. That is we have a book where the main characters are James Bond and Francisco Scaramanga. Then there is the motion picture where the movie counterparts of Scaramanga and Secret Agent 007 are played by Christopher Lee and Roger Moore.
Early Bonds
Barry
Sean
Given that Roger starred in seven films where he played the rollicking intelligence operative, it's easy to think that Roger took over the role immediately after Sean Connery stepped down. But actually there were four other Bonds before Roger. First in 1954 even before Sean there was Barry Nelson who starred in a television adaptation of Casino Royale. Then came Sean for the next five movies and Sean was followed by David Niven in the 1967 "spoof" of Casino Royale which some fans don't even consider a real James Bond movie. Next in 1969 George Lazenby starred as James in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. THEN came Roger in 1973 with his first Bondian film Live and Let Die and he continued in the role until 1985.
WARNING!!!!!!!
MULTIPLE SPOILER
ALERTS!!!!!
(To skip the synopses, click here.)
The Man With the Golden Gun was Roger's second movie as James Bond and was released in 1974. The film starts off with a hitman sneaking into Scaramanga's lavish home in Macau which is across the harbor from Hong Kong. Scaramanga is himself a gunman-for-hire at $1,000,000 per job.
But this hitman was hired by Scaramanga's diminutive (3'11") factotum Nick Nack (played by Hervé - "De Plane! De Plane!" - Villechaize) to bump off his boss. Nick gave the hitman 50% of the fee upfront with the other 50% payable upon successful completion of Scaramanga's dispatch.
Scaramanga is lounging on the beach with his comely girlfriend while Nick brings them refreshment which includes Tabasco sauce for their oysters. The hitman, though, sneaks into the house and waits for Scaramanga to come in for a steam bath.
But the hitman finds himself in a maze designed as an old style carnival funhouse but with high tech controls operated by Nick. It seems that Nick periodically hires hitmen to bump off his boss as a way for Scaramanga to keep in practice. If the hitman succeeds, Nick will inherit a bundle from Scaramanaga. But if not he's still employed in a well-paid and cushy job.
But although the hitman sneaks around it turns out Scaramanga has also entered the maze. So Scaramanga, who is the best shot in the world, uses his specially designed one-shot gold-plated pistol and that's pretty much it for the hitman.
Then suddenly James Bond appears! Scaramanga fires. But then the bullets hit the target only to show that "Bond" is only a mannequin.
But in the book - which was the last James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming - Ian has Scaramanga using a more mundane .45 Colt revolver. However, it is, like Ian's typewriter, gold-plated and Scaramanga even fashions his own gold-plated dum-dum bullets. The literary Scaramanga is also more frugal and only charges $5,000 for a hit.
Ian Fleming
Gold Plated.
Among the many differences twixt the literary and cinematic Man with the Golden Gun is how the two chaps met. In the movie, the British Secret Service received a golden bullet with Bond's name on it. The conclusion was Scaramanga wanted to test his skills against the one man who he considers to be his equal.
But at the time Bond was on a case where he was trying to find a missing scientist who we know only as Gibson. Gibson has invented a device called the Solex Agitator that would solve the world's energy crisis. But now with Scaramanga gunning for England's #1 Agent, the head of the Secret Service, Admiral Sir Miles Messervy (who everyone calls M), orders Bond to take a sabbatical and go into hiding.
Bond somewhat reluctantly agrees to take a vacation but as he's leaving he turns around and mentions that if he, Bond, finds Scaramanga first, then the situation would be changed. M with an ironic look says, "Dramatically, wouldn't you say?"
But Scaramanga is also working for an evil industrialist in Thailand named Hai Fat (a typical Hollywood Asian villain's name). Hai Fat wants to steal the Solex Agitator and in doing so manages to kill Gibson. Bond is assigned the help of his former secretary Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland) who seems to spend most of her time being ineffectual and causing Bond trouble.
Eventually Bond meets Hai Fat by posing as Scaramanga since he figures even Hai Fat doesn't know what the assassin looks like. But Scaramanga is already there and so Hai Fat immediately knows Bond's true identity. Bond manages to escape with the help of Hong Kong Police Inspector Hip and his two young nieces who although dressed as young schoolgirls look more like they're women in their mid-twenties.
But in the book Bond has been missing-in-action for over a year. He had gone on a diplomatic mission to Japan to obtain a code breaking machine (as told in the novel You Only Live Twice). But what is supposed to be a cushy assignment turns into a hand-to-hand battle with Ernest Stavro Blofeld who was the head of the international criminal organization SPECTRE and who had been responsible for the death of Bond's wife, Tracy.
But after the battle James falls into the ocean where he's rescued by an Ama pearl diver named Kissy Suzuki. James, now suffering from amnesia, can only remember he has had something to do with Russia. So he travels to Vladivostok where his identity is discovered by the authorities. They "brainwash" James so he will return to England and kill M by shooting him in the face with a cyanide gun.
But Bond's abrupt return has everyone at Headquarters worried. Nothing makes any sense. Why was Bond staying at the Ritz Hotel when he still had his flat in Chelsea? Why did he call to make a formal appointment with M when he could simply stop by the Chief of Staff's home and tell him what happened? Instead they're seeing exactly what you'd expect from something cooked up by the Soviets.
Fortunately M's desk has a large pane of unbreakable glass that shoots down from the ceiling and foils the plot. James himself is almost killed by the poison and is taken to a hospital.
At the hospital the preeminent neurologist Sir James Molony orders twenty-four sessions of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in a month. After the treatment Bond remembers who he is and once he gets back into shape, M decides to test if James is still up to the Double-0 snuff by sending him on what is likely a suicide mission to assassinate the most proficient gunman in the world.
Who is, of course, Francisco "Paco" "Pistols" Scaramanga, identified in the Secret Service dossier as a "free-lance assassin mainly under K.G.B. control through D.S.S. [Diplomatic Security Service], Havana, Cuba, but often as an independent operator for other organizations, in the Caribbean and Central American states." As recommended by "C. C." - an identity cover of a former Regius Professor at Oxford but who is now an in-house consultant for the Secret Service: "In conclusion, and having regard to the damage he has already wrought upon the personnel of the [British] S[ecret] S[ervice], I conclude that his career should be terminated with the utmost dispatch - if necessary by the inhuman means he himself employs - in the unlikely event an agent of equal courage and dexterity can be made available." Bond is then dispatched to South and Central America to "eliminate" the man.
But in the movie Hai Fat meets his end at the hands of Scaramanga who then takes over Hai Fat's criminal empire and with it the Solex Agitator. Bond later meets Scaramanga at a Thai boxing match where Scaramanga's double crossing girlfriend had just met her end. Ultimately Bond is able to obtain the Agitator, but Scaramanaga gets away and heads back to his fancy beach front home.
There Bond agrees to meet Scaramanga in a mano-a-mano duel. But through subterfuge (with Nick Nack's help) Scaramanga gets into the funhouse maze. Naturally Bond bests Scaramanga and with the Solex Agitator and Mary Goodnight in tow, he manages to get away before Scaramanaga's headquarters explode.
But in the book after Bond takes on the assignment, he spends six weeks traveling through South and Central America trying to locate Scaramanga only to find him accidentally in Jamaica after someone left a note for him on the message board of Kingston Airport. From the message Bond learns that Scaramanga will be in a township on the south coast called Savannah La Mar at a cafe with the address of 3½ Love Lane. At the airport he contacts Mary Goodnight who is now stationed in Jamaica. With her help he drives to Savannah La Mar. The cafe, we learn, has "other attractions" and Scaramanga is a regular patron. In fact, when Bond arrives Scaramanga is upstairs and is sampling the wares.
After the completion of his task, Scaramanga comes downstairs and the two men meet. Bond learns Scaramanga is investing his ill-gotten gains in a resort on the west coast of the island. But the construction is behind schedule and the money is running out. So there is going to be a stockholders meeting the next day and Scaramanga hires Bond - who claims he is a free lance security consultant named Mark Hazard - as a personal assistant and bodyguard.
All but one of the stockholders are American gangsters who - as is typical in Ian's books - speak a stereotypical "mobese". None of them seems particularly sharp. They can't even remember if Scaramanga's nickname is "Pistols" or the singular "Pistol".
American Gangsters
The other stockholder is a Soviet agent from Holland named Mr. Henricks. Ian's explanation why a Dutchman is in charge of Soviet espionage in Jamaica isn't very clear or convincing.
Then just before the meeting, Bond finds that the two managers of the hotel are CIA agents, one being his old friend Felix Leiter. Their assignment is to prevent the Soviets in the guise of Mr. Hendricks from forming an alliance with American gangsters. Naturally having two allies with him gives Bond a boost.
At the first meeting (while Bond listens in), Mr. Hendricks reveals he has learned there is a British Secret Service Agent named James Bond looking for Scaramanga. He has no descriptions or further information and asks if Scaramanga has heard of such a man. Scaramanga snorts that he doesn't know about any James Bond and that he eats Secret Service Agents for breakfast when he has a mind. Then following a dispute over the financing - which Scaramanga solves by killing the dissenting stockholder - the group has dinner that turns into a riotous evening. Bond, though, leaves early and goes to bed.
Bond is awakened at 3:30 a. m. by a tapping at his window to find Mary Goodnight outside. She has come to tell him that the Secret Service has learned that Mr. Hendricks is there to find Bond and kill him. Then just as Mary is about to leave, Scaramanga makes a surprise entrance. With some quick talking Bond manages to convince him that Mary is his fiancé who has come to tell him that his mother had a bad fall and is in the hospital in London. Incredibly Scaramanga buys the story and Mary is able to leave unhindered.
At a private meeting the next morning and as Bond again listens in, Mr. Hendrix tells Scaramanga that he has received a description of James Bond from Moscow and "this man" outside the door is the British Secret Agent. Scaramanga then revises the plans for the afternoon. He had been intending to bump "Mark Hazard" off the next day in case he had learned too much. But today everyone was planning to take a small gauge railroad to the coast and go deep sea fishing. So Scaramanga alters the plans in a way that will end up with Bond's swift dispatch.
But the plans go awry and end up with Mr. Hendrix getting killed by Bond while Felix Leiter - who had hidden on board the train - shoots one of the gangsters. Scaramanga was also shot and lies insensible on the floor. Bond and Felix then jump off the slowly moving train while the surviving mobsters remain on board. But when the engine crosses a trestle, the bridge blows up due to explosives Felix has planted. The train falls into the ravine and with it the remaining gangsters.
But not Scaramanga! He was wounded but faking it. And he jumped off the train just before it reached the bridge!
So Bond has to follow him into the mangrove jungle where they have a final battle. Bond manages to best Scaramanga but he himself if seriously wounded. Naturally he recovers, and amazingly in the judicial hearing that follows, no one in official authority thinks anything amiss with someone blowing up a train and a bridge and with it five American citizens. In fact, Bond and Felix get a medal from the Jamaican government.1
Footnote
The novel The Man With the Golden Gun has a major plot inconsistency which has no satisfactory resolution. The problem may have arisen because, as scholars have stated, the actual manuscript was only Ian's first draft and he didn't get a chance to work out the contradictions. However, given how crucial the inconsistency is to resolving Bond's difficulties, it's unlikely it could have been changed that much.
Just before Scaramanga and Mr. Hendrix meet for their private meeting, Felix had learned that Mr. Hendrix had discovered Bond's identity since he had tapped the lobby phones and listened in while Mr. Hendrix spoke to his bosses. Bond then asks Felix to come up with someway to disrupt the planned outing and he'll handle it from there. Felix says he'll have to head into Savanah La Mar to get some supplies.
Bond writes Felix a note to a former member of the Secret Service who is now running a sugar plantation and who can give Felix some assistance. Then after Felix heads off Bond goes to stand guard at the meeting.
When Bond listens in at the door and he learns Mr. Hendrix knows who he is, Scaramanga assures Mr. Hendrix that there will be nothing left of Bond by the end of the day. Then Scaramanga and Hendricks begin discussing plans for drug smuggling, sabotage of Jamaica's Bauxite industry, and working with corrupt politicians to establish gambling casinos in Jamaica.
At noon the hoods, Mr. Hendricks, Scaramanga, and Bond leave the hotel in cars and head toward the train station. But before they leave, Scaramanga asks his desk manager - who is actually the other CIA agent, Nick Nicholson - where his "sidekick" (i. e., Felix) is. He hadn't seen him that morning. Nick tells Scaramanga that Felix had a bad tooth abscess and had to go to a dentist in Savannah La Mar.
On the trip Scaramanga's plot to dispatch Bond unfolds. After they've been on the train for a while they see a blonde girl tied to the tracks like in the old movies. As the train rolls forward, Scaramanga tells everyone that it's a girl named Mary Goodnight who is the girlfriend of a man named James Bond. Yes, Scaramanga said, if Bond was on board the train he'd be calling for mercy.
With Bond's cover blown and outnumbered seven to one (actually eight to one since the train engineer is a Rastafari loyal to Scaramanga and is armed with a cutlass) there's now the big gunfight during which Mr. Hendricks is killed and apparently so is Scaramanga. Bond would have been killed, too, but Felix had managed to come to his rescue after sneaking to the train station ahead of everyone else and hitching a ride behind the last car.
But before the fight was over, it turns out that the "girl" tied to the tracks was just a plastic mannequin. So Mary had gotten away after all!
Once the fight is over Felix tells Bond to jump off the train because Felix (not telling anyone) had planted the explosives to blow the train up when it crosses the upcoming bridge. That would take care of everyone.
But after Bond and Felix jump and just before the train reaches the bridge, Bond sees Scaramanga jump off the train and head to the swamp. So now Bond has to follow Scaramanga and finish him off!
Bond then discovers that in leaping from the train, Felix has broken his leg and so Bond will have to go it alone. Bond manages to track Scaramanga down and finally dispatches him. Bond, though, is seriously wounded because at the last moment Scaramanga draws and fires a concealed golden derringer where the bullet had been dipped in snake venom. Of course, Bond does recover although he ends up in the hospital where he's rather grumpy when Mary comes to visit.
But just before Bond headed off to chase down Scaramanga, Felix admitted he was the one to put the mannequin across the track. He did this on Scaramanga's orders and thought it was just to be a joke to amuse the hoods. He didn't know that Bond's "girlfriend" was a blonde. Placing the mannequin gave him the opportunity to plant the explosives on the bridge that he had obtained from Bond's friend at the sugar plantation.
Here we have the inconsistencies. For one thing, Scaramanga only learned that Bond and Mary were members of the British Secret Service when Mr. Henricks told him that morning. So his orders to Felix to place the mannequin must have been after the meeting with Mr. Henricks. The meeting began at 10:00 a. m. and probably lasted about an hour.
But remember that Felix left the hotel to get supplies before the meeting. He had to drive to a sugar plantation owned by Bond's friend, pick up supplies, and get back to the hotel where after the meeting Scaramanga told him to drive to Savannah La Mar to find a mannequin.
The hotel is more than an hour's drive from Savannah La Mar and the group left the hotel for the outing at noon. With the meeting also lasting about an hour, there was no way Felix could have left before the meeting, gotten the supplies from Bond's friend, returned to the hotel to speak with Scaramanga after the meeting, driven back to Savannah la Mar to pick up the plastic mannequin, and then get back to hide in the train.
And here's the real kicker. Just before the group left to drive to the train station, Scaramanga said he hadn't seen Felix all day!
Fortunately a little inconsistency never spoils a good James Bond story.
(To return to the beginning of the synopses, click here.
The movie The Man With the Golden Gun is often cited as the low point in the Bondian Cinematic Sagas. The modern viewer will find the plot is rather convoluted and dated with its references to the now largely forgotten Energy Crisis and the featuring of stylized martial arts fights. The script also has one of the most absolutely pointless plot points with the appearance of a stereotypical Southern hick sheriff who was in the previous film Live and Let Die. The sheriff - whose name is J. W. Pepper - wasn't very funny in the first movie and seeing him again doesn't add to the humor.
The book faired somewhat better than the movie but still received mixed reviews. Some readers liked the simplicity and routine nature of the plot and saw Scaramanga as one of the better crafted Bond villains. But in the book Bond doesn't seem to think things through. His plan to carry out his mission was to razz Scaramanga so much that it would set off the gunman's formidable temper and then Bond would dispatch him in the fight that follows. But as Bond himself realized, provoking a quick-draw contest with a man considered the best marksmen in the world would be suicide. "The tactic was a crude one," we read, "but Bond could think of no other." Perhaps what should be written is, "The plot was an impossible one, but Ian could think of no other."
Despite the highs and lows of James Bond books and movies, they remain good fun and James Bond has become part of world culture. So it was inevitable that over the years there have been many and humorous jests directed toward the suave and debonair Secret Agent 007. In a sampling of the various witticisms we find:
| What would James Bond's address have been if his father had been Irish instead of Scottish? | Dublin Oh Seven. |
| Why on one assignment could James never learn the name of the villain? | He wouldn't take "No" for an answer. |
| What poem did James Bond write after having some martinis in New England? | The Road Not Shaken. |
| James Bond said that in his student days he "dabbled" in chemistry. So what did he write when he was taking his HCS's and came to the question "What holds the carbon atoms together in ethylene molecules?" | "Bonds. Double Bonds." |
| Why did James Bond finally stir his martinis? | The puritan in him couldn't shake it. |
And given that how many Bond films are played largely for laughs, it's only right to end up with:
| What does Agent 007 make when he tells a joke? | A Bond-Mot |
References and Further Reading
The Man With The Golden Gun, Ian Fleming, Jonathan Cape (British Edition), 1965.
The Man With The Golden Gun, Ian Fleming, New American Library (American Edition), 1965.
The Man with the Golden Gun, Roger Moore (actor), Christopher Lee (actor), Britt Ekland (actor), Maud Adams (actor), Hervé Villechaize (actor), Lois Maxwell (actor), Andrea Anders (actor), Desmond Llewelyn (actor), Guy Hamilton (director), Richard Maibaum (screenwriter), Tom Mankiewicz (screenwriter), Ian Fleming (novel), Albert Broccoli (producer), Harry Saltzman (producer), Charles Orme (producer), John Barry (composer), United Artists, December 19, 1974.