Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

We take it for granted in today's modern cinema that it's common place for super heroes to face off against one another like Iron Man, the Black Panther, and the Black Widow versus Captain America, Hawkeye, and Ant Man among others in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) or BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016). But the concept of a movie franchise having more than one of their characters appear together in a film has its origins with Universal's Movie Monsters series. In particular, it started with FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943) where the Frankenstein monster encounters Larry Talbot aka the Wolf Man, the first time two of Universal's monsters appeared together in the same film.

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN in a way is a sequel to the successful THE WOLF MAN that was released two years earlier in 1941 although it really comes after THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942) but more on that connection later.  THE WOLF MAN'S screenwriter Curt Siodmak who created much of the werewolf lore returns as the screenwriter for FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. George Waggner who directed THE WOLF MAN stepped into the producing chair for FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN and handed the directing reins over to Roy William Neill, a capable director no stranger to atmospheric films having directed some of my favorite Sherlock Holmes films around the same time including THE SCARLET CLAW (1944) and HOUSE OF FEAR (1945). FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN returns several actors from THE WOLF MAN although not all of them in the same roles.  Lon Chaney, Jr is back as the tormented Larry Talbot and Maria Ouspenskaya as Talbot's surrogate mother, the gypsy woman Maleva.  But Patric Knowles and Bela Lugosi who had minor roles in THE WOLF MAN return as different but meatier characters in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN including Lugosi in his first turn as Frankenstein's monster. Tying the entire Universal Monster Universe together is the under appreciated Dwight Frye who had iconic supporting roles as Dr. Frankenstein's assistant Fritz in FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and as the fly eating Renfield in DRACULA (also 1931). But Frye's brief period of horror film glory would fade and by 1943 Frye had but a minor role as the villager Rudi in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. Frye would die that same year, much too young.

The film opens in Lanwelly, Wales where two grave robbers (Tom Stevenson and Cyril Delevanti) break into the crypt of the Talbot family on a full moon to steal jewelry and money from the corpse of Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr). But they're in for a big surprise when Talbot awakens (more on why he's not a skeleton to come), grabbing one of the grave robber's hands. Talbot's found unconscious later on a village street, his skull fractured.  He's treated at Queen's Hospital in Cardiff where he's interviewed by Dr. Frank Mannering (Patric Knowles) and Inspector Owen (Dennis Hoey). The patient claims to be Larry Talbot, whose been dead for four years. He tells them he turns into a werewolf which gets Talbot a one way ticket to a straight-jacket. While Mannering and Owen visit Lanwelly to investigate Talbot's claim, Talbot turns into the Wolf Man that night, sneaking out of his hospital room to murder a policeman. After visiting the crypt and finding Talbot's body missing and one dead grave robber, Mannering calls to check on Talbot and learns he has escaped his confines back in Cardiff.

Talbot wanders into a gypsy camp where he's reunites with Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) whose son Bela turned Talbot into a werewolf in THE WOLF MAN. Maleva tells Larry she's heard of a man who might be able to help Talbot with his curse. With just a horse drawn carriage, Talbot and Maleva travel from Wales to the Bavarian like village of Vasaria. But the man Maleva is looking for, Dr. Frankenstein, is dead, according to the local bartender Vazec (Rex Evans). His castle lays in ruins beneath a dam above the village. Vazec kicks them out of his establishment. Talbot turns into a werewolf again and kills a local blind girl. Chased by the locals including Vazec, Franzec (Don Barclay) and Rudi (Dwight Frye), Talbot hides in the decrepit castle where he stumbles upon a frozen Frankenstein's monster (Bela Lugosi), entombed in a block of ice.

Talbot breaks the monster out of his icy tomb. He searches for the good doctor's diary with no luck but finds a photo of Dr. Frankenstein's daughter, the Baroness Elsa Frankenstein (Ilona Massey) in a secret safe. Talbot contacts Vasaria's Mayor (Lionel Atwill) about purchasing the ruins so he can meet the Baroness and inquire about her father's papers on life and death.  The Mayor invites Talbot and Elsa to the Festival of the New Wine celebration that night.  Dr. Mannering shows up at the party, following Talbot's rampage through Europe, intent on curing him. Talbot reveals to Mannering about Frankenstein's papers, piquing the doctor's interest. Frankenstein's monster wanders into the festival, nearly causing a riot.  Talbot grabs the monster and whisks him away on a carriage out of the village. Mannering pledges to Elsa to kill the monster.

Elsa takes Mannering to her father's decaying castle. Talbot and the monster are hiding there from the townspeople. Elsa shows them a secret compartment where her father's diary lies. Mannering rebuilds the laboratory in his quest to cure Talbot by drawing the Frankenstein monster's energy to rid Talbot of his werewolf curse. But Mannering falls into the trap that Elsa's Frankenstein family has fallen into of playing God. Elsa begs Mannering to forget his plan and just kill the Frankenstein's monster. Down below in Vasaria, the townspeople see those familiar flashing lights up at the ruins. As Mannering begins his experiment to save Talbot, the full moon emerges changing Talbot into the Wolf Man. The Wolf Man and the monster begin to fight.  As Mannering and Elsa flee, the bartender Vazec blows up the dam, bringing thousands of gallons of water onto the two monsters, destroying the castle ruins and apparently killing the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's monster (but we know better, right?). 

If you're looking for iconic horror atmosphere FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN is the film for you. Grave robbers, a spooky mausoleum, a dead man who comes back to life, castle ruins (with a dam, waterfall, and turbine next to it no less), icy catacombs, a decrepit laboratory waiting to roar back to life, and the prototype European village nearby are the classic horror ingredients that director Neill and screenwriter Siodmak provide. And where else will you find in the middle of a horror film a musical sequence during the Festival of the New Wine with the goofy song Faro-La, Faro-Li (Song of the New Wine) and lyrics like "Life is Short, Death is Long!" FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN covers all the bases.

Like the recent superhero duels, the Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man start out friendly enough. Talbot rescues Frankenstein from his icy prison. The monster tries to help Talbot find his master's papers on life and death. Even when Frankenstein wanders into Vasaria during the festival, starting a riot, Talbot pushes him onto a cart and races the monster out of town to save him. But their friendship can only go so far. After Elsa cuts the power to Mannering's experiment, fearing he's making Frankenstein strong again, Talbot transforms into the Wolf Man and Frankenstein breaks out of his restraints. The two titans of Universal Horror battle it out WWW Wrestling style as Vazec blows up the dam (a nice miniature by the special effects team) causing a torrent of water to cascade onto them and the castle ruins. It's a magnificent finale, reminiscent of Frankenstein dying in the burning windmill at the end of FRANKENSTEIN or the Frankenstein's bride pulling the lever to destroy the castle in BRIDE OF FRAKENSTEIN (1935). 

So the chronology for FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN in the Monster series is interesting. Just like the Marvel Universe mapped out a timeline for its superheroes progression and eventual team-ups, Universal had the same plan for its monsters. FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN appears to be a sequel to THE WOLF MAN but the introduction of Frankenstein in the film follows his demise in THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN which came out after THE WOLF MAN.  At the finale of GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, Frankenstein's monster becomes blind after Ludwig Frankenstein's (Cedric Hardwicke) failed experiment to put the brain of Igor into the monster. So per Siodmak's screenplay for FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, Lugosi played the monster as blind. This explains Lugosi sticking his arms out when walking (which would unintentionally become the standard for the monster in later Universal films).  He cannot see. But he could talk.  After filming was completed, the movie was previewed.  Audiences laughed at Frankenstein speaking Lugosi's Hungarian accent. All of Lugosi's dialogue was muted after the disastrous preview. FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN would be released soon after and became a huge hit. But movie fans would never realize (except a few brief shots where Lugosi's mouth is moving but no sound comes out) that Lugosi's performance is based on the monster's blindness. 

After the success of two horror monsters in one film, Universal would milk this idea for all its worth. The next year HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) would come out. Directed by Erle C. Kenton, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN would have not two but three monsters (Lon Chaney Jr as the Wolf Man, Glenn Strange as Frankenstein's monster, and John Carradine as Dracula).  Boris Karloff (who had played Frankenstein's monster three times previously) would star but as the deranged scientist. 1945 would switch the house from Frankenstein to HOUSE OF DRACULA (also directed by Erle C. Kenton) and return all three monsters again.  Next, to spice things up (and add some comedy to the tired formula), Universal would unleash ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello mixing it up with the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr again), Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange again) and Bela Lugosi in his last appearance as Dracula. Director Stephen Sommer who would successfully reboot THE MUMMY franchise in the early 1990s would try his magic again with VAN HELSING (2004) that turned Dracula's arch nemesis Van Helsing into an action hero (Hugh Jackman) who faces off against a werewolf, the Frankenstein's monster, and Dracula. Although it was received with mixed reviews, VAN HELSING was a loving homage to Universal's Movie Monsters and the crossover concept that began with FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. 

Although Lon Chaney Jr is clearly the star of FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, blonde bombshell Illona Massey gets top billing as the Teutonic Baroness Elsa Frankenstein, daughter to Ludwig Frankenstein. The Hungarian born actress was projected to be a singing movie star but found her way onto supernatural films like THE INVISIBLE AGENT (1942) and FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. Check out her Heidi-like twisted braids for the film.  Patrick Knowles as Dr. Mannering is not the typical Frankenstein type doctor. For most of the film, he's caring and thoughtful, not crazy like other Dr. Frankenstein's such as Colin Clive or Basil Rathbone. He briefly acquires the God complex once he gets around the previous Frankenstein's lab equipment but Elsa quickly knocks some sense in him. Knowles began his career as the next Errol Flynn but ended up making several films with Flynn, usually as his brother or buddy i.e. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1937). 

Lon Chaney Jr still seems to care about the role that made him famous as Larry Talbot in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN after his success in THE WOLF MAN. By 1943, Chaney Jr had played Dracula, the Mummy, and even Frankenstein's monster in THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN a year earlier with co-star Lugosi returning as Igor. Chaney could have slept walked through his Wolf Man role but he still brings empathy to the tormented character. Only in the later films like HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA did Chaney seem bored by the Wolf Man character.

Bela Lugosi would play Frankenstein's Monster just once. He might have been drawn to the role with the chance to play the monster as a speaking creature even if blind. But as mentioned earlier, test audiences for FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN did not buy Lugosi's accent for the monster. His dialogue is lost on the cutting room floor and his interpretation as the monster watered down although he still brings a sly component to the monster. Lugosi was still a name and added cache to the already impressive cast. Horror film veterans Lionel Atwill (DOCTOR X) as the Mayor, Maria Ouspenskaya as Maleva, and Dwight Frye as townsperson Rudi make nice contributions to the film. And director Neill brings a couple of his favorite bit players from his Sherlock Holmes series to FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN with Dennis Hoey once again playing an inspector (he played Inspector Lestrade in the Holmes films) and the heavy (in weight and character type) Rex Evans (PURSUIT TO ALGIERS) as the bartending, dam busting Vazec. 

Some last fun monster odds and ends. One of the great mysteries in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN is why isn't Talbot decomposed after four years of death when the graverobbers open his crypt. He's still human. Neither writer Siodmak or director Neill provide an explanation.  Horror fans have attributed Talbot's lycanthropy giving him a sort of suspended animation that allowed Talbot to appear normal. Dr. Mannering and Inspector Owen don't question it so why should we?  Surprisingly, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN is the first film that actually shows the moon transforming Talbot into the Wolf Man.  The original THE WOLF MAN never showed the moon at all. Talbot just turned into a werewolf when he saw a pentagram on one of his victims. Director Neill decided not to always show Talbot go through the entire werewolf transformation (via time lapse) except for the first time in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN.  My hunch is to save time and propel the plot faster. In later werewolf metamorphosis, Talbot is partly changed already.  An economical move by a director who shot the film in 28 days.

The cross over film that we're accustomed to today like the Hulk appearing in THOR:RAGNAROK (2017) or Iron Man/Tony Stark showing up in SPIDER MAN: HOMECOMING (also 2017) owes its origins to the creative minds behind the Universal Monster series beginning with FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. As successful as FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN was both financially and creatively, it was also the beginning of the end for Universal's horror films which were about to run their course. World War II was soon to end and the horrors of war would abate meaning audiences no longer needed make believe horror to distract them.  But what a way to go out with the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's monster fighting to the death on screen while symbolically Universal was fighting to keep the Monsters series alive. 

The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)

 Before we discuss Roger Moore's second stint as James Bond in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974), I want to give a shout out to the actor who plays Bond's nemesis in the film. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN was in a way a rebirth for Christopher Lee to new audiences who had never seen the tall, suave actor. If they had seen Lee before, they would have seen him play every famous monster on the planet for Hammer Films in the 1950s.  Count Dracula in HORROR OF DRACULA (1959). Frankenstein's monster in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957).  The mummy in THE MUMMY (1959). Lee continued into the 1960s making Hammer horror films. It was work but with his deep voice and distinguished looks, weren't there other roles Lee could play?

Lee was still playing Count Dracula and Fu Manchu when the great director Billy Wilder (SUNSET BOULEVARD) saw something in Lee, casting him as Sherlock Holmes older brother Mycroft in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1970).  Next would come nice supporting roles in Richard Lester's THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1973) and Robin Hardy's cult horror film THE WICKER MAN (1973). Lee's career renaissance was on the rise when director Guy Hamilton would pick Lee as Bond's adversary Francisco Scaramanga in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. Lee's popularity was such that he even appears on the Wings album cover Band on the Run with Paul & Linda McCartney and actor James Coburn among others.  Lee would have a long and illustrious career. Young filmmakers who loved Lee in his Hammer horror films would introduce him to a whole new generation of movie fans in films like Steven Spielberg's 1941, Joe Dante's GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (1990), Tim Burton's SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999),  George Lucas's STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002), and most famously as the evil wizard Saruman in Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS (2001 to 2003) trilogy.

Besides ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969), I've probably watched THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN the least compared to all the Connery and early Roger Moore Bond films. Initially, I thought it didn't have the scope and pizazz of earlier films. There were no big explosions or legions of minions to fight Bond in some underground base. And Christopher Lee (who I have just praised) as the villain didn't have any scars or fancy villain name (he does have three nipples) that made him stand out. But with each viewing, my appreciation of THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN increases. With a screenplay by the two best Bond writers in the series Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz (adapted from Ian Fleming's novel) and directed by Bond veteran Guy Hamilton (his fourth and last 007 film), THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is an underrated film that forces James Bond to face a foe who's his doppleganger, handsome and suave as James, good with the ladies, and who's paid to kill like Bond.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN plays with the conventions of the James Bond film. The opening sequence is usually reserved for a Bond mini-mission but in GOLDEN GUN we're introduced to the internationally famous assassin Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) relaxing on his exotic beach lair with his mistress Andrea Anders (Maud Adams) surrounded by limestone monoliths somewhere in the China Sea (actually Thailand's Phang Nga Bay). In a page out of the short story The Most Dangerous Game, Scaramanga has invited an American contract killer Rodney (Marc Lawrence) to try to kill him (he's even paid in advance). It's a game Scaramanga plays to keep sharp. Overseen by Scaramanga's diminutively sinister servant Nick Nack (Herve Villechaize), the deadly duel is played out with only one assassin surviving (guess who?). Cut to James Bond (Roger Moore) at MI6 headquarters in London meeting with his superior M (Bernard Lee).  A golden bullet with 007 etched on it has been addressed to Bond.  An invitation or warning from Scaramanga? No one has ever seen Scaramanga. Bond begins the hunt for the famed assassin.

Bond flies to Beirut first where a belly dancer named Saida (Carmen du Sautoy) has one of Scarmanga's golden bullets that killed a fellow British agent as a keepsake in her navel. Bond manages to swallow it during a fight in her dressing room with Russian thugs. After Q (Desmond Llewelyn) analyzes the bullet, Bond is off to Macau to find Lazar (Marne Maitland), the master craftsman who makes guns, rifles, and bullets for secretive clients like Scaramanga. With some subtle persuasion (Bond aiming one of Lazar's rifles at his crotch), Lazar reveals he drops off Scaramanga's golden bullets at a casino. Bond watches the hand-off from Lazar to the beautiful Ms. Andrea Anders. Bond follows Andrea on a ferry to Hong Kong. He's just about to confront her when Bond's fellow British operative Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland) clumsily disrupts his surveillance.

Bond tracks Andrea to a swank hotel. After roughing her up a bit (then offering her champagne), Andrea reveals Scaramanga will be at the Bottoms Up Club to pick up his golden bullets. But when Bond goes to find him, he's nearly killed by a single shot by the assassin. It turns out Scaramanga's target was another patron of the club named Gibson, an energy expert, who had in his possession the Solex Agitator that could fix the world's current energy crisis. Nick Nack grabs the device in the confusion. Bond is whisked away by Hip (Soon-Tek Oh) with the Hong Kong police and taken to the half sunken ocean liner the Queen Elizabeth where M and Q have a secret headquarters. M suspects the Thai crime lord Hai Fat (Richard Loo) ordered the hit to steal the Solex Agitator and sell it to the highest bidder. Bond flies to Bangkok, Thailand to get the solar cell back.

Bond impersonates Scaramanga to meet Hai Fat but the crime lord is not tricked. Bond is forced to fight Fat's karate killers at his fighting school. After defeating Fat's best fighter, Bond flees, chased by Fat's men through Thailand's klongs (canals) and water markets. Scaramanga turns on Fat and kills him, taking the Solex Agitator to Bangkok. Andrea comes to Bond. She wants Scaramanga dead so she can be free. She steals the Solex Agitator from Scaramanga. The rendervous is a Thai boxing match but when Bond arrives, Andrea is dead and Scaramanga waiting for him. With the Solex Agitator back in his possession, Scaramanga and Nick Nack fly back to his beach island hideout (via a flying car) with Bond in pursuit. Scaramanga is delighted to have Bond as a guest. After showing Bond his plans for the Solex Agitator, Scaramanga and Bond face off in the film's finale mano a mano in Scaramanga's assassin funhouse where only one will survive (guess who?).

What makes THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN so interesting is the relationship between Bond and Scaramanga.  They are like two modern gunslingers. Scaramanga's Golden Gun vs Bond's Walther PBK. Scaramanga and Bond are two sides of the same coin with Scaramanga representing Bond's dark side. They both kill only Scaramanga kills for money (one million dollars per hit). Bond kills to protect his country and the world. They're both handsome, erudite, connoisseur's of beautiful women and fine food. When we see Scaramanga's shooting gallery in the film's opening with its house of mirrors, we know that Scaramanga and Bond will eventually meet there in the finale. The filmmakers cleverly begin it like a duel (another nod to gunslingers), each man with his back to one another. But like much of THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, nothing is like what it seems.

A Bond film wouldn't be a Bond film without some sexual innuendo and symbolism but THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN might just be the most overt in both categories. Scaramanga's golden pistol is a phallic symbol for his prowess both in bed and assassinating his victims. Case in point, early in the film, Scaramanga's in a room across from a Macau casino. His mistress Andrea lies on the bed. Scaramanga begins making love with her (foreplay) but then cuts it short to peer out again. His target comes out of the casino. Scaramanga kills him with one golden bullet. The kill is Scaramanga's climax, his ejaculation. No wonder Andrea searches out Bond to kill Scaramanga. It's always coitus interruptus when she's with him. Scaramanga's pistol may be longer and bigger than Bond's Walther PBK. But does the length and size matter?  It's how you use it that matters. Scaramanga also has three nipples, a sign in some cultures of virility.

The Bond series has always stayed true to current movie trends.  See 1973's LIVE AND LET DIE (Car Chase films, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, and Blaxploitation films) or 1979's MOONRAKER (STAR WARS). Bruce Lee and karate films were all the rage so director Hamilton stages a karate school scene in GOLDEN GUN. But Bond films have also been connected to world events.  The early Bond films were steeped in the Cold War (FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL) that was going on between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is set during the real life 1974 Energy Crisis when several Arab countries proclaimed an oil embargo forcing countries worldwide to try and conserve energy. The key plot device in GOLDEN GUN is the Solex Agitator which can create sustainable energy for an entire country through solar power. First Hai Fat and then Scaramanga plan to sell it to the highest bidder. It's a timely topic pulled straight from the world headlines when THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN was filming. What's refreshing is the plot is not doomsday related although the Solex Agitator in the wrong hands could use it for nefarious purposes.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN would be Roger Moore's second appearance as the British agent James Bond. Roger Moore never looked uncomfortable as Bond (he would start to look older as Bond beginning with OCTOPUSSY) but Moore seems very at ease and in good form in GOLDEN GUN. The weight of filling Sean Connery's large shoes in Moore's debut LIVE AND LET DIE (1973) was off his shoulders. Moore had succeeded in taking over the role and making it his to own. Moore still shows a brutal side to Bond, especially in his interrogation of Andrea in her hotel room. But Moore easily slipped into humor as well. His scenes with Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight are sweet and funny and Moore is a pro with quips during fight scenes and car chases.

For the Bond girls, the filmmakers go Scandanavian this time with the Swedish duo of Maud Adams and Britt Ekland as Bond love interests. The role of Andrea Anders (played by Adams) is more complicated and tragic than I originally understood. Andrea's in a delicate position. She wants to escape from the clutches of Scaramanga as his mistress but she knows he'll kill her if she does leave. She turns to Bond to kill Scaramanga with the knowledge her treachery might be her doom. I was not a big fan of Adams in GOLDEN GUN upon first viewing. But she has an ice goddess beauty to her that I must admit grew on me this time. Adams would appear in Norman Jewison's futuristic ROLLERBALL (1975) as James Caan's ex-wife. Adams returned to the Bond series for a second time as another Bond girl, this time as the titular title character in OCTOPUSSY (1983).

Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight, Bond's counterpart, has the more comic part in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and she plays it well. Usually Bond ends up with the villain's girl but as I mentioned, GOLDEN GUN plays with the Bond conventions. Even though Goodnight is blonde, she doesn't come off as ditzy. She's a little clumsy and naive but she grows as an agent as the film progresses. The film teases us as Goodnight and Bond continually get close to making love several times only to be interrupted.  Ekland (who was briefly married to Peter Sellers and dated rock star Rod Stewart) would also appear in GET CARTER (1971) and THE WICKER MAN co-starring Christopher Lee.

One of screenwriter Mankiewicz's traits taking over the writing reins of the Bond series for three films was to highlight a second minor villain besides the main villain. In DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971) the main villain was Blofeld but in the wings were his subordinates, the gay assassins Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint. In THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, Scaramanga has a miniature henchman in Nick Nack played by the French actor Herve Villachaize. Nick Nack is part maitre'd, part partner of Scaramanga's assassin games on his private island. Nick Nack has a Napoleon complex and occasionally exhibits some petulance towards Scaramanga.  After Scaramanga's dispatched, there's still Nick Nack for Bond to deal with. GOLDEN GUN would propel Villachaize into stardom and his most recognized role as Ricardo Montaban's servant Tattoo on the TV series FANTASY ISLAND (1977-1983). Sadly, Villachaize would commit suicide in 1993 at the age of 50. 

Fans of LIVE AND LET DIE no doubt rejoiced with the return of Clifton James as the Louisiana redneck sheriff J.W. Pepper.  The filmmakers cleverly have Pepper on vacation with his wife in Thailand where he encounters Bond.  Only this time, they're not adversaries but partners during an exciting car chase through Bangkok and an incredible 360 degree car jump over a small klong. Marc Lawrence who played tough guys and crooks in films like John  Huston's KEY LARGO (1948) and THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950) makes his second Bond appearance (the first was in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER) as Rodney the Chicago contract killer Scaramanga faces in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN'S opening sequence.  Lastly, with no CIA agent Felix Leiter in this film, Soon-Tek Oh plays Hong Kong police commissioner Hip (a surrogate Felix Leiter) who assists Bond navigate the Far East and track Scaramanga whereabouts.

Some Bond tidbits.  THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN would be the 9th and last Bond film co-produced by the remarkable team of Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. Saltzman would leave the series and Broccoli would be sole producer going forward.  In a nice piece of irony, Christopher Lee who plays the villain Scaramanga was related to Bond creator and author Ian Fleming.  They were cousins. Although Scaramanga's island hideaway is supposed to be in the China Sea, the remarkable limestone islands are really Phang Nga Bay in Thailand. Scaramanga's island in the film is now called James Bond island and is a popular tourist attraction. All the locations in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN are some of the most exotic in the series. The filmmakers incorporate a Chinese junk boat as one of Scaramanga's modes of escape. If you've never seen a junk, they are beautiful and a perfect symbol for Asia. Lastly, the first Bond trailer for THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN contains a few extra shots not seen in the actual film between Bond and Scaramanga's duel on the beach before they moved to Scaramanga's funhouse.  Check it out on THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN DVD. 

With all my praise of THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN as an underrated gem in the Bond canon, it has a few weak spots. The theme song sung by Lulu (who you ask? She's a Scottish Pop Star) is not one of the series strongest entries.  And a flying car that Scaramanga and Nick Nack utilize to flee Bond is mostly a model (due to the fact that the pilot of the real flying car died in an accident with the flying car prior to GOLDEN GUN'S filming).  Surprisingly, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN would be the lowest grossing film up to this point in the Bond series despite the exotic locations and strong villain.

In retrospect, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN was a watershed moment for the Bond series (it wouldn't be the last one).  The producing team that brought James Bond to the big screen dissolved with Harry Saltzman stepping away after this one. Director Guy Hamilton who directed probably the best Bond film of all time in GOLDFINGER (1964) and followed up in the 70s with some strong Bond films stepped away for good. But all was not lost. The series had its new James Bond in Roger Moore who would carry the mantle all the way to A VIEW TO A KILL (1985). THE MAN WITH A GOLDEN GUN is a hiccup to some, a diamond in the rough for me.  Instead of a doomsday scenario, it highlights a current world event at the time as well as the dangerous people that James Bond encounters in his line of work, this time a character very close to his own persona. 

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