The Man with the Golden Gun (1974 film)

Roger Moore's second outing pits Bond against the assassin Scaramanga.

The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth Eon Productions Bond film, released in December 1974 and the second with Roger Moore as 007. Loosely adapted from Ian Fleming's posthumous 1965 novel, it sends Bond after the Solex Agitator, a device that could solve the energy shortages of the day, while the hitman Francisco Scaramanga hunts him in turn.

Quick Facts

Starring

Roger Moore
Christopher Lee
Britt Ekland

Screenplay

Richard Maibaum; Tom Mankiewicz

Based on

The Man with the Golden Gun, Ian Fleming

Cinematography

Ted Moore; Oswald Morris

Director

Guy Hamilton

Producer

Albert R. Broccoli; Harry Saltzman

Music

John Barry

Editing

Raymond Poulton; John Shirley

Lore & Background

Guy Hamilton directed his fourth and last Bond film from a script by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz. The 1973 energy crisis shapes the plot, and the martial arts craze of the time shows in its kung fu scenes and its Asian setting, with filming in Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau; the Beirut scenes were not shot in Lebanon. It was Harry Saltzman's last film as co-producer before he sold his half of Danjaq, and the series then paused until The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977.

Did You Know?

Critics called it the low point of the series at the time, but Christopher Lee's Scaramanga, a match for Bond in skill, was praised.
Its modest takings after Live and Let Die reportedly put the future of the franchise in doubt.