A Woman Watches Bond: The Man With The Golden Gun

Am I going to have a problem with you Bond? Well, yes, in this mixed bag, I’ve found the first Bond that I didn’t like, couldn’t clap for. Not that I entirely dislike it or ever expected to actively dislike Roger Moore’s Bond, but as a woman watching Bond, there are some elements which are grim to watch. Even with the amazing car stunt. Given the setting, I also want to consider a post-colonial/post-imperial framing, as it mixes social-cultural othering with equality in unique ways.

Some may scoff (channeling their inner M repeatedly telling Q to shut up) and say ‘…but this is just a Bond film and not meant to be taken seriously’. While it is just a bit of fun, as ever Bond holds a cultural mirror up to the time it was created in and for, including police car/car chases; Evil Knievel stunts; martial arts; the Anglo-American relationship; package holiday tourism and Eastern exoticism. And the people it was created for, Therefore, it can be argued that a Bond film is never just a Bond film.

Roger Moore’s Bond

Is brutal, particularly towards some of the women. He doesn’t want to do this he says and does what he does to get the job done, but watching him beat up Andrea Anders (Maud Adams) was uncomfortable. The champagne later makes it even worse. This movie is full of uncommented-on trafficked and exploited women — from the beginning we see Anders uncomfortably selling herself, seeking and failing to please Scaramanga (Christopher Lee). She then sells herself to Bond to stop him’ twisting her arm’ further, and to get him what he wants. Disturbingly we see her looking increasingly uncomfortable and distressed with Scaramanga’s behaviour towards her. In contrast, the bikini-clad woman bartender in the middle of the casino table seems to be having a better time, though similarly exploited. It’s like watching a movie full of Severines and I wish Anders had Dalton’s Bond to help her escape here.

Mostly Moore is being formed like Connery here, only with less intelligence and erudition, and more brutality. There is none of the persuasiveness or protection of Craig’s Bond — and despite the eyebrows and a Swanee whistle, this Bond is nasty for much of the movie. When he isn’t breaking women’s arms or into their hotel rooms, he’s shoving children into rivers. We don’t get the sense of this Bond’s thoughtful observations as we did with Connery.

The woman who is more of an equal is the dazzlingly sequined dancer in Beirut, who chooses him, and is more concerned about the trashing of her perfumes than Bond’s life.

Mary Goodnight

Is treated appalling by Bond, but also suffers from the same uneven writing as female leads in Diamonds Are Forever. She has a wonderful scene where she shows her local knowledge as an intelligence agent and then her self-respect, rejecting Bond’s use of her as a time-filler. Sadly, she immediately creeps back in a baby-doll and wonderfully styled hair, then gets bundled into a cupboard whilst he’s with another woman. Still she keeps coming back for more!

Britt Ekland is terrific as a Bond woman and comic foil (doing a mean running away from an exploding base in a bikini). Her character moves from irritation in the field to Bond woman to misused and abused. Why does she keep coming back to him when he isn’t worth it? It’s implied that she’s been waiting for him for years! Bond often treats her as she’s stupid — and she sadly behaves like it for half the movie. Blatantly breaking into a car boot in full view of all mirrors and reflective surfaces, in the line of sight of Nick Nack (Hervé Villechaize); she becomes a ditz and a clutz who is easily overpowered, and trembles in a corner shrieking ‘James’. She is also shown to mostly get things wrong. Thankfully, Paloma (with a mere three weeks training compared to Goodnight’s two years), will redeem all of this. So many opportunities wasted — there could have been tension, there could have been intelligence, they could have been working together in the field. She deserved better — we see how resourceful she can be, for in the last attack, she manages to evade injury, clear a room of broken glass and have a shower, whilst Bond is just removing the problem. What if Goodnight had (name aside) actually behaved like an agent, properly on mission for Her Majesty’s Secret Service?

Veering between foolish and femme fatale, she is able to use her feminine mystique to charm the gropey engineer — defeating him and his unwanted behaviour. (Although causing a base meltdown at the same time, due to poor reading/observation skills). Then as one of a running series of bottom jokes, she accidentally triggers the solar power capture — almost melting Bond! (A throw back to Connery’s lasering)…

Handsome man he may be, but he’s horrible! Women — run away from him!

Men Want To Be Him, Maybe Women Too

Scaramanga has issues, lots of issues — a family love for protective childhood elephants; strange Circus styling tastes at home; he loves only gold (guns) — perhaps too much as he wants his women to love them too; styling captive women in bikinis to run around his secret base for purely weapon-free purposes; a mix up of death and sex as a hired assassin. Obsessively, he really wants to be Bond. Or kill him — or perhaps be him — or be with him. They style the same, look the same, rock the same safari suit shirts — and until Bond dongs a fashionably loud check print jacket, could be twins. He even has a wax work of Bond for target practice. And they are with the same woman.

Like Diamonds Are Forever, Goldfinger and Dr No, there are fine dining moments — look at the styled salad with delicious morsels. Are we meant to get Silva-Bond vibes here — is he out to impress and indeed seduce Bond?

Intriguingly this villain is also green, using solar energy to power a gadget…I feel there is further work to be done here — how many Bond villains are using renewable energy? As well as more on the meals of Bond.

Using all the groovy distortion effects alongside wax works, he stalks his victim (and his beloved golden gun) through a maze. Agatha Christie-style, he does it with mirrors — athletically stealing to his prize.

Bond returns the favour by impersonating Scaramanga down to biology, and perhaps his behaviour with Fat’s mistress.

Living In a Post-Colonial World

Whilst the men sport safari suits, should they be wearing pith helmets too? Connery’s Bond was noted for his cultural savviness, being skilled to University level in Asian Languages and just a wider awareness of other cultures and societies. He was highly sophisticated and appreciative of other ways of doing things.

Moore’s Bond here can appreciate Turkish dancing — on the way to removing a belly jewel for M and Q. Later on, he’s pulling a wedgie on a sumo wrestler, (a commonly occurring trope in Bond).

The creator of the golden bullets Lazar (Marne Maitland) is more of an equal; best of all are the martial arts school, who demonstrate their self-control, poise and skills, teaching Bond a lesson. The chattering schoolgirl nieces of Bond’s contact Lieutenant Hip (Soon-Taik Oh) are, at face value a cliche, dismissed by Bond as an irritating and unwanted addition. They come into their own by defeating everyone, fighting alongside their supportive uncle. Eventually they take pity on Bond and let him have a go — metaphorically and literally leaving him behind as somehow they forget to let him get back in the car.

Indeed there’s a big laugh at Bond’s expense for cultural appropriation as he’s prepped and then encouraged to fight to the death in martial arts! He looks faintly ridiculously throughout and ignores the social-cultural nuances, literally going below the belt. Another culture clash is implied by age as his opponent has groovily styled hair.

On the other hand, Hai Fat (Richard Loo) is presented as a modern, elegant, cultured and gentle Thai businessman. He may be Scaramanga’s partner — but he still has ethics and a sense of what is appropriate. I loved his rebuke to Nick Nack, reminding him that he was about to shed blood in his home. The discerning presentation of beautiful things showed us something of his connoisseurship. I wish Hip had also been given more time, as he was a small scale ally. (Though, ironically, a positive champion of women in this movie, and a big influence as shown through the actions of his nieces).

Scaramanga is one of those empire building villains of dual cultures, with a stunning base in a beautiful location. Unlike previous villains, his base styling is less futuristic and aesthetic, more tacky — but as he uses it to hunt his prey of gangsters and master spies, perhaps it hardly matters. Though usefully equipped with scaffolding for escaping.

We also see signs of the post-colonial world fighting back — although set in Britain run Hong Kong. there are illegal drifts into China, as well as official trips to Bangkok. I love the lady laughing in her boat at the drenched Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James) experiencing an unfortunate holiday. Another is the moment where Bond and Pepper try to break into a warehouse to stop Scaramanga’s flying car departing. Pepper tries to smooth talk the local police — who sensibly arrest him. The local stalls display luscious wares — right before cars fly into and through them; but unlike Connery’s Bonds, I’m not sure we always get a sense of place. The exception to this is the club in Beirut where we have a wider sense of people and place as the camera sweeps through. Though in Thailand and Hong Kong, there is much to say about developing tourism!

Othering?

Is Nick Nack othered? Apart from several offensive m*t comments, I would say this is his movie. Suave and stylish, and ready to kill, he captures Bond easily; causes terror in a revengeful end and is very skilled at tech control in the ‘funhouse’ maze. Plus, he can rustle up a mean chicken salad it appears. Often used to sinister and mocking effect, in observing Bond, we never know quite where his loyalty is. His employer covers him in champagne and Nick Nack suggests that he’ll help Bond, to gain power for himself over Scaramanga’s empire.

If anyone is othered, it is American gangsters who step out of the De Niro ‘are you talkin’ to me?’ school.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

Nevertheless, I did enjoy Q and M being out in the field aboard a weirdly slanting scuttled liner, and M and Q’s bickering. The golden bullet with Bond’s ‘name’ on it is an intriguing start and the plot does zip along, including the duel. It’s also intriguing to see a Bond film where the mission goes wrong and fails and an agent is lost — we see M rebuking Bond and Hip for this. The corkscrew is terrific and thrilling, as is the deadly martial arts fight before Bond is launched on the scene. I love Lulu’s gutsy theme song, pumping up viewer excitement for the coming feature.

Overall this felt like a sleazier and more exploitative Bond, from the decorously full front women in the opening credits to Hai Fat’s nude swimming mistress with a cringeworthy jokey name, and the overall way that women are treated throughout the plot. Shamefully very little Moneypenny either!

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