Tag: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

The Double Man (1967): Goodnight skiing

30 MAY 2023

JBC rating: ***

James Bond Connections (4):

  • Featuring Britt Ekland (Bond girl Mary Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun) as the heroine Gina Ericson.
  • Featuring small roles for David Bauer (uncredited as an American diplomat in You Only Live Twice and as Morton Slumber in Diamonds Are Forever) and David Healy (uncredited as the Vandenburg Launch Director in Diamonds Are Forever).
  • Second unit director William P. Cartledge (2nd unit on You Only Live Twice, Producer on The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker).

With its Alpine setting, spectacular ski sequences and a storyline involving a spy with a personal agenda, The Double Man anticipates the Bond classic On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by two whole years (ironically, it was released between the spoof Casino Royale [1967] and the tonally opposite Bond extravaganza You Only Live Twice). This British-produced straight thriller follows tough guy CIA agent Dan Slater (played by Hollywood star Yul Brynner, pictured above) as he visits Austria to investigate the suspicious death of his teenage son. This is all part of an incredible Soviet plot – his son was murdered by Russian spies in order to lure Slater out of the USA and replace him with a Communist-trained double – alluded to in the film’s title. However, future Oscar winning American director Franklin J. Schaffer manages to ground a fantastical story by adopting a low-key, realistic directorial style and maintaining naturalistic performances from the cast. The result is an effective and quietly gripping Cold War-era spy thriller.

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Gold (1974): Roger Moore mining Bond

21 MAY 2023

JBC rating: ****

James Bond Connections (8):

Cast

  • Starring Roger Moore (James Bond, 1973 – 1985) as Rod Slater.
  • Featuring Bernard Horsfall (Campbell in OHMSS) as Dave Kowalski.
  • Featuring (briefly) Andre Maranne (uncredited as SPECTRE No. 10 in Thunderball) as a syndicate member.

Production

  • Directed by Peter Hunt (Bond editor 1962 – 1967, Director OHMSS).
  • Production designed by Syd Cain (From Russia with Love, OHMSS & Live and Let Die).
  • Edited & 2nd unit directed by John Glen (Bond editor / 2nd unit, various 1969 – 1979; Bond Director 1981 – 1989).
  • Titles designed by Maurice Binder (Bond titles, various 1962 – 1989).
  • Camera operated by Alec Mills (Camera crew, 1969, 1981 – 1989).

The classic South Africa-set action thriller Gold was Roger Moore’s first film following his highly successful debut as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973). It set the template for Moore’s non-EON career in the 1970s and 80s when, more than any other James Bond actor, he seemed happy to capitalise on his star persona by portraying a succession of smooth and sophisticated heroes straight from the 007 mould. Many EON regulars would join Moore for his non-Bond ventures. Indeed, one reason for the fact Gold is arguably the best of them is the fact the credits include more EON crew members than any Roger Moore movie outside of James Bond.

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