The “truly dangerous” James Bond stunt that “broke the golden rule” and will never be repeated
No matter how hard you try to fight it, there is something alluring about the latest James Bond movie.
The series might not appeal to you on the surface. You may think that the premise is silly, find the proposition of a suave secret agent a little passé, or even just simply not enjoy the gadgets, cars, and fashion. But no matter how hard you try, Bond usually pulls you in.
Part of that allure is centred on the action at play. Bond has often been a beacon of flashy shots and action-packed moments, and it is part of the reason we fall so deeply in love with 007. His death-defying commitment is a deeply rich vein of the appeal.
The James Bond series is known for its spectacular nature, featuring marvellous set pieces in countless eye-popping locations worldwide. While modern movies featuring Daniel Craig as 007 feature some impressive action sequences, the awe-inspiring stunts came earlier in the series when the likes of Roger Moore, Sean Connery, and Timothy Dalton worked under far less stringent health and safety policies.
Despite producing the campiest Bond movies, the 007 instalments from Roger Moore also included the most spectacular moments, with several extraordinary stunts performed over six films. While the crocodile run in Octopussy is undoubtedly impressive, and so too is the Guinness World Record-setting boat jump in Live and Let Die, nothing quite compares to Bond’s daring corkscrew car twist in 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun.
The second film of Moore’s tenure as Bond, following the release of Live and Let Die in 1973, The Man with the Golden Gun follows the erratic British spy as he tries to develop solar cell technology while being pursued by the world’s most expensive assassin, Scaramanga (Christopher Lee). There’s an undeniable appeal that is hard to ignore in this particular movie.
Sure, the action is part of the draw, but the real grab is the wildness of the construction. The film benefits from the villain’s magnificent performance, showing off one of the series’ most curious and flamboyant antagonists, yet it all creates the feeling of a thrillingly silly Saturday morning cartoon.
This description fits the daring stunt that Bond appears to perform while chasing Scaramanga and his sidekick Nick Nack (Hervé Villechaize) in a 1974 AMC Hornet. Coming across a broken bridge, Bond decides to gain significant ground on the villains by jumping the width of the river in a daring stunt.
First tested as a computer simulation by Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, the stunt was then performed in live action and was landed in one take by the stuntman Loren ‘Bumps’ Willert. Driving the Hornet, Willert jumped the bridge and, with the help of the structure’s curvature, managed to achieve a 360-degree spin in mid-air about the longitudinal axis, achieving a remarkable ‘aerial twist’.
Given a $30,000 bonus on the spot for his achievement, the corkscrew stunt made the Guinness Book of Records as the first ‘astro spiral’ jump on film, and Moore’s Man with the Golden Gun went down as a significant entry in Bond history.
Despite the marvel of the film’s stunt, many believe that composer John Barry ruined the moment by adding a slide whistle sound effect over the stunt, making the whole scene feel rather farcical. Later, regretting the creative decision, Barry stated on the audio commentary for the movie that the whistle “broke the golden rule,” especially since, “For what it was all worth, a truly dangerous moment…true James Bond style.”
For many, Roger Moore represents the very best of Bond in all his campy glory, with his six films reflecting a side of the character that is too often lost in modern cinema.
