On May 23, 2017, Sir Roger Moore passed on at the age of 89. An actor, a World War II veteran, and a humanitarian, Moore might best be remembered for his time spent in the role of the most famous spy ever penned into a book, James Bond. Between 1973 and 1985, Moore was 007, the charismatic elite spy, through five films: 1973’s Live and Let Die, 1974’s The Man With the Golden Gun, 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, 1981’s For Your Eyes Only, 1983’s Octopussy, and 1985’s A View to Kill.
One of Moore’s strange connections with the car world from this time period was this particular stunt: in the movie, after Mary Goodnight gets stuffed into the trunk of a car, Bond finds an AMC dealership in Bangkok, steals a Hornet X and goes chasing after the villain, Scaramanga. The stunt itself was based on the Astro Spiral Jump that American Thrill Shows had been touring the country with. They used Javelins…and just to put the icing on the American Motors cake, the car that Moore’s Bond is chasing down is a Matador. Ah, product placement, we love you.
The Man With the Golden Gun was widely panned, but this stunt is one of the best features of the movie, hands down. Godspeed, Roger Moore.
That jump was the only good thing about that film, as an average tree had more charisma and acting skills than Roger Moore. The man insulted the great Sean Connery on whose retirement from the role of James Bond the whole franchise should have been shelved!
Holy moly! Something Chevy Hatin’ Mad Geordie and I completely disagree on! Roger Moore was Ian Flemings first choice to play bond, but he was already contracted and doing “The Saint” and turned it down. Moore was the best Bond!
No, Mr. Bond, I did not expect you to die.
I can’t take credit for this, but one guy on another board summed him up with, “Rodger Moore wasn’t the best Bond, but he was the most fun one.” He may have been more cheesy than badass, but Bond movies worked a bit better when you don’t take them too seriously.
My first Bond movie was “Live and Let Die”. Always liked Roger Moore as James Bond. Yea, not as suave as Sean Connery but definitely more enjoyable to watch.
Great Memories watching those movies as a kid. As a Family, my dad would take all of us to the drive in to see those 007 movies. Moonraker was one of my favorites. Jaws was my favorite Bad Guy with Roger Moore.
GodSpeed
The actor in the car with Moore – Clifton James just died April 15, 2017
Backstory of the Astro Spiral Jump:
http://jalopnik.com/the-james-bond-corkscrew-jump-was-the-first-computer-mo-1711459704
Roger Moore was my first Bond. As an AMC guy, Golden Gun is one of my favorites. I mean who doesn’t want a flying Matador Coupe! Maybe I should change my name to AMC Lovin’ Happy Beaver…