James Bond fans went wild for a revelation about how the incredible car jump stunt in The Man with the Golden Gun was performed over the weekend. The franchise’s official Twitter page shared the brilliant clip along with an explanation about how it was executed, much to the delight of aficionados. The scene saw Roger Moore’s 007 zooming around in a flame-red AMC Hornet, accompanied by Sheriff Pepper (played by Clifford James).
The pair were on the trail of assassin Francisco Scaramanga and found themselves having to cross a river which had nothing but a broken bridge over it.
Screeching to a halt, Bond reverses and brings the car back around to face the water, at which point Sheriff Pepper realises what he has in mind.
The spectacular stunt sees Bond accelerate and fly across the river, the car doing a full 360-degree corkscrew in mid-air before landing safely on the other side, albeit with a bit of a bump.
The Sheriff is thrown into the back of the Hornet by the impact, sitting back up and exclaiming: “Wowee, I never done that before!”
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“Neither have I, actually,” Bond replies, completely deadpan.
The video was shared by the official James Bond Twitter page, along with a revelation about how one of the greatest stunts in history was shot.
“‘The corkscrew jump in The Man with the Golden Gun was performed by Loren ‘Bumps’ Willert in an AMC Hornet X Hatchback.
“Two dummies of Bond and Sheriff Pepper were positioned either side of Willert.
“One of the best car stunts in movie history,” one said. “All ruined by that b****y whistle!”
“Great stunt but the whistle sucked,” another said, as a third chipped in: “John Barry inserted it but rightly regretted it afterwards.”
Stuntman Willert reportedly earned himself a whopping £30,000 bonus for completing the move in a mere one take.
The stunt also earned a Guinness World Record for the first ‘astro spiral’ stunt on film.
In a previous interview, director Guy Hamilton revealed: “The guy who did the roll had never driven the car before or ever done it.
“He wasn’t concerned because as long as it had the run up, so long as it’s 48 miles per hour, the rest is automatic.
“You hang on, cross your fingers, and bingo, he did it in one take.”
The 1974 movie was the second to star Moore in the title role.
While opinions on the movie are divided, many critics and fans praised Christopher Lee’s portrayal of the villain Scaramanga, AKA the Man with the Golden Gun, a highly-skilled assassin.
The Man with the Golden Gun also featured Britt Ekland as ‘Bond Girl’ Mary Goodnight.
