Roger Moore The Stirring Shaken Saint

My first Bond has passed away – yes, Sir Roger Moore has died in Switzerland at 89, yesterday.  My first James Bond film was The Man with the Golden Gun – starring Moore, the funny Clifton James as Sheriff J.W. Pepper and the incomparable Sir Christopher Lee as Scaramanga.  And all 3 are gone within two years of each other.

First Sir Christopher Lee, the actual Man with the Golden Gun, shot his bolt on 07 June 2015.  Then Clifton James, the Sheriff went away on his eternal patrol on 15 April 2017.  And yesterday, Sir Roger Moore, has gone to take his place as the Saint.

To my father, who watched both Sean Connery and Roger Moore as James Bond, Connery was the Bond.  To me, there are actually 3 different characters.  There is the 007, Mr. Bond, and James.  Even though I did not like Timothy Dalton’s portrayal of 007, like many others at that time, watching the Bond movies once again has changed my mind.

Hence, to me,

• Timothy Dalton, with his serious, darker portrayal, will be the 007 – the cold, hard assassin as envisaged by Ian Fleming.
• Daniel Craig with his superb athletic, physical action, will be the Bond,
• While Roger Moore who played it as a light hearted character, will be the James.

As to other things, Roger Moore’s Bond, is the one which must have used most gadgets, and in often startling scenes.  The submersible car emerging out of the sea, the hover car driving on Venice roads, or the non-gadget, but equally bizarre hop, skip, and jump on the crocodile heads.  No other Bond could have done the crocodile head stunt, and carry the audience with him.

So, RIP Sir Roger Moore.  Thank you for all the Bonds, the Saints, and the later work with UNICEF.  And yes, for the Safari Suits too - which became a craze in India, in the 80s and early 90s.

Tags: roger-moore, james-bond, christopher-lee, clifton-james

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