When you think about the history of 007, you usually think about the cars, the gadgets, or which actor had the best tuxedo. But honestly, the real magic happens when the villain is actually a match for the spy. That is exactly what we got with Christopher Lee in James Bond, specifically his legendary turn as Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
Most people don't realize that Lee wasn't just some random actor they hired to play a bad guy. He was actually family. Literally. He and Ian Fleming, the man who created Bond, were step-cousins. They used to play golf together all the time. Imagine being on the links with the guy who invented the world's most famous spy.
The Connection Nobody Talks About
It’s kinda wild to think about, but Fleming originally wanted Christopher Lee to be the very first Bond villain. He had Lee in mind for the role of Dr. No way back in 1962. Lee was all for it. He said yes immediately. But Fleming, being a bit forgetful, didn't tell the producers until it was too late. They had already cast Joseph Wiseman.
It took another twelve years for Lee to finally step into the 007 universe. By the time 1974 rolled around, the franchise was in a weird spot. Roger Moore was still finding his feet as Bond, and the movies were getting a bit... campy.
Then came Scaramanga.
He wasn't your typical "I want to blow up the moon" kind of villain. Scaramanga was an assassin who charged a million dollars a hit. He was the dark mirror of Bond. While Bond kills for "Queen and Country," Scaramanga kills for the highest bidder. They are basically two sides of the same coin, and Lee played that nuance perfectly.
Why Scaramanga Changed the Formula
In the original book by Fleming, Scaramanga was a bit of a thug. He was a loud, crude South American assassin with a circus background. But when Christopher Lee took the role, he and director Guy Hamilton decided to change things up. They made him sophisticated.
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- The Urbanity: Lee brought a certain "gentlemanly" menace to the role.
- The Equalizer: He saw Scaramanga as Bond's equal, not just a target.
- The Third Nipple: Yes, the "superfluous papilla." It was his one distinguishing physical trait, used as a plot point for Bond to track him down.
Honestly, the movie itself is often ranked lower by fans because of things like the slide whistle sound effect during a car jump (yeah, that really happened). But almost everyone agrees that Lee is the best part of the film. He steals every scene. His presence is so commanding that you almost find yourself rooting for the guy with the golden gun.
The Real-Life Spy Connection
There is a lot of internet chatter about whether Christopher Lee actually inspired the character of James Bond himself. During World War II, Lee was in the RAF and was attached to Special Forces, including the SAS and the Long Range Desert Group.
He was a real-life intelligence officer.
When people asked him about his war record, he’d famously say, "Can you keep a secret?" and when they said "Yes," he’d reply, "So can I." It’s that kind of mystery that makes the theory so tempting. While Fleming said Bond was a "compound of all the secret agents" he met, it's hard to believe his own cousin's exploits didn't play a massive role in his writing.
The Legacy of the Golden Gun
What’s really cool is how Lee’s performance influenced future villains. Before him, villains were often deformed or megalomaniacal caricatures. Lee showed that a villain could be charming, polite, and still absolutely terrifying. You can see his DNA in later characters like Alec Trevelyan in GoldenEye or Raoul Silva in Skyfall.
They are villains who have a personal, mirror-image connection to Bond.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into this era of 007, you should definitely watch The Man with the Golden Gun with a focus on the dialogue between Bond and Scaramanga. The "dinner scene" on Scaramanga's island is a masterclass in tension. It's not about the gadgets; it's about two professionals acknowledging that they are the only two people in the world who truly understand each other.
To get the full experience of Christopher Lee's impact on the franchise, your best bet is to pick up a copy of the 1965 novel and compare it to the 1974 film. The differences in Scaramanga's character are staggering, and it really highlights how much of the "classy assassin" persona came directly from Lee himself rather than the source material. You might also want to check out the documentary Being James Bond or various interviews Lee gave to Starlog and Empire where he discusses his relationship with Fleming in detail.