10 Controversial James Bond Movie Moments That Couldn't Exist Today
4. Nick Nack Paddy Whack (The Man With The Golden Gun, 1974)
1974’s The Man With the Golden Gun often comes off like a veritable greatest hits of shocking Bond moments that couldn’t be done today, from JW Pepper’s casually racist utterances to the total inanity of Mary Goodnight’s air-headed heroine, and the aforementioned violence towards Miss Anders.
The portrayal of Hervé Villechaize’s Nick Nack, of course, is one of the main culprits contributing to the film’s wholly un-PC reputation. Not only do characters frequently refer to him as a “midget”, but he disguises himself at one point by posing as a miniature garden statue. There’s certainly no shortage of jokes about Nick Nack’s diminutive stature.
While Nick Nack is sometimes written with respect, portrayed as a competent and cunning associate of Francisco Scaramanga, he also suffers the indignity of being vanquished by getting locked in a suitcase.This all comes after Roger Moore’s Bond breaks a chair and uses the frame to try and fish Nick Nack out from under a sofa, like an unwelcome pest.
Could it be done today? We’d stand a better chance of Peter Dinklage being cast as James Bond than seeing him shut in a suitcase.
Modern day PC version: Nick Nack would be the main villain, and have a worthy glorious death scene to befit that lofty status. Further, and even more crucially, the film’s dialogue would make no reference to his height.