20 Things You Didn’t Know About Live And Let Die (1973)
1. The Man Who Cannot Die
Since appearing in this one James Bond film, Baron Samedi has become one of the most distinctive henchmen in the franchise, continuing to feature prominently in Bond-related video games to this day.
The ending to Live And Let Die sees him riding at the head of a train carrying James Bond and Solitaire, laughing to the audience. It is a very surreal ending to a Bond movie, not least because Samedi has already been killed by Double-0 Seven, but it is also an effective closing statement for a film that dabbles in the occult - after all, the Baron is clearly stated to be "the man who cannot die" and his return implies that he was no mere henchman of Dr. Kananga.
However, Baron Samedi's closing jest was not purely intended as a climactic visual statement; Samedi was meant to return in a future James Bond film. Sadly, because Harry Saltzman and Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli were taking separate producing duties on each new Bond film at this time, the idea of Samedi's return was initially dropped and later discarded altogether after Saltzman sold his share in Eon Productions to United Artists shortly after the release of The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
Nevertheless, the fact that Geoffrey Holder's Baron Samedi ended his run in the James Bond franchise in such a flamboyant manner adds greatly to his notoriety.
Watch Next
The Impossible James Bond Quiz: How Well Will You Do?
