20 Things You Didn’t Know About Live And Let Die (1973)
17. Hamilton In New Orleans
Live And Let Die is quite a shocking James Bond film for its time.
One of the most startling scenes occurs in the pre-credits sequence, during a jazz funeral in the French Quarter in New Orleans whilst British agent, Hamilton (Robert Dix) is monitoring a Fillet of Soul restaurant. Hamilton asks a bystander (Alvin Alcorn) whose funeral it is, whereupon the bystander simply replies “Yours” and shoves a knife into him! The funeral casket is then placed over Hamilton’s body to spirit him away.
The scene leaves a definite mark on the audience and the murderous ruse is likely later repeated against James Bond's CIA ally, Harold Strutter (Lon Satton).
However, Roger Moore also devised a way for the sequence to please his mother, Lillian. She had been a fan of the American film star, Richard Dix and Moore suggested to the filmmakers that Dix’s son, Robert (who was visiting him on-set at the time) be cast in the role of Hamilton (named after the film's director, Guy Hamilton) when the original actor dropped out of the role at short notice.
Curiously, Robert Dix was voice-dubbed in the role by Canadian actor, Shane Rimmer - who was no stranger to playing American roles in the Bond films - despite Hamilton being a British agent...