20 Things You Didn’t Know About Live And Let Die (1973)

12. That’s One Of Them New Car-Boats

Live and Let Die Bond Solitaire
MGM/UA

Boat chases were becoming increasingly popular in action films in the early 1970s. Only two years before Live And Let Die, audiences had been glued to a riveting boat chase along the canals of Amsterdam in the 1971 film adaptation of Alistair MacLean's Puppet on a Chain.

Since no one knew precisely what to put into the boat chase in Live And Let Die and the script only described it as being “The most terrific boat chase you’ve ever seen”, the crew largely devised it during location scouting and whilst filming. Some sequences even made their way into the picture purely by chance, but worked so well that they remained in the finished film.

For instance, the scene in which a speedboat crashes into Sheriff J.W. Pepper’s (Clifton James’s) police car was completely unplanned but was kept in the finished film because it was not only visually spectacular, but also supported the levity that Roger Moore and the filmmakers wished to inject into the reimagined James Bond.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.