20 Things You Didn’t Know About Thunderball (1965)
9. “Some People On The Roads Really Burn You Up These Days."
SPECTRE does not tolerate failure.
Ironically, Count Lippe (Guy Doleman) is eliminated by his masters not because James Bond interferes in SPECTRE’s plans, but because Lippe hired greedy henchman, Angelo Palazzi (Paul Stassino) to impersonate Domino’s NATO pilot brother, Major François Derval (also Stassino).
His assassination was filmed at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire using the Aston Martin DB5, Lippe’s 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner, and a BSA A65 Lightning rode by British motorcycle champion, Bill Ivy doubling for Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe.
The BSA motorcycle was modified to include a harmless rocket, whilst Bob Simmons drove the Ford, standing in for Guy Doleman. Simmons activated the fire caused by the missile via a switch on the car’s dashboard.
Director, Terence Young was extremely concerned for Simmons’s safety during filming as he did not see the stuntman jump clear of the burning car prior to its explosion. Once the scene was captured, Young and his crew rushed over, fearing the worst, only for Simmons to pop up behind them; he had jumped clear of the Ford at the last possible moment.
Fiona Volpe dumped the BSA in Denham Quarry Lakes near Uxbridge, Middlesex to cover her tracks.