20 Things You Didn’t Know About Thunderball (1965)

19. “This Is Pinder, Our Man Here...”

Thunderball Domino
MGM/UA

The head of station who assists Double-0 Seven in Nassau, Pinder is portrayed by Bermudian actor, Earl Cameron who sadly passed away in July 2020 at the age of 102. Most notably, he arranges a power cut that allows Bond to infiltrate Emilio Largo’s estate, Palmyra.

Originally, Pinder would have accompanied Double-0 Seven on the mission. Whilst investigating tracks leading into the villa’s boathouse (revealed to have been left by a pedalo boat), they would have set off an alarm and Pinder would have been killed in a gunfight on the beach. Bond would have escaped just as he does in the finished film, albeit telling the shark that pursues him: “Sorry, you’ll have to order something else”.

Instead, Bond's assistant, Paul Caplan (Martine Beswick) perishes and Pinder survives.

Although his remaining scenes are limited, in early versions of the film, Earl Cameron’s voice is heard identifying a manta ray whilst Double-0 Seven and Felix Leiter continue their aerial search for the missing Vulcan bomber, even though Pinder is not aboard the helicopter with them. This continuity error has since been erased from later editions of the film.

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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.