20 Things You Didn’t Know About You Only Live Twice (1967)
12. “Bon Appétit!”
Blofeld’s piranha pool is one of the most distinctive means for a Bond villain to dispose of their enemies and underlings. It was also one of the few plot elements to be drawn from Ian Fleming’s 1964 novel.
Although a stuntwoman had been hired for the sequence in which SPECTRE Number 11, Helga Brandt meets her end courtesy of her leader’s razor-toothed pets, German actress, Karin Dor insisted on performing the stunt herself.
Plunging into the artificial lake that production designer, Sir Ken Adam had created on stage at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, Dor was dragged underwater by a diver who tickled her foot. Her frenzied cry as Brandt vanishes into the murky depths was actually a combination of a scream and hysterical laughter!
James Bond also later disposes of Blofeld’s bodyguard, Hans (Ronald Rich) in the pool.
Sean Connery learnt judo for Double-0 Seven’s final fight with Hans. He was instructed by Joe Robinson, who had previously auditioned for the role of Donald “Red” Grant in From Russia With Love (1963); Connery remembered him when it came to casting the role of gem smuggler, Peter Franks in Diamonds Are Forever.