Sir Roger Moore – a career in cars
Sir Roger Moore has died aged 89. In tribute, we present 10 of his finest automotive moments of the screen, in time-honoured countdown fashion. This is a highly biased and subjective list, excluding Cannonball Run and North Sea Hijack chiefly because no one should have to endure such pictures. Enjoy.
10) Live and Let Die – AEC Regent R/T.
For his first outing as 007 outing, Roger establishes his mark on the character by not partaking in vodka martinis, favouring safari shirts over white dinner jackets and having Bond channel his inner Reg Varney by taking the wheel of an AEC Regent double-decker. Some of the onscreen driving is from the London Transport instructor Maurice Plachett – notably the 'Low Bridge’ moment – but for some sequences that really is Moore piloting a 1947 Regent in Montego Bay. All that would have been needed to perfect the scene would have been a guest appearance from Stephen 'Blakey’ Lewis - “I ’ate you 007...”
9) The Spy Who Loved Me – Lotus Esprit
The Esprit was to Sir Roger what the Aston Martin DB5 was to Sir Sean Connery – a Bond car that captured the imagination of enthusiasts of all ages. Whether in submarine mode, outrunning a Ford Taunus Ghia-load of bit-actors or being introduced by Desmond Llewellyn as Q – “Right, now pay attention 007” – it is the quintessential Moore-era 007 transport; one that certainly keeps the British end up.
8) The Man with the Golden Gun – AMC Hornet X
The second Moore 007 outing is chiefly memorable for Christopher Lee’s Francisco Scaramanga, dialogue that could have been rejected from Carry On Girls and an AMC Hornet spiralling through 270 degrees in mid-air. Before shooting commenced, a computer programme evaluated the many potential dangers, and the screen car was fitted with centrally mounted steering to alter its centre of gravity. The stunt (a cinematic first) was performed by Loren Willert in one take, and after 43 years it remains a screen moment that more than compensates for such lines as “I’m now aiming precisely at your groin. So, speak or forever hold your piece”.
7) For Your Eyes Only – Citroën 2CV6
One of those 007 pictures in which Bond uses his driving skills rather than Q’s gadgetry to evade the overacting henchmen of the current star criminal mastermind. All that is needed to outrun a brace of Peugeot 504s is a Mimosa Yellow 2CV6, albeit one powered by the engine from a larger Citroën GS. Three 2CVs equipped with roll bars were used on screen with a standard version for the close-up, and Sir Roger remembers that the Deux Chevaux “was huge fun to drive through olive groves in”.
6) View to a Kill – Renault 11 TXE Electronic
Time has not been kind to Roger’s last Bond films but View to a Kill does feature a significant cinematic and automotive moment – it makes a Renault 11 look interesting. Thanks to the work of L’Équipe Remy Julienne, a car associated by many with suburban shopping parades on a wet afternoon in October looks as thrilling as any Aston Martin. A trio of cars was employed – a complete 11, one sans roof and one cut in half.
5) Crossplot – Alfa Romeo 1600 Duetto Spider
Any film that opens with 'hippies’ in a Mini Moke and Roger buying a pint of silver-top from a back-projected milk float while driving an Alfa Romeo has to be a classic of sorts. In this 'Swinging’ comedy thriller, one apparently shot on a budget of 10/6d, Roger fights international espionage and large portions of the script with equal élan. The scene involving an Opus HRF, a helicopter, and a line of pylons must be seen to be disbelieved for its sheer B-picture verve.
4) Vendetta for a Saint – Dodge WD
Or two episodes of The Saint (q.v.) re-edited for a theatrical release, but it is far too splendid a production to ignore, with plentiful shots of an Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider and a Fiat 2300S Coupé. Best of all, the final reel chase has Roger borrowing a Dodge bus to escape the hoods’ 1958 Lincoln Premiere plus an army of Lambretta-riding heavies N.B. Any viewer who points out that 'Sicily’ appears to have an awful lot of right-hand-drive, Maltese-registered traffic is merely being pedantic.
3) The Persuaders! – Aston Martin DBS
Some viewers watched the show for Tony Curtis’ Ferrari Dino 246 GT but for many of us, the quintessence de Roger will be the elegant figure cruising through the Riviera in his Bahamas Yellow DBS 'V8’. The fact that the Aston Martin was a disguised six-cylinder model (in 2014 it sold at auction for £533,500) matters little in a show that boasted music from John Barry, guest stars ranging from Joan Collins to Lionel Blair and Roger Moore designing his character’s highly tasteful clothes. And who could forget the first episode 'Overture', where the DBS and the Dino race to the Hatch/Trent tune Gotta Get Away?
2) The Saint – Volvo P1800
Or car and actor in perfect harmony. No matter how dastardly the plot and no matter how many times Simon Templar would be obliged to drive on the wrong side of the road in Hertfordshire (so as to give the impression of being 'Somewhere Exotic Abroad’), our hero in his white Volvo would save the day. After Jaguar spurned the opportunity to provide the show with a MkX a fleet of P1800s was used, variously battling Inspector Teal’s Wolseley 6/110, an interesting approach to continuity and the villain’s white Jaguar Mk1 that would always descend from a cliff edge. Eyebrow-raisingly good television.
1) The Man Who Haunted Himself – Rover P5B Saloon/Lamborghini Islero S
Few actors have been as self-deprecatory about their talents as Sir Roger but in The Man Who Haunted Himself he gives a performance on a par with David Niven. Respectable businessman Harold Pelham crashes his Rover 3.5-litre P5B Saloon on the M4 (passing a Sunbeam Alpine 10 times in the process), but on the operating table he splits into two separate personae. Good Roger buys another Rover (“Damn fine motor car”) but Fiendish Roger opts for groovy nightclubs and a silver Lamborghini Islero S. A film that should be in anyone’s collection for the cars, the fashions, the theme tune and, above all, for seeing Roger Moore at his considerable best.
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