Villain Hugo Drax and his dorky henchmen from Moonraker (1979)…they couldn’t have worn any other kind of helmet???
Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) is merciless in Moonraker (1979). In this scene, he’s had enough with his incompetent employee Corinne Dufour (Corinne Clery) who slept with Bond and led 007 to the safe in Drax’s study. She was an easy mark for Bond – giddy chatting him on the helicopter ride to the Drax estate and a asinine glance at the safe’s location in Drax’s study. Her fate was inevitable – a simple snap of his fingers and henchmen Chang (Toshiro Suga) releases the hunting dogs to maul her to death.
Oddly enough, the subsequent dog chase scene in the eerie forest and its accompanying harrowing music feels more like a horror movie than a James Bond movie.
Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) fires Corinne Dufour (Corinne Clery) in Moonraker (1979)
This scene single-handedly elevates Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) one of the best James Bond villains. His ostentatious estate, his delicate Chopin piano-playing, his even-keeled demeanor and monotone voice – yet he exudes extreme power over everyone that he interacts with, even his two doberman pinscher dogs. His lack of ego is offset by his stoic brutality, and his “see that some harm comes to him” line is an ultimate villain quote!
Jaws’ (Richard Kiel) intro in Moonraker (1979) has to be the best henchmen intro of any James Bond movie.
We catch the tail end of villain Hugo Drax’s (Michael Lonsdale) phone conversation searching for a replacement henchman for the recently deceased Chang (it’s so weird he refers to him as “Cha” in the phone conversation, but whatever). As he sits atop his ivory tower, he’s pleasantly surprised to hear the prospect of Jaws (Richard Kiel) as his next henchman to help carry out his nefarious plot and subdue James Bond in the process. I also wonder who Drax is on the phone with – is there a villain’s HR department?!
Fast forward to Jaws’ hilariously oversized arrival in Rio de Janeiro – we see him set off the metal detectors for obvious reasons. Without a word (just a smile), he explains the beeping to the Rodney Dangerfield doppelganger customs worker, totally freaking him out. LOL!
Jaws (Richard Kiel) shows his signature metal smile in Moonraker (1979)
In Moonraker (1979), as James Bond makes his escape via his hydrofoil gondola in Venice, some great, funny and downright cheesy reactions from the witnessing crowd are seen.
Which is your favorite?
The Cold Turkey Quitter
The Oblivious Couple & Doomed Gondolier
The Wacky Waving Boatsman
The Jaw-Dropped Sailor
The Perplexed Wino – he appears in other Bond movies too!
The Gobsmacked Artist
The Double Take Pigeon
The Observant Dog
The Reckless Waiter
Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) looks at James Bond (Roger Moore) in a very suggestive manner at the end of Moonraker (1979)
“Most Secret” footage of the 747 aircraft crash site after the Moonraker space shuttle was hijacked off its back in Moonraker (1979)
Odd…Why not designate as the traditional “Top Secret”?
