Octopussy

Roger Moore wanted to stop after the previous entry, so the producers looked for a replacement and screen tested candidates including James Brolin. When word came that Sean Connery was returning in a Bond film made outside Eon, Moore was talked back in. Directed by John Glen, it reached cinemas 4 months ahead of that rival and outgrossed it. George MacDonald Fraser, who wrote an early draft, proposed India, where the series had never been. His motorcycle race opening was dropped, yet the gorilla suit and clown costume Broccoli objected to both stayed in. A South Asian actress was sought for the title role; Swedish born Maud Adams was cast, her hair darkened and her character’s background rewritten. The little jet in the pre titles is real and was flown at more than 150 mph, but the flight through the hangar was not: the plane was fixed by a steel pole to an old Jaguar with its roof off, and the blast was a miniature. On his 9th Bond score John Barry kept returning to the main theme, which the rival production could not use. A good fit if you want a Bond that loudly reasserts the series signature against a competitor, palaces and circus crowd included. Not for viewers who find the clown and gorilla stretches too much.